Halo 4 sets sales mark for title

— Halo 4, the latest installment in Microsoft Corp.’s video-game franchise, took in more than $220 million in its first 24 hours on sale, setting a record for the title.

The game, a science-fiction shooting adventure, which went on sale Nov. 6., will surpass the previous Halo record of $300 million in worldwide sales in its first week, Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft said Monday in an e-mailed statement.

Halo, exclusive to the company’s Xbox 360 console, ranks among the 10 top-grossing video-game franchises of all time. Various versions have generated more than $3 billion in revenue, according to Microsoft, and have helped the company weather an industry drop in sales of games at retail. The Xbox has been the No. 1 console in the U.S. for almost two years, according to researcher NPD Group Inc.

Microsoft, which released the first Halo title in November 2001, fell 2.2 percent to $28.22 at the close of trading Monday.

Halo 4 faces competition from Activision Blizzard Inc., which today releases the next installment of another all-time leader, the Call of Duty shooter game.

Business, Pages 26 on 11/13/2012

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