It’s official: Halo 3 is done. Two weeks after developer Bungie Studios announced that “99.9 percent” of work on the game was complete, publisher Microsoft Game Studios announced today that the eagerly awaited sci-fi shooter has gone gold. Rated M for Mature, the Xbox 360 exclusive is available in three versions: the $59.99 regular edition, the $69.99 limited edition, and the $129.99 legendary edition, which comes with a miniature helmet of the game’s hero, the Master Chief. Microsoft is also releasing a special Halo 3 edition of the Xbox 360 in September for $399.
Halo 3 is the culmination of the trilogy that kicked off in 2001 with Halo: Combat Evolved. Despite having no online support, the Xbox exclusive was a multiplayer phenomenon, and greatly aided Microsoft’s entry into the console fray. The online-enabled Halo 2’s debut in 2004 provided a major shot in the arm for Xbox Live, Microsoft’s gaming service. With over one million preorders of Halo 3 in the US alone, Microsoft is hoping for a similar boost for the Xbox 360, which has been recently losing market share to the surging Wii and the temporarily discounted PlayStation 3.
Source: GameSpot.com