"I will say I think one Halo game every three years -- which was kind of our old cadence -- is probably not frequent enough," Microsoft VP Phil Spencer told IGN. For Spencer, it's a matter of keeping players "engaged" and "not going dark for two years" at a time, akin to what Activision has done for Call of Duty.
"I used to look at annual releases of non-sports games as people just trying to milk me," Spencer said. "I figured nobody had enough time to do a good job, and all of the negatives that we would associate with those kinds of scenarios. Kudos to Activision because they've done a good job building a good game, continuing to release each year and I think the fans feel like it's a good thing that they do that." He added that, "watching them and seeing what they do -- we take inspiration from a lot of places -- but obviously they're a big success."
For Microsoft, the hurdle is now going to be a change in developer -- Bungie's leaving some big shoes to fill.
#xbox360
Microsoft wants key entries in the Halo series to make their way to your Xbox 360 a little faster, increasing the frequency of the standard three year cycle developer Bungie was known for. But just how frequent? More »
#clips
Looking for a new way to spice up your Halo: Reach multiplayer experience? Already? Well, how about a lil' Warthog racing, a hidden mini-game dubbed "Reach Racer" for some high speed thrills? More »
Already tired of the mundane "shoot aliens" game in Halo: Reach? Thanks to this video from Achievement Hunter, you can move onto "Reach Racer," a two-Warthog racing game buried in Reach. Accessing it is as simple as getting two players to certain spots in ONI: Sword Base. Find out exactly how it works after the break.
#haloreach
Those who preordered Halo: Reach from GameStop got a code for a nifty suit of armor. This code was, technically, free. Some guy's been selling them on eBay, for close to and even more than the game's retail price. More »
Having unlocked and equipped one of the various Halo: Reach bonus Avatar helmets, you may have found your plainclothes Xbox Live persona looking rather uncoordinated. You can now complete the Noble look by purchasing any of the six armor outfits for $5. So much for all those Reach credits!
#gameface
New York Jets center Nick Mangold on the edge of his seat during a Halo: Reach event at the Jets' training facility earlier this month. More »
A famous person playing a video game? Surely you jest.
#contests
Weta Workship, the New Zealand studio that specializes in fantastical concept design and manufacturing, the team responsible for making a drivable Halo Warthog, is making more Halo vehicles. Exactly two Mongoose-style ATVs to be exact. And you can win one. More »
According to GfK Chart-Track, Halo: Reach delivered a Spartan-sized punch in the arm to Xbox 360 console sales. GfK director Dorian Bloch told Eurogamer that Halo: Reach drove a 99 percent increase in console sales during its launch week, which ended September 18. Eurogamer reports that sales of the limited edition Halo: Reach console, sold through retailer Game in the UK, played a significant role in the overall boost.
Oh, and in case you hadn't heard, the game is selling pretty well too.
Having a tough time designing Halo: Reach Invasion variants in the game's expanded Forge utility? Yeah, us too -- that is, until we read Bungie's handy little guide for budding modders, which breaks down the process of creating an Invasion map from start to finish.
The guide provides the know-how for setting up CTF and Assault-based objectives (and a host of other options), in addition to the 4-1-1 on creating multiple objectives in each phase of your custom Invasion game. If knowledge is power, then this guide is the equivalent of hooking up your brain to a car battery.
Bungie's first Weekly Update since the launch of Halo: Reach included some startling statistics regarding the amount of time we've already thrown at the game's armor-clad feet. As of last Friday, over 31 million matchmaking games had already been played, over 78 billion credits had been earned and over 953 and 1,365 years had been poured into the game's matchmaking and campaign modes, respectively. We shudder to think how those figures expanded over the weekend.
Bungie also included some info on an update which will be applied to the game next month, saying, "the first matchmaking update for Reach will occur in early October and consist primarily of fixes for bugs and balance issues." The update will also add new game types and Forge maps to the Matchmaking playlists, and will enable co-op Campaign Matchmaking as well. Bungie also reports that it's considering changing its quick-to-boot betrayal system, but in the mean time, provides this clever workaround: "Stop shooting your teammates." Helpful!
#xbox360
Halo: Reach will support co-operative campaign matchmaking, you just haven't seen the feature yet because Bungie doesn't want people getting the story spoiled on the first mission they play. More »
#haloreach
If you have the drive space, you may want to consider installing Halo: Reach to your Xbox 360, as loading some game types can go nearly two to three times as quickly. More »
Really? I would have never guessed. I mean, It's not like it's common knowledge or anything.
#clips
Color me surprised, especially since I played through the game twice and didn't notice him, but the Master Chief does appear to make a quick cameo in the end of Halo: Reach. More »
#sales
Halo: Reach generated more than $200 million in sales in the United States and Europe in the first 24 hours of its release, according to Microsoft. More »
Several tipsters have reported that Halo: Reach may be plagued with the dreaded "disc read error" problem. It seems that some users are greeted either with a disc read error or a frozen screen when inserting the disc. Installing the game onto the hard drive apparently does not ameliorate the issue. Based on what Bungie forum users are reporting, the problem appears to be related to hardware, as a disc might not read in one console, but will work properly in another.
The cause of the problem hasn't been uncovered. In the meantime, Bungie advises those affected to call Xbox customer support (1-800-FOR-MY-XBOX) to report the issue. We've contacted Microsoft and will update this post when more information becomes available.
#microsoft
Yesterday we reached out to Microsoft regarding reports from many readers that their Halo: Reach discs were causing a disc read error, making the newly launched game unplayable. Today Microsoft responds. More »
#clips
Not all Halo: Reach midnight launches went according to play. Take for instance this one in Winnona, Minnesota's Gamestop which was plagued not only by an inebriated gamer and a handsie cop, but LAG! More »
#sales
Halo: Reach generated more than $200 million in sales in the United States and Europe in the first 24 hours of its release, according to Microsoft. More »
Microsoft Game Studios VP Phil Spencer just announced at the company's TGS press conference that Halo: Reach made $200 million on its first day at retail. We know that's not much of stretch for you all to imagine, but it seemed like an important factoid to grasp. Assuming all those copies were sold at the $60 MSRP, that's about 3.3 million units.
