Halo 3 boosts Xbox 360 to record sales month

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 10/18/2007

OCT. 18 | Halo 3 generated an impressive halo effect for the Xbox 360, as the videogame console sold 527,800 units in September for a record month in 2007 sales.

Xbox 360 was the best-selling console for the month, according to the NPD Group, topping the Nintendo Wii’s 501,000 in unit sales; Nintendo DS, 495,800; PlayStation Portable, 284,500; PlayStation 2, 215,000; PlayStation 3, 119,400; and Game Boy Advance, 75,000.

This was the best four-week sales frame for Xbox 360 since the holiday 2006 period, said NPD industry analyst Anita Frazier.

The three SKUs of Halo 3, one of which retailed at a hefty $130, landed in the Top 3 slots of September’s best-selling games. Halo 3, which is exclusive to the Xbox 360, bowed on Sept. 25.

“Halo 3 posted phenomenal results for just 12 days of sales in the month of September,” said Frazier. “True to its name, the game rubbed off on hardware sales too.”

Although beaten this time, the Wii did enjoy its second-best month ever in sales as more inventory headed to stores.

NPD is predicting that the just-confirmed $399 PS3, and $100 price reduction on the 80GB model, will prove a huge boost for the console in the fourth quarter.

However, the Xbox 360 should keep up its momentum through the end of the year due to strong game content such as Halo 3, said David Dennis, Xbox spokesman.

“People buy game consoles to buy games, and the reason why people are not going for the PS3 is that there are not a lot of games to play,” Dennis said. “The $130 Halo 3 SKU sold more than double [September’s] best-performing PS3 game, Heavenly Sword. We will keep up strategy of putting out blockbuster games.”