Despite coming out three weeks into the month, Aion managed to outsell perennial PC MMO powerhouse World of Warcraft, as well as last-month's best-seller, The Sims 3. According to James, even NCSoft was surprised by the results, stating "The response we've seen from players and critics has absolutely exceeded our expectations. The amount of time players are playing speaks to the success and popularity of the game, as they are clocking long play times."

NCSoft did, however, prepare that game extensively for US release. "With Aion, our goal from the beginning was to create a game that would appeal to a global audience." James said. "We saw Aion do very well when it launched in Korea and worked hard to make it relevant to Western audiences while retaining the heart and soul of the original experience. At the end of the day, it's about delivering a compelling game that accommodates all levels of play and keeps people coming back for more."

Time will tell whether Aion can keep up the impressive sales figures, but if this trend continues, the US MMO marketplace may be heading in a very new direction. According to James, NCSoft isn't resting on it's first-month laurels.

"We recognize we've got a long way to go and are working hard on future updates to the game." James said. "We've learned a lot with this launch and continue to listen to player feedback as we tweak and refine the experience. Needless to say, there's more to come!

Here are this month's complete sales results. Last month's rankings are in parenthesis.