Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 (PES) releases today on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC (and mobile), but the soccer/football fans amongst us didn’t really need reminding of this fact.

What is a little extraordinary is that Konami, the developer and publisher of the classic series, has decided to ship over three million copies of the game to retail in anticipation of what they expect to be a blockbuster release.

Konami predicts PES 2010 will be a million-selling title at launch, contributing to the 55.5 million units the franchise has already sold, according to European Marketing, PR Director, Konami Digital Entertainment, Martin Schneider:

“PES 2010 is Konami’s largest release of the year, and we cannot stress the gratitude for all the input from the enormous PES fan base. Global sales for the PES series to date are over 55.5m, and we expect a very strong performance from what is easily the best PES in a long, long time.

“We have worked closely with PES fans and football fans in general to create a game that ticks every box. We will be continuing this two-way conversation as we look to DLC for PES 2010, and further beyond. Their help will be invaluable in making sure PES is recognized as the leading football series for any format.”

Additionally, you should look out for some free downloadable content heading to PES 2010, according to a message from the developers:

“We’ll be adding downloadable updates and content shortly - free of charge of course - so watch out for those.”

How kind.

Also, don’t forget to congratulate the winners of El33tonline’s recent competition, which gave five PES fans the chance to become among the first gamers in South Africa to give PES 2010 a spin.

While PES 2010 releases today on current generation hardware, don’t forget that versions for the PSP and PlayStation 2 will release on November 6th, and a version on the Wii will release on November 20th.