New York City’s Time Square has seen everything from 25 cents peep shows to rampant "Disneyfication," but the hundreds of screaming males lined up late last night outside the Toys R Us on 44th and Broadway represented a Times Square first: The video-game release street party.

By 10 p.m. the crowd was so large even the crusty city dwellers were starting to take notice.

"Excuse me, what is this line for?" asked a passerby to a young man bearing a "Save the earth!" sign.

"Halo 2! Halo 2!" yelled the sign bearer. The entire line picked up the chant. "Halo 2! Halo 2!" they yelled.

"Get a life, you freaking losers!" yelled another passerby.

"Halo 2!" they yelled back.

For anyone hiding under the rock these past few months, "Halo 2" represents the long-awaited sequel to the best-selling Microsoft Xbox video game of all time. Noted for its graphics, its storyline of an embattled human race battling the dreaded alien "Covenant" and its fast-paced multiplayer component, the title has an almost religious quality within the video-game community.

Since game developers Bungie and Microsoft announced the Nov. 9 launch date back in May, the game has racked up over 1.5 million pre-orders. Priced at $49.99 or $54.99 for the "collector's edition," the pre-orders represent a hit nothing short of phenomenal in gaming (and entertainment) history. (MSNBC is a Microsoft-NBC joint venture.)

Video: Gamers go gonzo over ‘Halo 2’ Inside Toys R' Us in a swanky "Halo 2" launch party, Microsoft's Peter Moore eagerly worked the crowd of assorted celebrities and gathered media.

Moore is the Corporate Vice President of Worldwide Marketing and Publishing for the Home and Entertainment Division of Microsoft and is an anomaly in his own right; a corporate executive that actually has facial recognition. To Halo fans, he's probably better known than their local congressman.

"I've been in this business for five or six years and I have never seen a single title get this much attention. Halo nation is a fascinating cultural phenomena," he said.

And this phenomena, according to Moore, is nothing less than revolutionary as far as redefining the entertainment industry.

"One of the things we’ll look back on in 24 hours is what size is the industry. It is very clear to us that this kind of entertainment is usurping others," Moore said. "There was a commotion about the film "The Incredibles" making $70 million over the weekend. I guarantee that we’ll make that by 4 p.m. tomorrow."

Last night was the night that the "Halo 2" hype reached its climax. Across the country over 7,000 retailers nationwide opened their doors at midnight and New York City's Time Square hosted the national release.

The excitement ran up and down Manhattan in the hours leading up to midnight.

Downtown at Forbidden Planet, a comic book and video game story on 13th Street and Broadway, Tamara Carrion calmly stacked the 200 copies of "Halo 2" her customers had pre-ordered and prepared for the madness. "We're getting ready for the first-person-shooter fanatics," she said. "I think we're pretty organized."

At EB Games on 14th Street the atmosphere was a bit more mellow, but the fans equally intense. Sitting in a deck chair at the front of the line was Anthony Cintron. He had been in line since 9:00 a.m.

"I told my wife when I left that 'I love you honey,' but I'll be late taking the day off," he said.

Nearby Marcos Lemos had almost been waiting as long. And in the excitement of the pre-launch festivities, Lemos had a confession to make to this reporter. He had downloaded the pirated French version of "Halo 2," last week. But he quickly deleted it. "They spent so much time on the product and it was unfair to ruin their hard work."

How many products can boast of this type of loyalty?

It was at the Toys R Us in Times Square, site of "Halo 2's" official event, that the scene represented not so much a launch but a happening.

Video: Preview: 'Halo 2' Microsoft employees loaded with schwag worked the lines. "Who wants a hat?" they yelled. A hundred hands shot up.

A giant neon red and blue "Halo 2" clock over the line ticked away the remaining hours.

"Three, two, one," the crowd chanted. The clock indicated exactly one hour to go. It was 11 p.m. and by now the line was seven people wide and a block and a half long.

Near the front of the line, clad head to toe in the armor of "Halo 2" hero Master Chief was Jim Cush who came to Times Square right out of work. "I changed in my car so people at work wouldn’t see me," he admitted.