Halo 3 To Bring $170+ Million in Revenue to Microsoft

[DC RID3R]

When it comes to Halo, the action packed first person shooter, is a huge system seller, with the first two Halos selling millions of copies. So how's the third iteration of the series going to perform? Well, a recent Goldman-Sachs report shows that Halo 3 will bring in $170 million in revenue on the low end with the possibility of adding another $60 million on top of that.
Goldman-Sachs has releases some figures about Halo 3's impact on Microsoft's bottom line, and it is, in a word, huge. They have estimated 4.2 million copies hitting the retail channel, approximately one copy for every three 360 devices in the world. The financial impact will be about $170 milllion in revenue for Microsoft. This would allow the entertainment division at Microsoft to have their first profitable quarter since being created to develop the first Xbox. The profitability goal fits into the plans that were laid out by Microsoft last year for the division to reach profitability.

News source: http://www.aeropause.com/archives/2007/05/halo_3_to_contr.php

[sonnyz]

Okay, now nobody pirate this game cause m$ needs every penny of this $170+ million to take over the world...

[wumpafru1t]

Okay, now nobody pirate this game cause m$ needs every penny of this $170+ million to take over the world...

Oww ok then :(

[jerzmob]

Halo didn't make sells people...Bill Gates himself purchased 500 copies a month so that it can boost sales. If you think about it...how would Halo sell so much yet almost nobody owned an xbox 180:confused:

[wumpafru1t]

Halo didn't make sells people...Bill Gates himself purchased 500 copies a month so that it can boost sales. If you think about it...how would Halo sell so much yet almost anybody owned an xbox 180:confused:

I think I speak for all of us when I say

HUH?

[Puppet]

If I worked for Bungie (sp) I'd demand a raise.

[jerzmob]

I think I speak for all of us when I say

HUH?

Gates plotted this from the start. Remember those Halo comercials in tv that would come up after every other commercial;) Wouldn't that tell you something of how horrible the game was doing. The reasons behind its success is b/c MS themselves purchased those copies to add these anonymous sales to the franchise, and it was the only franchise they had at that time.

Many around my area still play SOCOM 1...and SOCOM was and probably still is, the most multiplayer online console game ever played. I remember G4 had something on that, and it outdid Halo and many other xbox live games at once. So i just don't understand how Halo is so "big" (and xbox live) to begin with.

EDIT: i was playing Mario Sunshine at that time so...:p

[mystic54]

Many around my area still play SOCOM 1...and SOCOM was and probably still is, the most multiplayer online console game ever played.
EDIT: i was playing Mario Sunshine at that time so...:p
Are you serious? Maybe you have been under a rock from the massive Halo 2 online experience, the numbers that were and still on there are massive. The game was popular because the online experience was fun, quick to get into, and easy to hook up with your friends. That alone kept people playing the game.

[aic007]

Gates plotted this from the start. Remember those Halo comercials in tv that would come up after every other commercial;) Wouldn't that tell you something of how horrible the game was doing. The reasons behind its success is b/c MS themselves purchased those copies to add these anonymous sales to the franchise, and it was the only franchise they had at that time.

Many around my area still play SOCOM 1...and SOCOM was and probably still is, the most multiplayer online console game ever played. I remember G4 had something on that, and it outdid Halo and many other xbox live games at once. So i just don't understand how Halo is so "big" (and xbox live) to bergin with.

EDIT: i was playing Mario Sunshine at that time so...:p


Must be those toxic Jersey fumes getting to you. :D ( I work in Jersey so I know ) The game wouldn't have done so well without it being as good as it was.

Game Rankings 96 of 100 (based on 90 reviews)

Metacritic 97 of 100 (based on 68 reviews)

5th Annual Interactive
Achievement Awards Console and Overall Game of the Year,
Console Action / Adventure, Visual Engineering

I think people love to just bash this game becuase its so popular, how else do you explain it. People still play the game, Halo2 is always in the top 10 in games played on Live and the game gets acclaims from every publication. Its the in thing to do to put Halo down.

Either way the game will crush sales records the same way Spiderman3 did. People have been waiting for it for a while and it is the end of a trilogy. You invested the time and now you get to see how it ends.

