The media barrage began nearly a year ago, with a TV ad during Monday Night Football. And as today’s release date neared, the hype machine kicked into high gear. Master Chief, the faceless hero of the series, stares up at me from the cover of my Wired Magazine.

When Halo hit the market in 2001, it changed the video game industry. It was violent, sure, but the story was so complex, with graphics so rich, that it sucked players into a virtual world for hours at a time.

Microsoft Corp wants video gamers to “finish the fight” when the last chapter of its “Halo” trilogy comes out next week, but a carefully crafted merchandising strategy will make sure Master Chief lives on for years to come.

I made the trek cross-country yesterday to front our exclusive Halo 3 release coverage from a Best Buy store at the corner of 44th and 5th Avenue in midtown Manhattan.

Inside of a week now to the year's most anticipated entertainment event. Not Shrek. Spider-man. Even Pirates. Nope, I'm talking Master Chief, Cortana. The Covenant. I'm talking "Halo 3."

Ben Tan, regional director for Southeast Asia and Korea at Microsoft, speaks to CNBC's Martin Soong and Amanda Drury about the new Halo 3 and how it rates against its competitors in the gaming console.

CNBC's Jim Goldman reports that video game fans are eager to get their hands on Halo 3. He talks to Dan Gallagher of MarketWatch and Dan Hsu of Electronic Gaming Monthly.

CNBC's Jim Goldman and Erin Burnett talk with Todd Mitchell, a Kaufman Bros. Cable & Satellite analyst about the effect Halo 3 will have on other video game titles.

Halo 3 hits store shelves at midnight. CNBC’s Jim Goldman has the latest details.

A behind-the-scenes look at the diorama used to create the commercial for the latest in the Halo video game series, with CNBC's Jim Goldman.

CNBC’s Jim Goldman and Carl Quintanilla talk with Dawn Talbot, Soleil One-on-One research analyst, about what’s at stake for Microsoft.

There's a lot of production that goes into the making of Halo 3, as CNBC's Jim Goldman finds out.

CNBC's Jim Goldman goes behind the scenes to see the voice work for the third installment in the enormously popular video game franchise Halo.

CNBC's Jim Goldman gets to witness the scoring of the soundtrack for Halo 3.

CNBC's Jim Goldman talks with Robbie Bach about the possibility of a Halo 3 movie.

Harold Ryan, Bungie studio head, discusses the creation of the game Halo 3.

Frank O'Connor talks about the challenges faced in creating the game.

Get a glimpse of the actual gaming experience.