One might list Gears of War and Halo as Microsoft's most beloved franchises. One might also say that if Microsoft releases a special edition Zune for the release of one franchise, the other damn well better get the same! And so it shall be.

The Gamerscoreblog has recently informed the world of a Gears of War 2-themed Zune that will, probably not coincidentally, arrive at market the very same day as the game on November 7. Besides an aesthetically different backside, the device is "loaded up with more than 240 pieces of Gears of War and Gears of War 2 media, such as the original game soundtrack, behind-the-scenes videos, game trailers, concept art galleries, and more." According to a post from Zune Insider, Microsoft's official blog-style news site for the portable player, none of this content is exclusive.

If you're planning on purchasing this little tie-in, be prepared to spend roughly $30-$50 more than the price of an average Zune. As of writing, Amazon has the basic 120 GB player on sale for $230.51, nearly $20 off of its original price of $249.99, and Wal-Mart has the same model for $229.54. Meanwhile both sites are selling the Gears of War model for $279.99. Apparently adding a new skin and downloading a bunch of data is expensive.

More in this story at our sister site, 1UP. Text by Kyle Stallock.