Halo 3 and the Second Wave of 360 Games 279
conq writes "BusinessWeek has an interview with Microsoft Game Studios' Shane Kim in which he discusses the second wave of Xbox 360 games. When asked if Halo 3 is coming out this year, the answer was: 'It depends. If it's the game that everyone is expecting then, yes. For us it's about making a proper impact on the platform. It has to be something with huge significance, so we won't be rushed.'" If you know what that means, I would like to offer you a cookie, because I sure as heck don't.
Obvious (Score:5, Funny)
Last stop is you, Mister story-poster.
Alright, it sounds like he's saying that he "cares" about the "quality" of the "product".
This might be because he has a "reputation" and he doesn't want to "ruin it".
Any questions?
Re:Obvious (Score:3, Funny)
He has a "job" and doesn't want to "lose it".
Therefore he'll release it when he's told to.
Re:Obvious (Score:2)
dont get me wrong, it was an excellent game and much better than the offerings from most studios out there, but it was not the game it could have been. repetitive structures and layouts; though not as bad as halo1. the single player story was incomplete. towards the end of the game you could tell the deve
Why is halo so great again? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:3, Informative)
Other than that there wasn't really much new or interesting about it. Hardcore Halo fans will try to impress you with its "sweeping, complicated storyline," but the truth is no one'
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
Something realistic would have made it just fine for me, like a drug operation, or weapon traders or whatever...
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
It's the first console FPS that actually managed a default controller scheme that was not only as easy as using a mouse and keyboard; it was easy to pick up
I would strongly disagree with this. I distinctly remember playing early FPS: Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, DN 3D, Descent, Quake, Quake II etc. The controls were really easy to pick up back then, in part because there was less to do. Admittedly, everybody took more time adjusting to Descent, but it was sooo cool people were willing to invest the effort. A
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
I'm with you there. Aiming is truly lousy, and the vehical control is pure drunken-drive. Go-where-you-look is just an incredibly stupid, awkward way to drive.
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:3, Insightful)
I've never seen anyone who calls themself a gamer have any trouble with Halo/Halo 2
That may be true. My observations are based more on non-gamers, and people who have played little or no FPSs previously. Teenage girls, little kids, and adults over 40. None of them called themselves gamers, because, well, they didn't really play other games. Duh. Anyway, while none of them had problems with the other FPSs I described, they struggled with Halo. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that Halo is b
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
Halo wasn't aimed at grannies and kiddies--it was aimed at gamers
This may be true, but the original post that started this whole thread was about how halo was really easy to pick up and how inexperienced gamers could beat Quake 3 gods. So the topic at hand was kinda about how easy Halo is for new players to get the hang of, including noobs. Amazingly enough, some grannies and kiddies are curious what all the hoopla is about. I've seen them sit down and try it and walk away 20 minutes later completely b
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:3, Informative)
I have.
I've been playing FPSes on the computer since the days of ROTT, but trying to control Halo with an Xbox controller is just humiliating, and I've given up on playing it with anything but a SmartJoy FRAG [smartjoy.com]. My right thumb is used to pushing buttons and the space bar, and it just doesn't seem to have the dexterity to move that analog stick. With a mouse, I can instantly point my cro
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2, Insightful)
Most console FPSs used dual stick controls before Halo did
Except other consoles didn't really have dual sticks. The difficulty with Halo originates from using two analog sticks. It requires some patience and dedication to get a steady hand on two analog sticks at the same time. Lots of over/under steering problems in addition to not being able to keep your view level. Having free-look on an analog stick takes some getting used to, especially as using two analog sticks simultaneously is delicate. By c
Oh contraire (Score:2)
On the contrary, Turok used this mode by default, and Goldeneye allowed you to choose this style in the options. I much prefer the Turok controls over Goldeneye, especially on multiplayer. You might argue that the Goldeneye defaults allowed one to move slowly, suitable to a game partly oriented to sneaking around. But the Halo controls were still difficult for me to pick up. Unfortunately for RARE, th
Re:Oh contraire (Score:2)
So to say that "the n64 titles" had such and such controls is to demonstrate your ignoring much of the actual n64 games
I'm sure you are correct, so I stand corrected. As I said in the first post, I played a huge amount of GoldenEye and a good amount of PD, and a much smaller amount of Turok and Doom. Seeing how it's been what, 8 years? my memory's a little fuzzy on the finer details. At any rate, with only one analog stick, even Turok and co were easier to manage for me, and I enjoyed them, so my gener
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:3, Interesting)
I think the problem may be that your a Nintendo fan.
