Halo 3 scores $300 million in first-week sales

Xbox 360-exclusive Halo 3 made $170 million on its first day on sale in the US alone, and also broke Australian sales records according to figures released down under. Now Bungie has one more reason to celebrate, as week-one sales have clocked in at a rather reasonable $300 million worldwide.

Halo 3, which is the fastest-selling game ever, is being billed by Microsoft as "one of the most successful entertainment properties in history." The company released a statement saying that initial figures from retailers are also showing the Halo effect having an influence on console purchasing--Xbox 360 sales have more than doubled since the game's release.

Unsurprisingly, the game is also faring well on Xbox Live, with more than 2.7 million gamers having had a go online--over a third of the 7 million total registered Live users. Forty million hours of online games, which adds up to 4,500 years, have been played in the first week across the globe, with almost 30 million achievements unlocked.