I don't understand...the article says they spent 55 million on the game, sure...a little far fetched considering Bungie members on the Bingie website forum have confirmed the 30-40 million dollar budget for development...but ok, I can buy that.

But then it lists 200 million...for advertising?? hhahaa lol... 200 million? Who came up with that number? I want to laugh at his face.

I can't find the 2007 data but here is 2008 advertising spend data.

http://adage.com/marketertrees09/

Microsoft spent 800 million advertising in 2008. As advertising budgets don't change much year to year, does anyone really think MS would spend 1/4 of its entre advertising budget on Halo 3...hell even xbox? A business which brings in like 1/50th of their total revenue... Lets be serious.

Here are few resonable estimates for halo 3 advertising budget btw...6.5 mil.

http://www.gamesthirst.com/2010/08/24/halo-reachs-advertising-budget-is-microsofts-biggest-ever/

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/08/23/halo-reach-marketing-campaign-flexes-giant-robo-arm/

 Short of STALKERS 4 million but still solid

$6.4 million lol, that would mean that nearly all AAA games had a bigger marketing budget than Halo 3....

It's a $200 million marketing budget that Halo 3 had. It seems that you're too quick to forget about Master Chief being plastered in dozens of millions of energy drinks and sodas, prime time TV spots, all the major websites, etc... and this was in a global scale.

That's 4 million for all 3 games of the series combined though. But it will still keep increasing, and 2 months ago they said that the sales are already approaching the 5 million mark: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/11/12/gsc-explain-the-stalker-tv-show/#more-43915

"The overall game sales worldwide are steadily approaching the same 5 million units mark."

Do you not understand logic or reason? 200 out of 800 million microsoft spent in 2007 went to halo 3?Ok there...

Look, I work in the advertising industry, I know what 200 million gets you. Its implausable to spend 200 million in a month span on a product like Halo...there is not enough inventory to fit this kind of advertising surge take over in such a short amount of time. Ford wants their billboards and commercials, as does Nike and Coca Cola.

6.4 million is a very conservative estimate but there is no way in hell they could spend more than 30 million on Halo 3 advertising, including all commercials production and advertising.

Huh?! Microsoft has enough money to that everything they want to. It's the same as Microsoft spending $500 million on a doomed product like Windows Phone 7 last year.

Microsoft reportedly spent $200 million on Halo 3 because they could, and believed to still turn a profit. Besides, they were also trying to get people to buy the X360.

Also, you say you work in the advertising industry, but the fact that you actually believed that Halo 3 had a laughable $6.4 million budget makes me doubt your claims. Hell, even the first S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game had a marketing budget as big as that, and both the game and developers were still pretty much unknown then.

Quit being a clown and post something concrete...

I posted you links with budget estimates, and microsoft advertising budget microsoft had in 2008. I didn't believe or make anything up but am posting links of sites lis CBS and Joystiq claiming Halo 3s buget.

You so far have posted nothing except your usual anti microsoft banter and opinions which are worthless.

I suggest you go to a mirror and say "I will not post rediculous claims unless I have links to back them up" 10 times. then come back and post me STALKERs advertising budget on a credible site...and we can continue this debate.

Here are some more Halo 3 advertising estimates. I don't see 200 million absolutely anywhere...

http://kotaku.com/298272/how-microsoft-spent-10-million-selling-halo-3

http://entrepreneurs.about.com/b/2007/09/24/the-economics-of-halo-3.htm

I don't know what Halo 3's marketing budget was, but it was certainly much larger than $6.4 Million worldwide ... When it was first released there were (very) popular shows at prime time that had several Halo 3 spots in an hour, where each of these spots would cost between $500,000 and $1,000,000. I wouldn't be surprised if Halo 3's marketing budget was only $6.4 Million in a country like Canada, but there is no way that is a worldwide number.

Many games do have marketing budgets below $10,000,000 but the only national television marketing they get is sporadic spots on small cable networks (Spike for example) in off peak hours; because of how expensive television marketing is.

Awhile back Crytek were saying Crysis not being on consoles held the game's sales back significantly, since consoles are such a large market compared to PC these days.  They attributed this to piracy, like usual.  They tend to bitch about that a lot.

Like I said then, I think they're in for a rude awakening if they expect sales like this on consoles.  I'd expect maybe 3 million combined between ps3/360 for Crysis 2, which certainly wouldn't put the PC version's sales to shame.

Though I could see the console versions having slightly better initial sales.  Crysis had crazy legs, and I'd expect the PC version of Crysis 2 to do the same.  At the very least it'll replace its predecessor as the benchmark title with which to show off your new rig.  I can't think  of a single person over the past several years that didn't buy Crysis to show off their freshly upgraded PC lol.  I did this past May!

lol, what are you smoking disolitude?

Halo 3 advertising cost more than $50 million, it's guaranteed*. And I wouldnt be surprised if it was over $100 mill.

* As a reference, MW2 advertising cost $200 million and Halo 3 at that point (in 2007) was as big of a franchise as Call of Duty was in 2009 with Modern Warfare 1.