Halo 3 Ad Brings Epic Battles To Life, Giving Gamers Reason to Believe

LONDON, 12th September 2007, Details of the advertising around the biggest video game title of the year, "Halo 3" were today revealed by Microsoft. The third installment of the legendary Halo saga, will be available in Europe from 26th September 2007, exclusively on Xbox 360 and is set to shatter day-one entertainment sales records. The ad gives consumers reason to "Believe" in the amazing feats of main character Master Chief and action within the title, bringing the epic battles to life in the style of a museum "diorama."

While the ad hits TV screens on Tuesday 18th September at 21.35 during ITV1's coverage of the UEFA Champions League, would be heroes will get the chance to exclusively view the ad in Europe first on xbox.com from 17.00 on 14th September.

Certain to catch the imagination of audiences around the globe, the intention was to talk to a broader audience than the traditional videogame advertising. The campaign does not focus on the specifics of the graphics or gameplay, but instead looks at the themes that lie at the heart of the tale that spans the entire Halo trilogy. Focusing on stories of war, duty, sacrifice and most importantly the heroism of Master Chief as audiences look back on the epic battles of the Halo games as if we were ourselves living in the 27th century.

Within the campaign, the most important single execution is the TV, cinema & online ad "Diorama." The diorama featured in this ad is a 100% accurate replication of a key moment from a climactic battle taken from the Halo universe. At over 400 sq ft in surface area, reaching a height over 12ft above the ground and with each handcrafted human figure standing 8 inches high, it was large enough to fill an entire studio at Stan Winston, the Los Angeles modelmakers responsible for the creature models from films such as Aliens and Jurassic Park. Shooting the 90" epic took director Rupert Sanders and his team 4 days as the individual soldier's stories were told, as the camera spanned the landscape finally resting on the mountain top where Master Chief is depicted taking the fight to the Covenant enemy.

Stephen McGill, Head of Gaming and Entertainment, Microsoft UK said "It's amazing to see such the legendary world of Halo brought to life in such a creative way through the construction and filming of this ad. I'm sure the epic shots and dramatic scenes in the commercial will be a hit with Halo fans and newcomers to the franchise alike, giving them just a taste of what they have to look forward to when the game comes out on 25th September."

In the campaign, the Diorama is explained to have been built as a tribute to Master Chief and his heroism, and to be kept on permanent display in the Museum of Humanity. The museum itself, with an interactive version of the Diorama amongst other exhibits, can be visited online at www.xbox.com/halo3 .

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For more information please contact:

Kate Szlendak / 0118 909 5334 / v-kaszle@microsoft.com

About Bungie Studios

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 sell enough of those games to achieve its real goal of 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. Bungie's "Halo" franchise is an international award-winning action title that has grown into a global entertainment phenomenon, selling more than 14.7 million units worldwide, logging nearly 1 billion hours of multiplayer action on Xbox LIVE, and spawning action figures, books, a graphic novel, apparel and more. Bungie is currently at work on "Halo 3," which represents the third chapter in this "Halo" trilogy and is slated for release in 2007. More information on Bungie can be found at http://www.bungie.net.

About Microsoft Game Studios

Microsoft Game Studios is a leading worldwide publisher and developer of games for the Xbox® and Xbox 360 video game systems, the Windows® operating system and online platforms. Comprising a network of top developers, Microsoft Game Studios is committed to creating innovative and diverse games for Windows ( http://www.microsoft.com/games), including such franchises as "Age of Empires®," "Flight Simulator" and "Zoo Tycoon®"; Xbox and Xbox 360 ( http://www.xbox.com), including such games as "Gears of War" and franchises such as "Halo," "Fable®," "Project Gotham Racing®" and "Forza Motorsport®"; and MSN® Games ( http://www.games.msn.com), the official games channel for the MSN network and home to such hits as "Bejeweled" and "Hexic®."

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full pot