More than a million racing fans snapped up copies of Turn 10's Forza Motorsport 3 during its first month at retail, with players logging more than 6.6 million man hours playing online. Those man hours (as opposed to dog hours - dogs can't drive) were spent in more than 64 million connected sessions covering approximately 590 million miles of track.

In other words, a lot of people have been playing Forza 3.

And perhaps a good portion of those million people will be picking up the Hot Holidays car pack, available today, featuring ten of of the world's most anticipated race cars of 2009 and 2010. Cars like the new Ferrari 458 Italia and the latest Nissan GT-R Spec V. Cars like this:

1. 2010 Ferrari 599XX
2. 2010 Mercedes SLR Stirling Moss
3. 2010 Lamborghini LP6700-4 SV
4. 2010 Porsche Panamera Turbo
5. 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia
6. 2010 Jaguar XFR
7. 2010 Audi S4
8. 2009 Aston Martin #007 AMR Lola
9. 2009 Audi #2 Sport Team Joest R15 TDI
10. 2010 Nissan GT-R Spec V

Yes sir, that is definitely a list of cars, all of which can be yours today for 400 Microsoft points. Just make sure to save some points for January 12th, when Turn 10 releases another pack to coincide with the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The Chronicle Master system works much like City of Heroes Mission Architect, allowing players to use in-game tools to create their own missions and share them with the community. Since Sony Online Entertainment implemented the feature last month, players have been sharing the hell out of some missions. SOE cites one player who has already created more than 6,000 playable quests, all by himself. That's relatively insane.

It's even more insane when you take into account estimated subscription numbers for the game. MMO Data has Star Wars Galaxies' subscriber list estimated at around 50,000 players. Even if they were off by half and it was 100k, that's still 30 user-created quests per player. I suppose it helps that completing player-made quests earns you special in-game loot, but still, that's a pretty impressive ratio.

It just goes to show that players who've stuck with Star Wars Galaxies this long are really, really into Star Wars.

If you had any doubts about the ever-growing importance of Facebook to the game industry, look no further than today's Activision announcement, heralding the impressive number of fans the Guitar Hero Facebook page has gathered. It's not about sales. It's not about review scores. It's about people clicking on a little button, and one million (1,084,288 as of this writing) people clicking a button is certainly impressive.

The page is used mainly to request feedback from the Guitar Hero community, asking the community which songs are the hardest to play, what bands they'd like to see, and generally gathering data that could be used to make future updates and versions of the game more tailored to community tastes.

That, or they could just be generating random conversations, though I'd like to think it was the gathering data thing.

So, are you one of the million fans?

The Battlefield Heroes community continues to grow in leaps and bounds, having added an additional 1 million players since the first million was announced back in June of this year. It turns out gamers love free things. They also love free updates to free things, and that's what EA is giving them with the "Heroes of the Fall" game update, due out September 30th, in celebration of this latest milestone.

The fall update includes changes to the gunner class that our resident BFH enthusiast Luke mentioned previously, a new ranking system, and a new fall-themed map that players can submit names for at the official website.

"Along with this new map, ‘Heroes of the Fall' includes a slew of changes including upgrades of the Gunner class and improvements to the friends system," said Ben Cousins, General Manager, Battlefield Heroes team. "We've also added a brand new ranking system for the game – players can earn cool new titles for their heroes as they play – showing everyone on the battlefield how dedicated they are."

Dedication comes quite easily when the price of entry is free. A lesson for all of us!

Nexon America's revenue for August was up 32% over the previous year, and if the company's celebratory press release is any indication, Combat Arms had a lot to do with its "explosive growth". Since Combat Arms launched in July 2008, Nexon has updated the title on a regular basis, adding in new game modes like Quarantine and Fireteam, aping modes in popular retail releases to tremendous effect.

"We have worked extremely hard to make sure that our players get new, fun and interesting content delivered as frequently as possible," said Min Kim, Nexon America's vice president of marketing. "The progress we have made with Combat Arms is significant, substantial and added a great deal to the outstanding summer success for Nexon America."

