Last gen the sales GT hit were on a userbase 2-3 times bigger than it is now, thats an awful lot of potential customers lost.  I've not checked because I'm lazy but how many GT's have outsold Halo 3, I'm guessing GT3 is the only one.  With that in mind I feel a statement like GT would definately outsell the other games listed was a little too optimistic, at least imo.

I think just the opposite happens.

The fact there are so many "new strands" in the halo universe, like ODST, Wars and now Reach is th epoint im making. Luring a new consumer and enticing them to buy and get into a game, i really believe, being able to differentiate story timeline and having sequential titles adds to the fullness and ease of entry into a franchise.

Have 3 main halos, and the ODST spin off, Wars spin off, and now Reach people who have never played the main franchise will most likely start with 3, if not 1 or 2.

I dont know, i dont need to check though, because youre assuming just because a developer and MSFT are telling you "its a main halo game" its all of a sudden going to add 8 million sales to ODST.

Did it ever cross your mind maybe the 360 userbase is slightly expanding, and the halo universe is becoming ho hum?

Just the people touting the game as "Main" isnt going to magically add 8 million sales on top of ODST.

That will be the main Halo new game dude. ODST served the hardest of hardcore well with a little refresher course and Halo Wars quenched the thirst of those who are Halo story fans and the open minded to a newer game play style from the usual. Most fans of Halo love the gameplay, so have you forgotten them in the equation? This is Halo Reach as the new main Halo picks up the pieces and gives the casual, intermediate and hardcores all what they've been waiting for.

P.S.

Remember that Halo Reach launches around the Christmas season.

halo reach wont be as big as halo 3

Was ODST and japanese anime RPG with cell shading....or was not a halo FPS that was never once knocked for its gameplay but merely its price tag?

If no one said ODST was supposed to be an add on and never talked about in terms of an expansion or spin off and it never entered peoples minds, the game would have sold the same.....it is no different than reach in terms of story arch other than people telling you its "main" this time.

You are going to be disappointed if you expecting Halo 3 plus sales, sans natal bundling.

The biggest game of 2010 in America, for sure.

However, worldwide it will not be the top seller worldwide. It'll have a hell of a time competing with NSMB Wii, Wii Fit+, Wii Sports Resort, and Pokemon HG/SS. There's also a chance Nintendo pulls another 10miller out of its ass. WF+ and NSMB Wii anyone?

If we're only talking about home console games that release in the year 2010, currently its only competition is GT5 and CoD7, which Halo has a good shot at.

I think it makes little sense how people use ODST sales as a barometer for Reach's success. We may as well assume GT5 will sell poorly due to GT5:Prologue.

possibly the worst analogy ive read in a while. It has the word prologue in the name and its lacking features...last i saw ODST didnt only let you shoot 3 different guns at 3 different enemy types.

Seriously, if it was never leaked that they wanted to do ODST as an expansion but MSFT said no all this bullshit excuse for lack of sales wouldnt exist.

Everyone who knows jack shit right now about Reach being the "main" title in the halo universe isnt part of that 6 million difference in sales between halo 3 and ODST. The fact the devs are preaching to the choir about it being a main game isnt going to resonate with the demo that will make Reach come close to Halo 3.

You stated that Halo is suffering from being over milked.  A franchise that is suffering does not come out on top over newer games.  Especially newer games that are supposedly more popular now.

That only proves people who own the game still like to play it.   Doesn't mean they'll feel the need to get another version of Halo.  

Conversely, Zelda owners who have totally finished the game will need to buy a new version to get more play time with Zelda but Halo 3 owners can continue to just enjoy the online without ever buying Reach.  Heck the only version of Halo I own is the original on PC and I'm still content with that.