The first one sold just over three million according to VGChartz.  Just over two thirds were moved in NA, the rest in Europe and Japan was a non-event.

However the second one has only sold 1.8 million according to VGChartz, with just over a million in NA.

By all accounts these are very good games and im sure that GoW3 will be the same, but why is this game touted as such an enormous system seller?  Its sales are nothing to smirk at, but I regularly see it placed alongside MGS4, GT5 and FFXIII as a monumental system seller. 

I'm just trying to understand the hype, because from a sales perspective at least, the system-selling potential just isn't there when compared to these major franchises.  Especially when the second installment sold around 40% less on an expanded and still fast-growing userbase that will absolutely dwarf the PS3's even a year from now.

Is it just a few fanboys hyping this game to monumental levels, or am I actually missing something about this franchise?

Maybe it's just a great game.

That's a possibility.

It's like icing on the cake. It's "another" system seller. It will help push systems on top of games like MGS4.

system seller? Its just the best action game ever made, no body said its goin gto be a system seller(I do think GoW owners will buy a ps3 for it if they havent already)

That's just it. There are many other PS2 games that sell better than this series. I'm not saying the sales are bad, just not in line with all the hype it seems to get.

Is a very good game and can only imagine what they can do with more power and storage space. If it can maintain the high ratings on the PS3 as well it should sell systems.

I agree with the statment that this game will sell some systems, but my objection is to it being rated as big a system-seller as the other much more significant franchises i mentioned

Well, first of all it's a very mature game so it only applies to a certain demographic. The game does very very well in the demographic however. Second the sales for GoW2 haven't been updated since July.

I think the downfall of the second game was the fact that it came out in February, when the hype for the PS3 and Wii were still sky high. 360 was just coming off of Gears of War. Most people were leaving the PS2 behind already. It's not like there's been a huge system seller since God of War 2 to show it was a failure. Maybe that's all a PS2 system seller can do at this point.

The hype is because how good it is. People really like the game. But, like you said, it's no system seller. Some games are loved with in the gaming spectrum (including forums, critics and blogs. The people who love game) but the casual player doesn't care about GoW. But they love Guitar Hero. In the gaming spectrum (need better name) GoW>GH but to casual players, who buy more then people like us GH>GoW.

But Gow sold 3million. I thought it was at 2million. Hmmmm.

never played it on my PS2

heard good things bout it

but FF XIII, GT 5 n MGS 4 are higher than it (in MY LIST)

I think GOW 3 should be placed with KZ 2