EA’s FIFA 13 sells over 1 million copies in 24 hours

Electronic Arts has announced the record-smashing start of FIFA 14, selling over 4.5 million games across all platforms worldwide in just five days. It is the biggest videogame launch of 2012 and biggest sports videogame launch of all-time. FIFA 13 was the No. 1 selling game in at least 40 countries around the world.

The blistering FIFA 13 launch which began September 25 was driven by high game quality and record sales in key countries, led by more than 1.23 million games sold in the first 48 hours in the United Kingdom. FIFA 13 is only the second videogame franchise ever to sell more than 1 million units in the UK within just 1 day.

Critics are praising FIFA 13 with 75 reviews scores of 90 or above. Joystiq awarded FIFA 13 a perfect 100 score, saying “FIFA 13 is, in a word, superb.” Multiplayer in Italy called it the “best FIFA ever” and JeuxVideo Magazine said “FIFA 13 approaches perfection.”

Fans are also playing FIFA 13 in record numbers. September 30, 2012 was the busiest day for online gaming for a single title in EA history. An astounding 800,000 fans played FIFA 13 simultaneously. More than 66 million online game sessions have already been played on FIFA 13, representing a staggering 600 million minutes of online play.

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

FIFA 13 captures the unpredictability of the real-world sport with breakthrough features like First Touch Control that ensure no two matches ever play the same, and new online services like EA SPORTS Football Club Match Day that completely connect FIFA 13 to the real-world season for the world’s top leagues. The FIFA 13 demo is available through Origin, Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network.