FIFA 13 sells 4.5 million

Footy fever has swept across the world. Electronic Arts announced today that FIFA 13 sold 4.5 million copies across the globe during its first five days, up 1.3 million units from FIFA 12's first-week sales of 3.2 million. The publisher claims this represents the "biggest video game launch of 2012" as well as the most lucrative sports game launch in history.

FIFA 13 released in the United Kingdom on Friday, September 28, and sold 1.23 million copies in that region during its first 48 hours. Last week, EA announced that first-day sales in North America surged 42 percent to 353,000 copies.

In addition to breaking sales figures, FIFA 13 also reached a new peak online usage milestone. According to EA data, September 30 was the busiest day for any title in EA history, with 800,000 users simultaneously playing the new soccer game.

FIFA 13 still has work to do if it wants to catch up to its predecessor, FIFA 12. That game has sold more than 10 million units as of February 2012. The entire FIFA series has sold over 100 million copies life-to-date.

It has been a historic year for EA Sports titles. First-week sales of Madden NFL 13 were up 8 percent to a high-definition era record 1.65 million, while NHL 13 skated to a franchise-best 491,000 in sales during its first week.

For more on FIFA 13, check out GameSpot's review below.

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