GamerMetrics Predicts Halo 3 Sales of 4 Million In First Two Months

IGN Entertainment has released a GamerMetrics report with anticipated sales projections, statistics and commentary specifically focused on the upcoming release of Halo 3. In the report, GamerMetrics analyst Nick Williams predicts that the game will sell more than 4 million units in the US alone within the first two months on the market. Based on his forecast of more than 4 million Halo 3 units sold within the first two months of launch, Williams expects that in five weeks on the market, Halo 3 will "almost double" the life-to-date unit sales of Gears of War, the fastest-selling title to date according to IGN's metrics. "It is more than likely," Williams adds, "that Halo 3 will eventually break into the top ten best-selling video games of all time," he continues, noting that Super Mario Bros. 3, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Gran Turismo III: A-Spec are part of that cadre. More importantly for Microsoft, Williams expects Halo 3 will drive "significant" Xbox 360 hardware sales during the upcoming holiday season, taking the focus away from the Wii and PlayStation 3. "Furthermore, the addictive nature of the Halo 3 multiplayer feature lends itself to repeat playing sessions usually lasting for hours at a time," Williams adds. "In other words, the 'Halo effect' on the video game industry will be far more dramatic than a major movie release on the film industry, as the impact will be felt well beyond the weekend of launch. Gamers will have little free time to play other titles during the early holiday months, meaning less attention given to competing Xbox 360 software releases." So far in 2007, Halo 3 has generated more traffic across IGN Entertainment than any other released or unreleased title on the market, Williams says, adding that it's also ranked #1 in IGN's list of most anticipated holiday releases according to the company's proprietary Mindshare metric. Visitors that expressed an interest in Halo 3 also demonstrated interest in Unreal Tournament III, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Fable 2, Too Human and Mass Effect, listed in order of affinity. According to Williams, approximately 11 million copies of Halo and Halo 2 have been sold in the United States, generating over $450 million in revenue for Microsoft. "Six years later, the dynamics of the video game industry have shifted quite dramatically, and Microsoft finds itself in the position of serving archrival Sony a devastating blow as it looks to build its lead in the next-gen console wars," he says. "As a result, the release of Halo 3 has far reaching implications that extend beyond your average game release."