SEATTLE - JUST hours after die-hard fans finally got their hands on a copy of Halo 3, blogs brimmed with reports that special limited-edition packaging is scratching the video game disks.

While the scratches do not appear to be keeping gamers from playing the last installment of the popular trilogy, it is a rough patch that Microsoft could have lived without.

Microsoft, which owns the studio that makes Halo 3, responded quickly on its Xbox Web site with details for a replacement programme.

Customers in the US, where the game officially went on sale early on Tuesday, can fill out a form and send in their scratched limited-edition disks for a free exchange through the end of Dec.

'We have identified that there are some instances of blemishes on discs as a result of the packaging,' said Microsoft spokesman David Dennis in an e-mailed statement.

'This is a small fraction of the total number of Halo 3 games shipped and sold, and is a limited production version of the game.'

Microsoft is selling the limited-edition version, which comes in a tin decorated with the Halo 3 logo, for US$70 (S$104). A regular copy of the game costs US$60, and a 'legendary' version, which comes with a replica of the helmet worn by game protagonist Master Chief, costs US$130. -- AP