Gamers Log Over 15 Million Hours on Gears of War 2; Sells Over 2 Million Units Worldwide Too

Epic Games president Michael Capps’ complaints about the rental and used game markets cutting into company profits sound a bit hollow today considering a recent report from Microsoft stating that the Xbox 360 exclusive Gears of War 2, had opening weekend sales of over 2 million units worldwide.

To top that off, over 1.5 million people logged into Xbox Live during the weekend, racking up 15 million gameplay hours in Gears of War 2, which set a record for concurrent Live players. Gamers who joined in the fray collectively unlocked over 19 million Achievements.

These huge numbers on both sides of the spectrum are thanks to Cliff Bleszinski’s wish to launch the game on the same day worldwide so that everyone around the globe could log in and share the experience simultaneously:

“We were so excited to launch ‘Gears of War 2’ on the same day all around the world, something virtually unheard of in the games business. We wanted our fans, no matter where they live, to have a shared experience on day one, and that’s exactly what’s happened.”

If those figures were just actual sales in America, you would be looking at over $120 million dollars–and that is not taking into consideration the limited edition version of the game. If you incorporate the current exchange rate of non-U.S. dollars, the numbers get even higher because Gears of War 2 costs $59.99 (£44.99) and the limited edition costs $69.99 (£49.99)–so the British Pound to U.S. Dollar exchange rate is a benefit, meaning it will convert to more money for Epic.

Considering that the Holiday Shopping Extravaganza is only a scant couple weeks away, you can only expect these sales numbers to skyrocket across the globe. Kind of makes Capps’ complaints sound a bit like a child’s temper tantrum now, doesn’t it?