Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS), today announced that, based on internal data, The Sims 2 sold more than one million copies at retail stores worldwide within the first ten days – the biggest PC launch in EA's 22-year history.

"The Sims franchise has become a cultural phenomenon and The Sims 2 is a game that changes the way we think about our industry" said Frank Gibeau, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Electronic Arts. "The game has sold one million units worldwide in its first ten days at retail – more than fifty percent of those games were sold in Europe."

"The Sims 2 was easily one of the most anticipated PC games of the year, and incredibly, the game turned out to be even better than we expected, earning our highest rating 5/5 stars and earning an Editor’s Choice award," said Computer Gaming World's Editor in Chief Jeff Green. "The fact that the early sales of The Sims 2 are so high comes as no surprise at all, given the consistently great quality of this franchise. At a time when console gaming tends to dominate the hype and headlines, The Sims franchise is one of the current saviors of PC gaming."