“Believe” this game sells consoles; 22% of 360 shoppers check out Halo 3
Written by Max Freiert (contact - e-mail) -- September 24th, 2007 | Recommend ThisI started to grasp the magnitude of Halo 3 when I was watching FutureWeapons on the Discovery Channel, and Richard Machowicz all but gave a demo of the Banshee. Yes, in addition to branding a soda, and getting into arts and crafts with a massive diorama depicting the battle of John-1 1 7; they also bought out all of the advertising for a marathon run of the one show that only a fan of First Person Shooters could love. As gamers salivate in anticipation of this year’s biggest game, how has Halo 3 impacted the larger Xbox 360 market?
Back in February, we showed how Halo 3 had already started to drive gamers’ decisions to purchase the 360. Since then, the game’s influence has only grown. From November 2006 to August 2007, we assessed the degree to which Xbox 360 shoppers also considered various games at online retailers.
- In August, over 22% of all online Xbox 360 shoppers also visited Halo 3 pages at online retailers.
- Amazingly, through all of 2007, an average of nearly 16% of Xbox 360 shoppers also considered Halo 3. If this is any indication of sales, Halo 3 could have played a role in the sale of nearly 300,000 consoles in 2007 alone.
- While this overlap fluctuates monthly, the general trend is rising. With the game now tangible, this may be the tipping point for the 360 this holiday season.
Halo 3 comes in three different packages: Halo 3, Halo 3 Limited edition, and $130 Halo 3 Legendary edition which comes with a number of “collectible” accessories. What’s really interesting is the breakdown by package. The chart below shows the percentage of total Halo 3 shoppers who showed interest in each of the three Halo 3 packages.
- Nearly 40% of all shopping interest was devoted to the Basic Halo 3 package.
- The twice-as-expensive Legendary edition received nearly 32% of traffic.
- People appear to have gone to either extreme. The mid-priced Limited edition received a scant 22% of interest.
- In the last 4 months, Halo 3 pre-order pages received over 2.1 million visits.
Halo 3 is the first of a few games Microsoft is using to sway shoppers to their platform this holiday season. The marketing behind the game almost seems like a message to the past; to the early adopters who waited for days in line for a product that was prone to hardware failure and lacking a decent launch-lineup: “believe”…that all those problems will be someday be worth it.
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September 25th, 2007 at 9:42 am
I think the games/consoles have a lot of catching up to do. Halo will certainly help. It seems that the game area has been pretty dry for the last year or so. The pre-order lines for Halo are certainly encouraging.
The fictional short story sites, game sites, and these games/consoles feed each other, and the short story sites have been carrying the day for too long now. You have to turn to them for imaginative stuff, when gaming doesn’t give you enough. I know I’ve personally turned to them, e.g. http://www.JustExpressing.com, because creative, imaginative people write stuff that is entertaining and “stimulates the thoughts and the brain”.
Hopefully Halo will also provide entertainment PLUS some thought stimulation … or am I hoping for too much ?
September 29th, 2007 at 3:00 am
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October 1st, 2007 at 10:54 pm
It makes you think that Microsoft’s “hang in there” strategy is really starting to pay off. I think History will look back on “Xbox vs Wii vs PS3″ as one if the great corporate stories…
The original Xbox and Gamecube were minor irritations to Sony that had niche appeal. Fast forward to Xbox 360 and enter the Nintendo WII, and gamers get what they want (a better gaming experience) a year before Sony launch thier overwrought PS3 with Blu Ray technology that nobody needs or wants.
Meanwhile Nintendo and Microsoft wander through the open gate. When Microsoft and Nintendo are launching thier next round of games consoles, you know that Sony are still going to be paying off thier last billion dollar debacle while the others bolt.
The launch of Halo 3 soldifies the Xbox position. With game franchises like Halo, a growing fan base and increasing loungeroom penetration for Microsoft and Nintendo, the next generation of consoles may well spell the end of the dying Sony gaming dynasty.