@Lost tears of kain

I agree totally, God of War is cool, and has decent combat, but you want awesomeness to the max you have to play DMC 1 or 3. And it looks like 4 is continuing that tradition.

its probably not a system seller but its a very good game

ultra violence+nudity=every teenager playing it with one hand

It's the ultimate western game, it's absurd violence combined with sex appeals to just about every stereotypical western male, though american males especially. Now don't get me wrong, it's well made and fun too but guys don't play it because it's just a well made action game anymore than guys buy porn for the well written articles. Outside of the US the series isn't that big.

 I lol'd.

To those who were around when Super Mario Bros came out, remember how many hop-n-bop platformer clones came out around then? Some were better than others, but at the core they were Mario clones and couldn't differentiate themselves. Sonic the Hedgehog managed to pull out and generate great sales because it was different enough (ie Sonic's speed vs Mario's precise jumps.)

So God of War? It's a really good car, but you already have a car that's decent enough. Why bother?

It's a great refinement of a 3rd-person 3D action button masher, started by Devil May Cry. It isn't treading new gameplay territory. By the time GoW was released there were already a ton of Devil May Cry clones floating about. So GoW is a great game in a crowded genre. Sony should be proud it sold as many as it did.

I hope GoW 3 really manages to do something different, to really separate itself from other 3D action games. With the name brand and marketing efforts it would easily sell the PS3.

Not every system seller has to sell tens of millions of copies. The point is to have a well-balanced, diversified portfolio of games, each of which sells in the millions to a specific audience (action, puzzle, casual, sports, multiplayer, etc.). But GoW is most definitely a system seller in the action genre - it's appearing on the PSP, and I would bet a sizeable stack of euros that GoW3 is going to rock the house.

The GoW franchise is particularly interesting because it shows that Sony, like Nintendo, has found ways to attract and keep talented artists in its studio system. That's very hard to do.

Because God of War 1&2 kicked so much ass! They were easily my favorite ps2 games after MGS and J&D.

I don't understand why GoW2 sold less than GoW1. The second one was a much better game and I know people who bought two but have yet to buy one. It makes no sense to me. Also, GoW2 has yet to be released in Japan, if that has any effect on things. It's coming out Oct. 25.

Maybe VGChartz's numbers are just off? According to Kotaku, GoW2 sold 833,000 units in March in the US alone. I have a hard time believing the game only shifted another 300,000 in NA over the next 7 months.

Sony couldn't push a mascot to save its life. 

There is no iconic character next to Sony and there probably never will be.

I love the GoW series and it isn't just for the violence. The game is just gorgeous to look at and I am also very intrigued by Greek mythology so the story really does it for me.

"""ultra violence+nudity=every teenager playing it with one hand"""

wow,
man,
yes there is some stupid nudity scene in GoW1/2 and yes I consider it was not needed. Yes I would prefer to put away these scene.
But do you really GoW1/2 was well received by reviewer and sold correctly because of these nudity scene ????

you are right for the violence
you are wrong for the nudity

I can understand people's objection to the violence, but the sex? Jesus, run for 2 minutes and listen to yourself breathe, it would sound more like sex than the not-on-screen sex in GoW 1 and 2. And seriously, look at some greek art or sculptures. They are literally FILLED with topless/naked people.