Nexon continues to grow Combat Arms, recently adding new zombie maps to the Quarantine mode and a new mercenary character modeled after a movie action hero, and I can't see them stopping anytime soon. You can almost rest assured that if a new FPS game type becomes popular, Combat Arms will get a free version of it eventually. It's a business model that work - just ask those three million users. Visit the Combat Arms website if you're interested in becoming one of them.

See, instead of spending millions of dollars on recruitment advertising no one will actually see, the IRS instead spent thousands of dollars to create an IRS Careers Island in Second Life which no one will actually see. That's much cheaper! I actually visited the island as soon as I heard about this, and one can definitely see how they saved millions. It's a bunch of booths with clickable information signs, and a couple of lounges with some very pretty penguin clip art that must have cost them a small fortune to secure.

Frank Stipe, Virtual Worlds & Social Networking Project Manager for the IRS, explains why the IRS needs a Virtual Worlds & Social Networking Project Manager.

In the physical world, we could spend hundreds of thousands, if not millions, on sponsoring a race car that displays our brand in a field of thirty or more other cars. In the SL virtual world, we have spent a few thousand dollars to build complete entertainment and communications venue that includes a race course. IRS branding throughout the venue not only displays our messaging, but it also instantly dispenses marketing collateral and links to our Careers web site.

Wait, there's an IRS race course in Second Life? Excuse me a moment.

Wheeeeee! The IRS rocks!

The service is currently working with Universities and other academic institutions to raise awareness of its Second Life presence. Those interested in more information can contact recruiter Robin Laviscu or sim engineer RobinRasberry Sorbet.

IRS Saves Millions by Using Second Life to Market Its Employment Opportunities [College Recruiter]

The new statistics arrive with the announcement of record growth for the console so far this year, celebrating a 28 percent jump in console sales over the previous year - the highest percentage growth of any console in 2009. Over the course of this console generation, U.S. customers alone have spent $14.5 billion on the console, including hardware, games, and downloadable content, which Microsoft's Don Mattrick attributes to offering more entertainment value than anyone else, while teasing next week's E3 announcements.

"We've always been confident that Xbox 360 offers more entertainment value than any other console on the market, and these latest numbers show that consumers agree. We expect our growth to continue to accelerate. Our news at E3 next week will underscore our commitment to bringing blockbuster entertainment experiences to everyone and to growing the Xbox entertainment brand globally."

On the software side of things, the Xbox 360 has generated $5.9 billion in sales for third-party developers to date, which according to the NPD group is more than the PlayStation 3 and Wii combined.

With more than 20 million active users, Microsoft is calling Xbox Live the world's largest global entertainment network. The service now reaches 26 countries, with an install base larger than any satellite television provider. More than 1 billion pieces of content have been downloaded from the service to date.

Live has been generating particularly amazing numbers since the launch of the New Xbox Experience last year, with a 136% increase in new members, TV and movie downloads doubling, and game add-on downloads increasing by 70 percent.

The official announcement ends with another E3 tease, promising more exciting announcements to come, as long as they don't blow the whole thing several days before the show, like everyone else seems to have been doing lately.

Of course by domestically they mean in North America, with the company's number one franchise racking up more than four million sales between the five games in the series, which includes the recently released Gardening Mama. The company is also lowering the price for Cooking Mama World Kitchen for the Nintendo Wii to $29.99, which puts every game in the franchise under the $30 mark.

"We are thrilled to reach this significant milestone. Majesco's #1 franchise continues to resonate with gamers of all ages and genders," said Jesse Sutton, Chief Executive Officer, Majesco. "We will continue to explore ways to expand the Mama brand with innovative and compelling products that offer new entertainment experiences."

And it doesn't get much more innovative or compelling than Crafting Mama.

That extra .5 million is the focus of Blizzard's press release today, earning top billing over the much more impressive news that the Wrath of the Lich King sold 4 million copies in the first month, breaking the monthly PC sales record previously held by The Burning Crusade. Barring some sort of global awakening I suspect we can just save these press releases and change out the names and numbers once the next WoW expansion hits.

