Halo: Reach Sells 3.3 Million in September

[John Funk]

Halo: Reach Sells 3.3 Million in September

As it turns out, more than a few gamers were interested in remembering Reach.

Last month's Halo: Reach wasn't just an excellent send-off to Bungie's landmark FPS series, it was a fantastic game, period [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/8101-Review-Halo-Reach]. There was absolutely no doubt in the minds of any (save perhaps the most ardent PS3 fanboy) that Reach would be a massive hit - and the numbers back that up.

According to Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg, Halo: Reach sold 3.3 million copies in the US in September [http://twitter.com/aarongreenberg/status/27383820232#]. This puts it on par with its blockbuster predecessor Halo 3 - which also sold 3.3 million units in September 2007 - but behind Modern Warfare 2, which moved 4.2 million copies last November on Xbox 360 alone.

Though I doubt there is a single game studio on the planet that would be unhappy with a game selling 3.3 million copies in a single month, Reach is actually underperforming in the eyes of some. Industry analyst Doug Creutz had expected the title to outperform Halo 3 [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2010-10-15-new-game-releases-disappoint-in-the-us] with 3.75 million sales in its first month, given that there are many more Xbox 360s in gamer households than there were three years ago.

In other words, it still ain't outselling Pokemon Black & White in Japan [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/104400-Red-Dead-Redemption-Sees-Surprising-Success-in-Japan].

Putting comparisons both reasonable and unreasonable aside, though, 3.3 million sales in a single month is hardly anything to sneer at. Bungie must be happy to know that it will be leaving the Halo franchise as it entered it: on a big honking pile of money.

(Via Videogamer [http://www.videogamer.com/news/halo_reach_sold_3_3_million_units_in_the_us.html])

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[Veldt Falsetto]

I'm not trying to troll or anything but...yeah it isn't THAT great a game. Yeah it's good and yeah there's no doubt it would sell really well but I definitely wouldn't say it was a fantastic game.

EDIT: Actually, I'm really surprised that it hasn't outsold the new pokemon game yet..that's really weird.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Same sales as 3?

Odd.

 

[SantoUno]

I think the reason why it didn't outsell Halo 3 is because Halo 3 was a far more anticipated landmark of a game. It was Halo's arrival to the 360 for the first time, and it held many awesome features that no one imagined would happen before that.

But Reach is merely an upgrade of that. Firefight and Forge World were already part of 3 and ODST in a more simpler form. Aside from just being an anticipated prequel, Reach wasn't all that special when compared to the phenomenal releases of Halo 2 and 3.

 

[Baby Tea]

I'm not trying to troll or anything but...yeah it isn't THAT great a game. Yeah it's good and yeah there's no doubt it would sell really well but I definitely wouldn't say it was a fantastic game.

Don't you love opinions?
I sure do!

More on topic: The game deserves it, I think. It's fun, there is plenty to do, a blast to play with friends. It was a great, strone way for Bungie to say 'farewell' to the Halo franchise. Yeah, it deserves high sales.

I fear, however, that it'll be eclipsed by Black Ops in November.
We shall see.

 

[JeanLuc761]

Don't you love opinions?
I sure do!

This is the internet; opinions are ALWAYS taken as fact

Anyways, after just finishing Reach with my father last night, I say it deserves the high sales. While I was disappointed that the gameplay really hasn't evolved over the last decade, the game was so polished that I'm hard pressed to mark it down for that.

 

[YodaUnleashed]

I think the reason why it didn't outsell Halo 3 is because Halo 3 was a far more anticipated landmark of a game. It was Halo's arrival to the 360 for the first time, and it held many awesome features that no one imagined would happen before that.

But Reach is merely an upgrade of that. Firefight and Forge World were already part of 3 and ODST in a more simpler form. Aside from just being an anticipated prequel, Reach wasn't all that special when compared to the phenomenal releases of Halo 2 and 3.

Pretty much nailed it on the head; Halo 3 was generally a more anticipated release being Halo's debut on the 360 with it's slew of brand new features like theater mode, 4 player online co-op, forge and the general all round improvements to matchmaking. Plus it was the conclusion to the Halo trilogy and that finish the fight marketing tagline was so much more catchy then Remember Reach.

Reach on the other hand is basically a near perfection of all the features that have come before it in all previous Halo games, in reality offering nothing totally new but everything one could love about Halo refined to a sweet sweet finish. Thus it ain't all that surprising it's sales only match Halo 3's.

 

[Dark Sup3rn0va]

These are only the US sales. These aren't counting in Europe and Austrailian sales so my guess is that this number is much higher.

 

[Dyp100]

No one cares about the numbers from the other countries around the world?

Okay, sure...

 

[fulano]

As a Halo fan, I'm actally happy. Why? 'Cause that means that if Microsoft wants to keep the franchise relevant they have to start competing hard to make sure that is the case, and that means making absolutely sure that the next game is nowhere near below the standards of a AAA title. They know they can't fuck up this one or there will be a mess.

If Treyarch does fine with taking the Call of Duty mantle with Black Ops, then that shows that as long as you have a competent developing team you can have a good game.

Only good things can come from this, methinks.

 

[Irridium]

I'd say it deserves it. Its a great game, and doesn't have the two things everything else has. Iron sights and regenerating health(OK, it has a shield, but you still have a health bar).

Its a great game that brings together like minded players [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/Halo-Fans] for a some fun.

 

[Amnestic]

I didn't contribute to this number, because I live in Merry Ol' England!

I do like Reach though. Solid game, well polished and all around enjoyable experience. Was worth the £50 to get the Collector's Edition with Dr. Halsey's journal, definitely.

in reality offering nothing totally new

Spoiler: Oh?

Wheeeeeeeeeeee!

 

[sylekage]

Well good job, it was a fantastic sendoff for Bungie. I'm a huge Halo nerd, and this was almost my favorite Halo game of the franchise. It may be beaten by other games in the coming weeks, but hey all games do.

Good job Bungie.

 

[sanguinator]

i feel bad for poor poor sony fanboys

 

[Nouw]

These are only the US sales. These aren't counting in Europe and Austrailian sales so my guess is that this number is much higher.

Don't forget NEW ZEALAND!

Ahem, that's seems quite small... I'm not sure, wasn't this supposed to beat Mew Two?

 

[goingbacktoCali]

Starcraft 2 sold 3 million in its first month not including Korea.

But SC2 has way more long lasting appeal than Halo, so it will easily end up out selling Halo in terms of total sales.