TOPH TUCKER '08
Since Halo 3 was launched on September 25, Bungie.net reports that the “UNSC Kill Count”—the collective kill count for all Halo 3 players—stands at around 3 billion enemies. Glorification of mass murder aside (don’t worry, they’re only aliens and parasites), it’s an impressive number. But it’s just the tip of a statistically stunning iceberg: 3.6 million hours of gameplay on the first day; 40 million in the first week; 2.7 million gamers.
More significantly for Bungie and Microsoft (the creators of Halo), the game’s day-one sales totaled more than $170 million dollars. That makes it the biggest day in entertainment history, surpassing such juggernauts as Spider-Man 3 and the final Harry Potter book. By the end of the week, the two companies had pulled in $300 million. Halo 3 is being counted on to turn Microsoft’s entertainment division profitable, and in September the 360 sold 26,000 more units than any other videogame system. Despite being released near the end of the month, Halo 3 sold twice as many copies as the next nine most popular games of September combined.
The Halo Story
The Halo trilogy, exclusive to Microsoft’s Xbox videogame console, tells the story of a superhuman soldier of the future called the Master Chief. The first Halo game launched with the original Xbox in November 2001, followed by the second installment in November 2004. The original was a “system seller,” and instantly catapulted the Xbox into the videogame big-leagues. Halo 2, meanwhile, was a defining moment in the history of Xbox Live, Microsoft’s online subscription service. It pioneered features like voice, text messaging, and player profiles that would later be incorporated into the Xbox 360.
Halo 3 adds many features, most of them again centered around Xbox Live. The story mode can now be played through with up to three other players online, and multiplayer has received various tweaks and upgrades. In addition, players can create their own maps, game variants, screen shots, and even films to share with others.
Not everyone is a fan of the series. The Lyndon LaRouche Political Action Committee calls Halo 3 “[t]he ‘Third Wave’ of Destroying the U.S.” It proclaims, “The vicious attack on the human mind by this cybernetics cult has been one of the key tricks by the oligarchy, that has arrested the development of the youth, today, preventing any consistent intellectual and political motion to change the world.” Sergeant Johnson could not be reached for comment.
Bungie again independent
Bungie, developer of the series, was bought by Microsoft in 2000. The launch of Halo 3, though, was followed up on October 5 by the news that Bungie is once again an independent developer. Microsoft retains a minority stake, publishing agreements, and the rights to the Halo franchise. The deal gives Bungie renewed freedom to “achieve its real goal of total world domination,” as the press release states. At the same time, Microsoft keeps one of its most valuable partners happy. The headline on the internet news site Fark.com read, “Bungie unassimilated.”
Founder Jason Jones sums it up like this:
“Working with Microsoft was great for us, it allowed us to grow as a team and make the ambitious, blockbuster games we all wanted to work on. And they will continue to be a great partner. But Bungie is like a shark. We have to keep moving to survive. We have to continually test ourselves, or we might as well be dolphins. Or manatees.”
Further reading:
Bungie.net
Bungie.net: Bungie branches off
Joystiq: Bungie branches off
Major Nelson: Halo 3 Posts
Xbox 360 Fanboy: Halo 3 Posts
Xbox 360 Fanboy: NPD September Results
Joystiq: Pachter says 360 will beat Wii in September
Joystiq: "Morning Crazy Pill"
LaRouche PAC: Third Wave of Destroying the U.S.
1 comment:
Interestingly, Halo was originally developed to be a real-time strategy game for the Macintosh! So much for that.
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