So do you want to know how big Halo 3 will be?

Oct 19, 2000
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As some of you may or may not know from little tidbits in other posts here, I am employed part-time at a local Gamestop. I have a day job, but decided to get a part-timer to eat up some time while my wife is taking a few night classes, and to also help pay of a couple of credit cards that I've managed to stagnate on over the past few months.

So, with that said, being a long-time gamer, it's been very interesting working 10-20 hours a week at a specialized gaming store, and being able to see some of the inside happenings. I'm sure most of what I've learned is considered trade "secret", but one of the things I've found most interesting is learning the number of reserves we have on specific titles. The numbers I'm about to quote have been given out by the store manager to customers before to help entice more reservations, so I don't think I'm in the wrong by sharing these.

If you needed any indication of how big Halo 3 is going to be, here it is. I remember about a month or two ago that rumors were stating about 3-4 million preorders of Halo 3 already, and while I'm not sure if that number is correct, it may not be far off.

My particular store, from what I can tell is the 2nd largest in the district, as of last night, is currently harboring 449 total reservations of Halo 3. I didn't look at the breakdown of editions, but based on when I've seen them before, I'd say it's in the realm of 65% regular ($59), 10% collectors ($69), and 25% legendary ($129).

Now I know that this number alone isn't any good by itself, so here are some comparison numbers. The second-most reserved game at our store is GTA4, which is way behind at around 90 units. Third place is even farther at around 60 reservations (Madden), and the number dwindles quickly after that.

The largest volume store in our district currently has around 650 total Halo 3 reservations, which is insane. Our district averages between 250-300, and we are a pretty small market. I have no idea what other, bigger districts are averaging. However, Microsoft is confident they'll have enough copies to go around.

So, I figured that a few of you would be interested in hearing this kind of info, and since I was bored at work waiting for some tests to complete, I'd share. Whether you like Halo or not, the end of September is going to be absolutely huge. This thread can now turn into the inevitable Halo 3 bashing thread.
 

Thraxen

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2001
4,683
1
81
Cool... that's interesting information. I'm really surprised that the Legendary Edition has roughly 25% of the pre-orders at your store. I wonder how that compares to the national average.

Hey, here's a related question... has anyone tried to pre-order the Halo 3 edition Xbox yet?
 

Beev

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2006
7,775
0
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I used to work for EB (Gamestop sucks. Yes they're now the same company, and when the merger happened Gamestop basically became EB in every way except the name) and we had a hefty amount of preorders on Halo 2. I'd say we probably had 200 people show up to the midnight release alone. When Burning Crusade came out, though, there were a TON more people. the store was packed elbow to elbow. It'll be interesting to see how Halo 3 does.
 

PricklyPete

Lifer
Sep 17, 2002
14,582
162
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I'm not the biggest Halo fan...but I believe the reaction is going to be through the roof. Halo 3 alone would propel MS to stardom this Christmas...let alone all the other awesome games coming out for it. If MS just reduces the price of the machines...this will be there Christmas when they really shine. As for 2008...who knows. Sony is definitely coming on strong...but 2007 is definitely MS's year.
 

Beev

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2006
7,775
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Sony has an amazing lineup this fall like Heavenly Sword and Lair, and then of course the multiplatform GTA4 and Assassin's Creed. The 360 has what? Halo 3? (+ multiplatform)
 

Queasy

Moderator<br>Console Gaming
Aug 24, 2001
31,796
2
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Originally posted by: Sraaz
Sony has an amazing lineup this fall like Heavenly Sword and Lair, and then of course the multiplatform GTA4 and Assassin's Creed. The 360 has what? Halo 3? (+ multiplatform)

BioShock, Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata, Mass Effect, Ace Combat 6, PGR4, Naruto, Beautiful Katamari + multi-platform titles. Plenty of different tastes to keep gamers busy.
 

foghorn67

Lifer
Jan 3, 2006
11,883
63
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Originally posted by: Sraaz
Sony has an amazing lineup this fall like Heavenly Sword and Lair, and then of course the multiplatform GTA4 and Assassin's Creed. The 360 has what? Halo 3? (+ multiplatform)

nice thread crapping.
 

