SimCity sells 1.1 million in two weeks

SimCity has sold over 1.1 million copies since its rocky launch March 5, publisher Electronic Arts announced today. Sales at that level make this year's entry the "biggest SimCity launch of all time."

Of the 1.1 million SimCity sales, about 54 percent were digital copies purchased through Origin or other download services, EA said. Origin digital sales alone made up 44 percent of all copies purchased.

"SimCity is one of the storied brands in gaming, and Maxis delivered a game re-envisioned and engineered for the online age," EA chief operating officer Peter Moore said in a statement.

Some may contest that claim, as SimCity server woes made the game unplayable for many during the game's North American and European launches earlier this month.

As recompense for SimCity's hobbled launch, EA announced earlier today that gamers can download one free PC digital copy of any of the following titles if they have a registered copy of the game by March 25: Battlefield 3, Bejeweled 3, Dead Space 3, Mass Effect 3, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Plants vs. Zombies, or SimCity 4: Deluxe Edition.

SimCity's arrival helped Origin set a new record for peak concurrent users at 1.3 million "and rising," according to EA. By comparison, competitor Valve's Steam service has 4.8 million concurrent players right now and a peak concurrent userbase of 5.7 million.

EA also revealed several other SimCity statistics for the game's first two weeks. Since launch, players have logged more than 15 million hours of online gameplay and built more than 5.7 million original cities. In all, players have created 780 million buildings and SimCity mayors together have built enough road and railroad tracks to circle the globe 40,000 times, EA said.

SimCity will launch on Mac later this year. For more, check out GameSpot's review of SimCity.