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Bungie Play it Safe

Consoleme.ca writes: Is it just me or was the recent revelation that Bungie Studios will be announcing a Halo prequel very disappointing? Are gamers really ready for another installment with Halo 3 still fresh in our minds? Sure the Halo franchise has been great ride. I'll be the first to admit I played and won them all with 24 hours of their release dates. But I can't help but wish that Bungie, newly separated from Microsoft Game Studios (MGS), would put their immense talent into developing a new intellectual property. Something we have never seen before. They are basically the forefathers of the modern day first person shooter on consoles. With so much creative talent one can only imagine what other pet projects they have on the backburner or filed away in desk somewhere. While Bungie claims to have 3 projects in the queue, it is quite telling that the only one that gamers have latched onto is another Halo game.

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consoleme.ca
donator6506d ago

"[T]hey are basically the forefathers of the modern day first person shooter."

As far as I'm concerned, Half-Life is the forefather of MODERN day first person shooters.

Xi6506d ago (Edited 6506d ago )

Marathon paved the way for today's FPS's, half life even copied many of the same puzzle and the health system from Marathon.

Marathon was the first FPS to have voice chat, dual wielding, multi-tied levels, a level editor, secondary weapon functions, puzzles and mission objectives, ambient ai and an assortment of other things.

Defectiv3_Detectiv36506d ago

Really though, I was never sold on BUNGIE. They showed some potential w/ the first 2 Halo's but you can't tell me Halo3 did the series or the hardware justice. And that's the general consensus w/ most people I know.

Halo is the Hack n Slash of FPS. Its a twitch shooter. MS an BUNGIE don't care about innovating it, they don't want to alienate the fans, but that will alienate the hardcore gamers.

supahbad6506d ago (Edited 6506d ago )

@1.1 he said on consoles, just read the next two words(srry i didn't know he changed it)

@1.2 didn't you say that yesterday?

but i agree, let MS inhouse studios takeover Halo. i want something else from bungie. and let it go multiplat please. i know i will get a lot of flak for that but i hope they decide to work on the ps3 even if MS tries to stop it

Jinxstar6506d ago

Xi just FYI the thing that Bungie did was make FPS control schemes work for consoles. It was the first game to perfect it. The health system and puzzles were truly nothing compared to games that had come before and nothing original. The reason it is so highly acclaimed is because Combat Evolved made the controls work and did it very well. Hence why halo was so praised. Now it is just a "Cash Cow"

orakga6506d ago (Edited 6506d ago )

...and I'm very happy to see that some people actually understand why Halo was an important game for the console industry. "Combat EVOLVED" was the most befitting sub-title for that game; it truly was evolution. (btw, the regenerating shield concept was also new, wasn't it?)

Most of the time, when I ask people "Why was Halo so successful?", their answer is "Because it sold millions!"

Riiight... where do these people learn to think?

---

BTW can someone confirm that Halo was the first game with regenerating shields/health? I don't recall seeing that in Marathon, but that might be because I only played the first two. My memory is kinda hazy...

zethos566506d ago

I think it was the first. But if I'm wrong it's the one that popularized it.

Jinxstar6506d ago (Edited 6506d ago )

Regenerating health was new for a FPS(Probably... I can't really recall any before but wouldn't be surprised to find one though) but not to gaming in general... Take for example "Wolverine: Adamantium Rage." I think that might have truly been the first, albeit way slower, form of innactive regeneration in gaming... That was a SNES game...

Montrealien6506d ago (Edited 6506d ago )

Xi said Marathon, not Halo. Just thought I would clear that one up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

Halo was really a giant leap for console shooters though. And you can milk anything imho, as long as the milk is good.

Playstation Man6506d ago (Edited 6506d ago )

When Killzone 2 is released and owns every other FPS' ass?

Honestly, Bungie's unorganized mess of a story in Halo 3 proved to me they're not truly as in love with the universe that they've made as they say they are. Halo 3 was an expansion of what makes Halo great but felt underwhelming in the face of the hype both on the casual market side and hardcore interest side.

That said, I think it's safe to say that Halo 4, as quickly as they're hitting now, would be a cash-cow. I'm surprised though that some people don't point the obvious that the same COULD be said about HL2 and its multiple episodes. Just saying...

PS360PCROCKS6506d ago

ON CONSOLES donator, nice try though.

Superfragilistic6506d ago

Nice try mate! lol

I agree with your sentiments on Half Life, but don't take the quote out of context. ;)

"They are basically the forefathers of the modern day first person shooter ON CONSOLES."

Milky6506d ago

They are doing another Halo because microsoft told them to. Microsoft need a big hitter.

