Microsoft Corp said on Thursday that its "Halo 3" video game
racked up worldwide sales of US$300 million in its first week,
making it one of the year's best sellers and helping to more than
double sales of its Xbox 360 console.
Gaming fans Uchendu
Nwachukwu (L) and Darnell Jefferson celebrate after receiving free
copies of the Xbox 360 video game 'Halo 3' after it went on sale in
New York September 25, 2007. Microsoft Corp said on Thursday that
its 'Halo 3' video game racked up worldwide sales of US$300 million
in its first week, making it one of the year's best sellers and
helping to nearly double sales of its Xbox 360 console.[Photo:
Reuters]
The news builds on Microsoft's previous announcement that the
final chapter in its series of alien-battling shooting games did
US$170 million in sales in the first 24 hours after its September
25 debut.
The game is crucial to Microsoft's efforts to establish
dominance in the US$30 billion global video game industry that has
been dominated by Sony Corp (6758.T) the past few years. Microsoft
also competes against Nintendo Co Ltd's (7974.OS) Wii console,
which has enjoyed stronger sales this year.
"Initial reports from retailers worldwide show console sales
have more than doubled compared with the weekly average before the
launch of 'Halo 3,"' Microsoft said in a statement.
Microsoft did not elaborate, but industry figures show that the
company sold 277,000 Xbox 360 units in the United States in August
and just over 11,000 units in Japan in that month.
Microsoft also said "Halo 3," which lets people play the game
together or battle each other over the Internet, had spurred a
"record number" of people to sign up for its paid Xbox Live online
service.
The company said all three "Halo" games had sold more than 20
million copies. Earlier this year, Microsoft said the first two
games had sold 14.8 million copies, which could mean "Halo 3" has
sold as many as 5.2 million copies.
Shares in Microsoft rose 0.9 percent to close at US$29.71 on
Nasdaq. Over the past year, the stock has risen 6 percent.
(Agencies via CRI.cn October 5, 2007)
