AfterDawn: News

Microsoft says Halo 3 will help sell more consoles

Microsoft's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chris Liddell said that the company expects the platform-exclusive Halo 3 to boost the sales of Xbox 360 consoles when it is released later this year. "Halo 3 is clearly going to have a positive impact in two senses. One, it gives us more confidence in the number of consoles we think we're going to be able to sell next year," he said in a conference call while discussing Microsoft's Q3 results.

He added: "In terms of the direct impact, obviously it's a first-party product so it's reasonably profitable from our point of view, and it will be several hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue next year." Halo 3 is due out in Autumn and is a key product in Microsoft's 2007 line-up for the Xbox 360.



Slower sales of Xbox 360 consoles in Q3 resulted in a revenue drop for the company's Entertainment and Devices division. "Sales during the quarter in terms of sell-in were around 500,000 consoles. Sell-through was higher than that, so our inventory levels did come down to normal levels," Liddell said. "We did see a good inventory movement during the course of the quarter."

Source:
GamesIndustry.biz

Written by: James Delahunty @ 29 Apr 2007 19:53

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• 24 comments

• malcdogg

  Thought that went without saying.

  29.4.2007 20:29 #1

• Edgewise

  thanks capt obvious.

  29.4.2007 20:30 #2

• rihgt682

  NOOOOOOO way

  29.4.2007 20:56 #3

• ZippyDSM

  *long sigh*
  I got the Xbox for Halo 2 and for a few rare worth while Xbx games that dun play on the 360 add the hardware mess of the 360 and the elites control scheme of halo I think I will pass least till I can get both for under 300.

  29.4.2007 21:31 #4

• AXT

  Wow!!! This is news to me.

  29.4.2007 23:23 #5

• NexGen76

  Looks like Halo still got M$ on life support.

  30.4.2007 01:46 #6

• Kasper45

  Halo 3 might sell more Elite 360 console's. Everybody else has pretty much already bought a 360 for the awaitting release of Halo 3. IF GoW didn't sell that many consoles as MS had reported, they need H3 to hit a homerun before SoNy catches up.

  30.4.2007 06:55 #7

• Ankoku

  lol I bought my Xbox specifically for Halo 2, and then upgraded to 360 in less than 6 months, for Halo 3, GoW was just a bonus...

  30.4.2007 07:58 #8

• eiffel65

  Originally posted by Ankoku:lol I bought my Xbox specifically for Halo 2, and then upgraded to 360 in less than 6 months, for Halo 3, GoW was just a bonus...
  I think Gears of War was made to tie over Halo fans waiting for Halo 3. Looks like it helped alot.

  30.4.2007 08:30 #9

• ZippyDSM

  Quote:Originally posted by Ankoku:lol I bought my Xbox specifically for Halo 2, and then upgraded to 360 in less than 6 months, for Halo 3, GoW was just a bonus...
  I think Gears of War was made to tie over Halo fans waiting for Halo 3. Looks like it helped alot.Not really its made by epic the Unreal people or a stdio tied with them inside Epic its a shame Unreal will never be that good....

  30.4.2007 09:24 #10

• eiffel65

  Quote:its a shame Unreal will never be that good....
  That's because Unreal was made for PC originally, not Xbox. Add some improvements, more weapons and other cool stuff, and make it exclusively for 360, then maybe we'll have a look.

  30.4.2007 13:23 #11

• borhan9

  I have to say ditto here. Of course this is going to happen cause this game is the key game for the console like Mario is for Nintendo etc...

  1.5.2007 04:27 #12

• hughjars

  Originally posted by NexGen76:Looks like Halo still got M$ on life support. - Microsoft has some of the deepest pockets on the planet, they could care less I'm sure.
  
  They have a long-term plan.
  They have moved the market leader from being bigger than all the rest put together to a shrinking market share and being merely the largest minority.
  
  You won't be hearing of Microsoft laying off staff.

