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Halo 3 Rakes in $300 Million in First Week

By BetaNews Staff, BetaNews

October 4, 2007, 11:00 AM

Microsoft said Thursday that its hit game Halo 3 had reached $300 million in sales in the first week of availability. Better yet for the company, the game is also driving console sales, which have more than doubled according to initial reports from retailers. The figures make Halo 3 the fastest selling video game ever, and one of the biggest entertainment launches in history.

"'Halo' is truly a cultural phenomenon, and the launch of 'Halo 3' is an important milestone for Xbox 360 and for video games as entertainment and as an art form," said Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft. The company said 2.7 million, more than a third of the service's customer base, have already played the game through Xbox Live. This amounts to approximately 40 million hours online.

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By Mystiqq

posted Oct 5, 2007 - 7:07 AM

Proof that if you have enough money, you can make a good game, or games. :)

Score: 0

By yountmj

posted Oct 5, 2007 - 7:26 AM

Not necessarily. Sony isn't exactly ghetto, and look what they've produced recently.

Score: 0

By PostDeals

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 11:25 PM

Awesome game and graphics but honestly nothing compares to the good old Nintento days :) I miss the true Legend of Zelda and stuff. These games are too real and I play them to forget the "real life problems"..

I will give Microsoft the credit great game too bad your OS isn't as good :(

Score: 0

By siryak

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 11:14 PM

Lol...See below for desperate Sony fanboys trying to downplay Halo 3s popularity. I guess next your going to tell me that DVDs are no longer popular and BD is now supreme too?

Score: 0

By pridewalker

posted Oct 5, 2007 - 1:47 AM

Siryak...read the posts about the 'neutral spin'. It's only one fanboy, with more than one screen-name...

Score: 0

By kashin

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 9:16 PM

It was hilarious to see all the Sony fanboys try and post anti-Halo 3 stuff the day (and day after) it was released. I remember obscure webpages being linked to show nobody was buying the game. I mean, I couldn't stop laughing, considering that everyone and their dog knew that Halo 3 was the most anticipated game of the year. Now look at the numbers. I'm sure Steve and Benjamin will try their hardest to put a spit on it though. Let me guess, Microsoft is lying about those figures? hahahaha I only read these BetaNews articles now for the entertainment value. It's just too much fun watching the Sony boys squirm in their seats amidst all the good news for HD-DVD and Xbox360. :)

Score: 0

By yountmj

posted Oct 5, 2007 - 1:00 AM

What do you mean "Steve and Benjamin"? They are the same person, as "Benjamin" just proved further down...

Priceless! :)

Score: 0

By pridewalker

posted Oct 5, 2007 - 1:48 AM

You have no idea how glad I am that others caught that, too.

I get to return those E-knucks now...

Score: 0

By yountmj

edited Oct 5, 2007 - 8:21 AM

LOL

I didn't know if you caught that earlier. :)

Score: 0

By Hocuspokus

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 9:01 PM

Yeah, so much for no-one being interested in this one and it failing to sell.

What a huge disappointment it must all be to MS.

Score: 0

By Adrian79

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 8:24 PM

wow, halo sucks! i'm sticking with unreal

Score: 0

By BeyondYourFrontDoor

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 2:14 PM

Well, I have all three 'next-gen' systems, and they all have their place. Sadly, I'm entering that era of the 'casual gamer'. Back in the day, I mapped every dungeon in Bard's Tale on the C64... Played Zork to the end... Even Final Fantasy X I managed to wrap...

Today's games just don't engage me in the same way... they look better (sometimes) but don't have hooks. The bigger games take sooo much time to get into that if you don't play every day you are lost...

Halo 3 is solid, but not so fantastically different than any other shooter. But, it has the social teeth of everyone getting together and whacking it out night after night. Just because something is 'better' technically doesn't mean much... iPods and iPhones are social successes, even though there are cheaper/technically better music players/phones.

Back to the PS3/360/Wii... The WII is a social success. There aren't that many A+ games for it considering how many games are out for it... it's technology is weak.

The 360 is a technical see-saw with strong brand preference... franchise titles like Halo sell consoles, and create brand loyalty. People put up with the problems if they are brand loyal.

The PS3 has the strongest technical footing, but Sony has failed to create a compelling social environment... not many games, not many good games from those, and although a bargain in terms of hardware for the $$$ - still couldn't break through the social barrier of being $150 more than the 360.

