Lazard: Halo 3 To Quickly Push $200m In Sales

Following a meeting with Microsoft Xbox execs, Lazard analyst Colin Sebastian has estimated Halo 3 sales could quickly reach $200 million in "one of the largest and most successful product launches in digital entertainment."

Sebastian says the launch prediction is "based on our conversations with Xbox management as well as our own industry checks," with "significant preorders and broad consumer anticipation" of the Xbox 360 title.

"In addition," he said, "we expect Halo 3 to drive increasing Xbox 360 hardware sell-through, supported by the August price cuts. We note that incremental retail foot traffic resulting from the Halo 3 launch benefits video game specialty retailer GameStop."

However, he notes that even if Sony lower the price on the PS2 or introduce a new lower-priced PS3, he expects Microsoft will hold steady with its own price, but adds "we do not rule out the possibility of other promotional activities into the holiday period as Microsoft seeks to take full advantage of Halo 3 momentum."