Casual gamers need not apply

Exceeding expectations, Microsoft's Halo 3 video game posted US$ 170 million in its first day, beating the top movie opening weekend of all time, Spiderman 3 at $151 million, making it "the biggest day in entertainment history," according to Microsoft.

The Xbox 360 game launched Tuesday September 25 to much fanfare after a multimillion dollar marketing push that included a US$ 10 million TV ad campaign.

In its first 20 hours on the market, over a million players logged on to Xbox Live to play Halo 3 setting a record for the Live service, according to Next-Gen.

Further, Gamestop expects it to be the biggest video game title generator in the retailer's history.

Yesterday came news that the Xbox 360 was having trouble attracting the casual gamer, but with numbers like these, perhaps they'll "settle" for the hardcore.