This is so funny. I thought I would be accused of being a Nintendo fan and here you are! The problem with that theory is that I've never even played a GameCube. I really enjoyed my DreamCast and I've spent a fair amount of time playing the PS2, but I never played an FPS on either so I couldn't really make comparisons. I don't like revisionist history, and Halo fans posting on /. tend to forget the significance of GoldenEye in the history of console F
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
Bullshit on that one there is no way any "seasoned Quake3" could be out maneuvered by someone using a controller even if its Halo 1 or 2, I have yet to see anyone that good with the controller that could beat someone that is good with a mouse and keyboard. I will agree that the controller is decent but better then a mouse and keyboard? Not a chance in hell.
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
They way they made it playable on a gamepad was with generous aim assist. It certainly makes it less frustrating playing with a gamepad, but it takes a lot of the skill out of the game.
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
Does it really? Why are ultra-competitive Halo competitions so popular, then?
It seems to me that while the aim assist may take some of the skill out of aiming, it shifts the emphasis to strategy and teamwork. Most of the best Halo matches I've played have been determined primarily by tactics, not by headshot skill. I guess it depends on the player, but I've greatly preferred a more strategy
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
"Game" in the UK included it in nearly every bundle from what I could tell. You're maybe forgetting that most of the bundles are put together by stores - not Microsoft. Therefore unless you've been to all the stores in all countries, you can't really assert that the only halo pack was in Japan.
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2, Informative)
1. Inovative and fun gameplay, you have to make a tactical decision on which weapons to carry, when to take cover so your shields can regenerate and when its worth using grenades. The gameplay is actually very similar to Call of Duty 2 which I have been currently playing.
2. Easy online play with Xbox live and matchmaking, though I generally don't play with people other then my friends the fact that its a simple way to get together makes it very popular.
3. A
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2, Insightful)
Let me explain.
Halo really isn't that great a FPS. I played it, I completed it, and it was fairly fun, but in no way was it "combat evolved". The controls were fine, my girlfriend managed to complete it using a damn poor logitech mouse she scrounged from an uncle. It was simply marketting injection.
Most children, or, most normal children, before the advent of console online gaming around here had no idea what "playing online" meant,
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:5, Insightful)
Even with mega-marketing hype, you can only impress the casual gamers for around 15 minutes. After that, you better play well. Take Madden '06 for the 360. It got a lot of hype, but nobody takes it seriously anymore becuase it was a terrible game, missing a lot of the features that made a good football game. If Halo and Halo 2 existed on hype, it would have suffered the same fate. However, you still have tons of people taking the game seriously, hell, even competatively.
Halo and Halo 2 were both good games. They might not have impressed you or even been your cup of tea, but they were both good games.
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
Honestly, I never saw the lure. It looked a lot like UT and played pretty average. Nothing special.
Of course I never played the console version for more than 5 minutes, being a PC gamer automatically makes a controller awkward.
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
No, it doesn't.
Only a peculiar breed of PC gamer finds it automatically awkward. Most of us have no problems after a couple minutes of acclimation.
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2, Insightful)
You don't have to worry about finding the right server to play on, after 15 minutes of getting lists and finding some are running mods you can't play/don't want, others are too slow for you, others don't have enough people, etc, etc. You just say "I want to play free-for-all" or "I want to play team slayer", and they take care of the rest. You don't have to play
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
If I want to play Halo 2 on Live I just pick a game type category and go. It then sets me up with opponents that are my skill level on a full server. No PC FPS game comes close.
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
There are other titles in the library?!?
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
the library (Score:2)
Actually the library of titles is vast. Unfortunately, in order to play the non-Halo games, you have to solder something on your motherboard, load some special binary, then you can run an emulator [zophar.net] that supports a lot of games.
Seth
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
Re:Why is halo so great again? (Score:2)
simple (Score:5, Insightful)
if it's delayed till next year then you won't see Halo 3 till next year, simple as that.
notice the timing of these and the way he words it? "IF gamers want it bad enough then it will be released this year." what If is there to it? Halo 2 sold $100,000,000 in it's first couple of days, is he trying to say that people aren't hyped for Halo anymore?
Re:simple (Score:2)
Translating... (Score:4, Insightful)
Basically, he's saying that Bungie (or someone) is working on it, and it could be complete this year, but they're going to give it the time it needs to be a "good" FPS.
So they're giving it the treatment that Nintendo is giving Twilight Princess, minus the sad fanboys, which is good, as the XBox 360 dearly needs some hit quality games.
More translating (Score:2)
And hereby Microsoft redefines the word great, as:
It's actually spot-on. There was no great launch title for the Xbox 360. At most it was Geometry Wars but who in their right mind would pay $400 for a new system just to play a $5 game? I have a friend who is actually so engrossed in it he's planning t
Babelfish translator (Score:2)
They can rename it "Halo Forever" (Score:2)
-Eric
Here's what I heard about the release date (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Here's what I heard about the release date (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Here's what I heard about the release date (Score:2)
If I recall correctly, Microsoft is no longer selling some special version of the Premium Xbox360. It had a remote in it and some other doohickies.
that turned out to be wrong... (Score:2)
He later backpedaled from it.