  1.5.2007 07:09 #13

• handsom

  Quote:I have to say ditto here. Of course this is going to happen cause this game is the key game for the console like Mario is for Nintendo etc... And yet... The Wii is doing fine without it.
  
  As for Gears of War being a 'hold-you-over'... Cliffy B is a veteran to the industry, he made a brilliant game there; and really struck gold. Gears of War isn't a tie-over for the Halo series... It's direct competition, which will become more apparent in the follow-ups.
  
  Unreal not as good? That's a matter of debate. Considering how good the original Unreal was when it launched, it pretty much set a higher standard against all the current competition. Unreal Torunament served up some strong, healthy competition for Quake 3; and proved that there really is room for two prominent adrenaline-shooters (Sorry fanboys Halo is not, and never will be an 'adrenaline shooter', that's not what it was designed to do.) The ports to the xbox weren't very good. But it should go without saying they were ports, which by default means tragically underimpressive. And the second UC, the one by Midway, was a travesty to the series. They wanted too much to try and incorporate Mortal Kombat... What a wonderful idea, let's fuse two completely different, non-interchangable gameplay types together. That's a sure formula for disaster. Hopefully Unreal 3(The new title for the former UT2k7) will be better. I'm not a fan of the storyline, but then again, it's not officially UT this time around, so that's alright. Going for it this time, is the fact that the peeps over at Epic actually give a rip on this one, and have spent a lot of time polishing, not to mention they don't have to down-tweak it for the new consoles this time - A definite plus. This may be the first true adrenaline gunner for the new wave of consoles. Gears of War borderlined on it, but ultimately like Halo was designed for a bit of thought and strategy rather than twitch-run-and-gun play made famous by UT and Q3.
  
  Will Halo3 be a great game? Probably.
  Is it the only thing the 360 has going for it? Hardly.
  Will it sell more systems? Most definitely, it goes without saying.

  1.5.2007 10:39 #14

• ZippyDSM

  handsom
  
  UC 2 did try top much and failed at some things but it is all around better than UT 03/04 witch was just slapped together for the PC even with the vehicles 04 blows compared to sheer fun of UT(99).
  
  BTW its UT3 not Unreal 3.
  
  
  Dont get me wrong I like Halo is a good SP fps and a ok multi player I wish they would polish it a bit more get the controls to "normal" fps have auto aim as a option and such but it seems they can only work on a game until MS is ready for it....
  
  BTW Gears of War is a ok/good game to,when Epic decides to actuality work on a game it can be good....

  1.5.2007 13:42 #15

• Ankoku

  @handsom
  
  I just wanna say, Im dying without a Mario game right now! My wii has been completely ignored for the last 3 months, basically after I beat zelda, but yes, Halo is a staple game and extra console sales should be expected because it makes sense

  1.5.2007 14:40 #16

• Ankoku

  @handsom
  
  I just wanna say, Im dying without a Mario game right now! My wii has been completely ignored for the last 3 months, basically after I beat zelda, but yes, Halo is a staple game and extra console sales should be expected because it makes sense

  1.5.2007 14:40 #17

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by Ankoku:@handsom
  
  I just wanna say, Im dying without a Mario game right now! My wii has been completely ignored for the last 3 months, basically after I beat zelda, but yes, Halo is a staple game and extra console sales should be expected because it makes senseI wuold rather go without another "Sunshine" game....however if they can get back to Mario 64 and improve on it and do a correct mario game with all his powerups(non of that time out BS) I would kill for that mario game...however they are to busy "reinvent'n" to give a damn abotu basics....
  
  I am waiting on metroid prime 3 :X

  1.5.2007 14:45 #18

• handsom

  @Ankoku
  
  So, get Super Paper Mario. It plays like the old school Mario games. I couldn't be more pleased. Saying that you're dying without a mario game is one thing, saying your're dying without a "3D" mario game would be entirely less valid because Mario has so few ventures into 3d platforming, but then again, 'Galaxy' comes out this fall, it will be the third three dimensional outing in the series; compared to how many 2d ones? If you're looking for fun (mostly) two dimensional play, then definitely try out super paper mario; I've had a blast with it.
  
