Just five short days ago, EA released the multiplayer demo for the upcoming shooter Battlefield: Bad Company 2. In those intervening days, the majority of the US has been hit with a pair of snowstorms, which have dropped a record amount of powder on the ground. Today, the company sent out a press release letting us know that since the demo dropped, over 2 million people have downloaded it on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network. Further, the PC beta has been downloaded by "hundreds of thousands" of players. As a result, the publisher is anticipating that the game will be one of the year's biggest selling games. While the press release doesn't specifically thank the blizzards for keeping gamers home, I can't help but think the two are related.

Patrick Bach, the game's Senior Producer was elated by the popularity of the demo:

"We couldn’t be more thrilled to hear that Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is already in the hands of almost 2½ million gamers, and it hasn’t even shipped yet. This massive rush to experience the game early is proof positive that action gamers are looking for more. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 delivers on every front. This is intelligent, strategic warfare that our competitors simply cannot replicate."

The game is scheduled for release for all three platforms on March 5th, so we should probably anticipate another announcement about stellar sales shortly thereafter. In case you're not one of the 2 million to have tried the demo, EA has also released a tutorial video showing off how the game is played. Bear in mind, the demo will only be available until February 25th, so the clock is ticking.