Financial institutions like Deutsche Bank believe Microsoft is already set to score a handsome $430 million USD in revenue thanks to sales of Halo 3 this fiscal year, putting the company's Entertainment and Devices Division in the black. Microsoft can't rest on its laurels however, as analysts agree that the company has another trial to overcome this holiday season; attracting casual and "newbie" gamers to the Xbox 360 the way Nintendo can for its DS and Wii consoles.

Key as it is to Microsoft's sales, the dominance of Halo 3 unfortunately stands to overshadow the respectable library of casual games which the company already makes available for direct download through Xbox Live Arcade. Promoting these games then would be a step towards generating buzz within casual gaming crowd:

"That's the biggest challenge Microsoft has. They were never able to do that with the original Xbox and they will be hard-pressed to do it with the 360," said Todd Greenwald, an analyst with Nollenberger Capital Partners.

"They need to take their lowest-priced model and push it with a combination of games they have with Xbox Live. It's not games coming out of Activision or EA, it's the $5 to $10 games on Live," Greenwald said.

"They've got a pretty good offering for casual gamers with Xbox Live Arcade, but the problem they have is they are not perceived as a casual gamer platform," Baker said. "They have to do some messaging and marketing to that consumer to let them know the Xbox 360 is viable."