FIFA 10 sales second only to Modern Warfare 2 thanks to World Cup publicity

US Soccer team, EA Sports owes you guys some royalties.

In addition to boosting American awareness of and interest in soccer (or football, if you prefer), the team’s surprising World Cup run has helped sales of soccer video games. It’s been so beneficial that EA expects North America to surpass the United Kingdom as its biggest soccer market. Wow, that probably hurts almost as much as the tie heard round the world.

EA’s Matt Bilbey, vice president of football, told Kotaku that, four years ago, the US was EA’s fourth largest market for soccer games and now looks as if going’s to number one. Four years, not coincidentally, is the span between World Cup tournaments.

It doesn’t hurt EA’s cause that they use the World Cup as an excuse to release a second soccer game in a year’s time.Though that has helped spike EA’s numbers, FIFA 10′s stats are impressive on their own. The game has sold more than 10 million copies, placing it second only to the juggernaut that is Modern Warfare 2.

While America’s improbable tourney run is over, the benefits for EA Sports are just beginning.

Read [Kotaku] Also Read [Digital Trends]