Halo sales top four million

Halo sold more than four million copies worldwide by the end of December 2003, developer Bungie proudly announced this week, no doubt reaping the benefits of a discounted $29.99 price point and the critical acclaim directed at the PC version - which has apparently hit the half-million sales barrier by itself.

Seeking to put the game's latest sales milestone into perspective, Bungie offered the following "Hyperfact": "At the current sales pace, there will be more copies of Halo than there are human beings on Earth, by the year 3254. It is expected however that at least one new generation of the Xbox will be here by then."

Given Microsoft's recent announcement that the Xbox installed base hit 13.7 million at the end of 2003, it seems fair to say that one in every four Xbox owners has bought a copy of the vaunted first-person shooter. The highly anticipated sequel, Halo 2, is due out in spring or summer depending on which reports you believe.