Sales of the core game and the World of Warcraft Burning Crusade Battle Chest also jumped during the month as Lich King mania drove more holdouts over the edge, helping bring in those extra 500 thousand subscribers so that Blizz could issue the press release version of a 6-month anniversary.

World of Warcraft® Subscriber Base Reaches 11.5 Million Worldwide
Wrath of the Lich King™ expansion fuels growth with record first-month sales of more than 4 million

IRVINE, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that World of Warcraft®, its award-winning subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, is now played by more than 11.5 million subscribers worldwide. This new high was reached following the November 13 release of the game’s second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King™.

Within its first 24 hours of availability, Wrath of the Lich King sold more than 2.8 million copies, making it the fastest-selling PC game of all time. In addition to winning a number of editor’s choice awards from major gaming publications, the expansion has now gone on to sell more than 4 million copies in its first month, setting a new record for monthly PC-game sales. Both sales records were previously held by World of Warcraft’s first expansion, The Burning Crusade®.*

“We’re pleased to welcome the new and returning players who have helped World of Warcraft reach these new milestones, and we appreciate the enthusiasm and support that the game’s global community has continued to show,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment®. “We look forward to providing all of them with an excellent entertainment experience for a long time to come.”

“Not only is Wrath of the Lich King still doing well, the base World of Warcraft game and the World of Warcraft Battle Chest® are performing better than last year,” said Bob McKenzie, senior vice president of merchandising at GameStop. “That type of traction is very impressive for a game that is going into its fifth holiday season and speaks to the enthusiastic player base Blizzard Entertainment products have.”

To keep pace with the continued growth of World of Warcraft as well as development on other Blizzard Entertainment games, the company is currently hiring for numerous open positions. More information on available career opportunities can be found at www.blizzard.com/jobs. More information about the latest World of Warcraft expansion is available at the official Wrath of the Lich King website: www.worldofwarcraft.com/wrath.

World of Warcraft’s Subscriber Definition

World of Warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards. Subscribers in licensees’ territories are defined along the same rules.

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Sony Worldwide Studios head Michael Denny revealed that the sequel to the PlayStation 3's hit offroad racer has done quite alright by itself since its October release.

In terms of the other titles it was also important to focus on – the sequel to MotorStorm, we're pleased with the high Metacritic rating of 82 per cent and it's sold over a million units worldwide.

This puts it on par with the original title, which sold 1 million copies in June of 2007 following its March release in the states. Looks like the original audience stuck around for more.

MotorStorm: Pacific Rift passes one million sales [GamesIndustry.biz]

The press release then goes into a bit of back-patting over high review scores, which we've already been over, after mentioning that the game has yet to be released in Japan, where it is sure to meet with some sort of reception on December 4th, hopefully positive. Hit the jump for the full text of the press release, and if you see a Bethesda person today, remember to give them a slightly manic grin and a big old thumbs up.

Bethesda Softworks Announces Successful Launch of Fallout 3

$300 Million Worldwide Launch Across Three Platforms

November 6, 2008 (ROCKVILLE, MD) – Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax Media company, announced that its hit title, Fallout® 3 has enjoyed record sales at launch, reflecting the huge consumer demand for the game. Approximately 4.7 million units of Fallout 3 were shipped worldwide last week for the Xbox 360®video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and Games for Windows® representing retail sales in excess of $300 million.

Released on October 28 in North America at midnight store openings in over 2,000 retail outlets nationwide jammed with fans eager to get the game, Fallout 3 quickly became one of the industry’s top sellers around the world. For example, in the United Kingdom where it was not released until Friday, October 31 the rapid sales of Fallout 3 have led the game to be ranked number one among all video games, as well as being the number one game on each of its three platforms.

Hailed as one of the most anticipated games of 2008, Fallout 3 received a 10 out of 10 review score from Official Xbox Magazine, a result then repeated around the world with perfect scores by some of the industry’s most influential and respected critics including: Gamespy, GamePro, UGO, the Associated Press, MSN, The Washington Post, Guardian, FHM, Scripps Howard, G4-TV, The Toronto Star, MSN, and Eurogamer. MSNBC’s review offered the observation that it viewed “Fallout as a no-brainer for game of the year.” The Daily Star in the UK echoed that conclusion, saying “You can hold all bets on game of the year – I think we have a winner.”