Skizelli6505d ago (Edited 6505d ago )

I can't speak for all, but for me and MANY of my friends, Halo was/is popular because we could all sit around multiple TVs and play together over linked Xbox's. With Combat Evolved, it was personal and extremely fun with all your buddies around you. Pretty much everything you would expect out of a LAN party. I think when Halo 2 introduced LIVE play, it lost that. Sure, you could play with your buddies over LIVE at any time, but it wasn't personal anymore. The magic was gone. Not to mention you got to see how crude the Halo community really is - full of tweens and teenagers who think they're God's gift to Halo. And everyone's a tough guy.

plenty a tool6505d ago (Edited 6505d ago )

only halo is approaching it's fourth installment! no other game or any other game character has seen so many games???? it's shocking that microsoft would continue to make games from a massively selling and popular franchise, when sony and nintendo only make original games everytime and never use sequels, known characters or titles..

i see your point totally!

+ Show (12) more repliesLast reply 6505d ago
SickNote6506d ago

The 360 world would not have allowed them to do anything else...

Fiona6506d ago

Halo is where the money so I cant blame them for doing another halo. But yes I would really like Bungie to work on something else, new IP, they are a great developers with a lot of potential and creativity.

MasterChief28296506d ago

Bungie is working on 3 projects, one of which Mattrick said is a new Halo Game. They didn't say if it was a sequel or prequel, or if it was the superintendent announcement. He just said they decided not to show it at the press conference (which was not when the superintendent was scheduled to be revealed)

GCNSeanFoster6506d ago

Nobody (MS or Bungie) ever said anything about a prequel... except that sarcastic gamer site. Does this dude actually think the story was real?

blade2066506d ago

is halo all they can do wtf

StormSurfer6506d ago

yeah, that is pretty much sad..bungie should make a oni squel instead of continuing with that garbage which is halo.

KBDuB6506d ago (Edited 6506d ago )

It sells. Why not?

Playstation Man6506d ago (Edited 6506d ago )

the old WWE theme music for the Million-Dollar Man kicks in, repeating itself in my mind every time I read a new article about Bungie's next Halo.

"Money, Money, Money, Money, Moneeeey, Money"

*ba-ba-ban, ba-ba-ban*

"Everyone's got a price"

Ah hell, it's my new theme music for the entire XBOX Brand!

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180°

Halo art director leaves studio after 17 years with ominous message alluding to discontent

Glenn Israel writes: "As of today and after seventeen long years, I am officially no longer contributing to the Halo universe. There is little more I can say for the moment, though I intend to share this particular story in its entirety when it is absolutely safe to do so next year. In the meantime, I have a message for anyone and everyone who needs to hear it.

I know that the state of our industry seems dire, but never forget that you are *free to choose*. No illusion of security nor promise of wealth or fame or power is worth trading away your health, your dignity, your ethics or values - and no one can force you to. Stay strong, take evidence when necessary, and find where you belong."

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linkedin.com
Bathyj222d ago

My god.
There's a story for next year.

VenomUK222d ago

I’m really disappointed to learn there are still people/morale problems. I thought the whole point of rebranding 343i to Halo Studios was to signal that real changes had been made - not to cynically rebrand to paper over the problems.

I really hope the Halo CE remake is great and gets people hyped for the future of the series.

DarXyde222d ago

It's inevitable with the modern landscape. Even if some issues have been assuaged, new ones crop up all the time.

I'm willing to bet AI and the lack of regulation is causing substantial upset.

shinXseijuro222d ago (Edited 222d ago )

He said something very marking . We tend to complain a lot about the industry but deep down I realize that we never have we been offered this crazy amount of games all available for you to play now . You can literally play any sorts of games in 2025 . Nobody is forcing you to buy the latest COD or the latest BF . You’re more of a 8 bit cozy gaming guy there’s a whole niche of modern games for that . You like micromanaging there’s games for that . I feel like we have been spoiled so much we just stopped being realistic and thinking for ourselves . We follow trends cry about stuff online when you are the buyer you have the power .

Notellin222d ago

I'm not buying any games until another Immersive sim is made.

PhillyDonJawn222d ago

....wth happened over there?
Does this confirm a new Halo by next year?
What did they want him to do that made him feel it was morally wrong or a insult to his integrity?

-Foxtrot222d ago

Well how about that, a name change doesn’t fix internal issues

Who would have thought

jznrpg222d ago

MS was throwing money around for a long time but now it’s time to pay the Piper.

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110°

Halo 4 & Halo 5: Guardians Sales Reached Nearly 10 Million Units Worldwide

Lifetime sales of 343 Industries' first-person shooters, Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians, reached nearly 10 million units worldwide each.