[indolent]

ok this story seems pointless. Why would anyone care about revenue? Wouldn't profit be the more important indicator?


*edit* or they just used the wrong term. 4.2 million copies at $60 each is $252 million in revenue.

[Xenogears V]

According to me it will be a failure!.:rolleyes:

[Tempos]

Okay, now nobody pirate this game cause m$ needs every penny of this $170+ million to take over the world...

How naive are you. Just because Microsoft is an enormously large company with billions of dollars doesn't mean that the gaming division behind Halo doesn't need to make a profit. Even Rockstar with their highly successful GTA series amongst other games have had to close down several studios and layoff staff because they weren't all producing software which sold enough to justify their existance.


ok this story seems pointless. Why would anyone care about revenue? Wouldn't profit be the more important indicator?


*edit* or they just used the wrong term. 4.2 million copies at $60 each is $252 million in revenue.

This may come as a shock to you but.... the company you're buying your game from actually make a profit too ya know! I'm not sure if your price includes sales Tax as I live in the UK and our systems are different.

[n0rthstar]

I used to think Halo was overrated and still do to a degree, theres no doubting its popularity, but i still think the hype surrounding it drove it forward more than the gameplay... how else can you explain a bog standard FP shooter doing so well? You just have to check out Live/Kai/XBC to see how many games of Halo are being played, its ridiculous how many people play it. I suppose you could compare it to PC Counterstrike for multiplayer popularity.

Anyway i recently reinstalled Halo1 again on my PC and set up my 360 pad to play it and have to say its a more enjoyable game with a pad for some strange reason... oh and it looks 10x better than the xbox verson, plus its nicer to play with the less clunky 360 pad. (I never rated Halo 2, at least on the xbox, i may try it out on Vista if i can be bothered installing that bloatware).

Im sure Halo3 will be as popular as the other ones. I dont really understand the fascination myself but people (i suppose mostly kids) love the game. Well i hope its better than the second one at least anyways.

[Tempos]

I used to think Halo was overrated and still do to a degree

When I was a PC Gamer and played the horrendous port I used to think the same thing but then when I converted almost exclusively to consoles (only getting RTS on PC now) my opinion changed. Halo(2) multiplayer splitscreen is brilliant, it never gets tiresome. The single player co-op is good but the multiplayer is where it's at. I got bored of single player after about 3-4 hours but could easily play multiplayer for a couple of hours every weekend with a few mates of mine. Other than Pro Evo there's not many games so easy to pick up and play and just generally have a lot of fun with.

[jerzmob]

the only reason halo is "big" is b.c many people were still not aware of what the PC platform contained and eventually people, even today, are leads to believe that Halo "started it all"


PC had UT2k4 way before Halo...and it's funny how nobody where i'm from knew what UT was.


Halo is a rip off of Unreal btw ;)

[Scorpion3]

the only reason halo is "big" is b.c many people were still not aware of what the PC platform contained and eventually people, even today, are leads to believe that Halo "started it all"


PC had UT2k4 way before Halo...and it's funny how nobody where i'm from knew what UT was.


Halo is a rip off of Unreal btw ;)

Rofl, is that seriously what you believe? How niave. You think that everyone playing Halo are 12 year olds? Considering Halo 1 came out over 6 years ago...yeah I think you know what it means. And no, Halo isn't a rip off of Unreal, Halo is like Unreal compared to Half-Life, they're nothing alike. Halo is quite original despite a lot of Sony fans' hopes. So that UT2k4 being out before Halo, that's kind of impossible? 2001/2004. Even UC was out before UT2k4. As far as I know, every person who has ever played Halo knows what Unreal is, and every person I know knows Unreal, not Unreal Tournament.

[aic007]

the only reason halo is "big" is b.c many people were still not aware of what the PC platform contained and eventually people, even today, are leads to believe that Halo "started it all"


PC had UT2k4 way before Halo...and it's funny how nobody where i'm from knew what UT was.


Halo is a rip off of Unreal btw ;)


Unreal is Quake3 made by Epic instead of Id. :p

I played plenty of FPS on the PC and I prefer consoles mainly because I prefer a controller, and A computer reminds me of work and I don't want to have my relaxation time reminding me of my job. Also there are way too many people cheating online on the PC. I remember when I used to play Quake3 Arena on the PC before the xbox came out and people would just grapple into a corner and snipe you or have aim assist mods or whatever. At least on Live they try to cut that down as much as possible.

