1 million does not seem that significant, but the gaming community in Europe is very different than over here and especially when compared to Japan. Conquering the European market is a critical step for any company and the sheer number of units sold in the past two weeks gives Sony a nice footprint in their sales demographics.

Here is the official press release.

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH has announced that sales of its newly-released Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots title for PLAYSTATION®3 have exceeded one million units within the first week.

Konami has shipped over one million copies of the game to retailers across Europe to meet the exceptional demand, with high sales confirmed in all European territories and securing the Number One position in the relevant sales charts.

Released globally on June 12th, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots marks the final adventure for series hero Solid Snake. With his body failing and ageing at an accelerated rate, Snake is called on one last mission to halt the plans of his long-term nemesis Liquid Snake. Liquid has seized control of a series of private armies for his own nefarious needs and, in a mission that spans the Middle East, South America and returns to Shadow Moses, Snake must stop Liquid at all costs. Also included on the disc is Metal Gear Online, a dedicated online game featuring locations from and inspired by MGS4.

In addition to the high sales across Europe, Konami has also confirmed that the limited edition MGS4 sets that comprised a ‘Making Of’ Blu-Ray, soundtrack CD and ‘Old Snake’ mannequin. 25,000 sets were made available across Europe, but were snapped up almost immediately by fans of the series.

“The Metal Gear Solid series has again proved its huge potential, and we are delighted with the fantastic response the game has enjoyed at retail,” commented Martin Schneider, Sales and Marketing Director Germany for Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH. “MGS4 is nothing short of a masterpiece – an epic conclusion to the Solid Snake story. We are extremely pleased with the positive feedback we have received from retail and consumers alike, and will keep satisfying their needs with updates to the game’s ‘Extra’ option, and via new content to Metal Gear Online.”