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September 26, 2007 2:37 PM PDT

Microsoft: 'Halo 3' nets biggest day in entertainment history

Posted by Daniel Terdiman
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Halo 3, the much-anticipated Xbox 360 game that launched Tuesday, set the all-time record for most revenue earned in a single day by any entertainment property, Microsoft said Wednesday.

The company said that Halo 3, the third and final episode in the hugely popular franchise, netted $170 million in sales in the U.S. in its first day. If true, that would top previous records set by the motion pictures Spider Man 3 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Halo 3

There's little doubt Microsoft has been pinning a great deal of hope on Halo 3 and was expecting it to be the must-have game for the Xbox 360, much as the original Halo was for the original Xbox when it came out in 2001. The theory is that many consumers will buy Xbox 360s to play the new game, though only time will tell if that is true. Microsoft did not release any new figures on immediate Xbox sales.

Judging by initial reviews, the game is being very well received critically, in addition to racking up the big bucks.

According to Microsoft, more than a million players have logged on to Xbox Live to play the multiplayer version of the new game, since it came out and all told, it has garnered more than 1.7 million preorders.

The game sells for $59.99.

Daniel Terdiman is a staff writer at CNET News covering games, Net culture, and everything in between. E-mail Daniel.
Topics:

Gaming,

Microsoft

Tags:

Halo 3,

Microsoft,

Xbox 360

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Add a Comment (Log in or register) 30 comments
in all honesty...
by manualfunky September 26, 2007 3:31 PM PDT
they really should start doing this sort of boasting based on units moved not money made... here in australia the halo 3 game retails for $100 where as on a tuesday you can watch a movie for $8 and most days you can buy a book for around $20... see what i mean? publishers would have to sell 5 times as many units in order to compete and theatres, 13 times as many bums on seats!!
Reply to this comment
That makes no sense
by demner September 26, 2007 3:40 PM PDT
It doesn't make sense to compare it as you do. The more money spent on something, the more value attached by people. Units are irrelevant, it's money plain and simple.
View reply
Comparing apples to oranges
by Squashman2 September 26, 2007 8:42 PM PDT
It is the old cliche of comparing Apples to Oranges. I don't see how you can compare Video Game Sales to Movie Sales. Makes absolutely no sense. I am not sure what is going on with Cnet lately but they sure seem to be giving Microsoft lots of Kudos lately.
Big difference
by herby67 September 27, 2007 6:35 AM PDT
You get to see a movie only once, one person, per ticket. With a game you can play it for days, and many other family members or friends can too.
So comparing a movie ticket to the purchase of a game makes not much sense. Money paid, while not perfect, is a better indicator of the relevance of a release.
Development costs
by wpavlik2 September 26, 2007 3:33 PM PDT
I'm going to go out on a limb and say I think they covered their development costs on the game.
Reply to this comment
But did they make enough
by rcrusoe September 26, 2007 6:01 PM PDT
to cover the $6 Billion+ that they have lost on the XBox so far?
So?
by s_wlsn September 26, 2007 4:06 PM PDT
I'm sure it's an enjoyable game, but it costs $60 to buy it. "Spiderman 3" (what "Halo 3" is being compared to) has an average cost of about $7 or $8. So, many more people saw "Spiderman 3" on opening day than have purchased "Halo 3."

Not really a fair comparison.
Reply to this comment
So???
by deadveggie September 26, 2007 4:35 PM PDT
On Spiderman 3, I know numerous people that say it several times in the first day also, but buyers of Halo 3 only need to buy it once. That brings the cost closer to the same for some people. The only accurate way to judge it is by using sales. Also, the amount of time enjoying Halo 3 is significantly more than enjoying Spiderman 3. 2 1/2 hours for Spiderman 3 compared to significantly more hours for Halo 3. I think the sales numbers are a very fair comparision.
So? What.
by mrbuffett0984 September 26, 2007 4:38 PM PDT
You are correct, an average cost of $60 to an average cost of $8 is not fair. How many copies of Halo 3 do you think would have been sold if say it was only ten bucks. Or how many tickets for Spiderman 3 would have been sold of they were $60. Just something to think about.
View reply
"Not really a fair comparison"
by ncalishome September 26, 2007 6:45 PM PDT
Unless of course Sony and Microsoft were both in business to make money.. Oh wait! They are!
GEEZ, You really are petty aren't you?
by fred dunn September 27, 2007 8:01 AM PDT
Subject Line: SO?
And then you go on to rant about the desparities between the two comparisions.

