Like it is with console hardware, game makers look to the
holiday season as a time for major sales of its most anticipated game titles.
Even with Nintendo hardware making up more than half of all
systems sold in 2007, the top game of the year belonged to Microsoft. Halo 3
sold a total of 4.82 million copies in 2007, making it also the best selling
Xbox 360 title of the year.
Halo 3 already had massive sales secured before even launch,
with 1.7 million pre-orders
before a single copy sold. Upon launch Halo 3 raked in $170
million on the first day, making it the biggest
launch in video game history. During the first week following the release
of Halo 3, consumers went on to spend
over $300 million on the game alone.
700,000 units behind Halo 3 in second place was Wii Play at
4.12 million sold. Although the game itself received lackluster reviews from
game critics, consumers continued to snap up Wii Play for its inclusion of a
Wii Remote controller.
The top selling game throughout December was Call of Duty 4:
Modern Warfare for Xbox 360, which sold 1.47 million copies. Super Mario Galaxy
was second with 1.4 million, and Guitar Hero III for PS2 third with 1.25
million.