All three of these consoles will continue to do well... Wii because it is value, 360 because it branches the 'next-gen/price' gap well, and PS3 because like it or not, 120 million PS2 owners are eventally going to buy at least SOME PS3s.

My most played game this week? Stardust HD... $8 and more satisfying then Resident Evil Wii, Forza 2, or GRAW. Go figure...

Score: 0

By Setian^Stalker

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 10:04 PM

Bards tale wow what a great game!! :)

I consider myself a casual gamer too. I only play WOW these days lol

Score: 0

By yountmj

posted Oct 5, 2007 - 12:51 AM

Casual gamer these days as well... Guild Wars mostly (when I'm not reliving my youth through emulation).

Score: 0

By Setian^Stalker

posted Oct 5, 2007 - 2:04 AM

I have phases where I might crank up emulation for a month, then not again for over a year :) Its nice to go through those old games we grew up on.
MMORPG for the win! :)

Score: 0

By yountmj

posted Oct 5, 2007 - 8:28 AM

It's funny... I was a big Square fan back in the NES and SNES days, but the first time I ever played Chrono Trigger was through ZSNES. I have no idea how I let that one slip by me back then... one of the best RPGs ever.

Score: 0

By THZGryphon

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 2:27 PM

I don't view the Wii as comparable to PS3 or Xbox. While it is a next-gen system, it's experience is different than the PS3 and 360. People can easily justify owning the Wii in addition to a PS3 OR a 360 because it provides a contrasting gaming experience compared to similar experience between PS3 and 360 gaming.

Score: 0

By BeyondYourFrontDoor

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 3:27 PM

I don't know if I agree... on one hand you have the Xbox camp panning the PS3 because it is/was $150 more, but then you have the same crew saying it's peanuts to buy a Wii to go along with it. My Wii and the 4 controllers came to over $500. PS3 is now $550 for the 80GB and Xbox Elite is $500, add $150 for HD-DVD. In terms of what you get for the money, they are 100's of times better than the old gear - which cost almost as much when first released.

My wife and her girlfriends play Wii, and DDR on the PS. I think I'll sell them all and go back to my Atari 2600. How can you go wrong with 1 button? I bought GRAW and Vegas for the PS3... WTF?!?! You need a freaking degree to play them. Bring back Castle Wolfenstien 3D! ;)

Score: 0

By yountmj

posted Oct 5, 2007 - 12:53 AM

How about bring back Elite, Defender of the Crown, and Archon... maybe throw in some Spy vs Spy for good measure. :)

Score: 0

By BeyondYourFrontDoor

posted Oct 5, 2007 - 1:34 AM

Elite IS a classic... Archon for sure... Funny someone hasn't ported a C64 or Amiga emulator to the Xbox yet... should be the same as the Wintel no?

All this chatter is making me sad for the knock-knock-knock of the 1541 and 'sector 29' error...

Score: 0

By yountmj

posted Oct 5, 2007 - 7:49 AM

...or the other rather pleasant knock-knock-knock of a nibbler doing its job properly. Fast Hack'em for the win! :)

I feel sorry for kids today. They don't have anything truly revolutionary like I had. Most everything these days is simply more of the same. I don't really foresee another era of wonder and amazement the likes of "Wow, you've got a computer?!"...

They were referring to a Commodore 64.

I hit garage sales and pawn shops all the time looking for additional Commodore hardware, mainly 6581/8580 SIDs. It's a disease. :)

Score: 0

By Steve Austin

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 1:49 PM

Hang on, how about keeping the spin neutral...

If they took $170 million in the first day, that means, by Betanews previous reckoning, sales have "fallen off a cliff"...

LOL.

You heard it here first, Halo 3 sales have fallen off a cliff.

Score: 0

By plague201

edited Oct 4, 2007 - 2:31 PM

""fallen off a cliff".

You know this reminds me of one other event. The PS3 launch. 1 or 2 days of high sales, and then a steep cliff down since then :-P (A VERY long drop down)

Score: 0

By unistyle

edited Oct 4, 2007 - 2:13 PM

what spin? it did sell $300 million. there is no spin to that.. and since months of pre-sales were included in that first day $170 million figure, sales have hardly fallen off.

personally, i still think gears is better tho. there is just so much more strategy that goes into a gears game with it having the cover system and no radar and IMO better level design. halo 3 really needed a sprint feature like in COD3 or the rodeo run in gears.. there needs to be a way to quickly retreat or run up on someone. just my 2 cents.

