Master Chief saves the day.

The release of the much anticipated game follows the heels of a recent string of problems relating to the Xbox 360 console (see separate story), with Microsoft execs hoping the game will help it move past the incident and push 360 into a market leading position.

Xbox Director David McLean said, "We are thrilled with the success of Halo 3 in Australia, and with the fact that a quarter of all Xbox 360 owners rushed out to buy Halo 3 on day one. Along with the recent price drop, we hope the success of Halo 3 will consolidate the Xbox 360's market leading position."

Here in Australia, more than 50,000 Halo 3 copies had been sold, with consumers spending more than AU$6 million in 24 hours, making it the biggest first-day digital entertainment release ever in Australia, the company says.

Microsoft also mentioned that one million gamers connected to the Xbox Live online gaming service in the first day, making it the most active day in Xbox Live history. Halo 3 has logged 2.4 million games on day one, with 2.5 million campaign levels played around the world in the first 24 hours.

Halo 3 is the conclusion to the epic trilogy and picks up where Halo 2 left off, answering questions around the fates of the beloved protagonist Master Chief and his artificial intelligence sidekick Cortana as they struggle to save humankind from destruction at the hands of the alien coalition known as the Covenant.

See: www.xbox.com/en-au/