Although it was expected to be a hit, Hello Games' No Man's Sky continues to surpass expectations with a release that is among the PS4's best launches ever.

When No Man's Sky first arrived on the scene at E3 2014, players were immediately intrigued by the game's promise of space exploration, interstellar combat, and planet exploration. As Hello Games' founder Sean Murray continued to explain just how the No Man's Sky universe was built, expectations for the title began to soar alongside the growing concern that the relatively small studio would not be able to deliver on the hype media coverage and gamer excitement had generated for nearly two years.

As it turns out, Hello Games had little to worry about - No Man's Sky is delivering, at least in the sales department, and it has quickly become a fixture on Twitch streams and in community discussion. Even Sony, the industry giant behind the incredible domination of the PS4 in the console market over the past few years, is likely to be impressed by No Man's Sky after the title managed to become the second biggest PS4 launch ever behind Uncharted 4, a game that achieved several perfect review scores.

No Man's Sky is also Sony's biggest new IP launch on the PS4, and holds the fifth spot across all publishers for new franchises on Sony consoles, behind games like Destiny, Watch Dogs, and The Last of Us. Even more remarkable is the fact that the title has achieved this feat without digital downloads being factored in yet, alongside the fact that No Man's Sky has become one of the best-selling Steam games ever. That No Man's Sky has managed to split its sales on two platforms and achieve incredible launch results on both speaks to the appeal of Hello Games' boundless universe.

Of course, sales are only part of the equation when it comes to discussing just how successful No Man's Sky has been in its first week. The fact remains that, while players on PS4 have had little to complain about, PC gamers have had to resort to reading No Man's Sky guides explicitly designed to get the game to work on computers. While Hello Games is busy at work on a fix for PC users, the game's issues on computers has put a damper on an otherwise sterling debut.

It will be interesting to consider whether or not No Man's Sky is the rare kind of game that fans forgive for its many bugs because of the lofty promises the title makes in its design. After all, Bethesda titles like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls are often plagued by glitches and crashes as well, but ultimately given a pass because of the overall quality and depth of each game. If No Man's Sky's first week of sales are any indication, it's a game that will follow this trend and enter some truly rarefied air in the video game industry.

What do you think about No Man's Sky and Hello Games' sales success? Does the game deserve the accolades it has been receiving? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: Chart-Track (via VG 24/7)