Halo 4 has trampled on and clambered over its own sales record for previous Halo titles, garnering an impressive $220 million (R1 900 million) on its launch day.

 

This is a good $20 million (R174 million) more than Halo: Reach managed to achieve on its launch day. However, Halo 4’s march to success didn’t stop there.  Sales of the latest release in the franchise then continued to climb past the $300 million (R2 600 million) mark in global sales since its release on the 6^th.

 

According to Mashable, the game has already been billed by Microsoft as “the biggest US entertainment launch of the year,” on track to exceeding even The Avengers and Harry Potter and  The Deathly Hallows Part 2’s opening week accomplishments.

 

 

The game’s launch worldwide was just as impressive as its sales. According to Microsoft, the London launch celebrated by suspending a massive illuminated glyph over the River Thames, as a symbol of the new threat that has awakened in Halo 4.

 

The glyph, which measured 50 feet in diameter and weighed 3.2 tons, was illuminated by 113 096 LED lights, and garnered a record of its own, as it was reported as one of the largest objects ever to be flown by helicopter as a lighting art performance.

 

Not to be outdone, the European country of Liechtenstein was reimagined into a real-life replica of the Halo universe, which also marked a first, namely: the first time a brand has taken over an entire country for an entertainment launch, without even requiring a single body snatcher or an armada of battle cruisers.  

 

 

“Halo 4 marks a rebirth and a new beginning for one of the most beloved and iconic franchises in the modern history of entertainment,” commented Phil Spencer, corporate vice president of Microsoft Studios. It was Spencer’s subsequent comment though, that probably thrilled the heart of many a Halo 4, as he reiterated the company’s commitment to the ongoing and future entries in the franchise.  

 

“Over the past decade, the Halo franchise has become a bona fide pop culture phenomenon, and Halo 4 promises to take the franchise to a new level and set the stage for the next decade of Halo,” he continued.

 

 

While the Master Chief may have to contend with a new, awakening evil threatening the galaxy, Halo 4 also has to contend with another, equally as formidable rival that is returning this week, with an insidious plot to wrestle away its sales and players’ attention - Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

 

It’s a good bet that these two first person shooter titans will then battle it out, not in the distant future or on alien worlds, but on the even more daunting landscape of players’ couches, as each do their utmost to earn the accolade of being the FPS of 2012.

 

 

While this November and December may look a little sparse in terms of major releases, since many of those originally slated for release at this time were delayed till next year, at least the Halo and Call of Duty franchises have ensured that players will have something to twiddle their thumbs with over the holiday season.

 

For those who aren’t already playing the game, here’s a quick reminder of what all the fuss is about.