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
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Originally posted by: Sraaz
Sony has an amazing lineup this fall like Heavenly Sword and Lair, and then of course the multiplatform GTA4 and Assassin's Creed. The 360 has what? Halo 3? (+ multiplatform)

You named two PS3 games, one Xbox 360 game, and two multiplatform games. Come on now, you can troll better than that. ;)
 

Thraxen

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2001
4,683
1
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Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: Sraaz
Sony has an amazing lineup this fall like Heavenly Sword and Lair, and then of course the multiplatform GTA4 and Assassin's Creed. The 360 has what? Halo 3? (+ multiplatform)

You named two PS3 games, one Xbox 360 game, and two multiplatform games. Come on now, you can troll better than that. ;)

Queasy covered the 360 games, I'll take the PS3:

Heavenly Sword, Lair, Ratchet & Clank Future, Uncharted, Warhawk, Hot Shots Golf 5, Singstar, Time Crisis 4, and Folklore. Then, of course, the Home release. The PS3 doesn't anything with the with the star power of Halo 3 this holiday, but it's holiday line-up is arguably as good as the 360's.
 

foghorn67

Lifer
Jan 3, 2006
11,883
63
91
I pre-ordered Halo 3 at GameStop today on the way home. I want it on release day/night. Otherwise Liongames would have got my order. I might get some others later on from them.
 

Beev

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2006
7,775
0
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Originally posted by: Queasy
BioShock, Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata, Mass Effect, Ace Combat 6, PGR4, Naruto, Beautiful Katamari + multi-platform titles. Plenty of different tastes to keep gamers busy.

BioShock, also on PC, which will most likely be the far superior version, like every other game that simultaneously releases on PC.

Blue Dragon, forgot about this one, I'm actually looking forward to it too. Did it do well in Japan?

Eternal Sonata, Haven't heard much about this one, so I can't really comment, but I hear it's like the Tales series

Mass Effect, I didn't think this was until next year?

Ace Combat 6, Played the others, not my cup of tea, but if you like them then that's great, although the same could be said for any game.

PGR4, No thanks. I thought the first 2 were garbage, so unless they made #3 super amazing then I'll pass.

Naruto, Definitely not. None of them thus far have been "excellent" (the gamecube fighters were fairly fun) so why would this one be any different?

Beautiful Katamari, I thought this one was next year as well, so that's nice to hear.


I honestly didn't mean to troll/threadcrap. I've just been so unimpressed with the 360 as of late, just like I was with the PS3 last year and the Wii as well. I don't have time for "this is kinda good" games. I only have the time/money to play the truly fantastic/great games. So I personally only see 5-7 great games the rest of this year.
 

Queasy

Moderator<br>Console Gaming
Aug 24, 2001
31,796
2
0
Originally posted by: Sraaz
BioShock, also on PC, which will most likely be the far superior version, like every other game that simultaneously releases on PC.
So? MS has two gaming platforms to support - Windows and 360. I got out of the PC upgrade cycle a while ago . It has looked fantastic in all the videos for the 360 so far.

Blue Dragon, forgot about this one, I'm actually looking forward to it too. Did it do well in Japan?
Well, we're talking Japan and the 360. In relative terms, it did extremely well and was a system mover.

Eternal Sonata, Haven't heard much about this one, so I can't really comment, but I hear it's like the Tales series
Beautiful looking RPG

Mass Effect, I didn't think this was until next year?
November

Ace Combat 6, Played the others, not my cup of tea, but if you like them then that's great, although the same could be said for any game.
I'm listing games that are exclusive to the 360/PC platform. As I said, different tastes for different gamers.

PGR4, No thanks. I thought the first 2 were garbage, so unless they made #3 super amazing then I'll pass.
Again, listing exclusives. Whether you think it is garbage or not is irrelevant since PGR has been an excellent selling series.

Naruto, Definitely not. None of them thus far have been "excellent" (the gamecube fighters were fairly fun) so why would this one be any different?
See above plus this is an RPG/Platformer unlike pretty much all the other Naruto games on all the other systems.

Beautiful Katamari, I thought this one was next year as well, so that's nice to hear.
I thought it was this year <shrug>

I also could list Viva Pinata - Party Animals. ;) Gotta have a 'party' game. LOL
 

Thraxen

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2001
4,683
1
81
Originally posted by: Sraaz
PGR4, No thanks. I thought the first 2 were garbage, so unless they made #3 super amazing then I'll pass.

