Enter the Matrix sells a million

Atari is claiming today that Enter The Matrix has already sold a million units in the USA and Europe after only a week on sale, representing 25 per cent of the four million units which the company shipped to retail last week.

The second Matrix movie, The Matrix Reloaded, which the game ties in with, opened last week in the USA and on Wednesday here in the UK. Sales of the game are expected to be boosted further this week in the UK thanks to the movie's first weekend on release.

Last week, Enter the Matrix topped the All Formats sales charts in the UK, and was also the best selling title on PS2 and Xbox - although it was outsold by Nintendo's Zelda: Wind Waker on the GameCube, and Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto Vice City on the PC.

"We are thrilled by these early sell through numbers," said Bruno Bonnell, CEO of Atari. "These initial sales results exemplify the power of the Wachowski Brothers' vision for the franchise. With the exceptional box office results of The Matrix Reloaded and the explosive sales of Enter the Matrix, we are witnessing the true convergence of Hollywood and gaming."

However, the critics seem to disagree, and Enter the Matrix has received a thorough panning from several reviewers - perhaps explaining why Atari chose not to let anyone review it prior to the launch of the game. The massive marketing campaign undertaken by Atari to support the title, and the enormous popularity of the Matrix franchise, may now have to weigh in against negative reviews and poor word of mouth - and there are still three million copies of the game to sell.

MCV