Microsoft hailed its video game "Halo 3" as the biggest entertainment launch in history after first-day sales of $170 million.
"Halo" not only passed the opening-day box office record of $59.8 million set by Sony's "Spider-Man 3" in May, its one-day haul Tuesday also vaulted it ahead of the movie's three-day opening-weekend record of $151 million.
However, the unit sales of "Halo 3" were overshadowed by those of J.K. Rowling's novel "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" when it was published in July. "Hallows" sold 8.3 million copies in the U.S. during its first 24 hours. Microsoft did not supply unit sales but did note that more than 1.7 million copes were preordered.
The game would have had to have sold more than 2 million copies its first day to hit the $170 million mark. Game prices ranged from the standard $60 edition to a $130 Legendary edition with a helmet-shaped case and two bonus discs.
Given the hype and the fact that 10,000 stores opened at midnight Monday to begin selling "Halo," the launch was expected to be huge. Retailers are suggesting that "Halo" could be the biggest video-game seller ever.
Industry observers grumbled that likening a video game, retailing for $60 or more, to a film that cost $12 at most to view in theaters makes for an inexact comparison, especially given the secondary markets, where "Spider-Man" will generate even more revenue.
But if the "Spider-Man" snub wasn't enough to annoy Sony, analyst expectations that "Halo" will spur sales of Microsoft's Xbox 360 at the expense of Sony's PlayStation consoles sure did.
This week, Boston-based analyst group Compete said that as many as 300,000 Xbox 360 hardware units might have been sold in the past month solely because of the pending arrival of "Halo." The group added that Microsoft is well positioned to reach a "tipping point" in terms of U.S. sales for the holidays.
"Halo 3" has been Microsoft's ace in the hole for several years, and the company is spending just less than $50 million in marketing -- including traditional ads and promotional partnerships -- in the U.S. alone.
"Halo 2" brought in $125 million its first day.
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