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As 2008 draws to a close, the increasingly dire economy is dominating headlines in virtually every industry…including games. Just today, PlayStation 3-maker Sony announced it was cutting 16,000 jobs–8,000 of them permanent, the 8,000 other temporary. Just hours later, Electronic Arts lowered its guidance for the year and confirmed it would be further cutting its payroll and canceling several unspecified future projects.

That said, one small bright spot of game-industry news has emerged. Microsoft has confirmed that Gears of War 2, Epic Games’ highly-rated follow-up to GameSpot’s 2006 Game of the Year, sold over 3 million copies in the four weeks after its November release. Since Gears of War took 10 weeks to go triple platinum, that means its sequel is selling at more than twice its forbear’s pace. The original game went on to sell over 5.5 million copies worldwide on the Xbox 360 and, to a much lesser extent, the PC. (The PC version was released a year after the 360 original launched.)

Unlike the first game, Gears of War 2 will remain exclusive to Microsoft’s console, with Epic design director Cliff Bleszinski saying there will never be a PC port. Set six months after the original, the sequel once again follows Marcus Fenix, the gruff leader of the elite Delta Squad as they continue to battle the ghoulish subterranean race known as the Locust. This time around, Fenix and his comrades take the fight further underground and learn more about their enemies’ horrific origins.

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