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[Subitai]

A number on the box tends to increase sales. Spinoffs are generally ignored by a large portion of the audience.

Yeah, it would have helped if there was "zero" somewhere in the title I think, but maybe the marketers felt it wouldn't help after PDZ. Given how little of the audience was unaware of the story before Halo: CE, I'd say there was were people who didn't know what they were missing - the buildup to and eventual biggest fight in history between the Covenant and UNSC.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

I kinda wonder how much gamers care about Master Chief and if that impacted Reach's sales. I suspect gamers realize this is the next true mainline game.

To my friends and I, we couldn't care less about Master Chief and had just as much fun with Reach as we did with 3 playing co-op. I beat all games on Legendary and still couldn't tell you anything about the plot though.

 

[Biggest-Geek-Ever]

edit: ^^^ Gotta disagree there. I think Halo 4 will outsell Assassin's Creed for sure. CoD is a whole other story. I can't recall any Assassin's Creed numbers but I would be shocked if they're near Halo 4s.

They aren't anywhere near, but...

According to Ubisoft, Assassin’s Creed III pre-orders have “more than doubled” the number of pre-orders for Assassin’s Creed Revelations, which was the previous pre-order record holder.

I think it'll be close between them.

 

[Neverender]

A huge huge audience for Halo is young kids and they LOVE Master Chief, makes a huge deal to them.

 

[kittens]

Halo 3 is what a lot of people bought their 360's for so there was a lot of pent up demand. By the time Reach came out, there was a ton of competiton of games that were just as good to play.

Yeah, totally. And ODST didn't help. Even I, a huge Halo fan, had pretty severe franchise fatigue. I actually ignored ODST until the Reach beta was announced, but I also took a bit of a break from gaming in general.

I think there's still huge interest in Halo, but there's a lot of pressure for the franchise to change. And change it has. We'll see how fans respond, and whether its sale numbers have legs. I'm feeling pretty positive about it.

 

[rdrr gnr]

Assassin's Creed 3 is apparently Ubisoft's "most pre-ordered title ever" and it's a multi-platform game. I think it'll be pretty close.

Really? I think the return to the numbered sequel effect is much bigger for AC than Halo. Plus, the Halo market has been somewhat stolen by CoD (as evidenced by changes to Halo); where the same doesn't apply to AC. AC will be ahead by at least a million units.

 

[Cake Boss]

From the videos it looks like they spent a lot in adding the fun that has long been missed in Halo games since 2, oh an it doesn't look like a 360 launch game anymore.

 

[Xamdou]

A huge huge audience for Halo is young kids and they LOVE Master Chief, makes a huge deal to them.

Young kids and teenies and adults will love Cortana that's for sure!

 

[user_nat]

Considering we are two weeks away from launch, there are over 1 million preorders, and every website seems to be riding the hype train I think it is safe to say that the extreme cost, whatever it is, was well worth it.

Has Microsoft said anything about how many preorders they have had? I don't recall seeing anything. They did for Gears 3 when it broke some record.

Them not mentioning it makes me wonder if it is behind past games.

 

[Tashi]

Assassin's Creed 3 is apparently Ubisoft's "most pre-ordered title ever" and it's a multi-platform game. I think it'll be pretty close.

Just looked at NPD for the last 3 Assassin's Creed games. It's a wrap. Halo 4 is going to beat it even with the multiplatform sales combined. First month and lifetime.

And about marketing, I hope MS has serious post launch marketing plans for Halo 4. I think it makes a big difference.

 

[rdrr gnr]

Just looked at NPD for the last 3 Assassin's Creed games. It's a wrap. Halo 4 is going to beat it even with the multiplatform sales combined. First month and lifetime.

And about marketing, I hope MS has serious post launch marketing plans for Halo 4. I think it makes a big difference.

What are those numbers?

 

[Lunchbox]

Assassin's Creed 3 is apparently Ubisoft's "most pre-ordered title ever" and it's a multi-platform game. I think it'll be pretty close.

asscreed isnt in the same league


its halo vs this guy for the holiday

 

[Subitai]

Just looked at NPD for the last 3 Assassin's Creed games. It's a wrap. Halo 4 is going to beat it even with the multiplatform sales combined. First month and lifetime.

And about marketing, I hope MS has serious post launch marketing plans for Halo 4. I think it makes a big difference.

Dat episodic multiplayer DLC

 

[Sibylus]

Going out on flop.

Spoiler

Sorry, just wanted to make the pun >->

 

[CambriaRising]

asscreed isnt in the same league


its halo vs this guy for the holiday

What are you talking about? AC does ridiculous numbers.

