Valve is one of those select few companies in the games industry that, for one reason or another, you just want to succeed. We're not talking purely about the rampant fanboyism you see for the big three, either.

Valve's become a force to be reckoned with, and there's a simple explanation for why that is: the company produces stellar games, its founders are vocal and speak out against DRM, and there's a massive amount of fan service being thrown about.

How then, does this positive attitude translate to actual sales? Valve has finally decided to release the retail sales figures for the vast majority of its games (no Steam sales included, sadly), and the results may surprise you.

Gamasutra has got all of the numbers, but here are some of the more interesting ones: Half-Life (9.3 million units), Half-Life 2 (6.5 million), Counter-Strike (4.2 million), Orange Box (3 million), and lastly Left 4 Dead, which is estimated to fall between 3.6 - 3.9 million units sold.

Remember, this data does not include digital download sales which, judging by how popular Steam has grown to be, would have a significant impact. Still, it's always neat to see companies give out the raw data like this, isn't it?

[Thanks, Jetsetlemming]