New Potter book to eclipse Halo 2 sales record?

By Staff, GameSpot
Posted Jul 15, 2005 3:18 pm PT

The Master Chief's single-day take of $125 million could tumble shortly after midnight tonight, when the new Harry Potter tome goes on sale.

Does Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince have what it takes to rewrite entertainment history? Particularly at the expense of the game industry's own Master Chief?

If the prognosticators that are looking closely at upcoming sales of the latest Harry Potter book are even close to their predictions, the single-day sales record crown, currently worn by Halo 2, could shift to young lad Harry.

Shortly after November 9, 2004, a proud Microsoft broadcast the news that single-day sales of the game totaled $125 million--a record across all entertainment sectors and for all products previously released (including music, film, and books). The record still stands.

The chatter preceding tomorrow's 12:01am release of the new book, the sixth in the series by J.K. Rowling, includes estimates that the title could generate single-day revenues three times what Halo 2 raked in. Scholastic Inc., the book's publisher, has ordered a 10.8-million-copy printing run for the title. As retailers across the globe check in with their estimates, some informed industry players are predicting sales that could reach the 10-million mark. Even with some stores discounting the book to half its retail price of $29.99, that would see $150 million pouring into retail coffers.

Currently, Barnes & Noble says it has 750,000 preorders on record. The Amazon preorder count currently stands at half a million, and venerable UK chain Waterstone's says it expects 2 million copies of the book to be sold across all its European locations. Waterstone's is among those that say a near or complete sellout of Scholastic's printing run is likely.

And if it happens? Master Chief's sales record would fall, for now.

But can anyone say Halo 3?

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