Experiencing a Halo Effect

Don't be surprised if you get a few more complaints than usual about slow bandwidth this week -- on Tuesday, Microsoft began selling “Halo 3”, their acclaimed (and highly anticipated) alien shoot-'em-up video game for the Xbox 360. Take special note if you're operating a student housing community... I talked to one ISP exec earlier this week, and he admitted his company was expecting a considerable "spike in bandwidth for the next several days."

The game's launch was much like the premier of a Harry Potter book or the iPhone. If you're not convinced it's a big deal, think about this: the third installment of Halo made more on its first day than Spiderman 3.

Property managers should take advantage of opportunities like this to create related events, as long as they fit the community's demographic... popular video games often provide the chance to put together parties or tournaments. You might think that Halo-type games will typically only appeal to the young men, but the Nintendo Wii and new games interest a much wider range of "casual gamers." Whatever the idea, you'll have plenty of time to plan an event this week if your Internet slows to a crawl... thanks to your Halo enthusiasts.