The highly anticipated launch of Halo 3 - the final chapter in the Microsoft Xbox hit space action shooter - hit Singapore on Tuesday noon with a bang.

More than 1,200 Halo fans - young and old - were already queueing at the atrium between Suntec City Tower 1 and 2 by 11.30am. The queue snaked around the two towers and spilled out onto the road. Some came as early as 7.30am.

A wall of Samsung LCD screens and Xbox machines adorned the atrium with gamers of all ages picking virtual fights with each other.

First in the line were buddies Matthew Fay and Aaron Baish, both 16 year-old international high school students.

Matthew, who is from the US, said: "We thought we were late. I was thrilled to find that we were the earliest."

Added Aaron, from England: "This is the climax. I really want to know what happens at the end."

Their patience paid off when they received the US$129 (S$195) "legendary" collector's edition of the game, which is in high demand because only 100 are available here.

Master Chief himself - the hero of Halo 3 - handed over the prize to Matthew.

"We will sell it off at eBay and split the profits," said the beaming teen.

The timing could not have been better for the boys, who are having a week-long school vacation.

"I won't be sleeping tonight," added Aaron.

Singaporean students here are not as fortunate as the final exams are just around the corner.

So the parents turned up instead.

"It's ridiculous," said a calm Mdm Angela Kwek, 49, homemaker, who started queueing from 11 am for her 11-year-old son. "But he's been dying to get it so here I am," she added.

For undergraduate Reaze Chan, 21, the entire third floor of his hostel block is gunning for him. "I'm the only guy with the Xbox 360. So I'm expecting loads of free lunches and dinners," said the burly NUS student.

Over 120 die-hard Halo 3 fans came decked in full armour. These "Believers" had previously attended four pre-launch weekend events where they collected four parts of a complete suit - a vest, shirt, cap and arm band.

They were rewarded with a premium goodie bag worth $200 for their loyalty when they purchased the game.

Mrs Molly Tng, who is in her 40s, came dressed up as a Believer, though she did not quite fit the look.

When asked if she was a true Believer she admitted that she was here for her two teenage boys, aged 13 and 15.

"I may not be a Believer, but I believe in what my boys believe," she quipped.

Gamers here are among the first in the world to get their hands on the game, together with gamers in places like the United States, Australia and New Zealand in the worldwide launch. Malaysia however is not on the list.

But that did not stop two Malaysian game retailers. Bobby Chua and Eddy Yap, drove five hours from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore to get extra copies of the game. The duo had already received hundreds of pre-orders in at their shop and they had imported the game into Malaysia themselves. "This game is really hot. We usually sell about 40-50 copies for a new game but we already have almost eight to 10 times more for Halo 3," said Mr Yap.

Increasing sales of Xbox console

Halo 3 is Microsoft's weapon to push sales of its Xbox 360 console during the coming holiday season.

This launch is closely watched by observers worldwide as it is expected to once again set a new record in opening day video games sales for the Xbox.

In 2004, when Halo 2 was launched, it hit US$125 million within the first 24 hours, which was three times more than what Spider-man 2 raked in on its first-day launch. Spider-man 3, which launched earlier this year, slung in US$151 million during its weekend launch.

All eyes are now on whether Master Chief - the space marine protoganist of Halo - will beat Spidey again in the money game as well as its predecessor.

Microsoft Singapore is expecting sales the first month of Halo 3 to surpass its previous 15,000 record for Halo 3 by 35 per cent.

New York

Over in New York City, some aficionados started lining up before dawn outside computer shops to grab a good seat for the launch extravaganza. But the number far short of the hundreds who had queued for other big consumer debuts this year, such as the last Harry Potter book or Apple's iPhone.

By late afternoon on Monday, only about 30 people were waiting outside a Best Buy store on New York's Fifth Avenue.

Nonetheless, Halo 3 is seen to be the US$30 billion (S$45 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,' said Mr Shane Kim, vice-president of Microsoft Game Studios.

Gaming retail chain GameStop 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 US$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's Wii console.