The games industry has grown to the point that mainstream titles have, at the very least, the same development budget as the average Hollywood blockbuster so any trick that will help the software house turn a profit is used. Midnight opening for major game releases has been common for a few years now, especially when you have more than one franchise in a genre. Combine that with special edition versions which can cost up to double the price of the standard title, preorder bonuses and marketing campaigns that can begin anything up to 2 years prior to the release date its not that surprising that you will see people waiting outside the stores at midnight if the opportunity arose.