Score: 0

By Steve Austin

edited Oct 4, 2007 - 5:13 PM

the point is, when PS3 sells alot of launch consoles, many of them pre-orders, the natural drop the following week is blasted in the press as "PS3 sales fall off a cliff". However when Halo3 sells $170million in 1 day, and $130million in the following 6 days, that is NOT falling off a cliff, thats great news.

The problem here of course, is most of these trashy news sites are US based, and like to promote homebred stuff like the 360, despite it being trash.

Anyone that gets suckered in by the nonsense that gets posted here, and many of the other trashy "news" sites on the net, is more foolish that the short term quick buck advertising based sites that post this crap.

Score: 0

By kashin

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 9:20 PM

$300 million in a week is $300 million in a week. No matter how much you cry, whine, or spin it.

Score: 0

By PostDeals

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 11:26 PM

Did this outsell the iPhone or IPOD?

Score: 0

By Setian^Stalker

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 11:30 PM

failing to see how this has anything to do with the topic, its pretty clear it outsold the iphone lol but wtf?

Score: 0

By Hocuspokus

edited Oct 4, 2007 - 8:58 PM

"when PS3 sells alot of launch consoles, many of them pre-orders, the natural drop the following week is blasted in the press as "PS3 sales fall off a cliff".

- Yeah well in fairness the PS3 sales drop was an 82% fall, that's pretty 'cliff-like' to me.
http://www.gamesindustry...tent_page.php?aid=23977

If you can show Halo sales fell by 80% I'd say something similar - although software & hardware hardly make for identical comparisons.

.....but oh look you can't you're just doing your best to soft-soap and shill for your beloeved, again.

Score: 0

By plague201

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 5:56 PM

You are a retard trying to compare Hardware sales to Software... Pretty sad...

Score: 0

By Benjamin Linus

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 6:35 PM

I am talking about marketing an spin, idiot.

You can spin news however you want, turn negatives into positives, and viceversa.

That's why all the idiots here have been brainwashed into thinking the 360 is a great console, and Halo 3 is a cutting edge game.

Score: 0

By pridewalker

posted Oct 5, 2007 - 1:45 AM

Wow...and here, I was starting to think that Hollywood_ (the real one, not the BR imposter) was slightly paranoid. I may owe him an apology.

Seeing as "Steve Austin" was the screen name that originally posted about neutral spin (as well as responded to the replies), "I am talking about marketing an spin, idiot." seems like you got your alliases confused.

Or to quote Kelso..."BURNED"!

Score: 0

By pitdingo

posted Oct 5, 2007 - 12:28 PM

lmao

Score: 0

By Setian^Stalker

posted Oct 5, 2007 - 2:06 AM

Yeah I always stayed well clear of hollywood when he made those accusations... seems the bas**** was right

Score: 0

By yountmj

edited Oct 5, 2007 - 8:33 AM

What do you mean "I am talking about..."?

This is the first post you've made in this thread, 'Benjamin'... unless you're admitting that you use multiple nicks (which most everyone already knew).

Seems you 'Lost' track of your aliases. :)

Sad... no credibility.

Score: 0

By Setian^Stalker

posted Oct 5, 2007 - 2:05 AM

good spotting :) totaly missed that

Score: 0

By kashin

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 9:22 PM

"That's why all the idiots here have been brainwashed into thinking the 360 is a great console, and Halo 3 is a cutting edge game."

Yes, because all $300 million came from "brainwashed" idiots that visit this site and a few other random sites on the internet. You're going to have to try harder, but I reckon you gave yourself a nose bleed with this one, trying so hard.

Score: 0

By Setian^Stalker

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 7:47 PM

You have got to be kidding me
As the title says
Halo 3 Rakes in $300 Million in First Week.

How bloody desperate are you guys to try and spin something negative on that? There is absolutely nothing negative about that.
I don’t have a 360 anymore and don’t have the game nor played it but at least I can clearly see $300million is not a bad thing.
In case you missed the topic again
“Halo 3 Rakes in $300 Million in First Week.”

