Microsoft has announced that its new, long-awaited video game Halo 3, designed for the Xbox 360 gaming console, generated 170 million dollars in revenue on its first day of sales in the American market.
This sets a new record for the video game industry, surpassing the 125 million dollars achieved by its predecessor, Halo 2, three years ago on its first day of sales. Microsoft hopes that the new game will also boost sales of their Xbox 360 gaming console during the upcoming holiday season. The biggest competitors to Microsoft in this market are Nintendo with its Wii console and Sony with the Playstation 3.
Some analysts quoted by the Wall Street Journal say that the sales figures for the Halo 3 game are very impressive. Strong sales of this game should also increase the attractiveness of Microsoft’s Xbox Live online gaming service. Robbie Bach, President of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Gaming Division, stated in an interview this week that they hope to achieve profitability in this business unit for the first time in the fiscal year ending in June 2008, and that Halo 3 is an important part of achieving that plan.
