The numbers have proven it: if you own an Xbox 360 and live in the United States, there's a good chance that you also own a copy of Halo 3. At least, that's what the data from The NPD group shows, with approximately 52% of Xbox 360 owners in the U.S. also holding a copy of the epic FPS.

The breakdown is simple. According to The NPD Group's data, there were 7.9 million Xbox 360s purchased in the US to date, and 4.1 million copies of Halo 3 sold in the U.S. to date as well. The simple math shows us that 51.8% of all Xbox 360 owners in America also own Halo 3.

It's an amazing number to behold, and one that even NPD Group industry analyst Anita Frazier says is significant:

The power of Halo 3 is quite evident. Even more than the attach rate of the game, which is significant, the fact that when it released it drove hardware sales substantially is evidence of the power of the franchise. That is why content is so important - a really killer game drives hardware adoption more than any other factor (including price cuts).