Square Electronic Arts announced today that Final Fantasy X was No. 1 in U.S. sales across all video game software categories in its first week of release, making it one of the most successful debuts for a U.S. PlayStation 2 title. The game hit stores on December 18, and major retailers such as Babbage's, Software Etc, GameStop and Funcoland are reporting that Final Fantasy X has pre-sold more units than any other PlayStation 2 title thus far.

Final Fantasy X was released in Japan on July 19, 2001 and sold through 90 percent of the 2.14 million units it shipped in the first four days. It quickly became the first PlayStation 2 title to sell 2 million copies. Worldwide, Square's Final Fantasy series has sold more than 36 million units to date.

Final Fantasy X is fast becoming a ubiquitous force in the North American marketplace, having recently embarked on a multi-million dollar campaign including national print, television and online advertising. Selected networks such as Comedy Central, ESPN/ESPN2, MTV, Sci-Fi Channel and Much Music (Canada) are currently airing television commercials. Final Fantasy X has also secured unique sponsorships with MTV (MTV Store), the WWF (Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View) and Comedy Central (BattleBots).