“Gears of War” has gone triple platinum, reaching the 3 million-units-sold milestone in just 10 weeks on store shelves, ending 2006 as the top-selling game among all platforms during the month of December.

Expanding upon its reign as the fastest-selling title of 2006 and the fastest-selling original exclusive Xbox game of all time, “Gears of War” has captivated gamers across the globe with its action-packed single-player campaign, thrilling online modes and recently released multiplayer maps, Raven Down and Old Bones. Since the downloadable content’s release via Xbox Live Marketplace less than two weeks ago, the new maps have garnered an astounding 750,000 downloads. There have been more than 1.5 million total downloads of all “Gears of War” content currently available via Marketplace, including the maps, themes and video walkthrough, by gamers who can’t get enough of Delta Squad and the Locust Horde.

“Like blockbuster titles from Microsoft's ‘Halo’ franchise and the ‘Grand Theft Auto’ and ‘Zelda’ franchises, ‘Gears of War’ is tracking to be one of the best-selling video games of all time and has established itself as the most successful new IP of the next generation,” said Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of Global Marketing, Interactive Entertainment Business Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft Corp.

“Gears of War” continues to wow consumers and critics alike, garnering more than 20 nominations for game of the year. The game is a truly global phenomenon: prestigious Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu recently gave “Gears of War” the coveted Platinum award; “Gears of War” joins “Blue Dragon” as the second Microsoft Game Studios title in the past two months to receive this high honor.

Not just a gaming sensation, the acclaimed “Gears of War: Mad World” cinematic trailer was featured in Advertising Age’s Book of Tens as one of the top creative concepts of 2006. With more than 2.4 million views of the trailer online, the campaign has inspired not only tremendous sales, but also a number of hilarious parody videos currently circulating around the Internet.