During the week of the Halo 3 launch, there were reports that Hollywood held Halo 3 responsible for the abysmal ticket sales they were experiencing. Microsoft thinks they got it wrong - and that the crap coming out of Hollywood is responsible for Halo 3’s success. Microsoft executive Bob Frederickson has at least one finger on the pulse:
“We thought we’d get some good sales, but nothing like this. But with escalating ticket prices and the crappy movies Hollywood has been putting out. People are just hungry for entertainment.”
While I approve of calling out the crap that comes out of Hollywood these days, the next step is stemming the tide of crappy movies being turned into crappy games.
Last Friday, Bungie posted an interesting message on their website:
There are those of you doing things you shouldn’t be in Halo 3. Some of you have gotten a little too famous for your own good. This ain’t a church and there is no redemption or salvation once you have been judged. Apologies are now officially too late to save you.
The storm approaches.
Love, Bungie
Needless to say, if you’ve been cheating in Halo 3 matches on Xbox Live, I’d enjoy what little time you have left with the multiplayer game.
Conan O’Brien invited God on to the show last night to have a chat, and give him a quick haircut. It seems God was only interested in talking about Halo 3…
…Ya, they enhanced the Scorpion Tank from H2, added the whole Bubble Shield. Pretty awesome. Only thing that sucks is that you can’t dual-wield the Needler anymore, I mean W.T.F.? You know what I mean? … Ya, we should play online sometime, that is if you want to get pwnd…
Once upon a time, the sign of a misspent youth was effortless domination of billiards, foosball or Pac-Man. These days, it’s back-of-the-hand familiarity with the underlying physics of Halo 3 plasma grenades. Watch and learn.
If there’s one thing I hate about playing Team Slayer Halo 3 on Xbox Live, it’s the Shotty Snipers game type - and the number of times I’ve seen all 8 players veto a round of Shotty Snipers within a few seconds makes me think I’m not the only one.
The caring, sharing bunch at Bungie have recognized the widespread dislike of the game type, and addressed it (among other things) in a recent update. The full list of changes are:
* Big Team Battle matches are now 16-player affairs.
* In the Team Slayer playlist, the appearance of Shotty Snipers has been greatly reduced.
* Now, when players veto Shotty Snipers, the game that results from the veto will not be Shotty Snipers.
* In one-sided VIP matches, the attacking team will now see a waypoint for the VIP they are hunting.
* In Lone Wolves, Slayer gametypes will appear more frequently.
A new Xbox 360/Halo 3 bundle has been let out of the bag in Europe. The bundle is available in Spain, Germany, Portugal, Austria, the Netherlands and South Africa. It’s possibly available in more countries, but Microsoft Europe is being coy and not returning anyone’s calls. What is known is that its not available in Australia, and there are no plans for it to be. The bundle includes an HDMI-equipped Xbox 360, 20GB HDD, Play & Charge kit, wireless controller and a copy of Halo 3 - and is currently selling for €387.95.
Religious leaders are often quick to wage in on the negative site for the video game debate but not so in this case. An expose by the NY Times has identified the recent use of Halo 3 as a means for religious entities to reach out to young people. Here is an exert from the article:
Across the country, hundreds of ministers and pastors desperate to reach young congregants have drawn concern and criticism through their use of an unusual recruiting tool: the immersive and violent video game Halo…
Those buying it must be 17 years old… But that has not prevented leaders at churches and youth centers across Protestant denominations, including evangelical churches that have cautioned against violent entertainment, from holding heavily attended Halo nights…
Far from being defensive, church leaders who support Halo — despite its “thou shalt kill” credo — celebrate it as a modern and sometimes singularly effective tool… But the question arises: What price to appear relevant?
With the media often being quick to blame games for all of society’s ills, it’s nice to report on philanthropy within the community. In this case it’s a Halo 3 tournament to raise money for the fight against breast cancer. The Cavegirls Present: Fight Like a Girl tournament costs $10 to enter, with all proceeds going to charity. To enter on October 20th you must have a copy of the game and an Xbox Live Gold account. It also should be noted that “trash talking, racial slurs, sexist remarks, and other insulting comments” will get you disqualified.
If Halo 3 left you scratching your head, wondering what all the fuss was about, you won’t feel quite so alone after watching the latest Zero Punctuation.
