![\"Halo](\"http:\/\/www.toxicshock.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/halo_3_teaser_poster.jpg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"REDMOND, Wash. – Oct. 4, 2007 – Interactive entertainment will never be the same, with the launch of one title that has changed the way the world thinks about video games. “Halo(R) 3” has captured the attention of consumers worldwide and has made history as one of the biggest entertainment launches of all time.<\/p>\n
Microsoft Corp. today announced that “Halo 3” has officially become a global phenomenon, garnering more than $300 million in sales in the first week alone. The critically acclaimed Xbox 360(R) exclusive, which was released worldwide on Tuesday, Sept. 25, is the fastest-selling video game ever and already one of the most successful entertainment properties in history.
\nInitial reports from retailers worldwide show console sales have nearly tripled compared with the weekly average before the launch of “Halo 3.” With games such as “Halo 3,” “Madden 08” (EA Sports), “Mass Effect” (Microsoft Game Studios) and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Rock Band\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (Harmonix), Xbox 360 has the greatest lineup in the history of video games and is the only console where consumers can play all the year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s biggest blockbusters.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcHalo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 is truly a cultural phenomenon, and the launch of \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcHalo 3\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 is an important milestone for Xbox 360 and for video games as entertainment and as an art form,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcHalo 3\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 embodies our vision for the future of entertainment, where some of the world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s greatest creative minds will deliver a new generation of interactive storytelling.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Halo 3\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is quickly staking its place as the most popular Xbox LIVE(R) game in history with members gathering in record numbers to play on the world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largest online gaming and entertainment network on TV. More than 2.7 million gamers have played \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Halo 3\u00e2\u20ac\u009d on Xbox LIVE in the first week, representing nearly one-third of the 7 million Xbox LIVE members worldwide. Within the first day of its launch, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Halo 3\u00e2\u20ac\u009d players worldwide racked up more than 3.6 million hours of online gameplay, which increased more than elevenfold to 40 million hours by the end of the first week, representing more than 4,500 years of continuous gameplay. Since \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Halo 3 launched,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d gamers have unlocked nearly 30 million achievements. In its first week alone, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Halo 3\u00e2\u20ac\u009d drove a record number of Xbox LIVE Gold Memberships as hundreds of thousands of new members gathered online with friends, family members and other gamers around the world to collectively compete and complete the game. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u009dHalo 3\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is the conclusion to the epic trilogy and picks up where \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Halo 2\u00e2\u20ac\u009d left off, answering questions about the fates of the beloved protagonist Master Chief\u00e2\u201e\u00a2 and his artificial intelligence sidekick Cortana as they struggle to save humankind from destruction at the hands of the alien coalition known as the Covenant. In addition to the rich storyline, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Halo 3\u00e2\u20ac\u009d continues the franchise\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s grand tradition of delivering innovative online multiplayer experiences via Xbox LIVE. The game\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s online multiplayer and innovative four-player cooperative gameplay for Xbox LIVE Gold users, the much-talked-about Saved Films feature that enables players to capture and save their favorite moments on their hard drives, and Forge, an innovative map editor that enables myriad customization options, are just some of the new features gamers are experiencing. <\/p>\n
Developed by Bungie Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios, the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Halo\u00e2\u20ac\u009d franchise is exclusive to the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and optimized for the Xbox LIVE online entertainment network. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Halo 3\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was released in 37 countries and 17 languages. To date, more than 20 million copies of the games in the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Halo\u00e2\u20ac\u009d trilogy have been sold worldwide.
\nRecord week-one sales come on the heels of the previously announced $170 million in sales in the U.S. within the first 24 hours of the game\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s release, which marked not just the biggest video game launch, but the biggest entertainment launch in history. The Xbox 360 title beat previous U.S. sales records set by blockbuster openings for entertainment events such as the release of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Spider-Man 3\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d In addition, more than 1.7 million copies of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Halo 3\u00e2\u20ac\u009d were pre-ordered in the United States, making it the fastest pre-selling game in history, surpassing the previous record-setting pre-sales of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Halo 2.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n
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REDMOND, Wash. – Oct. 4, 2007 – Interactive entertainment will never be the same, with the launch of one title that has changed the way the world thinks about video games. “Halo(R) 3” has captured the attention of consumers worldwide and has made history as one of the biggest entertainment launches of all time. Microsoft […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[16],"tags":[1388,1014,1214,38725],"class_list":["post-2366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-game-news","tag-300-million","tag-halo-3","tag-video-game-news","tag-xbox-360"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n