Garbage? I think not. PGR is one of my favorite racing games... one of the few I even bother to play. It doesn't lean heavily toward the sim side like Forza or GTR (PC), but it's also not pure arcade like Burnout. It takes a nice place in the middle ground and that's what I love about it.

 

tatteredpotato

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2006
3,934
0
76
For me, the 360's holiday lineup is much more exciting than the PS3s this year. Halo 3, Mass Effect, Bioshock, and Two Worlds all have me excited.
 

Fingolfin269

Lifer
Feb 28, 2003
17,948
31
91
Mass Effect is all that matters to me. When I was debating on buying a 360 or waiting on the PS3 this game is what made the decision for me. Basically, it was my tie breaker.
 

tatteredpotato

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2006
3,934
0
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Originally posted by: zerocool84
Halo mania.............I just don't get it :confused:

You haven't experienced it until you've played it in an 8-16 player LAN. Live is great as well, but nothing beats a good LAN party.
 

Extelleron

Diamond Member
Dec 26, 2005
3,127
0
71
I'm definately excited about Halo 3, but not as much as some other games. I'm really excited about Call of Duty 4, Crysis, and UT3, more so than the titles everyone else is so hyped for - Halo 3 and GTA IV. I know Halo 3 will be a great game, but it's just not wowing me too much. I absolutely couldn't wait for Halo 2, but after it... I'm not sure what Halo 3 will be like. We all know Halo 3 on Live will be great, but what SP will be like is not known.
 

tatteredpotato

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2006
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Originally posted by: Extelleron
I'm definately excited about Halo 3, but not as much as some other games. I'm really excited about Call of Duty 4, Crysis, and UT3, more so than the titles everyone else is so hyped for - Halo 3 and GTA IV. I know Halo 3 will be a great game, but it's just not wowing me too much. I absolutely couldn't wait for Halo 2, but after it... I'm not sure what Halo 3 will be like. We all know Halo 3 on Live will be great, but what SP will be like is not known.

I agree, Halo 3 is a game I'm definitely getting at midnight, but I'm not as excited as I was for Halo 2. Maybe it was the Beta, it kinda made the game less mysterious. I'm more excited for Mass Effect, and CoD 4.
 

hpkeeper

Diamond Member
Jun 30, 2000
4,036
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I'm still confused on the PS3/Xbox 360 comparison...

while most people brush aside the blue ray technology as being just a marketing scheme, it's undeniable that games could some day be produced on blue ray discs, CPU power aside, it would leave the door wide open for much more complicated graphics, or a much larger content base for console games as we know it. Similar to the way CD's and DVD's did when they were used as the primary medium for console games. I don't know how this fact can be tossed aside when no other system has even the capability of reading the disc, forget even a CPU power argument until we get past that fact.

While we're at it, people marvel at the Wii controller, there isn't anything that the nunchuck can do that the Sixaxis controller can't, barring patents and copyright from Nintendo, we could easily see a similar controller being developed and out on the market by Sony for the PS3 ...if you even need it... at this point really it's just a software issue. The games like "wiisports" at this point just aren't being developed for the PS3. You don't think that would bolster sales?

I love the Halo series, I've had a good time with it on Xbox Live and I had a great time at LAN parties, everyone who has posted about the fun of the game has been dead on. However, I don't see how the number of reservations plays any relevance on anything in way of one system dominating the other... the numbers are biased. You're talking about the number of reservations for game that comes out at least two weeks earlier, on a system that has been out for a year longer and cost $300 less than the system that the runner up game is compatible with. For those counting... that's about 5 copies of GTA 4 that you could be buying for that lump of change.

Not to say that the Xbox 360 is a horrible system, and I definitely don't want to take anything away from the Halo series. But I don't measure my console entirely by it titles... I measure my console systems on the level of potential and how that potential is used in the future titles of it's system... not just titles alone. The PS3 hasn't even gotten started selling it's major titles yet... and the xbox 360 has been out how long? and we've been talking at least a year or two later about how grand Halo 3 is going to be ...it had better live up to the hype. So maybe GTA4 isn't as popular at ONE STORE... I don't think that GTA4 has been marketed and hyped up as much as Halo 3 either... it has kind of flown in under the radar. Given the choice I don't think anyone would sacrifice for one for the other if they could play both games on the same system.

