-By Kenneth Hein

A pack of Marlboro, a grape Slurpee and Gears of War 2 may soon become a popular register ring at 7-Eleven stores. The ubiquitous convenience store chain announced today (Nov. 20) that it is entering the $12 billion videogaming industry, and will begin selling top titles at its 5,660 locations.

This holiday season, shoppers can pick up Guitar Hero: World Tour Band Kit, Call of Duty: World at War and Fallout 3 among other top titles. Prepaid gift cards for Massively Multi-Player Online Games like World of Warcraft also will be available.

7-Eleven opted to add games after conducting extensive research about its core audience, said rep Margaret Chabris. "We are focusing more on our core consumer, males 18-34. They love movies, sports and games."

The chain brought on Michael Jester in March from CompUSA to become its first category manager for gaming and electronics. He said in a statement: "We can compete with the major players and offer consumers a more convenient place to purchase games and accessories.

7-Eleven is no stranger to the gaming industry. It regularly runs promotions tied into game launches for franchises like Halo and Madden. Now, instead of promoting the midnight sales events where consumers wait on line to get the first copies of new games, 7-Eleven will be hosting them. "We're already open at midnight," said Chabris. "We won't have to hire any extra staff or go through any extra expenses."