Let it soak in a bit before you make stupid comments here

Score: 0

By SlapShot

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 7:28 PM

"I am talking about marketing an spin, idiot.

You can spin news however you want, turn negatives into positives, and viceversa.

That's why all the idiots here have been brainwashed into thinking the 360 is a great console, and Halo 3 is a cutting edge game."

ok steve, or ben, oops steve and ben, not that any of us are surprised, but ty for letting my eyes see it, it was a great laugh, now move along troll, and a bad one at that

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 12:27 PM

Programx86
The Halo franchise has gone down hill fast, very fast.

Heh... So much for that troll.

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 12:22 PM

BTW

I bought Halo 3, and I still don't get the mytique. It's a cool game with excellent graphics but a lot if not most of the enemies are exactly the same and you spend a lot of time running around doind nothing but trying to figure out how to jump over rocks and trees.

Score: 0

By Niro

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 3:36 PM

The appeal is in its multi player...the single player mission is very short and fun, but the various online modes are a lot of fun and very varied...that's really what keeps people playing halo, the matchmaking, not the campaign.

Score: 0

By plague201

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 1:41 PM

Yeah I bought it too. It looks better, but seems to play exactly like halo 2. Its a very fun game, but I think I still prefer Gears of War.

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

edited Oct 4, 2007 - 12:20 PM

Hey, thats more money than the PS3 has grossed with every console and game sold to date. It's a fact as they have lost hundreds on every console sold and havent made one dime of profit on BD or the PS3.

Even if Microsoft lost 300 million on Halo 3 it would still be less than Sony lost.

Dave / pitdingo / Steve doesnt want to hear this though.

Thats also more money than all of the HD-DVD's and BD movies sold to date have made.

Score: 0

By pitdingo

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 12:52 PM

i could care less what Sony is doing. The PS3 is a failure so far. Too much money and no good games, even after a year.

The 360 is also a failure. The the Wii is king, and rightfully so.

With Mario, Metroid and Brawl out for the holidays, its lead is going to expand. The 360 will get sales from Halo 3 and Bioshock. The ps3 will....maybe get a few sales from a price cut, but that does not make up for the lack of killer games. No Metal Gear, and no Gran Turismo this year.

Score: 0

By Setian^Stalker

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 8:00 PM

ps3 is not a failure, its picking up nicely since launch and will have a stellar finish to the year no doubt
360 is even further from a failure, despite all its failure rates the public has spoken and is still buying the thing in large numbers
Wii remains king :) King of all the moon

Score: 0

By Steve Austin

edited Oct 4, 2007 - 5:05 PM

Kotaku have listed the must haves this season, guess which console comes out with the longest list of must hve titles.

PS3..

http://kotaku.com/gaming...ould-you-pay-306513.php

Out of the three current gen consoles, the PlayStation 3 has the largest lineup of A-list games coming out between now and Christmas, which is just splendid for those of us who've been patiently waiting for a time when there were too many games to choose from. Even more interesting is the fact that the PS3 is tied with the Wii as far as console exclusives go, with five games that are only coming to the system. Some might question Eye of Judgment's place on the list as a must-have, but I feel it is a system-defining title and deserves a spot there. I'm also pretty excited about Singstar, though I decided to keep it off of the list as I don't think I'm in the majority on that one. Also note that I went with the Rock Band bundle instead of just the game, as it is silly to not buy it in the discounted form.

Score: 0

By kashin

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 9:26 PM

"Kotaku have listed the must haves this season, guess which console comes out with the longest list of must hve titles."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Hilarious. First of all, the name itself "Kotaku" is a Japanese word. Now, who expected a JAPANESE named fansite to recommend Xbox360 games? Seriously. It's like if a fansite named Redmond.com started recommending all PS3/Wii titles as must-have. Think about it, and try harder next time.

Score: 0

By Setian^Stalker

edited Oct 4, 2007 - 8:02 PM

oo two extra titles!
Xbox 360 is doomed this holiday season

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 4:02 PM

Actually Steve, you "must have" money to buy these games, which you dont.

Dont be pissed because of Micrsofts success with Halo 3, they have sold a ton of new consoles in the last week or so.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 4:55 PM

Is that a metric tonne?

Score: 0

By Steve Austin

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 5:03 PM

What do they weigh scrap in?