 

[John Harker]

I'm not entirely convinced Halo 4 won't come in #3 behind BLOPS and Assassin's Creed 3 in November. Not because I think Halo 4 is going to it's do way less than 3/Reach, but the hype for Ass Creed has been really crazy. It's easily had the most aggressive marketing of a game this year, too.

Globally, Revelations outsold Reach.... and that was Revelations.
With H4 and AC3 both being major new additions to the franchise, and with AC3 having an insane marketing budget + multiplatform.... yea, I could see that too.

I think Top 1-4 this year is going to be fun to see!

 

[Tashi]

What are those numbers?

November 2011:
Assassin's Creed: Revelations (360, PS3, PC) Ubisoft - ~1.26 million

November 2010:
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (360, PS3) UBISOFT ** - 1.14 Million

November 2009:
ASSASSIN'S CREED II (360) |Nov-09| 794.7K + ASSASSIN'S CREED II (PS3) |Nov-09| 448.4K

Obviously those are just first month and I'm sure it has a decent tail but nothing that would put it close to Halo.

Really great numbers compared to the rest of the games in the industry but not big dogs like CoD, GTA or Halo.

 

[Biggest-Geek-Ever]

What are those numbers?

First month sales
1: 1.36 million (360, PS3)
2: 1.24 million (360, PS3)
Brohood: 1.14 million (360, PS3)
Rev: 1.26 million (360, PS3, PC)

I still stand by what I said though. I think it being a numbered installment, plus the setting, plus the super good marketing is going to push three to 3+million.

 

[rdrr gnr]

Thanks for the responses, guys, but I was thinking of lifetime sales. I agree that Halo will win in first month sales, but I don't think it'll be anywhere near ACIII lifetime.

 

[Surface of Me]

First month sales
1: 1.36 million (360, PS3)
2: 1.24 million (360, PS3)
Brohood: 1.14 million (360, PS3)
Rev: 1.26 million (360, PS3, PC)

I still stand by what I said though. I think it being a numbered installment, plus the setting, plus the super good marketing is going to push three to 3+million.

I don't think we're going to see over a 100% increase in sales because of those factors, but either way it will be interesting.

 

[Man]

Still surprised at how well Assassins Creed is selling. It's a gaming series that's not as easily played nor as instantly rewarding as the other top dogs but still it flies off the shelves.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

Remember that Reach and 3 had little to no competition since they released in September.

 

[Concept17]

Lifetime sales of AC are near 20 million iirc. Halo likes to blow its load all at once.

 

[rdrr gnr]

Still surprised at how well Assassins Creed is selling. It's a gaming series that's not as easily played nor as instantly rewarding as the other top dogs but still it flies off the shelves.

A lot of the more "casual" gamers I know tend to be very interested in Assassin's Creed, Halo, Call of Duty, and FIFA/Madden/2K every time a new one is out. I agree that AC feels like the odd one out in terms of content (it's a much "deeper" game) but I think it's probably the fun factor.

 

[Manus]

Remember that Reach and 3 had little to no competition since they released in September.

Yeah I think releasing along the same time as BOII is a bad idea. I mean some people can only afford one game a month.

 

[Surface of Me]

Thanks for the responses, guys, but I was thinking of lifetime sales. I agree that Halo will win in first month sales, but I don't think it'll be anywhere near ACIII lifetime.

Anywhere near? Both of the latest installments in each franchise are ~8 million, if my quick googling is correct.

EDIT: For those saying BO2 will eat Halo's pie, didn't BF3 still manage to sell around 10 million last year next to MW3?

 

[rdrr gnr]

Anywhere near? Both of the latest installments in each franchise are ~8 million, if my quick googling is correct.

EDIT: For those saying BO2 will eat Halo's pie, didn't BF3 still manage to sell around 10 million last year next to MW3?

Reach did 8? Unless I am misinformed, that does not sound right.

Edit: Seems like that is accurate. Hm.

Anywhere near? Both of the latest installments in each franchise are ~8 million, if my quick googling is correct.

EDIT: For those saying BO2 will eat Halo's pie, didn't BF3 still manage to sell around 10 million last year next to MW3?

I'd argue the cross over is much less -- especially on the Xbox.

 

[Quicksilver4648]

Has Microsoft said anything about how many preorders they have had? I don't recall seeing anything.

Officially through press release? No. But according to ******** (I know, I know) Halo 4 broke 1 million pre-orders in NA last week. A number of sites have been circulating it. Even if ******** is off by 200k when you throw in Europe the total will be well over 1 million.
Edit: Apparently this site is frowned upon here on NeoGaf. Hint: It involves video games (VG) and charts

 

[Tashi]

Remember that Reach and 3 had little to no competition since they released in September.

That's a fair point. I think though that it's smart for Halo 4 to release in November considering it's actually Holiday season and not technically summertime like Halo Reach was.

