Considering the hype, positive previews, and the care Valve treats its community with, that’s a “duh!” headline if there ever was one — and I thank you for the sarcastic applause — but since it’s there, we have to find something to back it up, don’t we? Good thing Doug Lombardi, Valve’s VP of Marketing, has just the thing then.

Everyone knows what a massive success The Orange Box was for Valve, and according to Lombardi, Left 4 Dead could be an even bigger one. In a recent interview, Lombardi said that the zombie shooter is currently enjoying a 40 percent advantage over The Orange Box as far as the number of pre-orders are concerned, a number that he expects to grow. “[..]one could assume this trend over Orange will continue as the pre-launch demo hits and the largest consumer advertising campaign for any Valve game begins on buses, buildings, billboards, TV, magazines, and web sites in the next couple weeks.”

The demo he speaks of still doesn’t have a precise release date, but we do know it will be released for both the Xbox 360 and PC, and that it will offer both co-op and single-player action.