  I think I'm one of the only people who isn't hyped up for Metroid Prime 3. I never finished the first one, I then bought the second one with the intention of quickly polishing off number one, which never happened; so number two got traded in having never been used, lol. I am eager to play a shooter game with the Wiimote; but I think I'm going to have to get initiated to it with something else...

  1.5.2007 14:51 #19

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by handsom:@Ankoku
  
  So, get Super Paper Mario. It plays like the old school Mario games. I couldn't be more pleased. Saying that you're dying without a mario game is one thing, saying your're dying without a "3D" mario game would be entirely less valid because Mario has so few ventures into 3d platforming, but then again, 'Galaxy' comes out this fall, it will be the third three dimensional outing in the series; compared to how many 2d ones? If you're looking for fun (mostly) two dimensional play, then definitely try out super paper mario; I've had a blast with it.
  
  I think I'm one of the only people who isn't hyped up for Metroid Prime 3. I never finished the first one, I then bought the second one with the intention of quickly polishing off number one, which never happened; so number two got traded in having never been used, lol. I am eager to play a shooter game with the Wiimote; but I think I'm going to have to get initiated to it with something else...let me tell you why I must get MP3 I liek the MP line its possible the best fps on the GC
  
  frist off the control for MP3 should be perfect or closer to it compared to the fcked up adventure controls of the first 2 had.
  
  My only real hope for MP3 is that its better balanced and the map design is not as cramped as MP2's other than that I have a feelign it was made for the GC and they been back biteing to get it to play ont eh WII :X
  
  I fully expect it to be something like Zelfda TWP a good "GC" game :P

  1.5.2007 14:57 #20

• handsom

  Quote:let me tell you why I must get MP3 I liek the MP line its possible the best fps on the GCWell; that can easily be repharased just as accurately:
  
  let me tell you why I must get MP3 I liek the MP line its possible the only fps on the GC
  
  lol.
  
  Meh. It may have been the 'best on the system' but I had all three consoles, and personally found much more 'intense' or 'intriguing' options on the other systems, as far as shooters go. Maybe it's because I'm much more of a fast-paced twitch gamer; I think that MP just wasn't designed for gamers like me is all.
  
  Now, I wouldn't mind seeing a (obviously slightly downgraded) port of Unreal 3 hitting the Wii with online and Wiimote control, that could be cool; but I don't see it happening. The problem for me, is that I see the Wii having some real potential for fps games, but I really wonder how well they're going to end up working in reality, and whether it can support the kind of twitch games that I've always enjoyed.
  
  I suppose it's just yet to be seen.

  1.5.2007 15:02 #21

• ZippyDSM

  Quote:[quote]let me tell you why I must get MP3 I liek the MP line its possible the best fps on the GCWell; that can easily be repharased just as accurately:
  
  let me tell you why I must get MP3 I liek the MP line its possible the only fps on the GC
  
  lol.
  
  Meh. It may have been the 'best on the system' but I had all three consoles, and personally found much more 'intense' or 'intriguing' options on the other systems, as far as shooters go. Maybe it's because I'm much more of a fast-paced twitch gamer; I think that MP just wasn't designed for gamers like me is all.
  
  Now, I wouldn't mind seeing a (obviously slightly downgraded) port of Unreal 3 hitting the Wii with online and Wiimote control, that could be cool; but I don't see it happening. The problem for me, is that I see the Wii having some real potential for fps games, but I really wonder how well they're going to end up working in reality, and whether it can support the kind of twitch games that I've always enjoyed.
  
  I suppose it's just yet to be seen.[/quote]handsom
  there are soem GC ports of FPSs but I dunno if thier the same qaulity as XIII you have to wonder WTF no analog swap no button swap god the controls are horrible...make button mapping and left/right paly default for all games already.....
  
