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

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.

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.

[manualfunky]

in all honesty...

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!!

[demner]

That makes no sense

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.

[Squashman2]

Comparing apples to oranges

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.

[herby67]

Big difference

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.

[wpavlik2]

Development costs

I'm going to go out on a limb and say I think they covered their development costs on the game.

[rcrusoe]

But did they make enough

to cover the $6 Billion+ that they have lost on the XBox so far?

[s_wlsn]

So?

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.

[deadveggie]

So???

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.

[mrbuffett0984]

So? What.

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.

[ncalishome]

"Not really a fair comparison"

Unless of course Sony and Microsoft were both in business to make money.. Oh wait! They are!

[fred dunn]

GEEZ, You really are petty aren't you?

Subject Line: SO?
And then you go on to rant about the desparities between the two comparisions.

Petty.

[mrc77]

Good for them!

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.

[J_Satch]

They also need to...

...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...

[The_happy_switcher]

Halo

Too bad you can say the same about that pile of dung known as Vista.

[khodges2]

Ha!

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.

[kojacked]

Why is the equation always Apple Fanboy < Intelligent?

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.

[erjho]

What's "entertaiment"?

Is that similar to "entertainment"?

[J_Satch]

I think it's

something the gubument provides. :)

[khodges2]

go figure...

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.

[dhavleak]

Such as?...

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.

[FutureGuy]

did and then some..

..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

[rt3438]

More than Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows?

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?

[aemarques]

A mistake, I think

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)

[GeneralNazort]

Starcraft II

will break even this record.