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One of the largest disappearing acts in all of history will occur at seemingly random places around the globe Tuesday. Streets will be empty, stores vacant; awkward sick calls will be made to supervisors.
Why? Chances are, if you're a male between 13 and 30 years old (or just someone dialed in to the world of gaming), you know why. Halo 3, the follow-up to one of the best-selling console games of all time, will launch and bring to a close the epic story arc of Spartan 117, aka Master Chief.
But it's not all smiles and plasma grenades. Halo 3 has been in development since, well Halo 2's release back in 2004. And the bar has been set a tad high. H2 sold more than 8 million copies, and preorders for Halo 3 are some of the highest for any title in history. When the game hits store shelves, arm yourself with this knowledge and see if it doesn't make your head spin like you were just shot with a sniper rifle.
- Microsoft expects to sell an additional 3 million copies over the course of the next three days. With an average price of $60 per game, Microsoft stands to make an estimated $250 million on the game the first week alone. You know what that means? Money fight at Bill Gates' house!
- Part of the marketing blitz for the game will culminate with live-action promos highlighting the single-player experience. Shot in a documentary style, two can already be seen on the Halo 3 site. Want more video? Watch our Halo 3 – video primer.
- Did you preorder? (Don't worry, you still can.) Well over 4 million of your friends did. Chances are, they're lined up right now in front of EB Games and Gamestop shops across the country. Three separate editions of the game will be available: Standard, Collectors and Legendary. There's also a limited-edition Xbox with a Halo 3 theme and extras.
- Halo 2 boasted 2.38 million units sold, totaling more than $125 million in sales during the 24-hour launch period Nov. 9, 2004. Compare that to the Transformers film, with an opening weekend that grossed a mere $70,502,384. Optimus Prime, eat your cold, metallic heart out.
- Internationally, Halo 3 will be released in Brazil, Canada, Australia, India and Singapore on the Sept. 26 launch date. Europe and Japan will receive the game Sept. 27.
- While the herculean tasks of Master Chief remain the focal point of the Halo 3 marketing campaign, the real meaty bits will be in multiplayer action. Elements like the forge tool will allow you to customize your own multiplayer levels, right down to the placement of exploding cores of plasma.
