Skyrim videogame sales rocket skyward

"Skyrim" has become the year's second fastest selling videogame, with more than 3.4 million copies snapped up in the two days after its release, industry tracker VGChartz reported on Tuesday. Sales of the epic medieval adventure published by Bethesda Softworks were only outpaced by blockbuster "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3," according to VGChartz. MW3 blew away sales records on its first day to become the highest-grossing entertainment launch ever, raking in $400 million in just 24 hours in Britain and North America alone, according to publisher Activision. "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" unleashed its magic on videogame lovers on Friday, opening a boundless world complete with death-dealing dragons, Nordic gods, and foreboding prophecy. The hotly-anticipated new installment in the popular Elder Scrolls series is being hailed by critics as a standout game amid an army of must-play titles launching for the year-end holiday season. Skyrim was crafted by game designers who produced open-world post-apocalyptic shooter "Fallout 3," so players are welcomed into an expansive mountainous kingdom that they are free to explore at their peril. Innovative software perpetually generates missions such as saving villagers and righting wrongs, meaning that the game is technically endless even if players complete the main story campaign.