The Seattle Times is reporting that according to early indications Microsoft is headed towards one of their best-selling holiday seasons yet, as Halo 2 seems to be leaving the competition in its wake.

So far about 1 million copies of the Xbox exclusive FPS "Halo 2" have been pre-ordered, simply making it the largest pre-order title ever, and with its release still one month away (November 9), the counter is still ticking.
"We have the blockbuster of blockbuster titles launching this year," Andrew Jenkins, an Xbox product manager, said yesterday at a briefing to show upcoming games on the console. "It's hard to see a downside."
In comparison, the original Halo so far sold 5 million copies worldwide of since its debut in 2001.