Halo 3 racks up $170 million in sales @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on September 27, 2007

News: Microsoft's blockbuster franchise had a very big day.

Microsoft has announced that after being available for one day, Halo 3 has produced $170 million in the United States in sales. According to the company, it is the single biggest entertainment launch in history, besting day one sales of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (somewhere between $150 and $160 million) and day one ticket sales for Spider-Man 3 ($59 million).

This comparison may not be a fair one as the three versions of Halo 3 range in price from $60 for the regular edition and $70 for the limited edition, all the way up to $130 for the Legendary Edition. This means Halo 3 sold somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.2 to 2.5 million copies on day one. This total is dwarfed by the nearly six million tickets Spider-Man 3 sold on day and the 8.3 million copies of Harry Potter 7.

What can't be debated is the impact the game has had on Xbox Live. Microsoft's Shane Kim informed us that the service has never been this active before in its history.

"Halo 3 has become a pop-culture phenomenon," said Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios. "Not only is Halo 3 setting sales records, it's also redefining entertainment. Within the first 20 hours alone, we've seen more than a million Xbox Live members come online to play Halo 3 Ц that makes September 25 the most active Xbox Live gaming day in history."

We'll have more on the entire Halo 3 phenomenom, inclduing our review, soon.