Microsoft and game developer Bungie went live with the beta preview of "Halo 3" Wednesday, though some gamers who had been promised access found it difficult or impossible to log on. The companies also announced the ship date for the full game: Sept. 25, an earlier date than expected and one that may give "Halo 3" a leg-up in holiday game sales.

It's been a long wait, but for fans of the super popular first-person shooter series "Halo," Tuesday was a very good day indeed. Not only were gamers just hours away from the launch of the multiplayer beta for the highly anticipated game, Microsoft  finally announced the game's release date -- Sept. 25.

As the day of the beta release arrived, however, a wrinkle appeared. Gamers who intended to access the beta by buying a copy of the game "Crackdown," which included a free access key to the "Halo" preview, reported problems logging on, according to "Halo 3" developer Bungie Studios.

"With any luck this will be a short delay," the company said. "People entering the beta through other methods -- Friends and Family, Rule of Three and so on -- are unaffected."

The Sept. 25 release of the full version, however, remained unchanged.