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XBox (Games)

Halo 3 Preorders Top 1 Million, Marketing Begins 111

Posted by Zonk from the flash-flood-of-master-chiefery dept.
Gamespot reports that Halo 3 has broken the all-time record for videogame preorders in North America. There are now more than 1 million copies of the title reserved across the continent. "The figure means that the Halo 3 launch could potentially be bigger than that of Halo 2. The then-Xbox-exclusive sold 2.38 million units in the US and Canada in the 24 hours after went on sale on November 16, 2004, generating an estimated $125 million. Halo 3 preorder customers' passion for the game is such that cost is apparently no object. As part of today's announcement, Microsoft warned that, despite its premium price point, the collectible Halo 3: Legendary Edition is on track to sell out before the game launches. The bundle, which includes a miniaturized version of the Master Chief's helmet, retails for $129.99 in the US, but is already sold out at several online retailers in the UK."
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Halo 3 Preorders Top 1 Million, Marketing Begins More

Halo 3 Preorders Top 1 Million, Marketing Begins

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  • Understatement? (Score:4, Funny)

    by CellBlock ( 856082 ) on Friday August 10, 2007 @01:19PM (#20185059)

    Marketing Begins?



    I think with a million preorders, the marketing is pretty much done.

  • Impressive (Score:3, Insightful)

    by JeremyGNJ ( 1102465 ) on Friday August 10, 2007 @01:20PM (#20185071)
    Holy Moly! Thats pretty impressive. If that was a music album it would already be considered "platinum". All that without any hardcore marketing. I guess it's true that the game industry is going to surpass the music industry, if it hasnt already.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by morari ( 1080535 )
      No marketing? Their was a fairly widespread beta, as well as two games before it. Sequels don't really need much marketing, that's why publishers like them. They theoretically make oodles of money without much being put in.
      • I expect Microsoft will be giving away free Xbox 360 to every media personality who'll take them come launch day. I'd certainly bet that MS is going to blow a load of money on Halo 3. Why? Two reasons: Sony and Nintendo.

        Microsoft's ideal marketplace is MS with 95% of all sales and 1 or 2 competitors representing the other 5% so they're "not a monopoly". Halo 3 represents a unique chance for them to bury their competition, even if it is only for a short while.
  • Didn't it already start with that RPG thing that uses the real world similar to I love bees?

  • Ultra Diamond Uber Edition Plus (Score:3, Funny)

    by Manos_Of_Fate ( 1092793 ) <link226@gmail.com> on Friday August 10, 2007 @01:25PM (#20185163)
    I'm holding out for the version that comes with the working Mjolnir armor.
  • You can buy 2 PS3 games and breakfast for 2 with that cash.

    • Re:$129.99 for a Game? (Score:4, Funny)

      by Reason58 ( 775044 ) on Friday August 10, 2007 @01:32PM (#20185267)

      You can buy 2 PS3 games and breakfast for 2 with that cash.
      A PS3 fan(atic) complaining about price. Now that's ironic.

    • Re: (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Most games don't come with behind-the-scenes DVDs nor helmets.
    • Yeh, but that's the super-deluxe version with a helment. Note: a NON-WEARABLE helmet (too small for even a child).

      But I agree, that's a bit much. I pre-ordered, but only the regular version.

    • Re:$129.99 for a Game? (Score:4, Informative)

      by Blakey Rat ( 99501 ) on Friday August 10, 2007 @01:36PM (#20185325)
      You can also buy 2 and a third normal Halo 3 games for that price.

      The premium version isn't the only one, you know. Sheesh.
      • Man, it would be such ownage if it were though. They'd get it too, and everybody would be whining and moaning, threatening never to buy MS junk again. Even better over a million ppl would have a freakin' Spartan helmet.
    • Yeah, you forgot the other $500-$600 (Or $800 if you happen to live in Europe) that it's going to cost you to get that PS3.

      Alternatively you could look at it like this: I can buy the new 120GB Elite for $450, then get the Halo 3 Legendary edition for $130.00 and that still won't equal the cost of the 80GB PS3 Motorstorm Pack.

      Better luck next time fanboy.

