Well, Master Chief did it.
For those who remember when Halo 2 was released, Microsoft claimed that it was the biggest event in entertainment history, ever, since the beginning of humanity. It made $125 million in just 24 hours, besting the previous title-holder (I guess?) the original Pirates of the Caribbean.
Spider-man 3 swooped down and stole that crown from Microsoft on release by making $151 million, and although most people were banged right in the cooter on that one, Sony didn’t mind flaunting it.
So you know that Gates is all smiles this week, because Halo 3 curb stomped Spidey and gravity hammered his emo ass all the way back to Queens.
The game made $170 million in the first 24 hours in the U.S. alone. God. Damn. Course, those excessive Legendary editions probably helped push that price up, and they’re going to be hurt by all the scratched Limited edition discs (I got one too!) being recalled, but I’m sure everyone involved in this launch has wet their panties over that figure.
In fact, Microsoft Game Studios corporate vice president Shane Kim had this to say. "Not only is Halo 3 setting sales records, it’s also redefining entertainment. Within the first 20 hours alone, we’ve seen more than a million Xbox Live members come online to play Halo 3–that makes September 25 the most active Xbox Live gaming day in history."
Not so sure about redefining entertainment, but the game is damn fun. The campaign mode leaves a little to be desired, but online is still crispy smooth as ever, provided you can find a group of people who are cool and don’t call you a faggot because you don’t know where the rocket launcher is.
Once you do though, you’ll see just how polished this game is. People are going to be playing this one for a long, long time.