Halo 2 hits 1.5 million preorders; mass midnight sales planned

Unless he or she has been in a coma, most gamers on the planet know Halo 2 is one of the year's most anticipated titles. But most didn't know how anticipated the game truly was until today, when Microsoft announced it has confirmed more than 1.5 million preorders for the game. And these are only the American preorders. Halo 2 will go on sale in 26 other countries on November 9, and it will be translated into seven languages (Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, French, German, and Italian).

"With phenomenal record-breaking video game preorders, Halo 2 is poised to generate more revenue in 24 hours than day-one sales of any full-feature movie in entertainment history, including Spider-Man 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and The Matrix Reloaded," boasted Microsoft in a statement.

Microsoft also answered a more pressing question asked by gamers: "How soon can I get a copy of Halo 2?" Microsoft announced it is planning to sell the first copy of the game at the Toys "R" Us in New York City's Times Square at 12:01am on November 9. Similar midnight sales will be held at approximately 6,500 retailers nationwide, including GameStop, EB Games, Best Buy, Gamecrazy, Game Rush, Circuit City, Kmart, and FYE. Check your local retailer for details.