Despite concerns by TV and movie executives that the new "Halo 3" video game would adversely impact movie attendance and television viewing during the holiday season, a report from Integrated Media
Measurement Inc. (IMMI) shows that gamers maintained their usual movie and television habits. The long-awaited blockbuster video game grossed a record-setting $170 million in first-day sales.
The IMMI study compared television and movie viewing patterns of "Halo 3" players before the video game's release to viewing patterns after its release. Prior to the launch, "Halo 3" players watched
an average of 27.1 hours of television per week. Following the launch, the same group watched an average of 26.9 hours of television per week, showing no significant statistical difference. Moviegoing
habits remained unchanged.
Most of the "Halo 3" game-play took place early in the day on weekends. Twenty-seven percent of the total game starts occurred before 5 p.m. on Saturday or Sunday, with
game-play starting to drop around 5 p.m. During the week, game-play began its descent at 7 p.m., leaving plenty of room for prime-time television viewing. Only 7% of "Halo 3" game starts occurred on
the weekends after 7 p.m., again leaving ample time for movie attendance.
--Tanya Irwin