I stopped playing Halo2 on Live after people would use the friggin standby on the modem to disappear and grab the flag and then they would go back their base hit standby again, reappear and score. Dont know if they fixed that all but **** like that kills the fun of the game. Whats the point in playing if your gonna be invisible the whole time?

I am sure most people know that there were tons of FPS on PC's and Halo wasn't the first. It was a great game, I remember reading about it when it was originally planned for PC's and was amazed at the screenshots and what was planned for the story. The game has great balance, great pacing and the vehicles are so much fun to drive and fly around in. Also the co-op play kicked ass.

Not everyones cup of tea but you can't deny the force its become.

[Scorpion3]

Unreal is Quake3 made by Epic instead of Id. :p

I played plenty of FPS on the PC and I prefer consoles mainly because I prefer a controller, and A computer reminds me of work and I don't want to have my relaxation time reminding me of my job. Also there are way too many people cheating online on the PC. I remember when I used to play Quake3 Arena on the PC before the xbox came out and people would just grapple into a corner and snipe you or have aim assist mods or whatever. At least on Live they try to cut that down as much as possible.

I stopped playing Halo2 on Live after people would use the friggin standby on the modem to disappear and grab the flag and then they would go back their base hit standby again, reappear and score. Dont know if they fixed that all but **** like that kills the fun of the game. Whats the point in playing if your gonna be invisible the whole time?

I am sure most people know that there were tons of FPS on PC's and Halo wasn't the first. It was a great game, I remember reading about it when it was originally planned for PC's and was amazed at the screenshots and what was planned for the story. The game has great balance, great pacing and the vehicles are so much fun to drive and fly around in. Also the co-op play kicked ass.

Not everyones cup of tea but you can't deny the force its become.

That took balls, to say you perfer console FPS over PC...I favor consoles for FPS games too, also for the controls. The first game actually holds a personal gaming history for me, I was down in Memphis undergoing treatments when my Mom bought it for me a full month before it came out. And I don't mean a preorder, for some reason since Make-A-Wish was able to give me an early Xbox I also got an early copy of Halo.

[aic007]

That took balls, to say you perfer console FPS over PC...I favor consoles for FPS games too, also for the controls. The first game actually holds a personal gaming history for me, I was down in Memphis undergoing treatments when my Mom bought it for me a full month before it came out. And I don't mean a preorder, for some reason since Make-A-Wish was able to give me an early Xbox I also got an early copy of Halo.


Just my personal choice. Not crazy about mouse keyboard controls. Sure a mouse may be quicker but I hate the lift and move and having to assign keys all over the keyboard to play a game. I just want to pick up the controller and play.

[indolent]

This may come as a shock to you but.... the company you're buying your game from actually make a profit too ya know! I'm not sure if your price includes sales Tax as I live in the UK and our systems are different.


Ok, so I didn't include the store's profit. So that $170 might be Microsoft's revenue. My point was, this story is useless without numbers for their profit. If it cost them $150 million to make the game, they only made $20 mil profit. If it cost them $50 mil to make the game, that's $120 million in profit. These numbers are purely made up, but do you see my point?

[Scorpion3]

Just my personal choice. Not crazy about mouse keyboard controls. Sure a mouse may be quicker but I hate the lift and move and having to assign keys all over the keyboard to play a game. I just want to pick up the controller and play.

Same here, I just get more precision out of a controller compared to mouse and keyboard. Which most people say the exact oposit, I don't really understand it.

[n0rthstar]

Same here, I just get more precision out of a controller compared to mouse and keyboard. Which most people say the exact oposit, I don't really understand it.

Thats because theres a lot of 'auto-aim' added to a control pad. Personally im crappier with a pad than a kb/mouse, but a pad allows you the luxury of sitting back and not fiddling with tons of keys... which can be nice. Multiplayer wise i would never consider a pad better than kb/mouse, unless everyone is using said configuration on a console, deffinately not on a pc though, as you would be at a massive dissadvantage, but for a single player game on pc its fine.