Halo 3 Preorders Top 1 Million

Microsoft announced Thursday that pre-orders for its upcoming Xbox 360 game Halo 3 have now surpassed 1 million. It's become the fastest-selling pre-ordered video game in history, according to Microsoft. Halo 3 is coming on Sept. 25, 2007.

Halo 3 is the latest installment of the first-person shooter series developed by Bungie Studios. The series depicts the ongoing story of the Master Chief, a human who must protect Earth from the ravages of a xenophobic alien attacker known as the Covenant.

The franchise has an early history on the Macintosh, as the first game was originally intended for Mac and PC; Bungie actually showed the game on stage at a Macworld Expo during a Steve Jobs keynote address in New York. Microsoft acquired Bungie shortly thereafter and the studio then turned it into an exclusive for the original Xbox console.

That issue has been a sore spot with Mac gamers ever since. Halo was ultimately brought to the Macintosh by MacSoft, which developed the Mac version simultaneously with its PC counterpart. Now Halo 2, long a best-seller on the Xbox platform, is being prepared for release on the PC, exclusively for Microsoft Windows Vista users. There's no sign of a Mac release.

Halo 3 is being sold in three different versions: The Standard Edition, Limited Edition and Legendary Edition. Microsoft has also teamed up with major consumer brands to co-market Halo 3, tapping 7-Eleven, Burger King, Mountain Dew and others to push the game in the ramp-up to its release, akin to what major movie studios often do with blockbuster movie releases.