Tomb Raider smashes one million sales in 48 hours

GAMING HEROINE Lara Croft busted back onto video game players' screens last week in a prequel to the successful adventure game titles, Tomb Raider and the game has already managed to sell over one million copies worldwide.

Each format of the game entered the UK gaming chart's Top 5 on Friday, with the Xbox 360 edition coming up trumps in first place, while the Playstation 3 version came second and the PC version fifth, behind Simcity and the Sims 3: University Life.

Much to the delight of teenage boys across the world, the chesty 21 year-old adventure character Lara Croft made her debut on Tuesday for the first time in five years. The game's developer Crystal Dynamics announced over the weekend that the game had broken the 1 million sales figure in less than 48 hours.

The firm's global brand director Karl Stewart announced the news on Twitter, revealing that some stores are running low on copies.

Wow, 1m gamers playing in less than 48hrs! @tombraider fans, you're AMAZING Hearing some stores are running low..more copies are on the way!

— Karl Stewart (@CrystalDKarl) March 8, 2013

According to Stewart's other tweets, it seems that Tomb Raider has been very well received by video gaming fans since its launch.

"I could literally do this tweet every hour as I get so many. Thank you again to all the @tombraider fans sendin tweets of enjoyment," he said.

It's almost 17 years since the first Tomb Raider release in 1996 that shares the same name. It's also the first Tomb Raider game to be given an "M" (Mature) rating by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and an 18+ rating by Pan European Game Information (PEGI).

Tomb Raider is available for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 for £40 and Microsoft Windows for £30. Die-hard fans can opt for the collector's pack, which includes bonus items and in-game content to further enhance the game, all packaged in a replica survival tin, although this will set you back a rather extravagant £70.

We've been playing Tomb Raider since its launch last week. Check back soon for our review. µ