Personally to me though Halo 3 seems to be taking on the role of the savior of the Xbox 360... A last stand if you will. The PS3 has so much potential that it has yet to tap, things that go overlooked by many. The Xbox 360 aside from Halo 3... seems... well... tapped out.


so again... why are we even comparing these games... much less systems?
 

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
126
Originally posted by: ObscureCaucasian
Originally posted by: zerocool84
Halo mania.............I just don't get it :confused:

You haven't experienced it until you've played it in an 8-16 player LAN. Live is great as well, but nothing beats a good LAN party.

I have and it's meh. Hey console guys have to have something i guess right???
 

natep

Senior member
Sep 27, 2005
527
0
0
i mainly look forward to halo for the co-op experience. playing through the campaign w/ a buddy over is fun, and a lot of games don't offer good same-room co-op anymore.
 

tatteredpotato

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2006
3,934
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Originally posted by: zerocool84
Originally posted by: ObscureCaucasian
Originally posted by: zerocool84
Halo mania.............I just don't get it :confused:

You haven't experienced it until you've played it in an 8-16 player LAN. Live is great as well, but nothing beats a good LAN party.

I have and it's meh. Hey console guys have to have something i guess right???

The thing that Halo does good is there's usually some way for the underdog to win a fight, or some way to mix things up that just isn't done nearly as well in most other FPS games I've played.

Personally I could never get into PC FPS games..... I couldn't get immersed using the mouse and keyboard.
 

tatteredpotato

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2006
3,934
0
76
Originally posted by: hpkeeper
I'm still confused on the PS3/Xbox 360 comparison...

while most people brush aside the blue ray technology as being just a marketing scheme, it's undeniable that games could some day be produced on blue ray discs, CPU power aside, it would leave the door wide open for much more complicated graphics, or a much larger content base for console games as we know it. Similar to the way CD's and DVD's did when they were used as the primary medium for console games. I don't know how this fact can be tossed aside when no other system has even the capability of reading the disc, forget even a CPU power argument until we get past that fact.

While we're at it, people marvel at the Wii controller, there isn't anything that the nunchuck can do that the Sixaxis controller can't, barring patents and copyright from Nintendo, we could easily see a similar controller being developed and out on the market by Sony for the PS3 ...if you even need it... at this point really it's just a software issue. The games like "wiisports" at this point just aren't being developed for the PS3. You don't think that would bolster sales?

I love the Halo series, I've had a good time with it on Xbox Live and I had a great time at LAN parties, everyone who has posted about the fun of the game has been dead on. However, I don't see how the number of reservations plays any relevance on anything in way of one system dominating the other... the numbers are biased. You're talking about the number of reservations for game that comes out at least two weeks earlier, on a system that has been out for a year longer and cost $300 less than the system that the runner up game is compatible with. For those counting... that's about 5 copies of GTA 4 that you could be buying for that lump of change.

Not to say that the Xbox 360 is a horrible system, and I definitely don't want to take anything away from the Halo series. But I don't measure my console entirely by it titles... I measure my console systems on the level of potential and how that potential is used in the future titles of it's system... not just titles alone. The PS3 hasn't even gotten started selling it's major titles yet... and the xbox 360 has been out how long? and we've been talking at least a year or two later about how grand Halo 3 is going to be ...it had better live up to the hype. So maybe GTA4 isn't as popular at ONE STORE... I don't think that GTA4 has been marketed and hyped up as much as Halo 3 either... it has kind of flown in under the radar. Given the choice I don't think anyone would sacrifice for one for the other if they could play both games on the same system.

Personally to me though Halo 3 seems to be taking on the role of the savior of the Xbox 360... A last stand if you will. The PS3 has so much potential that it has yet to tap, things that go overlooked by many. The Xbox 360 aside from Halo 3... seems... well... tapped out.


so again... why are we even comparing these games... much less systems?


Blu Ray could become a nice convenience if games swell beyond 9gigs, but realistically most games could probably be compressed to fit, or multi disc sets can be offered. Final Fantasy 7 is considered one of the greatest games of all time, and guess what, it came on 3 discs.

Halo is a game that attracts a ton of people. Thats a fact. Halo 2 sold something like 2.5 million copies in its first day on the market, and that was just unheard of.

Also if you happen to have forgotten, GTA 4 is on 360 and PS3, so there is actually a larger consumer base to sell to.

By what means do you judge a systems potential? What about the 360 makes you think that it is "tapped out?"