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Assassin’s Creed III breaks UK launch records

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Assassin's Creed III
Image used with permission by copyright holder

When Ubisoft first announced Assassin’s Creed III, we expected the game to be a success. After all, it’s another entry in a fan-favorite, blockbuster video game series, and Ubisoft has proven a willingness to spend huge amounts of cash promoting titles just like this one. Plus, the game is centered on the Revolutionary War, and what red-blooded American wouldn’t want the chance to virtually assassinate a few redcoats in the name of colonial freedom? Of course, that doesn’t explain why Assassin’s Creed III is selling like gilded hotcakes in the UK, but we’re sure Ubisoft would rather not look that gift horse in the mouth.

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According to Chart-Track (a site that tallies media sales in Ireland and the UK) information released on November 3, Assassin’s Creed III has been Ubisoft’s most successful UK release to date. It currently occupies the number one spot on Chart-Track’s list of best selling games, ahead of FIFA 13, the latest entry in a series that perennially dominates worldwide sales charts. Further, during the period immediately following the Assassin’s Creed III launch, the game trumped Assassin’s Creed: Revelations to pick up the record for Ubisoft’s most successful launch of all time. As you might expect, these triumphant sales figures place the Assassin’s Creed III launch as the number two UK video game launch of 2012 (second only to the FIFA 13 launch).

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We won’t go so far as to question the motivations of an entire country, but we have to ask our British readers for some kind of explanation here. You blokes and birds do realize that Assassin’s Creed III is focused on the American Revolution, right? That big war that painted the UK as a tyrannical force of draconian old world fops who were bested by the plucky, resourceful spirit that would eventually propel the original 13 colonies into the world’s sole economic and military superpower? Maybe we don’t have any perspective on this, what with being Americans, but shouldn’t the UK be a bit more touchy about this subject?

Or maybe Assassin’s Creed III is the panacea our countries have been hoping for since 1776. Maybe the visceral joy of stabbing some jerk in the face finally sinks any lingering ill will the British might have for us Yankees. Maybe the only thing that can truly unite mankind is the opportunity to murder evil George Washington. Whatever the reason behind these massive sales figures, one thing is for certain: Britons don’t seem to have much issue with knifing virtual representations of their ancestors.

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Earnest Cavalli
Earnest Cavalli
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Earnest Cavalli has been writing about games, tech and digital culture since 2005 for outlets including Wired, Joystiq…
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