When Spiderman 3 was released, it shattered the $132 million weekend box office record held by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, and raised the bar to a whopping $148 million. That’s a lot of money to gain in only one weekend. What on Earth could break records like that?

Enter “Halo 3”. For those of you out there who either don’t play videogames, or have been living under a rock since 2001, here’s a quick summary. The Halo franchise is a first person shooter for the Xbox 360 console. It follows the epic struggles of 26th century Earth and its hero, Master Chief, against the merciless onslaught of an alien race known only as ‘The Covenant.’ Master Chief is a genetically enhanced ‘Spartan’ super soldier, the last of his kind. The trilogy of games is focused around fast paced action, vehicle based combat, an impressive storyline, and a deep multiplayer feature.

Without going into plot detail, let this be known: “Halo 3” is the conclusion to what is probably the most epic videogame story of all time, which started all the way back in 2001 with the first installment of Halo. Yes, there are key plot elements from the first game that you need to know in order to fully appreciate this game. However in total, the three games are a roller coaster of a ride, with plot twists and cinematic moments that most major motion pictures only dream of.

However, the largest chunk of the game comes out of the multiplayer feature. This incorporates Xbox Live, an online gaming service that allows people from across the world to compete against each other in online battles. This projects a sense of community, as you can find your friends online, chat with them, and then together either play through the game or compete against someone as far away as Australia. It is a terrific feature that will carry the game’s legacy on for a very long time.

Now that everyone is caught up, let’s talk big numbers. Halo’s first release “Halo: Combat Evolved”, which was released alongside the original Xbox, was the console’s best selling game (5 million copies) until the release of its sequel. “Halo 2” broke entertainment records by making $125 million in the first 24 hours of its release, and has to this date sold 8 million copies. On Sept. 25, “Halo 3”, one of the most anticipated videogames in history, was released and within 24 hours made $170 million. This made “Halo 3” the highest grossing entertainment product within 24 hours of release ever, even beating out “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”. Stupefy that J.K. Rowling.