Chalk one up for good marketing. CEO Yves Guillemot today announced that Assassin's Creed III has sold an estimated 3.5 million copies in its first week as Ubisoft released their earnings report for the first half of their 2012-13 fiscal year. The estimate is said to specifically count sales to customers, and does not take into account the amount of copies sold to retailers. The figure is impressive, showing over a 100% growth in sales compared to Revelations' first-week sales.

Due to the fact the first half of Ubisoft's fiscal year ended at the end of September, any and all revenue gained from ACIII won't be accounted for the earnings of the first half of the year. As a result, AC's success grants us some perspective but does nothing to offset the report's estimated loss of €58.1 million ($74.4 million), primarily created by Creed's marketing campaign.

Overall, AC's wild success will be a huge boon for the company's third fiscal quarter, which will be aided by Ubisoft's WiiU's launch titles, including Rayman Legends and ZombiiU. Guillemot states in the report that "These developments will cement Ubisoft's positioning as a creator of successful brands with a growing expertise in new online models and services." I would have to agree.