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twistedvoxel.com
Sciurus_vulgaris313d ago

There were reports that Halo 4 and Halo 5 had similar sales to Halo: Reach years ago. The clickbait websites and rage bait YouTubers from 2012-2016 just wanted to spread excessive negativity about the franchise for their own benefit.

VenomUK312d ago

What did Halo: Infinite sell?

Sciurus_vulgaris312d ago

I don’t know. However, I would assume around 10 million. All the Halo FPS titles have done around 10 million sales, except ODST. Halo 3, was reported to exceed 14 million copies. I still remember back in 2007-2008, Halo 3 and COD 4 would duke it out for the most played XBL game.

MrNinosan311d ago

@Sciurus

There is NO WAY Infinite sold 10 million. Wake up dude.
Once upon a time, there was gamers on the Xbox side who actually bought games. Those times are since long gone.

Infinite has most likely not even hit 5 million sales

slate91312d ago

Nearly 10 million units and killing the brand is crazy work. Nicely done.

peppeaccardo311d ago

This New: Putting chocolate chips on top of a freshly made dog turd .....

1Victor312d ago

So let me get this straight in almost 13 years both games sold a combined 10 millions units.
Now I’m not going to use the obscured mentality and compared it to the amount of consoles sold and say it’s a failure 🤷🏿

thesoftware730312d ago (Edited 312d ago )

1Victor,

Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians, reached nearly 10 million units worldwide "each."

Read it again, there is a word in there that clears up your misunderstanding.

1Victor311d ago

@thesoftware720
I apologize I skimmed through the article and the headline blinded me and stuck in my mind thank you for the correction 👍👍

AuraAbjure311d ago (Edited 311d ago )

Halo 4 is the best multiplayer ever! It’s even better than Titanfall 2. I admit Halo 4 got CoDified but there’s nothing wrong with taking inspiration from other games sometimes and halo 4 did it sooooo well with that speed boost plus sword combo and SAW plus damage booth combo, holy guacamole 🥑

Some crucial improvements to halo 4 could’ve been to boost the power of the AA sentinel, and whenever matchmaking pits people against each other with an armor abilities turned off completely then the map needs to routinely spawn, plentiful, predictable, power weapons. Also, all frame rate drops are unacceptable for a halo game during split-split screen or couch co-op. Just dynamically scale the resolution of the game down but whatever happens don’t let the framer dip in a Halo game for the love of all that is holy and good!

My personal gameplay of getting 30 kills in a 4 v. 4 game of team slayer up to 60.

https://youtu.be/ZYDvior_K-...

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190°

OG Destiny artist recalls Bungie’s “disgruntled” reaction to Halo 4’s art style change

Original Destiny artist Darren Bacon recalls how Bungie reacted to the art style change of Halo 4 by 343 Industries.

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videogamer.com
Tacoboto394d ago

Bungie at that time became the most wonderful bunch of hypocrites in the gaming industry. Knowing this now, gosh the entitlement they felt was out of this world.

Nothing like buying yourself from Microsoft because you don't want to be the Halo Studio anymore, and the FIRST THING you do is sign your next IP over to Activision, for a DECADE, while they are in the middle of ousting the heads of Infinity Ward so they can exert even more control over COD while screwing out the devs at IW...

Should've come as no surprise then that Activision gutted the content of Destiny 1 before launch and was a horrible partner through Destiny 2, until history repeated itself and Bungie had to split from Activision only to wind up in the arms of another major conglomerate that also doesn't know how to handle these unmanageable devs.

Profchaos394d ago

Tti their credit they praised the technical abilities of 343 and I remember at the time thinking halo 4 was a huge graphical leap above reach everything else was rubbish when I actually got to play it but there was no doubt it looked good for the 360 and is probably the best looking game on the system.

But ultimately I think bungie has always had a leadership problem and going independent ultimately proved this it's only getting worse with studio heads being outed by Sony for abuse allegations seems like all bungies past success has been in spite of management not because of it.

But really I think the bungie we have today is not the same one we had in that Xbox era of Bungie

PhillyDonJawn394d ago

I liked the artstyle change. For the most part. Something looked worse but most of everything else looked better. Weapons and vehicles for sure. The wraith come to my mind instantly.
And how can they get mad when the bungie changed it with Halo Reach?

Sciurus_vulgaris393d ago

I know a lot of people dislike Halo 4’s arts style, but there’s thing about it I like and dislike. Personally, the Halo 4 design of Master Chief’s armour is my favourite depiction of the character’s armour.