The Biggest Entertainment Launch in History?
Earlier this week, Microsoft and Bungie released the third installment in their massively popular Halo series. As predicted, the launch was a huge financial success, dragging in $170MM in sales and inspiring pundits to dub it (insert reverb) The Biggest Entertainment Launch in History.
But was it? Really?
Microsoft Game Studios VP Shane Kim called the launch a “pop-culture phenomenon,” and one that is “redefining entertainment.” I’m not so sure. The event was largely confined to males 12-34, a group that comprises ~17% of the population. The rest the nation watched semi-interested from the sidelines. I would expect a “pop-culture phenomenon” to be relevant to a wider swath of the population, no?
The point? When it comes to video games and interactive entertainment, we are where we were. Three years ago, Halo 2 hit the shelves, grossed $125MM in 24 hours, and was dubbed… yup, you guessed it, The Biggest Entertainment Launch in History. A generation of hardware later (and billions in investment) and the medium is still largely confined to a niche hardcore audience of young males. It’s a big business to be sure, but Microsoft has lost $5 billion since the original Xbox launch in a gambit to bring interactive entertainment to the masses.
They’ve captured the hardcore, but what about the rest of us?
Technorati Tags: Halo 3, Hype, Master Kitty
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