As most have noticed by now, Halo 2 had a phenomenal first day of sales all over the world, in Europe the game broke all sorts of entertainment records as far as sales and money made are concerned. Now that we have the facts and figures for the U.S. it is also apparent that the movie industry is being pushed into second place by the gaming industry. Strangely enough, the entertainment industry that is pirated the most seems to be making more money than those that complain about piracy the most, it is unlikely however, that a gaming company executive makes as much money as his music industry colleague.
Halo 2 broke entertainment retail records in its first 24 hours on store shelves. Microsoft Game Studios announced that the highly-anticipated game sold through 2.4 million units in the U.S. and Canada, driving cash register receipts to the USD 125 million mark.
Halo 2 has blown the roof off of any other sales day in the history of GameStop, said Dan Dematteo, president and chief operating officer at GameStop. In just one day, we sold more than half a million copies of Halo 2 - more than any other game in history in its first day of release. Halo 2 has become more than a pop culture phenomena - it's become a pop culture frenzy.
Not only has Halo 2 exceeded video game sales records, but entertainment records as well. Halo 2 has generated more money on day one than any of the biggest movies in box office history including Spider-Man 2 (Sony), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (WB) and The Matrix Reloaded (WB). In addition, Halo 2 surpassed this past weekend's box office favorite, The Incredibles, which grossed USD 70.5 million (U.S.) in three days compared to the USD 125 million pulled through by Halo 2 in one day.
The first 24 hours of Halo 2 sales have taken our breath away, said Peter Moore, corporate Vice President, Worldwide Marketing and Publishing, Xbox. Across North America, 2.4 million copies of the game were sold through, representing USD 125 million in total cash register receipts for retailers. It's no longer just a huge game for us but has become a seminal milestone for the entire industry.
Microsoft needed Halo 2 to do well on Tuesday, not just for the profit it will bring but rather for the prestige it would bring to a console that needs exclusive games. Never before have a console and a game depended on each other as much.
Leave it to the Master Chief to come through for its green buddy in style. Monday night's launch events across the U.S. were a resounding success, confirming that Halo 2 is set to make XBox sales history while GTA:SA will have already begun to feel the Chief's hot breath on its back. So what if some gamers have already started complaining about the cartoony feel of the game, the quality of the weapon sounds, texture glitches or the use of the online matchmaking feature, they are clearly the minority.
Across the U.S. approximately 7,000 midnight madness events were packed to capacity with fans of the game hoping to get their hands on the USD 50 game. Microsoft's USD 100 million estimate for first day sales seems very realistic as gamers begun gathering from as early as 5 pm in order to ensure they got their copy of Halo 2 first. Some had set-up XBox console's and projection systems in order to play the original Halo while queuing.
It is widely expected that a strange case of the green fever may grip the U.S. causing many employees to call in sick for the rest of this week; strangely enough the only company not too worried about this is Microsoft itself. The apparent success of the Halo sequel guarantees that its new system (XBox 2), when it arrives, will have at least one big name title to launch with it, while the recent success of Fable will also help Microsoft's push for console dominance.
For further, on the spot, coverage of Halo 2 launch night, read what Palo Alto High School's online journalists had to report by following the download tab.
