This Tuesday, we will witness the biggest event in the history of man (what moon landing?), the release of "Halo 3." I will sit, glossy-eyed with my mouth agape as I turn on my Xbox 360 console and play the earth-shattering video game. This piece isn't about me and my addiction to "Halo," though. This is about a simple little video game that will change the way the entertainment industry operates.

For those who may not be aware, "Halo" was created by Microsoft subsidiary Bungie Studios in 2001 and has since sold 5 million copies worldwide. Its sequel, aptly named "Halo 2," has sold 9 million copies. The series chronicles an epic battle in the future between Earth and a race of aliens, and Earth's fate depends on the actions of the Master Chief, the helmet-clad protagonist. His helmet has made Microsoft a lot of money.

An analysis by Wedbush Morgan, a business consulting firm, predicted that in the first three days of the game's release, 3 million copies will be sold. That would make it the biggest video game opening ever, shattering "Halo 2's" record of $125 million in sales. Microsoft says that at least 1 million people have pre-ordered a copy of the game, not bad for a product that Microsoft is spending $10 million to market. Microsoft is on to something: Games should be marketed just like movies, and "Halo 3" will prove that it works.

The marketing campaign began Dec. 4 - ten months before the release date - with a television ad during an ABC "Monday Night Football" broadcast that was viewed by 8 million people. The ad has since been viewed on YouTube 3 million times. The helmet of the Master Chief has been slapped on bottles of Mountain Dew's new Game Fuel soda as well as Burger King's soda cups and French fry containers, Gamestop and Comcast ads, 7-Eleven Slurpees, Samsung products, Microsoft Zune players, Linkin Park's world tour, a NASCAR stock car and a Pontiac GXP coupe. As tiresome as the comparison may be, "Halo 3" has become the marketing equivalent of "Star Wars."

Microsoft's willingness to throw so much money at a single product reveals how desperate it is for profit. For each fiscal year that both the original Xbox and the Xbox 360 have been in stores, Microsoft has lost money on them. What other company would sacrifice profit just for market exposure?

The strategy is part of a new trend in the $11 billion video game industry: turning a niche market into one with mass appeal. While it hasn't worked for Microsoft yet, it has worked for Nintendo, whose Wii console has sold 11 million units in the 10 months it has been on the market (it took the X-box 360 two years to reach that plateau). Yet, Microsoft's plan all along was to overtake Nintendo and Sony with its secret weapon, "Halo 3." It's been a long three-year wait, but Microsoft is confident enough in this brand's appeal to have reportedly spent $50 million developing "Halo 3." The budget for this summer's box-office hit "Superbad" was $20 million.

Everything Microsoft has done with the Xbox 360 up to this point has been in preparation for the "Halo 3" release on Sept. 25. The other element to Microsoft's strategy is the inverse of what the industry used to follow. It used to be that console sales drove themselves: That's how it worked for Nintendo in the days of Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64, because these machines were worlds ahead of their predecessors. Now, with Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft releasing a console every three years, sales have become dependent on the games, and that's what will save the Xbox 360. Thousands of people will be so compelled to play "Halo 3" that they will break down and purchase a $350 console just to do so.

This is only the beginning. The arrival of "Halo 3" legitimizes the place of video games near the top of the entertainment world. Their growth is bigger than movies, way bigger than television. Don't expect this trend to dissolve quickly, either: Spending this kind of money to sell a game is the new trend that's here to stay. With box-office numbers slipping, TV ratings diluted amongst countless cable networks, "Halo 3" is the blockbuster title the video game industry needed to make itself known as the new big thing.

The thousands of people that line up at their local Best Buy come Tuesday will be ushering in a new era. "Halo 3" might have something in common with "Star Wars" after all.

-Kevin Bunkley is an assistant editorial page editor. He can be reached at kevrbunk@umich.edu