For many Gamers September 25 has been a long away date that would not come soon enough. On Tuesday, September 25 Halo 3 comes out and there are already over $1 million in pre-release orders. Is this really a big deal to the rest of the consumer market? You better believe it! Halo has become one of the largest Franchises of all time. Compare it with the success of Star Wars, Harry Potter and James Bond because they are all going to be neighbors in the pop culture world. the Halo movie is already in discussions and scripts have been developed.

Halo 3 has already locked millions of dollars in licensing and marketing efforts which include Mountain Dew with a new flavor for Halo 3. Does this make sense? Of course! If you have ever played or seen people who play the first person shooter or role playing games you see the intensity they have. Playing games for hours at a time at all hours of the day leads to the need for caffeine. Mountain Dew knows the market of this game and what they need. But also set up as a licensee is Pontiac. Does that make a lot of sense? It isn’t as straight forward as Mountain Dew but Pontiac knows the market for Halo is young and they love excitement. Pontiac is connecting their name to an identity like they do when sponsoring sporting events or becoming the “official vehicle” of whatever. Does March Madness need to have an official vehicle? Why not.

Halo 3 is coming out on Tuesday, look for the increase of marketing that launches the same time. Also look for a drop in attendance at junior high, high schools and colleges around the world.

Is there a breaking point for all of the hype and success? The typical limit for success is three releases, or sequels. With the exception of Star Wars and a few other, rare giants, any more versions or sequels will dilute the market and loose the impact. Police Academy 8 was rumored to be in the works until the plug was pulled in late 2006. It must have been too hard to top Police Academy 7.

Adage.com article: The ‘Halo’ Effect: Three-Peat Expected for Xbox 360 Game