The successful launch of Fallout 3 by Bethesda Softworks follows the success of The Elder Scrolls® IV: Oblivion®, which remains one of the highest scoring games ever published and earned “Game of the Year” honors in 2006. Fallout 3 has been featured on over 100 magazine covers across the globe and is available in eight languages. The initial retail shipments of Fallout 3 included both the Regular version of the game as well as a limited “Collector’s Edition.” A Fallout 3 Official Game Guide in both the regular and collector’s edition versions has also been a strong seller. Fallout 3 is slated for release in Japan on December 4th.

Fallout 3 features one of the most realized game worlds ever created. Set more than 200 years following a nuclear war, you can create any kind of character you want and explore the open wastes of Washington, D.C. however you choose. Every minute is a fight for survival as you encounter Super Mutants, Ghouls, Raiders, and other dangers of the Wasteland.

Fallout® 3 has been rated Mature by the ESRB. For more information on Fallout 3, visit http://fallout.bethsoft.com and www.prepareforthefuture.com.

“It’s been very rewarding to see gamers around the world continue to show such strong support for World of Warcraft,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment®. “We remain fully committed to responding to that enthusiasm with a high-quality, constantly evolving game experience.”

Nice Mike! While you're at it, how about making the venue for next year's BlizzCon a bit larger, to accommodate all these new fans? Move it from the Anaheim convention center to say, the entire state of Montana. I hear they're renting it out on the cheap.

World of Warcraft® Surpasses 11 Million Subscribers Worldwide

Anticipation continues to mount for Wrath of the Lich King™ expansion as Blizzard Entertainment®’s massively multiplayer online role-playing game reaches new milestone

IRVINE, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced today that the subscribership for World of Warcraft®, its award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), now exceeds 11 million players worldwide. This milestone was reached as the beta test for Wrath of the Lich King™, World of Warcraft’s second expansion, nears completion. Wrath of the Lich King will launch in several regions around the world starting on November 13.

“It’s been very rewarding to see gamers around the world continue to show such strong support for World of Warcraft,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment®. “We remain fully committed to responding to that enthusiasm with a high-quality, constantly evolving game experience.”

Since debuting in North America on November 23, 2004, World of Warcraft has become the most popular MMORPG around the world. It was the bestselling PC game of 2005 and 2006 worldwide, and finished behind only World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade®, the first expansion pack for the game, in 2007.1 In addition to being the bestselling PC game of 2007 in both North America and Europe, The Burning Crusade holds the record for fastest-selling PC game of all time, with nearly 2.4 million copies sold in its first 24 hours of availability and approximately 3.5 million in its first month.

World of Warcraft was recently launched in Russia and Latin America, and is currently available in eight languages. In addition to North America and Europe, the game is played in mainland China, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Chile, Argentina, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.

To keep pace with the continued growth of World of Warcraft as well as development on other Blizzard Entertainment games, the company is currently hiring for numerous open positions. More information on available career opportunities at Blizzard Entertainment can be found at www.blizzard.com/jobs.

For further information on World of Warcraft, The Burning Crusade, and Wrath of the Lich King, please visit the official website at www.worldofwarcraft.com.

World of Warcraft Hits Record One Million Concurrent Chinese Players [GameDaily]

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games™ Hits 5 Million in Global Sales

Founding Fathers of Video Games, SEGA and Nintendo, Find Winning Formula with First-Ever Pairing of Famous Mascots

TOKYO—(BUSINESS WIRE)—SEGA® Corporation today announced that its history-making video game title, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games™, has sold five million copies worldwide in just over three months. Developed by SEGA for the Wii™ video game system and the Nintendo DS™ system, with creative input and executive milestone approvals by Nintendo's developers, the title brought together for the first time the two most beloved icons in the entertainment industry. In the spirit of the Olympic Games, the legendary mascots also brought friends from their storied franchises along, including Luigi™, Knuckles™, Yoshi® and Tails™, to compete in a variety of Olympic events.

