NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp geared up on Monday for the midnight release of "Halo 3," the acclaimed alien shooter game that it hopes will widen its lead over Sony Corp in the battle for industry dominance.
While some aficionados lined up before dawn at a Best Buy store on New York's Fifth Avenue to grab a good seat for the launch extravaganza, others took advantage of the retailer's offer to let them pay for a copy of the game and pick it up at midnight or the next day.
By late afternoon, only about 30 people were waiting outside the store -- far short of the hundreds who had queued for other big consumer debuts this year, such as the last "Harry Potter" book or Apple Inc's iPhone.
Nonetheless, "Halo 3" is seen to be the $30 billion video game industry's equivalent of a new Potter book and Microsoft is counting on the science-fiction game to push its money-losing entertainment unit into profitability.
"This is a critical holiday in terms of winning the next-generation console fight versus our competition and nobody has anything to go up and match 'Halo,"' Shane Kim, vice president of Microsoft Game Studios, told Reuters Television.
Gaming retail chain GameStop Corp said the title set a record for advance orders, while Microsoft expects initial demand to surpass that for 2004's "Halo 2," which racked up $125 million in its first 24 hours.
The first two "Halo" games have sold a combined 15 million copies and cemented Microsoft as a serious player in a video game industry that was dominated by Sony's PlayStation 2.
"Halo 3" is targeted firmly at the core Xbox audience of young males, for whom realistic combat games are a staple. It does little to widen the machine's appeal to a more casual audience that is being courted with tremendous success by Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii console.
The title is "not necessarily going to move a lot of new systems like the first 'Halo' did," said Dan Hsu, editor-in-chief of the EGM gaming magazine.
"At the same time, with all the marketing blitz and hype, consumers will be out there," Hsu said, "and if they are thinking video games, they are thinking one of two things: 'Halo' or the Wii."
SYSTEM-SELLER
Microsoft hopes the last chapter of the Halo trilogy, which began in 2001 with the first Xbox, will give a further boost to its latest console. The Xbox 360, launched in late 2005, has already enjoyed stronger sales than the pricier PlayStation 3, which so far lacks any "system-seller" games.
"I was caught between buying the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but there are certain games like 'Madden '08' and this one that pushed me to Xbox 360," said Darnell Jefferson, 25, who was second in line at Best Buy, referring to the hit NFL game made by Electronic Arts Inc .
"Halo 3" will enjoy the absence of another blockbuster game, "Grand Theft Auto IV," whose October debut was delayed by publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc until some time between February and April 2008.
The latest "Halo" has drawn wide praise from reviewers for its lush settings, cinematic story and breadth of features.
The positive buzz pushed Microsoft shares up as much as 3.35 percent on Monday, their biggest one-day gain since April. The stock ended 1.5 percent higher at $29.08 on Nasdaq.
"The crowd is moving consistently. We have more than enough copies of the games for people who have pre-purchased," said Mike Jones, manager of the Best Buy store on Fifth Avenue.
Microsoft is backing the science-fiction game -- in which players try to save humanity from an army of aliens -- with a marketing blitz that includes celebrity-studded midnight sales events at some 10,000 retailers across the United States.
"They are going to make it a big event, lots of celebrities out here, concerts and prizes, all sorts of craziness," said Uchendu Nwachukwu, 28, a freelance Web designer who was first in line at Best Buy and claimed his space at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, nearly 30 hours before the launch.
"If it was just about the game," he said, "I would have gone on Tuesday to the store and got it."
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