FIFA sales crush Pro Evolution by 25-to-1

by Steven Mostyn - Oct 19 2011, 12:59

For more than a decade, soccer titans FIFA and Pro Evolution have repeatedly slugged it out for undisputed videogame dominance on the football field.

Although Electronic Arts’ FIFA series has held aloft the footballing cup of glory in recent years, it has done so with Konami’s Pro Evolution continually chomping at its heels while appeasing its faithful hardcore fans.

However, it would appear there’s a loss of faith amid Pro Evo’s fanbase and the incremental victories enjoyed by FIFA have been replaced with flat-out destruction of the opposition.

Specifically, Electronic Arts has revealed that FIFA 12 is pretty much burying Pro Evolution 2012 in terms of consumer appeal—which isn’t actually too surprising given that FIFA 12 recently became the fastest-selling sports videogame ever in the UK.

“FIFA went out just a couple of weekends ago. We had record pre-orders and record sell-though,” commented Keith Ramsdale, vice president and general manager of Electronic Arts Northern Europe, during yesterday’s Winter Showcase event in London.

“And when you look at Pro Evolution Soccer versus FIFA, only five years ago in the UK PES was outselling FIFA,” he added. “On its first weekend like-for-like we’ve just outsold PES by 25 times.”

In terms of quantifying that momentum, FIFA 12 shot to number one in the UK software chart after selling 3.2 million units during its opening weekend of availability. Meanwhile, Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 could only muster enough traction to chart in fifth position.

The two games are also growing further apart in critical circles. FIFA 12 (on Xbox 360) currently holds a Metacritic review score average of 91/100, while Pro Evolution 2012 (on Xbox 360) has an average of 78/100.

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