Petty.
Good for them!
by mrc77 September 26, 2007 4:11 PM PDT
I like to see successes like this one when it comes to video games because that just means that more money will be put into video games, and they will become more complex and entertaining. A video game is the single most interactive form of entertainment there is. You can read a story, listen to music, watch a movie, talk to people, create something, and choose how your character moves around in a video game. You should be able to do more and more in the near future. However, I think the consoles need to go on sale! I will be glad to buy an XBOX 360 when it is priced at $150 to $250. $350 is too much for me right now. Also, games like Halo 3 are awesome, but they need to remember games like Final Fantasy and Sim City. Surely, those games could use a makeover.
Reply to this comment
They also need to...
by J_Satch September 27, 2007 5:54 AM PDT
...release it on PC. Lots of us aren't going to pay hundreds of dollars for a console that does nothing but play games when we already have nice powerful PCs that can play games and do any number of other things.

I know M$ wants to sell more consoles but they are instead losing some game sales. Yeah I know, a drop in the bucket, but still...
View reply
Halo
by AppleRocks1963 September 26, 2007 4:28 PM PDT
Too bad you can say the same about that pile of dung known as Vista.
Reply to this comment
Ha!
by khodges2 September 26, 2007 4:47 PM PDT
well said man. I hate windows vista which is a big piece of crap. Too bad they spend more money developing games than OSs for our computers.
View all 2 replies
Why is the equation always Apple Fanboy < Intelligent?
by kojacked September 26, 2007 9:27 PM PDT
This story has nothing to do with Vista nor Apple. Yet another Apple fanboy showing us how mind numbing stupid they are... Look what happens to your brain when you give it up for servitude in Mr. Job's religion.
View reply
What's "entertaiment"?
by erjho September 26, 2007 4:33 PM PDT
Is that similar to "entertainment"?
Reply to this comment
I think it's
by J_Satch September 27, 2007 5:59 AM PDT
something the gubument provides. :)
go figure...
by khodges2 September 26, 2007 4:42 PM PDT
They?d better sell those games? Nintendo is killing them in Wii sales. Only thing it is a bit sad because Xbox has some much more interesting games besides Halo 3.
Reply to this comment
Such as?...
by dhavleak September 26, 2007 6:20 PM PDT
Gears of War is a phenomenal game and the mutliplayer is just about the most intense FPS stuff I've ever played. But Halo is more multidimensional, - with the additional vehicles, you end up with an phenomenal FPS in which you can even fly aircraft, drive vehicles (SPOILER: don't even get me started on the final chapter in campaign mode). With the map-editor and theater-mode, Halo is the most complete package ever delivered in a game release.
did and then some..
by FutureGuy September 26, 2007 9:24 PM PDT
..their total development cost is around 60 million, they are expected to bring in close to 560 million.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-halo24sep24,1,4623123.story?track=rss
Reply to this comment
More than Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows?
by rt3438 September 27, 2007 10:12 AM PDT
I don?t understand. I thought that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows sold 8.3 million books in the first 24 hours in the U.S. At $34 a book it made $282 million. Doesn?t that add up to more than what Halo3 did $170 million. Am I missing something?
Reply to this comment
A mistake, I think
by aemarques September 27, 2007 10:36 AM PDT
It appears that the journalist was referring to the movie Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix, not the book (last chapter of the saga)...
A movie that, BTW, has made close to a *billion* dollars of combined domestic and foreign boxoffice... (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=harrypotter5.htm)
Starcraft II
by GeneralNazort September 27, 2007 11:25 AM PDT
will break even this record.
Reply to this comment
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