We knew that Bethesda’s Fallout 3 is huge – we just didn’t know exactly how big the game is in terms of copies sold. Today we know, since the developers released the official data: about 4.7 million copies were shipped, representing about $300 million dollars. This makes Fallout 3 one of the best selling titles in the first month after release, but we’re sure that the numbers will go higher since the game keeps getting big review scores (and our review will most likely hail the game by the end of the week too).

With 2000 midnight launch events held over the world and number one position in weekly sales charts, Fallout 3 now heats up the fight for the game of the year award, alongside the likes of GTA IV, Metal Gear, and probably LBP or Gears 2. And I must admit that I truly love to see such a heated competition for the first place – it means that us, gamers, are the real winners, no matter who grabs the awards.

Fallout 3 features one of the most realized game worlds ever created. Set more than 200 years following a nuclear war, you can create any kind of character you want and explore the open wastes of Washington, D.C. however you choose. Every minute is a fight for survival as you encounter Super Mutants, Ghouls, Raiders, and other dangers of the Wasteland.

Also, in semi-related news, it’s worth noting that the promised patch for the PC version of Fallout 3 has been released, fixing occasional crashes when exiting the game or using Alt F4 to exit, crashes when using Alt-Tab while binks or credits were playing. Also the game now restarts properly after title updates finish installing. Go get it here.