‘FIFA 13’ Breaks Sales Records

“FIFA 13” is officially the fastest selling sports game of all time.

Just five days after the game’s worldwide launch on Sept. 25, Electronic Arts sent out a press release announced that the latest in their line of football simulators had sold 4.5 million copies worldwide. That makes it not only the fastest selling sports video game of all time, but the bestselling video game of any genre in 2012 thus far.

The game was also only the second video game in history to sell more than a million units in less than 24 hours in the United Kingdom (the first being “Call of Duty”). By shifting 1.26 million copies in less than a day, “FIFA 13” also represented 80 percent of all entertainment software sales amongst the British population. However, it’s not just England that loves its football, as the game was also the number one selling title in more than 40 countries globally.

This handily beats out last year’s model, as the game’s 2012 roster iteration (which was also a record-breaker at the time) was surpassed in both total units and revenue by 27 and 31 percent.

But the record breaking doesn’t end there. On Sept. 30, “FIFA 13” also became Electronic Arts’ number one title for most concurrent online users. Over 800,000 users played FIFA 13 simultaneously over the weekend. For reference, Electronic Arts is also the publisher behind such games as “Star Wars: The Old Republic,” “Need for Speed” and “Battlefield 3.” Every game in each of these franchises has just been surpassed in concurrent players by the sports title.

Electronic Arts hasn’t missed out on the significance of these numbers.

“FIFA Soccer 13 is a critical and commercial success unprecedented in sports entertainment,” Andrew Wilson, the head of EA Sports said. “Every minute of every day millions of fans around the world are experiencing what the critics have already said - FIFA Soccer 13 is the biggest and best sports game we have ever created.”

We’ll see if “FIFA 13” can maintain its chart topping spot once “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2” drops next month (it probably won’t) but regardless of whether or not it winds up as the bestselling game of 2012, it will still be a massive achievement for the publisher and a sure sign that people the world over sure love their football.