  • Halo 3 (Score:3, Interesting)

    by king-manic ( 409855 ) on Friday August 10, 2007 @01:29PM (#20185219)
    HAlo 3 and mass effect are the only two things that might tempt me to get a 360. I susupect they may eventually get PC editions.
    • Don't hold your breath. It took almost 3 years - and a new OS - to get Halo 2 to the PC. Halo is an XBox experience, not a PC experience, and it seems in Microsoft's best interest to keep it that way.
      • Don't hold your breath. It took almost 3 years - and a new OS - to get Halo 2 to the PC. Halo is an XBox experience, not a PC experience, and it seems in Microsoft's best interest to keep it that way.

        It's in MS xbox divisions best interest. For bungie the best interest would be a multi platform release but their owner is MS.

        I might just swap with my GF's brother. When I finish MGS4 and he finishes halo 3 we'll swap systems and games.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by absorbr ( 995554 )
        I don't think the OS factored into the delay, since it is still a directx 9 game.
    • Im afraid Halo 3 will only be available for Vista Xp Uber Expensive edition given the time taken to release them on PC and Halo 2 Vista only (May or may not be circumvented).

      • Re: (Score:1, Redundant)

        by the eric conspiracy ( 20178 )
        And it will be a crappy implementation besides. Just like the crap that is Halo and Halo 2 for the PC.

        I am royally pissed off at Microsoft. The original Halo was being demoed as a Mac game long before the existence of any MS game console. Bungie was primarily a Mac development house releasing great titles like Marathon and Myth. When Bungie was bought there were all sorts of promises made about Bungie being independent, continuing to release Mac and PC games yadda yadda. All broken.

        I still like Bungie games
  • From a company's standpoint. Toward the end of development, you're already probably over budget and short a few developers... and god knows when the soda/redbull/bawls machine was last stocked.

    You use the last bit of cash to:

    1. Pay off some bloggers to generate grass roots hype,

    2. Pay a few key "journalists" to write a OMFG this game is going to MF rock \m/ > \m/

    And begin accepting pre-order sales. Poof, instant PR budget so you can nail main stream media with everything you can now afford.

    And maybe rest

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by heinousjay ( 683506 )
      The publishing duties aren't held by the same people who do the development. Of course, I'm not going to argue with you about any of it, your cynicism shows your opinion of the game is locked before it's even finished.
    • I think a few journalistic ethics people might have issue with this:

      1. Pay off some bloggers to generate grass roots hype,
      2. Pay a few key "journalists" to write a OMFG this game is going to MF rock \m/ > \m/

      then again, we are talking about games journalists. And didn't I read somewhere that there was an investigation into whether there was some form of bribery going on in games journalism? It wasn't payola, but it was along the lines of, "Write us a good preview or you won't get good access," type stu

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dabraun ( 626287 )

      And begin accepting pre-order sales. Poof, instant PR budget so you can nail main stream media with everything you can now afford.


      Do you seriously think Microsoft needs the cash from preorders to finance the marketing of Halo 3?
  • I enjoyed the games, but I really got in to the multi-player, as I feel like most people do these days. The thing I like about the Halo series though, is that they don't skimp (as much as other studios do) on the single player story line. I feel like some other games are rushed out to hit the multi-player markets and the story line suffers.
  • Halo 2 was released on the 9th. I still have the orange sticker on my box stating that it not be sold until 11/09/04.
  • Hopefully those little freaks aren't back in Halo 3

  • Why preorder (Score:3, Insightful)

    by DrXym ( 126579 ) on Friday August 10, 2007 @02:41PM (#20186325)
    In the highly unlikely event of the game selling out, MS could push a button and produce 100,000 more in a single day. I really don't understand why anyone pre-orders so far in advance. The game will available everywhere with no difficulty at all. Preorder is a total and utter waste of time.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mingot ( 665080 )
      Tell me about it. I refuse to preorder a game or to even buy games from places that take preorders (unless I *know* that they will still sell games on release day to non preorder folks). I mean you can go to a gamestop and try to get a shitty game or even a strategy guide on release day and be told "oh, no preorder, sorry". Idiotic.

      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        by enderjsv ( 1128541 )
        What happens at wal-mart when a good game comes out? would you like to know? Cause I have the answer. It's happened to me several times. I'll tell you because your probably in suspense. When a good game comes to wal-mart, I stop by wal-mart after work to pick up a copy and all the copies are sold out. Yep, by 5:30 in the afternoon they're all sold out. So what have I been doing lately? I buy a pre-order from Gamestop instead and I'm able to stop by the store on my way home from work and pick it up.

