EA is celebrating one of the most successful months in its history – after FIFA 09 hit one million UK sales in record time, and over 60,000 people attended the publisher’s landmark Be The One consumer event in London.

The title hit a million after just five weeks on the UK market according to EA, besting the franchise’s previous record by a full month.

The achievement means that the FIFA franchise has now sold 10 million units in the UK over the past five years.

The news comes after the game enjoyed the biggest-selling debut week ever for a football title. At last count, the game had reached 1.15 million unit sales in just six weeks. It took FIFA 08 11 weeks to achieve the same feat.

FIFA 09 has also achieved the highest Metacritic average rating the series has ever seen – levelling out at 88 per cent on 360 and PS3.

“We are delighted with the success of FIFA 09,” said Dan Holman, marketing manager for EA Sports.

“We have continued to listen to gamers and football fans and the result has been the fastest-selling FIFA game in franchise history. To sell in excess of one million copies in five weeks, beating our previous best by one month is incredible and the development team at EA Canada deserves a lot of credit for delivering the best football game ever.

“Our 10 Vs 10 online and Be a Pro modes have revolutionised the football genre and we are continuing to work on new ways to excite the player through authenticity and gameplay innovation.”

FIFA will now be backed with a season-long PR and marketing campaign, ensuring steady sales throughout 2009 – and marking it out as a firm Christmas No.1 contender.

The news comes in the week that EA celebrated a whopping attendance for its Be The One event in Trafalgar Square on Halloween weekend. The publisher attracted over 60,000 people to the London Games Festival fixture – over double the number it pulled in during 2007.