Crackdown Breaks Records
Microsoft' s recent playable demo makes the download charts.
by Douglass C. Perry

January 30, 2007 - Microsoft' s recent Crackdown demo, a free download available only for Gold Tier members on Marketplace, this week made Microsoft history.

That' s right, beating out top downloads like Lost Planet and Fight Night among others, Microsoft' s Crackdown demo, released on January 23, kicked everyone else' s asses. Microsoft told IGN that this week the Crackdown playable demo was the most downloaded demo for a 24-hour period and the most downloaded demo during a seven day (week-long) period.

All this and the Halo 3 Beta wasn' t even included. Slight jest there, but it' s true. Perhaps gamers are finding they like Realtime Worlds' game more than they initially did? Perhaps word of mouth was the key? Perhaps co-op gaming was smartly realized in Crackdown (you could play the demo online with two players)? There are probably many reasons and all of these assuredly pertain.

Microsoft wouldn' t release actual numbers, but is likely to do so in the near future.