Gamers have eagerly flocked to Bungie’s final Halo game in “staggering” droves.
Last week, Bungie bid farewell to its blockbuster Halo franchise with Halo: Reach – a roaring sendoff to the series. Gamers responded in turn, and the game racked up $200m in sales on day one, and clocked thousands of years of playtime in just a week.
“We obviously believed in the potential of Reach, and of Halo as a franchise, but to make over $200m sales on day one is a staggering result,” Microsoft’s UK director of entertainment and marketing Stephen McGill told MCV.
“The reception the game has received has been phenomenal. Halo: Reach has proved itself to be the biggest entertainment launch of 2010 and the best-selling Xbox exclusive in history.”
Er, hold on a second there, Stephen. “Best-selling Xbox exclusive in history” implies that the game has outsold Halo 3 (8.1 million copies) and both Gears of War titles (~5 million apiece). I have no doubt that Reach is doing well for itself, but that seems a little far-fetched.
However, if McGill simply meant to say that it was the fastest-selling Xbox exclusive in history – that it sold more copies more quickly than either of the previously-mentioned games – then his statement could make perfect sense.
I think one of those options seems far more likely to me.
