Sony said today it shipped 3.8 million copies of Uncharted 3 to retailers globally in the first day. The company has not provided actual sales numbers to consumers at this time, however.
It's worth noting that while shipped numbers give a good indication of excitement for the game at retail, it doesn't give a full picture. Electronic Arts announced last month it shipped 10 million copies of Battlefield 3 in the first week it, yet the publisher actually sold about half of that.
“Uncharted 3 is a blockbuster and these incredible sales figures reflect that," said Nick Caplin, Head of Communications at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. "Consumers are clearly as eager to play the game as critics were to heap praise upon it, and the team at Naughty Dog deserve this fantastic reception at retail."
[Update: A SCEA representative reconfirmed to Game Informer these sales are shipped, not sold.]