If you’re not a video game fan, don’t expect to see any of your gaming friends for a while. Halo 3, one of the world’s most anticipated computer games, launched last night in London, in true Hollywood film style.

Industry analysts are proclaiming that last night’s launch could be the biggest event this year in entertainment history. Microsoft is hoping to set the cash registers ringing; they hope to make about $150 million on just the opening day of sales. That figure would put Halo 3 ahead of the largest-ever film opening record, currently held by Spider Man- 3

The New York Times quoted Neil Tiles, president of G4 which is the first and only 24/7 television network dedicated to all things videogames, as saying, “They’re looking at $150 million in the first day, which is bigger than any movie has done. Culturally, it’s at least as big as any film opening or TV premiere or book or Broadway opening, and probably bigger.”

Microsoft certainly rolled out the game as if it was a much-hyped film. The company took over the BFI IMAX at Waterloo for last night’s party. It organized for fans and celebs to test out the latest version on a giant screen, and challenge each others’ prowess. About 1000 stores across the UK opened at midnight so that fans could get their hands on the new game as soon as possible.

Halo 3’s music and voice acting has been hailed by game experts as being to being almost ‘cinematic in quality’. Microsoft hasn’t revealed how much it cost to make, but industry experts estimate that it’s anywhere between $25 million to $40 million. The game will be available in three versions which cost $60, $70 and $130, and more than a million consumers had ordered the game as early as July.

As to the game itself, it’s back to the future. The year is 2552 in Halo 3. And we return to the warrior, ‘humanity’s only hope’, Master Chief, who’s all set to “finish the fight” against alien Covenant forces and the Flood.