So you think zombie games have run their course, eh?  Between all the Dead Rising and Left 4 Dead games, it would be easy for someone to think that the undead have run their course in video games.  But Deep Silver and Square Enix's surprise hit Dead Island has proved otherwise, as the companies have reported big sales numbers for the trouble-in-paradise action game.

Dead Island, which has been the subject of some mixed yet mostly positive reviews, puts the player on an island paradise overloaded with the undead.  As someone who can't be so easily infected by then, you set out to complete a number of missions in order to keep people alive and somehow find a way off the troubled island.  We reviewed the game previously and found it to be a great surprise, and yet another game that's a must-own this fall season.

It seems we're not alone.  Square Enix has reported that over one million copies of the game have been sold in the past week alone, and the number is closely nearing the two million mark.  (It should cross over that point by week's end.)  This is a worldwide number, showing that the game isn't just a hit here in the United States and Canada.  It seems zombie killing is quite popular worldwide.  (Who knew?)

It's even gotten to the point where the game is sold out in some locations -- but don't fret, more are on the way.  "The critical 'first week' of game sales has been an enormous sales success for Deep Silver," company COO Geoff Mulligan said in a press release. "We're working quickly with our distribution partner in North America, Square Enix, to restock shelves as quickly as we can."  So keep an eye open on those shelves.

Oh, and for those of you complaining about the in-game glitches or other small problems you run into in the game, you'll soon run out of excuses.  A downloadable patch is now available for Xbox 360, alleviating some of those problems.  (It'll be available for PS3 and PC soon as well, if it's not already.)

Dead Island shows there's still energy to burn in the zombie-killing genre, which is good news for Capcom, who is not only releasing a new Dead Rising spin-off this fall with the Frank West-starring Off the Record, but will also revisit the vastly popular Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil Code Veronica HD in high-definition format later this month for Xbox Live and PlayStation Network.

So, yeah, let's lop off a few more heads, shall we?

About the Author

Robert Workman

Senior Writer/Editor

Robert has years of experience in the video game industry, writing for such sites as AOL GameDaily, PlanetXbox360 and Comic Book Resources.  He can also outdrink you any day of the week.  And twice on Sunday.  Follow him at www.twitter.com/thedcd.