1.5m US Pre-orders for Halo 2! News

Fears that the pirate version of Halo 2 may have stolen some of the thunder of the official release can be today blown away, as Microsoft have announced that over 1.5 million pre-orders have been made for the Xbox exclusive game â?“ breaking previous video games records.

In a statement, Microsoft's VP of worldwide publishing and marketing for Xbox, Peter Moore, said that, "Halo 2 is expected to be the biggest 24 hours for a video game title in retail historyâ?¦and is projected to bring in more revenue than any day one box office blockbuster movie in the United States."

Anticipation for the sequel to the smash hit, Halo: Combat Evolved is running very high, and thousands of stores across the US have confirmed that they plan to open at 12:01am on the gameâ??s day of release on November 9th â?“ the game is set to be released across 27 countries between the 9th and the 11th.

With just over three weeks until players are able to participate in the further exploits of Master Chief (at least legally), the build-up in sheer anticipation is set to continue.

Weâ??ll have more on Halo 2 shortlyâ?¦