'Halo 2' launch gets red-carpet treatment
C|Net | at | by Mike
A Times Square countdown of a different sort is planned for next week. It will not involve a sparkling ball descending a pole or herald a new year. But this countdown, expected to draw thousands into the streets surrounding the Toys R Us flagship store, may mark a new height in video game promotion.
At 12:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday, "Halo 2," a sequel to the best-selling game ever developed for Microsoft's Xbox, will go on sale amid a blast of rock music, celebrity sightings and packaged pandemonium in Manhattan. At the same time, some 6,800 stores in the United States, and others abroad, will open in the first minutes after midnight, putting the game into the hands of those who have reserved it--Microsoft reports 1.5 million advance orders--and others willing to part with $50.