As for previous SKUs, they'll see their second launch

Apr 28, 2007 12:35 GMT  ·  By

A couple of months ago I wrote an article saying something about the Xbox 360 being a lucky console. Why is the Xbox 360 lucky? Does Halo 3 ring a bell? When Bungie's long awaited FPS launches, the 360 will see something like a second launch, with sales going through the roof. Actiontrip posts a similar article saying that "Chris Liddell, Microsoft's chief financial officer, claims that the company expects Halo 3, the highly anticipated X360 exclusive, to boost the sales of Xbox 360 units once the game hits retailers later this year."

Wasn't it obvious? Halo 3 for the 360 is like having 4 wives, each of them former Miss Universe contestant. "Halo 3 is clearly going to have a positive impact in two senses," said Chris Liddell. "One, it gives us more confidence in the number of consoles we think we're going to be able to sell next year. In terms of the direct impact, obviously it's a first-party product so it's reasonably profitable from our point of view, and it will be several hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue next year."

Let's not mention that Halo 3 will also ensure the 360 Elite's success, with 180p and 60 fps, only available with the higher end SKU. However, this won't be natively, as Halo 3 will display at 1080p through the Elite with its scaler and HDMI port.

Remember, the Elite launches tomorrow, while gamers have a few more months to wait before Halo 3 is released. Accessories for Microsoft's new console are already available. That includes black Elite controllers too.