Mapping Out Halo 2's Success

August 24, 2005 | By: James Brightman

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For everyone complaining that games will cost $60 in the next generation, realize this: a lot of people paid $70 for Halo 2. Sure, they may not have planned it out that way, but combining Halo 2 with the $20 Multiplayer Map Pack yields one pretty darn expensive Halo 2 experience. The Map Pack was the #2 Xbox title (#3 overall) in July, proving that Master Chief's legs are indeed long. We examine the Halo 2 phenomenon.

Most publishers couldn't get away with charging $20 solely for new maps and gameplay balance patches, but Halo 2 isn't most games. The Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack was the third best-selling SKU in the month of July according to The NPD Group, despite the fact that these multiplayer maps are also available for purchase via Xbox Live (where purchases do not add to NPD data), and despite its pool of potential customers being considerably smaller than every other new release—only Halo 2 owners are buying it, after all.

The sales success is a further testament to Halo 2's incredible success in general, but also indicative of consumers' willingness to pay for new content in the end, regardless of their outward complaints on forums and publication mailbags.

Halo 2 has proven to have more staying power than possibly any other game ever—this generation or not. To say it came out of the gate strong would be a gross understatement; everyone at this point is aware of the $125 million the game generated in just 24 hours. What is surprising is the level of longevity the game has had. Who truly expected it to remain the most-played Xbox Live title every week, even during the launch week of such Live-centric titles as Conker?

In its second month of availability, Conker, the Box's 'big summer title', sold 62,000 copies. Halo 2 sold over half that amount, moving 36,000. That 36K puts Halo 2 above such 2005 releases as Jade Empire and Forza.

All told, Halo 2 has sold over 4,700,000 copies, and Live data coupled with Map Pack sales is proof positive that interest remains remarkably high.

The Multiplayer Map Pack sold 197,000 copies at retail. With an MSRP of $20, that means almost $4 million in additional revenue for Microsoft Game Studios, in addition to the revenue made by XBL sales. This means that MGS managed to convince 200,000 games to ultimately spend $70 on Halo 2—$75 for those that own the collector's edition (not to mention sales of the official guide, Halo 2 headset, etc, etc).

What's more impressive than the hard numbers is the fact that 200K gamers bought the maps, despite the knowledge that those same nine maps would be made free just a couple of months later. Rather than charging for the new content period, MGS and Bungie decided to create a downloadable content compromise. Instead of the $20 map pack giving gamers nine new maps, it gave them the privilege to play those nine maps well before they would be free for all, which undoubtedly dented sales from the heights they could have reached, but silenced critics who believe all post-release updates should be free.

Four of the nine maps are already available for free download, with the other five coming on August 30th, along with another batch of new matchmaking variations.

Although Microsoft would certainly prefer things to be otherwise, it is very conscious that the vast majority of Xbox owners are not on Live. Unconfirmed reports cropped up recently that MGS was prepping a Halo triple pack for an October release, putting both Halo 1 & 2 and the Map Pack in a single SKU for $60. If true, the deal will generate significant interest from the Live-less gamer unable to otherwise obtain the new maps.

The pack may also be a glimpse of Microsoft's longer-term downloadable content plans. Gamers have been gnashing their teeth at the prospect of micro transactions becoming the norm instead of the exception, but it isn't too much of a stretch to believe that the Map Pack's success might have shown everyone involved the proper price/timing structure for content additions.