Left 4 Dead 2, FIFA Soccer 10 sell big; FIFA expansion announced @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on December 01, 2009

News: Two million for L4D2 and 4.5 million for FIFA 10.

Electronic Arts has had a few very profitable weeks thanks to Left 4 Dead 2 and FIFA Soccer 10. While the two games may not have much in common on the surface, they can both claim to have sold several million copies since their respective launches.

Left 4 Dead 2 was released for the PC and Xbox 360 two weeks ago and the cooperative struggle for survival through a zombie-infested New Orleans has already sold two million copies. According to developer Valve, that's more than twice the number of sales the original Left 4 Dead posted during its launch period. Most impressive, that number does not count any sales of the PC version that were made through Valve's download client, Steam.

The game's rousing success can be at least partly attributed to a variety of discounts to the game on Black Friday. Apparently, picking up the sequel to one of 2008's biggest games for $30-$40 was too much to resist for a lot of gamers.

Even more impressive may be the sales for EA Sports' FIFA Soccer 10. Since the game's October 1 release in Europe and October 20 release in the US, the soccer simulation has sold 4.5 million copies worldwide on the DS, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii and Xbox 360. The includes sales of 1.7 million copies in its first week of availability in Europe along with being the top selling game in Europe for all of 2009 (so far at least).

To celebrate this sales milestone, EA has announced FIFA 10: Ultimate Team, a game mode expansion to the game that will be available to download on the PS3 and Xbox 360 this February. The expansion will cost $4.99 (or 400 Microsoft Points) and it will add "the challenge of building an Ultimate Team of the best football stars in the world, manage one or multiple squads simultaneously, and compete against other gamers in dynamically updated online tournaments".

According to EA, FIFA 10: Ultimate Team will be a "deeper, more authentic, more dynamic version of the game mode successfully introduced last year"...

FIFA 10 Ultimate Team has more options and players that enable gamers to emulate the way real-world coaches and managers build the truly great football teams. Choose how to manage your teamЦ-focusing on creating one formidable squad, or managing multiple squads to match dynamic requirements for tournaments and competitions. Buy, sell, trade and acquire the biggest stars to build your dream team. Be strategic and tactical in preparing your squads for the various in-game competitions. A completely redesigned chemistry system built around player relationships on the pitch, means that managing teams and squads to their full potential is even more critical to success. Take carefully assembled squads into standard tournaments and themed competitions against the most formidable teams from around the world Ц and then out wit and out play them.

We'll have more soon.