"With adored icons and fun game play, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games has shot to the top of the sales charts and is clearly resonating with the growing audience of casual gamers that want an engaging and accessible gaming experience," said Simon Jeffery, President and COO, SEGA of America.

Published by SEGA across Europe and North America, and by Nintendo in Japan, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games made its worldwide debut on November 6, 2007, when the Wii version hit store shelves in the United States. According to the NPD Group, which tracks sales data in the United States, the game was one of the top-ten best-sellers in the United States - across all platforms - in the critical holiday sales month of December.

When Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games launched in Europe just days later, it was an immediate hit, rising rapidly to the top of sales charts. Mario & Sonic became the best-ever performing Wii game over the seven-day period that ended on December 11, 2007. In January, Mario & Sonic was the best-selling video game in England across all formats.

"The market for entertaining games that everyone can enjoy is growing faster than any other segment in the industry, thanks in part to the explosive popularity of Wii and Nintendo DS," continued Jeffery. "A key element of our growth strategy at SEGA is to develop and publish games that appeal to this expanding market."

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is licensed through a worldwide partnership with International Sports Multimedia (ISM), the exclusive Interactive Entertainment Software licensee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

"Our relationship with Ubisoft went far beyond the normal lawyer-client relationship," said Smith, who chairs Greenberg Glusker's Litigation Group and who was lead counsel in the matter. "We effectively became an extension of our client, learning everything about Ubisoft's business from its most senior management."

Greenberg Glusker Client Ubisoft Wins $13 Million Award in Video Game Licensing Dispute

LOS ANGELES—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Greenberg Glusker today announced that its client, Ubisoft Entertainment, one of the world's largest video game publishers, has obtained a $13.2 million judgment in a copyright and trademark infringement dispute against MGA Entertainment, the owner of Bratz™ dolls. Greenberg Glusker attorneys Stephen Smith and Suann MacIsaac, joining with Dale Kinsella of Kinsella, Weitzman, Iser, Kump & Aldisert, represented Ubisoft in the American Arbitration Association (AAA) arbitration that led to the judgment.

"We are thrilled with the result, and we feel completely vindicated," said Ubisoft's General Counsel Cecile Russeil. "We could not have achieved this outcome without attorneys who mastered every aspect of the case, and thoroughly understood our video gaming business."

In 2002, Ubisoft entered into a license with MGA to publish video games based on the Bratz™ dolls. Due to the increasing popularity of the dolls, MGA sought to force a renegotiation of the license in 2003 by terminating the license without cause and on pretextual grounds. When Ubisoft refused to give in to MGA's bad faith demands, MGA sued. Ubisoft counter-sued, alleging that MGA's termination of the license was invalid and a breach of contract.

In an effort to justify its wrongful termination, MGA sought to place at issue every aspect of Ubisoft's handling of the Bratz™ license, which required the legal team to become intimately familiar with Ubisoft's development, manufacturing, marketing and sales operations.

"Our relationship with Ubisoft went far beyond the normal lawyer-client relationship," said Smith, who chairs Greenberg Glusker's Litigation Group and who was lead counsel in the matter. "We effectively became an extension of our client, learning everything about Ubisoft's business from its most senior management."

The arbitrator ruled in favor of Ubisoft, awarding it $13 million in lost profits damages, attorney's fees and interest, and rejecting all of MGA's claims. After the arbitration award was confirmed by the Los Angeles Superior Court, MGA stipulated to entry of judgment in the amount of $13.2 million.

"This arbitration was a textbook example of effective cooperation between an internal legal team and its outside counsel," said lead Ubisoft in-house counsel Virginie Gringarten. "We are extremely pleased with the results."