Score: 0

By yountmj

posted Oct 5, 2007 - 8:35 AM

It's the weight of all the PS3 consoles that are gathering dust on retail shelves worldwide.

Score: 0

By plague201

edited Oct 4, 2007 - 2:04 PM

The reviews are already in.

PS3 Rating (out of 10)
Folklore: $59.99 "4.3"
Eye of Judgment: $69.99 "2.1"
Guitar Hero III: $99.99 "9"
Ratchet and Clank: $59.99 "4.6"
Kane & Lynch: $59.99 "7"
Army of Two: $59.99 "8"
Assassin's Creed: $59.99 "9"
Haze: $59.99 "3"
Call of Duty 4: $59.99 "7"
Uncharted: $59.99 "3.1"
Rock Band $169.99 "8"
Half Life 2 Orange Box: $54.99 "8.1"

Why isn't Halo 3 in the list? Looks a little biased to me.

Score: 0

By Steve Austin

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 5:06 PM

Where did these ratings come from?

Notice all the games that are cross platform, are rated high, and the PS3 exclusives are all low? Seems like Dirtbox360 fanboy nonsense if you ask me.

Score: 0

By plague201

edited Oct 4, 2007 - 6:01 PM

"Where did these ratings come from?"

It was sarcasm you dumb sh!t.

"Notice all the games that are cross platform, are rated high, and the PS3 exclusives are all low? "

I was expecting you'd be stupid enough to comment.
http://ps3.ign.com/objects/761/761161.html

The point being that you can hype up any POS3 game and most likely the results will be a polished turd.

Score: 0

By kashin

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 9:29 PM

..but ..but IGN is not a credible source! I bet Microsoft pays them off! You are not allowed to link ratings of PS3 games, unless it's from a site directly affiliated with Sony or it's an obvious Sony fan site. Otherwise it's just not fair!

[Sarcasm off]

Score: 0

By SGD

posted Oct 5, 2007 - 3:08 PM

Exactly like the crap review for "Warhak" by PSM.

Score: 0

By plague201

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 9:34 PM

LOL

Score: 0

By skags442

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 4:04 PM

because they are PS# ratings...

no halo on PS anything...

Score: 0

By DZNetworks

edited Oct 4, 2007 - 12:58 PM

Excuse me while I go barf somewhere.

Keep on believing that your white little disc drive of a game system is king....

Score: 0

By plague201

edited Oct 4, 2007 - 1:45 PM

I agree with him that the Wii is king. All I've really been playing is Metroid 3, as apposed to Bioshock or Halo 3. Its just too easy to control Samus that it makes it fun.

Also, if sales numbers don't determine a king, then what does? Graphics? Please.
http://www.vgchartz.com/

Score: 0

By Paul Skinner

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 12:03 PM

Argh! Get lives!

Score: 0

By Hollywood__

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 12:24 PM

I agree Paul, two of my freinds have already finished the game, every time I turn on my console, they are playing Halo 3.

Now they are going back to beat it on the hardest campaign level and get every achievement award.

Yipes.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 12:28 PM

Yeah, people who can afford to spend their time enjoying themselves suck...

Score: 0

By Paul Skinner

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 12:49 PM

I get the feeling they'll one day wake up and think "Oh. I've done nothing with my life."

Score: 0

By netjustin

edited Oct 4, 2007 - 8:19 PM

I'm pretty sure PC_Tool was being fecitious. ^_^

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 2:06 PM

Perhaps they wake up every morning right now thinking, "I've done my job, I've earned the right to enjoy my life."

Not everyone has to go to work every day to justify their existence.

Score: 0

By 2x13

edited Oct 4, 2007 - 1:53 PM

It's such a shame that those people who stressed themselves to death working 18 hour days "doing something with their lives" will rot in the ground alongside those who "did nothing with their lives". Of course I consider enjoying myself doing something.

Score: 0

By skags442

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 12:48 PM

i suck

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 2:07 PM

Good on you, mate. Just be sure to balance that with equal time spent blowing. :p

Score: 0

By skags442

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 4:03 PM

no blowing here.. lol

Score: 0

By ModderXManiac

posted Oct 4, 2007 - 11:52 AM

Just watch, within a few months it will surpass all logged hour counts of Halo 2 on live.

Great game, and quite a phenomenon. Just, next time, make a limited edition unit that actually LOOKS GOOD.

Score: 0

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