The Sims 3 wasn’t just the biggest-selling game at US retail stores for 2009. It was also, according to publisher Electronic Arts, the biggest-selling PC game in the world.
https://lastchance.cc/the-sims-beat-warcraft-for-top-pc-seller-of-09-5448585%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
While in the absence of a full chart or a disclosure of sales figures there’s reason to doubt EA’s claims, it must also be remembered that publishers have access to fairly accurate global sales figures (which we don’t, as that kind of data costs a ton), for both their own games and those of their competitors.
EA: The Sims 3 Top-Selling PC Game Worldwide In 2009 [Gamasutra]
