It was bound to happen. According to the latest data released by the NPD Group, the last title of Halo trilogy has sold 4,82 million units, topping the game list of 2007.

In fact, released on September 25, Halo 3 brought the company more than $170 million in the first day of availability, surpassing by far its predecessor (Halo 2, with “only” $125 million) and Spiderman 3 ($67 million).

Halo 3 is the latest installment of a franchise developed by formerly Microsoft’s owned Bungie Studios. The first game, Halo: Combat Evolved was released in 2001 and since then, the game has grown into a global entertainment phenomenon, selling more than 14.8 million units worldwide, logging more than 800 million hours of multiplayer action on Xbox LIVE, and spawning action figures, books, a graphic novel, apparel and more.

The action of the game revolves around Master Chief, a genetically altered, cybernetically enhanced Spartan supersoldier, who must race back to Earth to stop the Covenant, a fictional militaristic alliance of alien races, first introduced in the original Halo game.

Microsoft invested $10 million in the advertising campaign for Halo 3 and the success was predictable as the pre-orders for the game totaled 1,7 million.

In the Top 10 Game of 2007 Halo 3 was closely followe by Wii Play, a title that sold 4,12 million units, while the third position was achieved by another game for Xbox 360, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, with 3,05 million units.

First title for PS2 that made it into Top 10 is Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock, released by Activision, with 2,72 million units.

The fifth place was gained also by Nintendo with its Super Mario Galaxy, a game released in November last year, that sold 2,52 million units.

The last five games are Pokemon Diamond for Nintendo DS with 2,48 million units, Madden NFL 08 (PS2) with 1,90 million units, Guitar Hero 2 (PS2) with 1.89 million units, Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360) with 1.87 million units and Mario Party 8 (Nintendo Wii) with 1.82 million units.