Halo fever
Gamers eager for the latest instalment of the Xbox 360's Halo series made Microsoft $200m in global sales of Halo: Reach on its launch day.
Its maker will hope Halo fever will heighten gamers' excitement for Kinect which is due to launch in November and reverse the downward trend in the $60bn gaming industry.
Microsoft Game Studios' VP, Phil Spencer told Reuters a lack of blockbuster games being released is responsible for the industry's problems and he hopes Halo: Reach will boost console sales.
"What 'Halo: Reach' numbers tell me is gamers are there. They are willing to buy the great experiences when they come out. In fact, that we are exceeding Halo 3 numbers out of the gate tells me that the industry is in a healthy state," he reportedly said.
Spencer also said the number of people playing the new title on Xbox Live topped the number who played Halo 3 on the platform. He reportedly believes the $200m of sales makes Halo Reach the biggest launch of the year so far.
In total, the Halo series is believes to have pulled in nearly $2bn in sales and shifted more than 34m copies.
Looking forward, Spencer told the news service he is cautious about the outlook for 3D games as it has a long way to go as a creative medium but "in the long run, we are believers in 3D."