Global Entertainment Phenomenon "Halo 3" Recores More Than $300 Million In First-Week Sales Worldwide Xbox 360 Console Sales More Than Doubled; Nearly 3 Million Gamers Play Online Via Xbox LIVE LONDON, 4th October 2007 — Interactive entertainment will never be the same, with the launch of one title that has changed the way the world thinks about video games. "Halo® 3" has captured the attention of consumers worldwide and has made history as one of the biggest entertainment launches of all time.

Microsoft Corp. today announced that "Halo 3" has officially become a global phenomenon, garnering more than $300 million in sales in the first week alone. The critically acclaimed Xbox 360® exclusive, which was released in Europe on Wednesday 26th September, is the fastest-selling video game ever and already one of the most successful entertainment properties in history.

Initial reports from retailers worldwide show console sales have more than doubled compared with the weekly average before the launch of "Halo 3." With games like "Halo 3," "BioShock," "Mass Effect" and "Project Gotham Racing 4," Xbox 360 has the greatest line-up in the history of video games and the only console where consumers can play all of the year's biggest blockbusters.

"'Halo' is truly a cultural phenomenon, and the launch of 'Halo 3' is an important milestone for Xbox 360 and for video games as entertainment and as an art form," said Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft. "'Halo 3' embodies our vision for the future of entertainment, where some of the world's greatest creative minds will deliver a new generation of interactive storytelling."

"Halo 3" is quickly staking its place as the most popular Xbox LIVE® game in history with members gathering in record numbers to play on the world's largest online gaming and entertainment network on TV. More than 2.7 million gamers have played "Halo 3" on Xbox LIVE in the first week, representing nearly one-third of the 7 million Xbox LIVE members worldwide. Within the first day of its launch, "Halo 3" players worldwide racked up more than 3.6 million hours of online gameplay, which increased more than elevenfold to 40 million hours by the end of the first week, representing more than 4,500 years of continuous gameplay. Since "Halo 3 launched," gamers have unlocked nearly 30 million achievements. In its first week alone, "Halo 3" drove a record number of Xbox LIVE Gold Memberships as hundreds of thousands of new members gathered online with friends, family members and other gamers around the world to collectively compete and complete the game.

"Halo 3" is the conclusion to the epic trilogy and picks up where "Halo 2" left off, answering questions about the fates of the beloved protagonist Master Chief™ and his artificial intelligence sidekick Cortana as they struggle to save humankind from destruction at the hands of the alien coalition known as the Covenant. In addition to the rich storyline, "Halo 3" continues the franchise's grand tradition of delivering innovative online multiplayer experiences via Xbox LIVE. The game's online multiplayer and innovative four-player cooperative gameplay for Xbox LIVE Gold users, the much-talked-about Saved Films feature that enables players to capture and save their favourite moments on their hard drives, and Forge, an innovative map editor that enables myriad customization options, are just some of the new features gamers are experiencing.

Developed by Bungie Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios, the "Halo" franchise is exclusive to the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and optimized for the Xbox LIVE online entertainment network. "Halo 3" was released in 37 countries and 17 languages. To date, more than 20 million copies of the games in the "Halo" trilogy have been sold worldwide.

Record week-one sales come on the heels of the previously announced $170 million in sales in the U.S. within the first 24 hours of the game's release, which marked not just the biggest video game launch, but the biggest entertainment launch in history. The Xbox 360 title beat previous U.S. sales records set by blockbuster openings for entertainment events such as the release of "Spider-Man 3" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." In addition, more than 1.7 million copies of "Halo 3" were pre-ordered in the United States, making it the fastest pre-selling game in history, surpassing the previous record-setting pre-sales of "Halo 2."

Nintendo DS Sales Pass 50 Million [PC World]

Bob McKenzie, Senior Vice President of Merchandising for GameStop Corp commented that, "With consumer demand for Halo 3 and related products, we expect it to be the biggest video game title generator in GameStop's history."

