Halo: Reach hits 200 million dollar mark in 24 hours.

http://tiny.cc/bb6qj

Well, if it's the last hurrah from Bungie in terms of the Halo series, at least they're moving on to other projects with a nice wad of cash; "Halo:Reach" has hit 200 million dollars in sales in the US and Europe in its first 24 hours of release.

Based on U.S. sales alone, "Halo: Reach" is now the biggest entertainment launch of 2010 in the U.S., eclipsing the three-day opening weekends of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters like "Iron Man 2", "Alice in Wonderland" and "Toy Story 3" in a single day, which is quite frankly preposterous. Phil Spencer, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios, said: "Halo: Reach" is the biggest game Microsoft has ever released, and its launch has already surpassed every game, movie and entertainment launch this year. Every major instalment has grown in scope and popularity, firmly cementing the 'Halo' franchise as one of the most popular entertainment properties in the world over the past decade".

The press release gives us a general synopsis of the game: "The blockbuster prequel to the "Halo" trilogy, "Halo: Reach" tells the tragic and heroic story of Noble Team, a group of Spartans, who through great sacrifice and courage saved countless lives in the face of impossible odds. The planet Reach is humanity's last line of defence between the encroaching Covenant and their ultimate goal, the destruction of Earth. The legendary battle of Reach will set into motion one of the most iconic sagas in entertainment history."

While we'd perhaps argue that other games have done tragedy with fewer lasers, it's hard to argue that this game will become iconic when looking back at this era of blockbuster gaming. Tens of thousands of retail stores around the world hosted midnight madness events on Monday night to celebrate the arrival of "Halo: Reach," the biggest instalment yet in the blockbuster franchise hailed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most popular video game series of all time.

In cities around the world including London, New York City and Seattle, Microsoft and retailers hosted launch events where thousands of fans gathered to compete in tournaments, win special prizes and meet the creators of the "Halo" universe. At Westfield Shopping centre hundreds of fans queued from the early hours of Monday to be some of the first people in the world to grab a copy of Halo: Reach as they were joined by Jun and Carter from Noble Team.

Big game; big sales; big news; but what next for Microsoft and Bungie? Bungie will move on with enough moolah to actually lead an intergalactic war, whilst Microsoft will hope that whoever takes over the "Halo" franchise will lead them to infinity and beyond. Sorry, wrong franchise...