There's simply no validity to that information. Search joystiq or something if you don't believe me.
Give no bad news, lest customers wait for PS3 (Score:5, Insightful)
It means they don't have a clue if they can finish it on time, but probably not because both of the previous games had historic delays... But please, please, please buy a 360, and don't wait for the PS3.
Re:Give no bad news, lest customers wait for PS3 (Score:2)
Is this Microsoft's new sales strategy? Did I miss something?
MS's 360 sales strategy (Score:2)
-Eric
not enough units (Score:4, Insightful)
It could also mean that they would release early if the future of the Xbox360 depended on it. Because we all know there are no real hits on the Xbox360 yet, thus noone is purchasing the console.
Re:not enough units (Score:2)
From the very article:
After reading the interview, still nothing there (Score:3, Insightful)
Besides, by then, I'll be able to choose between NR, PS3, and xBox360, with actual real games that aren't just ports or FPS clones.
Wake me up when they ship Katamari on the 360.
That is Not What I Wanted to Hear... (Score:3, Insightful)
NO! Release a game when it's ready, not when the people want it. Too often, developers are pushing titles out because it's what the public wants right then and now; no more are the days when developers actually released games when they were ready for public consumption. If more developers stick to the "It will come out when it's ready" mantra, we'd have less crap on the market for games these days.
-WeAz
Re:That is Not What I Wanted to Hear... (Score:2)
Thats means duken nuken forever is going to be the perfect game.
Re:That is Not What I Wanted to Hear... (Score:3, Insightful)
That's exactly what he's saying, that when the game meets everyone's expectations, they'll release it.
I want that cookie. (Score:5, Insightful)
Don't know if this will qualify as being ironic (not in Alanis' sense anyway), but in the end the XBOX and Halo fanboys may thank Sony (or blame them, depending on how playable the game will turn out) for Halo...
Re:I want that cookie. (Score:2)
Ah, those "Happy" cookies, eh? No, Zonk still has them.
Translation. (Score:2)
I'm assuming by "everyone" he means the people developing the game, so the translation is "We aren't far enough into development to have done any real play testing, so we don't know if it's any fun to play yet.
In other words, the key to the product isn't whether or not it's a good game in its own right, but whether or not
Re:Translation. (Score:2)
Translation from Corporate-Speak (Score:2, Informative)
It means no.
Gimme my cookie.
Must be new here (Score:2)
New Microsoft employee? Marketing department hasn't spoken with you yet? Here are Microsoft products are released on a schedule which provides maximum profits and steady revenue. You'll release it when the quarterly financials tell us it needs to be released.
Lets run it through babelfish a couple times... (Score:2, Funny)
Explication (Score:3, Insightful)
It won't really be a sequel to Halo 2.
If it's the game that everyone is expecting then, yes.
It doesn't even have to be a Halo franchise game - but it will be as good as everyone's vision of Halo 3.
For us it's about making a proper impact on the platform.
We need a great game on the Xbox 360 to show off how pwnzor the system really is.
It has to be something with huge significance, so we won't be rushed.
Even though we don't need it, we're probably going to use the Halo franchise, simply because people expect Halo 3 to be good - but we're designing it with the attitude of "Xbox 360 killer app" instead of "sequel to Halo 2", because that's what we need to produce.
Cookie! well, I guess it depends... (Score:2)
Halo 3 is guaranteed to be in production... (Score:4, Interesting)
Halo 2 is one of the best selling console games ever, and MS would be insane not to have Halo 3 in development for the Xbox 360. That said, the big question is which team is handling it? After Halo 2, Bungie said that Halo 3 would not be their next title. Gates then came out and said something about Halo 3 releasing with the PS3 (in a more recent interview with him he said he'd made a mistake with that). As a result of that combined with the recent release of the 360, everyone has assumed that Bungie must be working on Halo 3 after all despite the fact that nothing has actually been announced.
Personally, I'm a long-standing Bungie fan, since I got Operation Desert Storm for my old Mac LC575. For me, Halo 2 was a gigantic disappointment. It is certainly a good game, but it feels almost soulless, lacking in those special, hard to describe qualities that had set their games apart previously. When you look at the dev team that worked on it, the reason is pretty clear: the original team is now far outnumbered by newer talent.
I would not be surprised at all if Bungie dropped an 'unexpected' bombshell at E3, announcing and demoing a new game that isn't Halo 3, but something completely new. Perhaps an entirely new genre? I'd love to see a talented group like them tackle an RPG, for example. There is absolutely no reason why a separate Microsoft studio couldn't be working on Halo 3 and having some of the Bungie team give them the nod every now and then. It's not unheard of in the game development world after all. For example, Bioware handed off Knights of the Old Republic and Neverwinter Nights to Obsidian so they could concentrate on developing new IP. There's no reason why Bungie couldn't still be involved in a creative capacity as well.
