In case there was ever any doubt...

[wco81]

WSJ has a story about the Halo2 release and how much MS plans to promote it.

It gave a brief history and noted that without Halo, Xbox console probably wouldn't have reached a big enough installed base to attract games development.

Then it says Bungie, which has had a few weeks off, begin planning for Halo 3 this month.

But it adds, the game could take another 3 years.

 

[McFly]

So PS3 will be released Q4 2007.

Fredi

 

[Sonic]

Don't know exactly how legit that statement is. Bungie went on record and said they would like to work on something else and that Halo2 will be the last game they make in the Halo Universe. Of course, MS could have changed their minds.

 

[wco81]

That's what I thought.

But the story also notes that MS has restructured its gaming studios and quotes Peter Moore as saying that they wanted to find other system sellers besides Halo.

Still, no way MS is going to stop Halo development whether Bungie is involved or not. I'm sure they got fat bonuses and a lot of incentives to continue working on Halo.

The story noted that one of the reasons Halo 2 took so long is that they had to write new tools. So maybe Halo 3 won't be so bad. Then again, you would think they'd be focused on Xenon development, which will require them to develop more new technology.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

Based on the reviews, Bungie pretty much plans to do another Halo game. People say the game doesn't really have an ending.

 

[AlNom]

Hm... what was the ending to Marathon again?




.......

 

[thop]

Halo is probably the strongest franchise in the US right now, maybe only behind Zelda and GTA. And i really never understood why :? IMO Halo is a good, but not spectacular in any way, game. How it ever reached the hype of such proportions is beyond me.

 

[pahcman]

The same could be said about Zelda and GTA and loads of other games. Always will be someone to ask why?. I personally have asked why? many a times to Rockstar million copies hit too. Why? is it possible to turn a blind eye over the many technicalities, bugs and level design issues?

In the end, better off to just play your preferred games than to be troubled over non concerning interests.

Credits to Rockstar for hitting the g-spot 3x, likewise with Bungie for turning an original franchise to arguably the hottest property at this very moment!

 

[ultimate_end]

IMO Halo is the Final Fantasy 7 of this generation. Love it or hate it, the game brought a new level of production values and polish to the console FPS, exactly the same as FF7 did for console RPGs. And like that game, it brought mass market appeal to its genre.
Some people disagree with "revolution". I would use the term "redefinition". These games redefine their genre, selling a hell load of copies in the process.

That does not however, quite explain the phenomenon that has been the build up to Halo 2. The internet has just exploded. period.
In the real world too, there has been mass hysteria over this game. The launch parties around the world have been numerous and large. The amount of hype for this one game has been simply obscene!
To say that this is unprecedented is the understatement of the century. You didn't see this for GTA San Andreas, despite the fact that it will outsell Halo 2 by at least 5 copies to 1. Halo 2 fanatics more than make up for the numbers with their enthusiasm.
I for one am astounded.

As for Halo 3, I believe Macrosoft is convinced that XNA will make up the difference for development time for a launch that coincides with PS3's North American launch.
Note that just because Bungie starts another project does not mean they have to finish it before starting Halo 3, especially if the new game is based on the Halo 2 engine.

 

[rabidrabbit]

....
In the real world too, there has been mass hysteria over this game. The launch parties around the world have been numerous and large. The amount of hype for this one game has been simply obscene!
To say that this is unprecedented is the understatement of the century. You didn't see this for GTA San Andreas, despite the fact that it will outsell Halo 2 by at least 5 copies to 1. Halo 2 fanatics more than make up for the numbers with their enthusiasm.

Hype sells, the secrecy that MS put over H2 raised initial buzz, hype and mass hysteria.
Had Halo 2 not been hyped by Microsoft, do you think there had been such mass hysteria. Sure, it would have gained more attention than any other xbox game anyway, as it is a good game... but it is mainly Microsoft that arrange those launch parties.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

And like that game, it brought mass market appeal to its genre.
Some people disagree with "revolution". I would use the term "redefinition".

I think you hit the mark here...
IMHO, PC based FPS games in recent years were either following the trend started by Medal of Honor, where scripted sequences provided a lot of the gameplay; and while this allowed for some cool scenes, it also meant that everything was the same no matter what the player did. Or, some of the shooters required the player to avoid confrontation and use stealth or trickery to complete missions, like in the Hitman or NOLF games.
Halo on the other hand went back to the roots (shoot down all enemies), but also managed to advance the combat with carefully tuned gameplay and of course the AI. FPS games failing to add anything to the basic formula either flopped like Unreal2, or just got a lot of criticism like Doom3.

This is also what makes Half-Life2 interesting - I wonder which direction they'll try to take, and if they had been influenced by Halo. As far as I can judge it, the original HL made steps in both directions: it added better AI to spice up the combat, and it maximized scripted scenes to make the gameplay more interesting. So far it seems that they tried to expand the physics, increase interactivity with NPCs, improve combat AI and add vehicles; but still stick to many FPS traditions like the unbalanced weapons.