        • I pre-ordered from Gamestop once. Would you like to know what happened? ;) The *way* over pre-sold their stock and I had to wait a month to get the game. Meanwhile, I could of stopped in at Target, Frys, or BestBuy and get a copy (for $9 bucks less).

        • Re: (Score:1, Flamebait)

          by scot4875 ( 542869 )
          You know what happens if you can't get your band-new toy the very first minute it becomes available? You realize that your life isn't so empty that your happiness can be dictated by how fast you get to play some super cool new game right away.

          Or maybe your life really is that empty -- in that case, my condolences. Enjoy being a consumer whore.

          --Jeremy
          • Wow. Angry much, Jeremy? You need to settle down kid. While you're right, life isn't empty when conveniences are forgone, that doesn't mean I shouldn't take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves, and doing so certainly shouldn't classify me as "consumer whore", as you so elegantly put it. For example, I wouldn't call you a consumer whore just because you stood in line over night to pick up the latest edition of Harry Potter. Kid's like you love that kind of crap, and who am I to judge?

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by KDR_11k ( 778916 )
          I wouldn't really go to a hypermarket for videogames, home electronics stores and department stores tend to have much larger games sections and more stock of popular games while hypermarkets cannot allocate as much shelf space to each section. Occassionally I see piles of easily 100 units at those. Never had a case where such a store was sold out on day 1 (except maybe for games with really low shipment numbers but those aren't the kind Gamestop tries to make you preorder), even after that their stock rarel
    • Because at least for me, its not an issue of them selling out. Its an issue of convience. I know for a fact that I want the game. I also know I'd rather not have to drive across town to the store to get it. Thus buying online makes sense. So my options are either pre-order it now, or I guess I could set a reminder on my computer to remind me to go to a website on launch day to order it but why bother with that? I'd prefer to just buy it online now and be done with it, then one day shortly after launch
    • Well it depends on where you are and the units available in your vicinity. For example if you have 1 Gamestop for say 100 miles, then ya it might be a problem. Sometimes they do not produce enough copies to ship initially, for example WoW sold out in tons of locations. So pre-ordering generally insures that their is a copy with your name on it waiting to be picked up. Since it doesn't cost extra to pre-order at most places how can it be a bad deal?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by DrXym ( 126579 )
        Fine, you want the game. Why not order 2-3 days in advance of the release date. Chances are high to total that you will get it on release day. And if it arrives a day or two late, so what?
        • Sure that works, especially if you are in a region with a large supply of stores. Then again sometimes it doesn't.

          So why are you ridiculing the concept of pre-ordering? Do you inherently hate it for some reason? If you go with the "it's completely unnecessary" route try living in a 4 college town in the 'middle of nowhere' Northern NY and get a popular release. But if you're inclined to wait you can also just order it online, which more often then not was my method. Beats driving 40mins in -30F to the ne

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by DrXym ( 126579 )
            No I don't hate it, and yes its completely unnecessary. I live in Ireland in a provincial town and I have absolutely no problem whatsoever getting any game from 2 or 3 outlets. If I can manage it I refuse to believe that anywhere in the US has problems. I can understand "preordering" from an online retailer and possibly bricks & mortar a few days before release if you absolutely must have it on the 1st day. But anymore is utterly absurd. Anyone who preorders Halo 3 a full six weeks before release is an
            • I really don't understand all this hostility towards pre-orders. There's absolutely no reason for it. If you choose not to pre-order a game, then more power to you. That's totally your decision and you'll probably live comfortably with it. But why care if I choose to give myself a little assurance. It took me two weeks to obtain a copy of GTA:VC when it first came out. I wasn't looking incredibly hard for it, but I stopped by a GameStop that was on my way home from work a few times and it wasn't in fo

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by DrXym ( 126579 )
                The "hostility" is simply that very few if any games sell out anywhere, let alone everywhere, or even justify a day 1 purchase. Preordering is simply a ploy for Gamestop and other stores to lock you into a sale, hang onto your deposit earning interest and in the case of no-shows to keep it altogether. Why not just order it online a few days before release if you want the game? Or wait a few days for the hype to clear and the reviews to appear to tell you if you're making a good buy?

                Halo 3 is going to be s

                • All right, let's break it down.

                  "Very few if any games sell out anywhere, let alone everywhere."
                  Several times in my life I've gone to a store and the game I was looking for was sold out. So don't tell me it doesn't happen. Yeah, if I was in the mood to drive to a dozen other stores I might have found it, but I'm rarely in such a mood. With a preorder, I don't have to.

