Microsoft spent Bill Gates' best $6 billion on building Windows Vista and another $500 million on top of that for the Wow marketing campaign. And yet the company's latest operating system failed miserably to attract crowds of Windows users hungry for an upgrade or to stir up decent levels of enthusiasm. In contrast, Bungie Studios' Halo 3 delivered it all, crowds of fans and top excitement over the first day when the title went on sale in the U.S. But don't take my word for it, just click on the thumbnails included at the bottom in order to get an idea of what the launch event was like.

"With 'Halo 3,' Bungie Studios has further mastered the art of marrying fantastic gameplay with the intangibles that make the experience extraordinary for gamers, evoking incredible emotion through its story and character development," said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios. "That emotion is at the heart of what makes this more than a game and why 'Halo' connects with its audience in the way other great stories like 'Star Wars' resonated with theirs. But unlike the static experiences of a great film or novel, 'Halo 3' offers a dynamic and social interactive entertainment experience that enables players to finish the fight themselves."

Of course that Master Chief could not have missed from the launch of his own game. And he accompanied New York Giants football players Osi Umenyiora and Kawika Mitchell and Hip-hop artist Ludacris. You will be able to see the first people that actually managed to get their hands on a copy of Halo 3 after waiting 24 hours in line, as well as the first fan to receive a copy of the game from none other than Bill Gates. By comparison, at the Windows Vista launch in New York, at the end of January, there was Steve Ballmer and a sea of members of the press.

"Made exclusively for Xbox 360, "Halo 3" will be made available in three versions: Standard Edition at $59.99, Limited Edition for $69.99, and the ultimate collector's item, the Legendary Edition at $129.99. The Legendary Edition will be released in limited quantities and arrive in a highly collectible Spartan helmet case, along with two bonus discs full of exclusive content. The Limited Edition will ship in a sleek metal collector's case and include the first bonus disc found in the Legendary Edition, as well as a special "Halo" fiction and art book. And for those who crave nothing more than the highly anticipated third chapter to one of the greatest gaming trilogies of all time, the Standard Edition will consist of the "Halo 3" game", Microsoft informed.