All Hail Halo 3!

Halo 3 is “the fastest-selling video game ever and one of the most successful entertainment properties in history,” proclaims Xbox.com.

And to think the publisher, Microsoft, is based in our city. How lucky are we? Very, I’d say. Over 2,000 eager Halo 3 fans lined up at the Bellevue Best Buy to meet Bill Gates at the release party on Sep. 25 at 12:01 a.m. The store garnered over $90,000, selling about 1,500 copies at $59.99 a piece. The first in line got to buy a copy from Gates himself!

Staff members of Bungie, the game developer, handed out free t-shirts and such to an excited crowd. Pagliacci also provided pizza-yum!

The General Store Manager of the Bellevue Best Buy, Dan Boggs, notes that consumers are drawn to this game series because of its shooter genre. He describes it as “absolutely phenomenal” with “great graphics.”

According to Boggs, gamers appreciate being able to play Halo 3 individually or with teams. On the release day, gamers played for more than 3.6 million hours online. “We had about 40 to 60 teams of four playing at the same time,” Boggs declares.

Halo 3 brought in more than $300 million in the first week not counting the 1.7 million pre-sold copies.

Boggs says that although keeping enough copies in stock has been tough this past month they haven’t run out. “Microsoft is doing a great job at keeping the supply very open,” he said. The store does not expect to run out during the holidays.

So if you’re anxious to save humanity, your local Best Buy, Circuit City, Radio Shack, Sears or other Halo 3 retailer is likely to fulfill your desire and sell you a copy. And for those of you that just don’t want to make the drive (maybe too busy playing video games?) you can check with online retailers such as amazon.com.

Happy gaming!