You didn't see this for GTA San Andreas, despite the fact that it will outsell Halo 2 by at least 5 copies to 1. Halo 2 fanatics more than make up for the numbers with their enthusiasm.

Are you certain about this? Halo 1 has sold over 4 million copies on the Xbox by now, might make it to 5 million. And I'd expect the sequel to sell at least as well, if not better (remember, there's easy to access online multiplayer in it) - so that'd require San Andreas to sell about 25 million copies, which isn't really possible IMHO. Sure it'll outsell Halo2, but I'd rather expect it to stop between 8 and 15 million in the end (still quite a lot .

 

[Laa-Yosh]

And by the way, where's the Half-Life hype? It's about to be released within a week, right? Haven't seen it in the news for a while...

 

[Tuttle]

That does not however, quite explain the phenomenon that has been the build up to Halo 2.

Nothing else worth buying on the xbox.

There I explained it.

 

[pahcman]

The combat AI of Halo is still amongst the very best in FPS gaming, inclusive consoles and PC titiles.

I have not keep track of GTA sales, but how much did the previous GTAs sold? 5 to 1 sound generous, but we never know since SA will be out for 3 platforms(PS2, Xbox, PC) while Halo2 should be staying Xbox exclusives.

but it is mainly Microsoft that arrange those launch parties.

It is a good thing, no?

In any case, i read every other stores selling Halo2 have long queues, launch parties or not. Indeed, MS Bungie have done a rarity these days, creating a pop culture out of a new IP.

 

[pahcman]

That does not however, quite explain the phenomenon that has been the build up to Halo 2.

Nothing else worth buying on the xbox.

There I explained it.

oookay. Thanks for your invaluable input.
Happy trolling.

 

[ultimate_end]

....
In the real world too, there has been mass hysteria over this game. The launch parties around the world have been numerous and large. The amount of hype for this one game has been simply obscene!
To say that this is unprecedented is the understatement of the century. You didn't see this for GTA San Andreas, despite the fact that it will outsell Halo 2 by at least 5 copies to 1. Halo 2 fanatics more than make up for the numbers with their enthusiasm.

Hype sells, the secrecy that MS put over H2 raised initial buzz, hype and mass hysteria.
Had Halo 2 not been hyped by Microsoft, do you think there had been such mass hysteria. Sure, it would have gained more attention than any other xbox game anyway, as it is a good game... but it is mainly Microsoft that arrange those launch parties.

Oh I agree. Macrosoft is certainly responsible to a large extent. I realise also that San Andreas for example had little build up. But it's not like H2 is the first game to be hyped by its publisher.
I can't prove it obviously, but I would be willing to wager that any other game given the same treatment would still not have reached such fanatic proportions.

 

[PC-Engine]

Halo2 is the sequel to Halo 1 which sold millions. That's all that needs to be said. I'm not a Halo fan myself (I don't have an Xbox), but I think it deserves the hype same with HL2. I was really looking forward to HL2 until that stolen code fiasco happened and all the news just died down, oh well kinda too late now since it's following Halo 2.

 

[ultimate_end]

OK guys I'm sorry for the 5 to 1 comment. But I haven't kept up with the sales figures. I didn't know Halo had surpassed 4 million sales. I'm not sure Halo 2 will sell 5 million though.
IIRC GTA Vice City sold around 16 million copies so far. I am convinced that San Andreas will reach 20 million due to its "wider" appeal. It will sell more than half a million in Japan also - H2 won't. I guess my reasoning would be 20 mil divided by 4 mil = 5 to 1. This is probably slightly exaggerated however I accept.

 

[ultimate_end]

IMHO, PC based FPS games in recent years were either following the trend started by Medal of Honor, where scripted sequences provided a lot of the gameplay; and while this allowed for some cool scenes, it also meant that everything was the same no matter what the player did. Or, some of the shooters required the player to avoid confrontation and use stealth or trickery to complete missions, like in the Hitman or NOLF games.
Halo on the other hand went back to the roots (shoot down all enemies), but also managed to advance the combat with carefully tuned gameplay and of course the AI. FPS games failing to add anything to the basic formula either flopped like Unreal2, or just got a lot of criticism like Doom3.

I would like to add that for a console FPS (and maybe PC FPS) Halo is percieved to have a good story, brilliant music and console busting graphics for its time. This is not just my opinion, but I get the impression this is widely accepted. In any case, it was more or less the "total package" console FPS. That counts for a lot these days.

BTW, I believe Half Life 2 will be a good game. Id software may be asking themselves a few questions when it comes out. Of course some people prefer the Doom3 style FPS better, so I'm happy for them.

 

[-tkf-]

OK guys I'm sorry for the 5 to 1 comment. But I haven't kept up with the sales figures. I didn't know Halo had surpassed 4 million sales

Someone help me out here, as far as i understand 3.5 of those 4 million is in the USA. Only 500.000 copies outside USA. That sounds weird.

Of course it would explain why i have met more PGR, Rallisport etc fans than Halo fans (actually i don't know a single one).