                  "Preordering is simply a ploy for Gamestop and other stores to lock you into a sale."
                  Of course preordering is beneficial to GameSto
                • They may not sellout near you or globally but it depends on the supply/demand in a given area. As for pushing a button to make more copies, you do know that (most) software companies do not own their own plants for stamping CDs? They rent them for given periods of time, usually I think it's a month before release, to have their product stamped for a preset amount. So if they need another "stamping" period they have to wait or possibly buy someone else's spot.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by KDR_11k ( 778916 )
        The problem is that a preorder ISN'T a guarantee that you'll have a copy with your name on it on release day. I could understand preordering if it was a guarantee but as is it just means they'll allocate units to you before they do to non-preorderers but don't say when you'll get your game, could be a month later depending on the availability and demand.
        • While thats technically possible, I do know that if you pre-order early enough some stores will insure they have at least enough copies at release to cover the pre-orders. But I admit that it probably depends on the store. Since I tend to use the same store, I have never ran into a problem with pre-orders even on sell out games.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by tcc3 ( 958644 )
      Its not like they can be trusted to honor the preorders anyway. The pre order folks got shafted when the 360 came out. Some of them for months.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by rtb61 ( 674572 )
      It is fairly simple in marketing speak they simply don't differentiate between retailer preorders for resale, simply M$ arm twisting, don't pre-order and we wont make any units available to you till a month or so after release and actually individual customer pre-orders.

      If your into computer games in any way shape or form, you have learnt to never ever buy any game until it has been released and the reality of it's gameplay versus the marketing of the pretty pictures is demonstrated.

      The last time M$ wen

  • Does that mean it qualifies as a "greatest hit"?

    In that case, everyone that hasn't pre-ordered it would be able to pick up a copy for $20 the day it releases.

    Hooray for fantasy logic!
  • I just wish I could play co-op mode over the internet with original Halo for the PC.
  • Why is this game so popular? In which ways did it revolutionize the genre?

    I never had a Xbox and didn't batter to get the PC edition. From what I understand, this is a fairly typical FPS just very very polished one. Much like Blizzard games which are not really revolutionary but are simply well done with a lot of attention to detail.

    • From what I understand, this is a fairly typical FPS just very very polished one.

      Bingo. It doesn't need a gimmick or push the system "Beyond it's Limits", it's just a really solid, fun game.

      This, and the fact that the first Halo was in the right place at the right time and was able to build a critical mass of die-hard fans.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Kopiok ( 898028 )
      You asked why Halo is so popular and then compared it to World of Warcraft.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ClamIAm ( 926466 )
      I have a couple of theories on this.

      1) Halo allowed LAN-style gaming, without the headaches. A $300 console replaces the need of four gaming-level PCs. Keep in mind, not only is the cost reduced, a LOT less gear needs to be lugged around.

      2) Halo is to FPS what Final Fantasy 7 is to RPGs.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Chyeld ( 713439 )
      I can't tell you why it is "So popular"; however I can tell you why I like it: It was a game created by Bungie in the same tradition as their previous games.

      In other words, in addition to being an FPS, it also had a fairly intricate back-story. And most of that back-story wasn't shoved into your face, but woven into the background. This meant that I could actually consider it two games, an FPS and a puzzler.

      You are correct in your assessment of it's qualities as an FPS game. Really, it wasn't that much to w

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by DeeDob ( 966086 )
      <i>Why is this game so popular? In which ways did it revolutionize the genre?</i>

      My take about why Halo is so popular concerns numerous points:

      1) Halo 1 is the FIRST console FPS that actually could rival those on PC that was any fun. Before it, the ONLY contender for FPSes that were any good on consoles were GoldenEye and Perfect Dark, for the N64. Those two titles were quite good, but nowhere near as good as the FPS found on PC, due to the single analog stick found on the N64 controller that co
  • ...it would say "Moo."
  • ...those 1 million people who pre-ordered didn't think Halo 2 was overrated. I trust Bungie to provide a game that will be worth $50-60 dollars. I don't think it will be the world's best game, but it will certainly be worth the money, for multiplayer anyway. People seem to think that it's all-or-nothing for the Halo series these days, and that's just not true. Get down from your thrones made out of Valve games, people. I'm pretty sure it's legal to buy a shooter for a console that isn't the worlds best gam

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