Microsoft (MSFT 1.63%) has outdone itself. Its Halo 4 video game, released last week, generated $220 million in first-day sales and is on track to reach $300 million in global sales during its opening week on sale, according to the company. Cumulatively, Halo has generated $3.38 billion in lifetime sales.
"Consumer demand and excitement for Halo 4 is even greater than we anticipated," Tony Bartel, GameStop (NYSE: GME) president, said in a press release. "Day-one sales of Halo 4 make it the biggest Halo launch in GameStop history and the biggest game launch on any platform so far this year in our stores."
First released in 2001, Halo ranks among the top-selling video game franchises, having sold more than 46 million copies. Nintendo (NTDOY -0.41%) is responsible for all four of the all-time best sellers, with Mario topping the list at more than 450 million copies sold.
