Demon's Souls sells nearly 250K in US, Atlus posts profit - Report

Critical acclaim and commercial success are not always doled out in proportionate amounts. While Activision's hit Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 sold more than 6 million copies in the US in its first month on sale, GameSpot's 2009 Game of the Year, Demon's Souls, has sold a fraction of that total since its October 2009 debut.

According to a 1Up report on a localization session from last week's Game Developers Conference, the PlayStation 3-exclusive role-playing game was approaching total sales of 250,000 copies. Initial shipments of the game totaled just 15,000 copies, but the game picked up steam from positive word of mouth and critical raves.

While Demon's Souls was published by Sony in Japan, the electronics giant's European and North American gaming arms passed on publishing the unusual RPG. Speaking at the localization session, Sony Computer Entertainment VP of international software Yeonkyung Kim reportedly admitted that was a mistake, saying that concerns over its difficulty and unusual design decisions swayed the decision to let Atlus handle the international release of the game.

Atlus is apparently happy with the performance of its recent release. In a quarterly report this week, the publisher said sales of Demon's Souls were strong, helping push sales of its home gaming segment up more than 8 percent year-over-year. According to a translation by game site Siliconera, the company's six-month operating profit more than doubled, jumping 236.1 percent to 78 million yen (roughly $4.15 million).

For more on the game, check out GameSpot's review of Demon's Souls.