Newsflash:

Halo 2 Makes Entertainment History

October 19, 2004, Redmond, Wash.—There hasn't been this much anticipation for an otherworldly touchdown since Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon. With three weeks to go before the game hits store shelves, pre-orders for Halo 2—the highly anticipated Xbox-exclusive game from Microsoft Game Studios—have eclipsed the 1.5-million mark in the United States. With phenomenal record-breaking videogame pre-orders, Halo 2 is poised to generate more revenue in 24 hours than day-one sales of any full-feature movie in entertainment history, including Spider-Man 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Matrix: Reloaded.

In the U.S., the anticipation is building to a fever pitch, and on November 9, 2004, thousands of shoppers will line up to be among the first to get their hands on the action-packed thriller. The first copy of Halo 2 will be distributed at a Midnight Madness event at the largest Toys "R" Us in the world, located in Times Square, New York City, N.Y. Toys "R" Us Times Square will open its doors at 12:01 A.M. on November 9 and deliver the first retail copy of the game to a lucky fan.

"The original Halo is still a top-ten title, three years after it hit shelves, and the buzz for the sequel is off the charts," said John Barbour, president, Toys "R" Us U.S. "We can think of no more appropriate place to unveil Halo 2 than the site where Xbox first launched: Toys "R" Us Times Square."

More than 6,500 U.S. participating retailers—including Gamestop, EB Games, Best Buy, Gamecrazy, Game Rush, Circuit City, Kmart Super Center stores, and FYE—will open their doors at 12:01 A.M. on Tuesday, November 9, 2004, to allow for sales of Halo 2, Xbox consoles, and Xbox Live Starter Kits.

The global launch of Halo 2 will also be marked by celebrations from November 9 through November 11 at more than 1,125 retail stores in cities around the world, including London, Seoul, Toronto, and Sydney. Halo 2 will be translated into seven languages (Japanese, Korean, traditional Chinese, Spanish, French, German and Italian) and will be distributed in 27 countries.

"Halo 2 is expected to be the biggest 24 hours for a videogame title in retail history and is projected to bring in more revenue than any day-one box office blockbuster movie in the United States," said Peter Moore, corporate vice president of worldwide publishing and marketing, Xbox. "We call it the Halo 2 effect. We've even heard rumors of fan anticipation of the 'Halo 2 flu' on November 9."

Halo 2, the follow-up to the marquee Xbox title Halo: Combat Evolved was selected for the Toys "R" Us Joy List as one of the expected top sellers this holiday season. Halo 2 utilizes Xbox Live to redefine online play, delivering superior online multiplayer capabilities, which allow gamers to engage with or against friends from around the world in an effort to save humankind.

Developed exclusively for Xbox by Bungie Studios, part of Microsoft Game Studios, the original Halo has sold more than five-million copies worldwide and spawned a legion of powerful devotees who participate in competitions, tournaments, and game nights.


About Bungie
Bungie Studios was founded in 1991 with two goals: to develop games that combine brilliant technology, beautiful art, intelligent stories, and deep gameplay and then to sell enough of those games to achieve its real goal: total world domination. Over the past 10 years, it has produced games such as the Marathon Trilogy and the first two Myth games, hailed as classics by critics and gamers around the world. Released in 2001, Halo: Combat Evolved has achieved phenomenal success on the Microsoft Xbox videogame system and is also available for the PC. More information on Bungie can be found at http://www.bungie.net/.

About Toys "R" Us
Toys "R" Us is one of the leading specialty toy retailers in the world. Currently, it sells merchandise through more than 1,200 stores, including 680 toy stores in the U.S. and 591 international toy stores, including licensed and franchise stores as well as through its Internet sites at www.toysrus.com, www.imaginarium.com, and www.sportsrus.com. Babies "R" Us is the largest baby product specialty store chain in the world and a leader in the juvenile industry, selling merchandise through 208 stores in the U.S. as well as on the Internet at http://www.babiesrus.com.