Dead Rising 2 ships 2 million globally

Ordinarily, the stench of rotting flesh is enough to ensure unpopularity, but that truism might not apply to Capcom's latest open-world action game. The publisher today sent word that Blue Castle's Dead Rising 2 has shipped 2 million units worldwide since debuting for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on September 28. The publisher also noted that the franchise has now shipped 4 million units worldwide.

Hard sales figures for Dead Rising were not provided, but according to the NPD Group's September report, the zombie action game came in third in sales for the month. It was bested by Bungie's Halo: Reach and EA Sports' Madden NFL 11.

Prior to the full release of Dead Rising 2, Capcom released Dead Rising 2: Case Zero, a $5 downloable prequel to the full title. It went on to break Xbox Live Arcade records, according to its publisher. There will also be a Dead Rising 2 downloadable epilogue--Dead Rising 2: Case West--due out sometime in the near future.

Also included in the announcement was word that Canadian authorities had given final approval to Capcom's acquisition of Dead Rising 2 developer Blue Castle Games. Henceforth, the studio will be known as Capcom Game Studio Vancouver. The studio's acquisition was first announced at Capcom's pre-Tokyo Game Show event.

Dead Rising 2 introduces a new protagonist in motorsports icon Chuck Greene, who must scour the Las Vegas-like Fortune City to find medication to prevent his infected daughter from turning into a zombie. The game also introduces a new gameplay mechanic that lets players combine items to make improvised weapons, like duct-taping a fire axe and sledgehammer together to produce "The Defiler."

For more on Dead Rising 2, check out GameSpot's review.