In a way, the manner Halo 3 set a new entertainment record was as much a self-fulfilling prophecy as it was a cultural phenomenon of our times. Microsoft has certainly pressed the marketing pedal down all the way in order to achieve more than $170 million worth of sales within the first 24 hours - crushing even Spider-Man 3’s weekend opening record of $150 something million in the process. Now that’s saying a whole lot, considering how many more people catch movies instead of staying cooped up at home playing video games. No doubt that the world of Halo 3 is slowly but surely expanding to gamers everywhere, but the million dollar question would be this - can the momentum be sustained?

According to Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios, “Halo 3 has become a pop-culture phenomenon. Not only is “Halo 3� setting sales records, it’s also redefining entertainment. Within the first 20 hours alone, we’ve seen more than a million Xbox LIVE members come online to play Halo 3 – that makes September 25 the most active Xbox LIVE gaming day in history.� Without a doubt, the surge in Xbox LIVE members coming only all at once to play Halo 3 resulted in dropped games as well as plenty of lag as the system surely did not expect such a huge swarm of players in a single day.

Are you one of those who are now sitting at home snugly while mashing away the buttons on your Xbox 360 controller? If you’re one and are reading this while taking a toilet break, then congratulations for contributing to Bill Gate’s vast pockets a part of history.

Source: Mercury News

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