Microsoft said Thursday that its highly anticipated Halo 3 video game broke industry records, recording more than 1 million preorders.

The software giant said the game, scheduled to ship on September 25, is the fastest selling preordered video game in history.

Halo 3 is the latest installment of the first-person shooter series developed by Bungie Studios. The series depicts the adventures of a human who protects earth from a militaristic alien invader.

Most retailers are selling the title for around $60, while a special Legendary Edition sells for about $130 and includes a helmet-style case, bonus discs, and collector's art.

Last month, Microsoft introduced a special Halo 3 edition of the Xbox 360 and matching wireless controller featuring a Spartan green and gold finish, mirroring the colors worn by the game's main character.

Redmond Wash.-based Microsoft also announced last week new lower pricing for its Xbox 360 models, with the largest price cut coming in at $50 for the 20-gigabyte model.

Microsoft sold 5.5 million units of the Xbox 360, introduced a year earlier, according to market research firm NPD Group Inc. Comparatively, U.S. consumers have purchased 1.38 million units Sony's rival PlayStation 3s and 2.84 million Nintendo Wii players.

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