The blockbuster game, a release from a major publisher that is hoping to be an event that occupies everyone's attention and Game of the Year discussions, is an institution. It is easy to tell what a game is in its current state as it is usually about fathers trying to connect with their neglected children or featuring a prominent B-list actor or two in its cast. In the early days of this trend, the definition was likely to be halo 3.
A big deal for Microsoft and the broader games landscape at the time was the release of Halo 3, the third game in the series. With the sting of Halo 2's cliffhanger ending still fresh in players minds, the big question was whether Bungie could release a satisfying closer to its trilogy. It was a question that grew as Bungie put much of the marketing focus on online, and was cagey on the game's campaign until a few months before release. It felt like a genuine surprise when it was revealed that the campaign was a team up between Master Chief and the Arbiter to save Earth.
During the original Bungie tenure, the series was at its peak, and with the release ofHalo 3, the series was at its peak as well. Getting the console before the release date of the threequel was a good incentive to get the DLC and be able to play it on the 360. Excitement for the game and the desire to play it was so high that it helped drive the sales of the game. When it was discovered that Crackdown was pretty good, it became a lovely bit of happenstance. Microsoft didn't let you forget about the game even after it came out. DLC maps for Halo 3 were an incentive for players to buy the game.
Microsoft and Bungie went out of their way to make the game feel like a big deal, not just with limited edition consoles and controllers, but also with the whole experience. Over 40 million dollars was spent by Microsoft to make sure the game was marketed to a larger audience. The "Iris" alternate reality game, the "Starry Night" commercial, and the " Believe" promo featuring minifigures are some of the commercials that remain unforgettable.
The game would sell 5 million copies by the end of the year, become one of the best-selling games of 2007, and bring in over a million players within the first 20 hours of release. Movie executives blamed it for the flop of Ben Stiller's The Heartbreak Kid. It was the kind of hit that drew in both fans and people who may not have even known what a game like that was. That games are slowly but surely becoming more of a widely accepted cultural institution can be attributed to the efforts that Microsoft made to make it look appealing to people outside of the franchise.
There have been games that have sold more than Halo 3. It was on the low end of the best games of 2007, a year that had a lot of great games towards the end. When it comes to what makes a triple-A game stand the test of time and matter beyond its audience, the trilogy closer is in a league of its own.
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