The NPD numbers will be screwed up for AC3 because it's releasing right at the end of this month. That's a bummer.

 

[Subitai]

Yeah I think releasing along the same time as BOII is a bad idea. I mean some people can only afford one game a month.

I think the Nov. date was chosen more to buffer against the Wii U launch and ensure MS had something to gloat about the day Nintendo sent out its press release.

 

[Monumental]

It's the most expensive games Microsoft has ever made.
It made by a brand new studio where each member has been hand-picked from the best studios this industry has to offer. (Bungie, Naughty Dog, Retro, Gearbox, FASA Studios, Valve, Bioware, Bethesda, Rockstar, Black Isle Studios, id Software, Treyarch, ION Storm, Pandemic, Guerilla Games, RARE, Sony Santa Monica, Lucasfilms, Square Enix, Ubisoft)
Over 300+ people are involved in it's development.
The game went through an extensive pre-production.
It's gone through an extensive 100,000+ people playtesting.
It's the first numbered sequel in 5 years.
Four novels (with 2 more coming) have been written to set up this game.
A full live action series has been created to hype up interest in the fiction.
A brand new soundtrack has been created by Neil Davidge from Massive Attack.
The graphics are of the highest caliber on the console.
The characters have all been fully motion capture including their faces.
It has in-house created CGI cutscenes for the first time in any Halo game (aside from Halo Wars).
The game is launching in November (first big Halo game launching in that month since Halo 2), the biggest month for sales potential.

I'm calling it now. This game will be the biggest launch on single console ever released.

 

[FStop7]

So what's everyone's sales predictions?

Halo 3 registered the highest total sales for the series with 12 million+.

It'll be interesting to see if this reaches the same level. For frame of reference, Reach sold around 8 million units.

It'll sell a ton but maybe not 12 million+ since the 360 is on the way out.

Hard to believe it's been 5 years since the last main line Halo game.

 

[Surface of Me]

Reach did 8? Unless I am misinformed, that does not sound right.

I'd argue the cross over is much less -- especially on the Xbox.

I just found out the figure I found is off of some chartzz, so that might be wrong. I remember MS released something that detailed the sales of each Halo game, wish I could find it.

Really? I'd think two modern military shooters would eat into each other than one would against a scifi shooter.

 

[catotheyounger]

It'll sell a ton but maybe not 12 million+ since the 360 is on the way out.

Hard to believe it's been 5 years since the last main line Halo game.

And when you consider that Halo3 came out of the third holiday of the 360... this gen has been loooong.

 

[TUSR]

Keep the cash flowing because I want more forward unto dawn.

 

[rdrr gnr]

It'll sell a ton but maybe not 12 million+ since the 360 is on the way out.

Hard to believe it's been 5 years since the last main line Halo game.

But there are a lot more Xbox consoles out there as well.

I just found out the figure I found is off of some chartzz, so that might be wrong. I remember MS released something that detailed the sales of each Halo game, wish I could find it.

Really? I'd think two modern military shooters would eat into each other than one would against a scifi shooter.

I think you are within reason. I thought the sales were much lower but it seems as though I'm mistaken. I don't have a credible theory for why I think one title cannibalizes one franchise more than the other -- but it's the fact that they are so similar in nature that I don't think one overwhelms the other -- you know? It makes sense in my head.

 

[Tashi]

It'll sell a ton but maybe not 12 million+ since the 360 is on the way out.

Hard to believe it's been 5 years since the last main line Halo game.

Well I guess MS marketing failed because Halo Reach was the last "main line" Halo game aside from its place in the Halo story (it's a prequel with different characters) Certainly larger in scope than ODST.

 

[Beerman462]

The last Halo game I was hyped for was Halo 3. I am totally hyped for this game. The trailers and Live action counter parts pulled me in.

Keep the cash flowing because I want more forward unto dawn.

I'm so invested

 

[gundamkyoukai]

I hope we get the amount without the marketing budget since sometimes they cost even more than the game .

 

[les papillons sexuels]

That's actually what excites me about this game. I feel that Bungie has been sorta phoning it in with the last few Halo installments.

i actually think that bungie had a completely different vision then what MS wants.