  I love MP but it has its weaknessess much like Halo its good for what it is not much more than that.
  
  Is not oblivion hitting the WII?
  if oblivion can go to the WII theres no reason other games cant.
  
  UT03 and U3 are different games
  
  UT03
  http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/unrealtournament2007/index.html
  
  U3
  http://www.beyondunreal.com/daedalus/singlepost.php?id=8006

  1.5.2007 15:32 #22

• handsom

  No. Oblivion is not hitting the Wii. There have been no announcements for it, and considering how much of a fuss they threw over the ram limitation on the 360 back in the day, I don't foresee Bethesda announcing a port to a lower-hardware system any time in the next millenia.... But Nintendo has good titles coming for their system too; can you say "Mushroom Kingdom Hearts"? lol. But yeah, I think we're going to se a few ports and a good number of exclusives, Nintendo has really been amping things up for the fans, and I think they're trying to re-shape everyone's image of them as being "Just for the kiddies", time will tell.
  
  As for the Unreal games, I seem to have been incorrect. UT2k7 is UT3 now. But I was not aware of there being an Unreal 3 in the works, while I was a huge fan of the original and Na Pali; I really don't know if I want Unreal 3, not after playing through Unreal 2.... That got pretty painful. I'd be strongly reluctant to purchase that. I only hope that Midway kept their garbage out of this title, unlike UC2; because it would be terrible to lose such a promising title to some corporate idiot who thinks they should put melee fatalities into a shooter game. Ugh.
  
  I am looking forward to Halo3, and I will get it; but it's hardly the end-all be all for this system. I've really enjoyed GoW, Crackown caught me completely off gaurd-I expected almost nothing from M$ on that one, and there have been several others that I enjoyed a lot, plus more to come. But then again, Halo always has, and probably always will sell more consoles, which in turn sell more games.
  

  
  

  2.5.2007 10:22 #23

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by handsom:No. Oblivion is not hitting the Wii. There have been no announcements for it, and considering how much of a fuss they threw over the ram limitation on the 360 back in the day, I don't foresee Bethesda announcing a port to a lower-hardware system any time in the next millenia.... But Nintendo has good titles coming for their system too; can you say "Mushroom Kingdom Hearts"? lol. But yeah, I think we're going to se a few ports and a good number of exclusives, Nintendo has really been amping things up for the fans, and I think they're trying to re-shape everyone's image of them as being "Just for the kiddies", time will tell.
  
  As for the Unreal games, I seem to have been incorrect. UT2k7 is UT3 now. But I was not aware of there being an Unreal 3 in the works, while I was a huge fan of the original and Na Pali; I really don't know if I want Unreal 3, not after playing through Unreal 2.... That got pretty painful. I'd be strongly reluctant to purchase that. I only hope that Midway kept their garbage out of this title, unlike UC2; because it would be terrible to lose such a promising title to some corporate idiot who thinks they should put melee fatalities into a shooter game. Ugh.
  
  I am looking forward to Halo3, and I will get it; but it's hardly the end-all be all for this system. I've really enjoyed GoW, Crackown caught me completely off gaurd-I expected almost nothing from M$ on that one, and there have been several others that I enjoyed a lot, plus more to come. But then again, Halo always has, and probably always will sell more consoles, which in turn sell more games.From what I see no dev is interested in making old school levels without that a new unreal game might be futile,I am playing Pariah and it more of a sign of moderen level design than U2 was it has 10X more invisable walls if they removed more than half of them and gave the player a feeling of immersion/exploration then the levels would at least not suck LOL U2>Pariah>Doom3>Quake 4 it seems all devs want straight to the point bland level design why have jump if you cant really use it.....
  

  
  
  FIGHT THE M.A.F.I.A.A.
  

  2.5.2007 12:18 #24