Allowing Bungie to work on something new while continuing to develop Halo as a brand would make sense in terms of long-term marketing too. MS at the moment have only got a few franchises that they can build on - Perfect Dark, Project Gotham, and Halo are about the shape of it. Bungie have proven that they have the ability to create franchises. If they produce something completely new, then there is a strong chance that it will end up becoming another large franchise for MS. The X360 should have at least another 3-4 years in its lifespan, and having an extra big franchise that they can push down the line when interest begins to wane would be good business sense for Microsoft.
Personally, I'd be far more interested in seeing something original from Bungie. What did that "Pheonix" project they were throwing around a few years back turn out to be, anyway?
Re:Halo 3 is guaranteed to be in production... (Score:2)
But it is "one of", regardless of whether it's the best selling ever. 6.4+ million copies is nothing to scoff at.
Clearly it means... (Score:2)
Well, I think it means.. Wait. You don't want to offer me a cookie, so you're going to offer me a cookie?
If anyone knows what that means, I would like to offer my services as a cookie consumer.
Re:Clearly it means... (Score:2)
Sony's strategy (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Sony's strategy (Score:2)
However, don't forget that the Saturn undercut the Playstation release date and launched early on 5 / 9 / 95... "Saturn Day." Sony was caught completely by surprise. Retailers were caught completely by surprise. The public was taken completely by surprise. They basically jumped ahead of everyone else and launched before anyone was ready to buy or sell the thing.
Unless you were paying daily attention to the gaming press, one day you walked over to the store and the thing you were hypi
When it's done ... (Score:3, Funny)
my take (Score:2)
Meaning: They could release a Halo 3 that meets consumer expectations soon (i.e. - simply better graphics, better gameplay). Instead, they are working on a game that will 'defy' expectations, so it will take as long as it needs to.
In the end it's all marketspeak. My hope is that they are sitting on the game while manufacturing gets up to speed. BillG said they'd release it opposite PS3, but I can't imagine why they wouldn't rather come in to the P
Sounds like Windows (Score:2, Interesting)
Announced to kill the competition
Released as a product three years later with what is obviously not 3 years of work
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_1.0 [wikipedia.org]
Yeah, it's more than it looks like at first glance, but still, THREE YEARS? (From the announcement in 1983, not the start of development in 1981.
Thanks for the cookie. (Score:4, Funny)
Thanks for the cookies.
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Halo 3 the replacement for... (Score:2)
Re:Halo 3 the replacement for... (Score:3, Funny)
Dead or alive (Score:3, Funny)
Better idea (Score:2, Funny)
By the
Re:Better idea (Score:2)
As far as slashdot goes, I think the general consensus is that it doesn't matter which one you hate the most, just so long as you hate them both sufficiently so as not to buy any of their products.
The meaning of stupid... (Score:2)
"I sure hope nobody wants this!"
"Why's that, Bob?"
"I want to have time to polish it up so it doesn't suck like the last one!"
"That makes sense. What happens if people start asking about it, though?"
"Well, I guess I'll just have to give them what I've got al
Forget if Halo 3 is coming out this year... (Score:2)
What it really means: multiple Halo games (Score:2)
The ones that won't be released this year include the Halo-world RPG and RTS, the Warthog racing game, the Banshee flight simulator, and one that lets you decorate your Pillar of Autumn quarters and socialize with crewmates.
Re:I think it means... (Score:2)
Re:I think it means... (Score:2)
I think it's more likely they are waiting for Windows Vista - I think MS is more desperate to convert users to Vista than they've been with previous versions.
I think it's funny, personally, that a game developed by a primarily mac company now seems to be a major part of Microsofts business strategies. In fact, were I an investor I would be concerned by Microsofts u
Re:I think it means... (Score:2)
What I'm getting at is I imagine they hope to use it both as leverage for Windows and against the PS3.
Re:I think it means... (Score:2)
Re:Interesting such as... (Score:2)
Re:I think it means... (Score:2)
It's more like GPG and Chris Taylor with SupCom: "We'll release when we're ready and not before, because we want to give the players a fucking great game and nothing else".
It's slightly frightening, mightly frustrating and somewhat annoying, but at least you know the guys are commited to provide you with great entertainment, and you usually get a good game out of it. Sometimes late, but always good.
Re:Halo, now even more boring than ever (Score:2, Offtopic)
Re:Halo, now even more boring than ever (Score:2)
and they would be what exactly? The lost art of cowering behind crates? I'd hate to poop on your parade, but it's a First Person Shooter, which means the aim of the game is to point, shoot, and kill your opponent... accuracy is THE ONLY SKILL you really need, any other skill is secondary.
Re:It's becoming more apparent... (Score:2)