 

[TheOddOne]

You have to factor in building the studio from scratch in the cost, then yeah it cost them tons. At least they didn't cheap out and give it to some studio to crank it out.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

It's the most expensive games Microsoft has ever made.
It made by a brand new studio where each member has been hand-picked from the best studios this industry has to offer. (Bungie, Naughty Dog, Retro, Gearbox, FASA Studios, Valve, Bioware, Bethesda, Rockstar, Black Isle Studios, id Software, Treyarch, ION Storm, Pandemic, Guerilla Games, RARE, Sony Santa Monica, Lucasfilms, Square Enix, Ubisoft)
Over 300+ people are involved in it's development.
The game went through an extensive pre-production.
It's gone through an extensive 100,000+ people playtesting.
It's the first numbered sequel in 5 years.
Four novels (with 2 more coming) have been written to set up this game.
A full live action series has been created to hype up interest in the fiction.
A brand new soundtrack has been created by Neil Davidge from Massive Attack.
The graphics are of the highest caliber on the console.
The characters have all been fully motion capture including their faces.
It has in-house created CGI cutscenes for the first time in any Halo game (aside from Halo Wars).
The game is launching in November (first big Halo game launching in that month since Halo 2), the biggest month for sales potential.

I'm calling it now. This game will be the biggest launch on single console ever released.

Interesting list there. Holy crap at the number of studios those people were picked from, not to mention the number of developers and playtesters. I hope they continue this trend with Halo 5 and 6!

 

[Gaogaogao]

heres hoping they will get around to a pc version this time then, they leaving money on the table.

 

[Lunchbox]

It's the most expensive games Microsoft has ever made.
It made by a brand new studio where each member has been hand-picked from the best studios this industry has to offer. (Bungie, Naughty Dog, Retro, Gearbox, FASA Studios, Valve, Bioware, Bethesda, Rockstar, Black Isle Studios, id Software, Treyarch, ION Storm, Pandemic, Guerilla Games, RARE, Sony Santa Monica, Lucasfilms, Square Enix, Ubisoft)
Over 300+ people are involved in it's development.
The game went through an extensive pre-production.
It's gone through an extensive 100,000+ people playtesting.
It's the first numbered sequel in 5 years.
Four novels (with 2 more coming) have been written to set up this game.
A full live action series has been created to hype up interest in the fiction.
A brand new soundtrack has been created by Neil Davidge from Massive Attack.
The graphics are of the highest caliber on the console.
The characters have all been fully motion capture including their faces.
It has in-house created CGI cutscenes for the first time in any Halo game (aside from Halo Wars).
The game is launching in November (first big Halo game launching in that month since Halo 2), the biggest month for sales potential.

I'm calling it now. This game will be the biggest launch on single console ever released.

bring it

 

[Kaako]

Good. Spend more money on big budget titles, MS.

 

[madmackem]

It's the most expensive games Microsoft has ever made.
It made by a brand new studio where each member has been hand-picked from the best studios this industry has to offer. (Bungie, Naughty Dog, Retro, Gearbox, FASA Studios, Valve, Bioware, Bethesda, Rockstar, Black Isle Studios, id Software, Treyarch, ION Storm, Pandemic, Guerilla Games, RARE, Sony Santa Monica, Lucasfilms, Square Enix, Ubisoft)
Over 300+ people are involved in it's development.
The game went through an extensive pre-production.
It's gone through an extensive 100,000+ people playtesting.
It's the first numbered sequel in 5 years.
Four novels (with 2 more coming) have been written to set up this game.
A full live action series has been created to hype up interest in the fiction.
A brand new soundtrack has been created by Neil Davidge from Massive Attack.
The graphics are of the highest caliber on the console.
The characters have all been fully motion capture including their faces.
It has in-house created CGI cutscenes for the first time in any Halo game (aside from Halo Wars).
The game is launching in November (first big Halo game launching in that month since Halo 2), the biggest month for sales potential.

I'm calling it now. This game will be the biggest launch on single console ever released.

Given all that the hype for this feels as low as any halo i can remember. Taking a personal look at this my friends list who all played halos and we all pretty much met through halo dont even play halo anymore and only a few are getting halo 4. I know its a personal experince but its a feeling i have heard mirrored by a few people. It will still sell like gangbusters just something feels off.

 

[Router]

Yeah, It was always going to be a huge investment setting up 343i. I'm very excited to see what happens from here with next gen ans such.

How big is 343i exactly? is it feasible that they have the capacity to be doing multiple projects?

 

[les papillons sexuels]

Yeah, It was always going to be a huge investment setting up 343i. I'm very excited to see what happens from here with next gen ans such.

How big is 343i exactly? is it feasible that they have the capacity to be doing multiple projects?

in all likelyhood, they are doing multiple projects, or at least overseeing development of multiple ones.

 

[Tagg9]

I'm calling it now. This game will be the biggest launch on single console ever released.

Given the massive install base of Xbox 360 at the moment, chances are very good.

How big is 343i exactly? is it feasible that they have the capacity to be doing multiple projects?

Not initially, but it's probable that they will have the infrastructure within a few years to handle more than one project at a time.

 

[GavinGT]

This money will not be squandered. Adding in some light CoD trappings was the shrewdest thing they could have done, financially speaking. This will be the best selling Halo game yet.