Xbox 360 Exclusive "Halo 3" Registers Biggest Day in US Entertainment History with $170 Million in Sales

Microsoft today announced that the Xbox 360 exclusive game "Halo 3" has officially become the biggest entertainment launch in history, garnering an estimated $170 million in sales in the United States alone in the first 24 hours. The Xbox 360 title beat previous records set by blockbuster theatrical releases like "Spider-man 3" and novels such as "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

"Halo 3" is the conclusion to the epic trilogy and picks up where "Halo 2" left off, answering questions around the fates of the beloved protagonist Master Chief and his artificial intelligence sidekick Cortana as they struggle to save humankind from destruction at the hands of the alien coalition known as the Covenant. In addition to the rich storyline, "Halo 3" continues the franchise's grand tradition of delivering innovative online multiplayer experiences via Xbox LIVE, the world's largest social network on TV.

"Halo 3 has become a pop-culture phenomenon," said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios. "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."

Retailers have also expressed their excitement about the launch of "Halo 3."

Bob McKenzie, Senior Vice President of Merchandising for GameStop Corp commented that, "With consumer demand for Halo 3 and related products, we expect it to be the biggest video game title generator in GameStop's history."

"The initial demand we've seen for 'Halo 3' has been astounding, and the game is on track to become the number one gaming title of all time. 'Halo 3' is a genuine entertainment phenomenon and our customers have responded very enthusiastically to the release," said Jill Hamburger, vice president of movies and games at Best Buy.

Developed by Bungie Studios, the "Halo" franchise is exclusive to the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and optimized for the Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network. The more than 7 million Xbox LIVE users will get a continually evolving gaming experience with "Halo 3." Its online multiplayer and cooperative gameplay for Xbox LIVE Gold users, the much-talked-about Saved Films feature that enables players to capture and save their favorite moments on their hard drives, and Forge, an innovative map editor that enables infinite customization options are just some of the new features to experience.

More than 10,000 retailers hosted Midnight Madness events to celebrate the launch of this third installment in the billion-dollar franchise. In New York, Seattle, Miami and Los Angeles, Microsoft and retail partners hosted marquee launch events that featured contests and appearances by local celebrities and professional athletes who are fanatical about the "Halo" franchise, including Ludacris and Zac Efron and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.

More than 1.7 million copies of "Halo 3" were preordered in the United States before a single store opened its doors at midnight, Sept. 25, making this the fasting pre-selling game in history, surpassing the previous record-setting pre-sales of "Halo 2." Well beyond just a U.S. phenomenon, the launch of "Halo 3" was a worldwide celebration that released in 37 countries and available in 17 languages.

Sega Sammy Says Sonic and Mario Game Sales May Reach 4 Million [Bloomberg via Next Generation]

"Four million units sold is an impressive number and demonstrates that Guild Wars is a proven franchise," said Bob McKenzie, Senior Vice President of Merchandising, GameStop Corporation. "The Guild Wars franchise delivers an outstanding gaming experience and is clearly an important part of our PC games offerings."

NCsoft's Guild Wars Breaks Four Million

Subscription-free business model sets new standard for online multiplayer games

Bellevue, WA. Aug. 21, 2007—The Guild Wars® franchise of online roleplaying games has broken the four million units sold mark in just over two years. Published by NCsoft® and developed by ArenaNet®, the Guild Wars series (consisting of Guild Wars, Guild Wars Factions™, and Guild Wars Nightfall™) has set the standard for online co-operative and competitive play with award-winning content and a subscription-free business model. Since the first campaign launched in 2005, Guild Wars has developed legions of loyal fans who are hotly anticipating the August 31 release of the game's first true expansion, Guild Wars: Eye of the North™.

"ArenaNet's fantastic work on Guild Wars has helped make NCsoft the leading online gaming publisher in the world," said Robert Garriott, CEO of NCsoft North America. "Guild Wars players continue to join in droves and stay loyal to the franchise thanks to a business model that makes for a very accessible product. We are all excited about the future of Guild Wars with the expansion ready to be released and Guild Wars 2™ on the horizon."

"Four million units sold is an impressive number and demonstrates that Guild Wars is a proven franchise," said Bob McKenzie, Senior Vice President of Merchandising, GameStop Corporation. "The Guild Wars franchise delivers an outstanding gaming experience and is clearly an important part of our PC games offerings."