Leaked: Halo 2 PC to debut on Vista?

by Conrad Quilty-Harper { Feb 9th 2006 at 6:55AM }

In an article that vanished as fast as it appeared, the BBC temporarily reported that the PC version of Halo 2 is to debut on Windows Vista. We managed to get a screen grab of the link (pictured and highlighted above) to the news story just before it changed. The same link now shows the text "Early glimpse of online D&D game" which leads to the "Gaming News In Brief" and no mention of Halo 2.

Addict3d.org also managed to get a look at the page before it was reverted to its current state. If the news is true, then we could expect a PC version of Halo 2 by Christmas '06. That's if Microsoft sticks to its schedule.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Stevo @ Feb 9th 2006 7:21AM

I saw the article on the BBC website. Just searched through my cache now but it looks like the D&D version of the page overwrote that one :(

kerem @ Feb 9th 2006 7:28AM

I read the story before it got removed as well, it said that Halo 2 could ONLY be played through Vista on a PC.

Sounds like another case of Microsoft ripping people of and making them buy thier latest OS. BOO 2 YOU GATES.

Evil Beaver @ Feb 9th 2006 7:34AM

I guess that's the only way they have left to guarantee that some people will upgrade to Vista.

Shad Genki @ Feb 9th 2006 8:11AM

I'm sick of paying for every stinking new version of Windows. Thank god for geeks and hackers, since they'll crack it after a few days and I can get it for free.

SeriousKriss @ Feb 9th 2006 8:17AM

The PC version of Halo was a failure... Why would they expect Halo 2 to be any different? :s

SilverScyth @ Feb 9th 2006 8:50AM

This makes sense seeing as Bungie just put up job postings for PC programmers, etc. who wanted to work on one of MS's biggest franchises...

Durrr, I wonder what that is?

mocax @ Feb 9th 2006 8:54AM

I remember playing Halo2 a long time ago.....

Moogle @ Feb 9th 2006 8:56AM

#5: If by "failure" you mean "95% of development costs are already expended". Dunno if they made or lost money on the PC version, but 'failure' can mean a lot of different things in this case.

As to why Halo 2 PC would be different? Maybe they plan on putting in the ending the forgot on the xbox version. :)

Jensen @ Feb 9th 2006 8:58AM

The sad thing is, Call of Duty 2, an Xbox 360 game, runs much better on my computer than Halo, an original Xbox game.

TeddyN @ Feb 9th 2006 9:03AM

Number 4:
Ok, I agree that it's unfair to make people upgrade to Vista for Halo 2, but the way to get back at them is certainly not by downloading pirated versions. That's not punishing the execs, who will still enjoy their ridiculous paychecks etc, but it's punishing the hardworking developpers who have been ploughing their lives into this game. Plus you are personally making it less likely that we see Halo 3 appear on PC, since by taking away from PC sales you are making it comparatively a lot more profitable to just sell on the console.
If you want to make a statement, download the hack to make it compatible with XP but do the industry a favour and don't download the whole game altogether.

Stu L Tissimus @ Feb 9th 2006 9:22AM

Oh, wow. Well done, Gates, well done! Forcing people to upgrade for no reason. Wonderful.

Explain to me why we would need to upgrade to Vista. Don't tell me that DirectX 10 can't be installed and used on XP, because it certainly would be possible unless coded specifically to only run on Vista (which, I've heard, is the case). But even then, it's not as if Halo 2 is using any features that you couldn't find in DX8 or DX9. I mean, it's developed for Xbox. That thing has a freakin' GeForce 3.

Nossy @ Feb 9th 2006 9:56AM

Umm yeah that will just shoot down some credibility the 360 have. Great Job Microsoft. We can expect Ninety Nine Nights, Blue Dragon, Gears of War, PGR3, etc etc to come to Vista and be able to play with the 360 controller. I don't know what they're trying to accomplish here, but they sure aint winning any console war when games on the 360 will be for the PC also.

Oh and guess what, MS has announced they will stop supporting XP after a year Vista comes out.

Einhanderkiller @ Feb 9th 2006 10:38AM

"The sad thing is, Call of Duty 2, an Xbox 360 game, runs much better on my computer than Halo, an original Xbox game."

Call of Duty 2 is a PC game which was ported to the Xbox 360.

benderillo @ Feb 9th 2006 10:40AM

"Oh and guess what, MS has announced they will stop supporting XP after a year Vista comes out."

They still support Windows 98 why would they stop supporting xp? They might stop developing applications for it but they will still support it.

The reason you will need Vista is that they are going to include Xbox Live type features that will allow you to play online with the Xbox. They have been hinting at combining console and computer gaming for years, this is the first logical step. Think if they could get 1% of windows users to pay a fee for xbox live? Thats a lot of scratch.

pennywise969 @ Feb 9th 2006 10:48AM

You guys act surprised at this. Microsoft is a business. They want to make money. As much as they can. Are you guys trying to tell me that if you were in charge of Microsoft and you had a way of making a few more million dollars, you wouldnt? Oh, and the arent "making" you do anything. If you want to play Halo 2 on PC, you have to upgrade. Its still your choice. If you are so against the idea, grow a spine, show some self control and dont upgrade. Dont act like Bill Gates is the Devil because he wants to make a buck.

Tim @ Feb 9th 2006 11:01AM

People have been paying for a platform to play new games on for years. They're called consoles. It's not new. If you want to play Halo 2, buy the "console," be it an Xbox or a DVD with Windows Vista on it. Get over yourselves you whiny pieces of garbage.

Vista is new, it's better, and you're going to love it. You probably bitched and moaned about XP the same way, but GUESS WHAT! YOU'RE USING IT! Oh wait, you're right, 98 was fine the way it was. Never mind. No need to upgrade at all.

You're all a bunch of whiners and should get some jobs so you can afford a 200$ OS that you'll use constantly for the next 3 years of your life.

SuicideNinja @ Feb 9th 2006 11:11AM

"I'm sick of paying for every stinking new version of Windows. Thank god for geeks and hackers, since they'll crack it after a few days and I can get it for free."

What are you talking about? They haven't released a "new" version of Windows since XP. Media Center doesn't count. It's been almost 5 years for XP, which is longer than the times between 95, 98, Me, and 2K. We've gone a long time with XP, so there's no room to complain.

Operating Systems don't last forever you know. They always need updates, major changes, improvement, or rework which leads to new releases. That includes Unix (Solaris) and Linux (any), too. If Operating Systems never changed, we'd still be using DOS, Win3.1, or worse. But you always have a choice; don't upgrade if you don't want to buy it. I wait at least 2 years before moving to the next version of Windows.

Albert Prado @ Feb 9th 2006 12:10PM

I found this article on BBC at the following link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4698072.stm. The title is HALO 2 gamers face Vista upgrade.

Albert Prado @ Feb 9th 2006 12:15PM

Take off the period at the end of the link for it to work.

Homer 918 @ Feb 9th 2006 12:21PM

ALERT!

Now that I've got your attention this is confirmed over at Major Nelson's blog!

ncxcstud @ Feb 9th 2006 12:35PM

Just posted the official press release over at GameApex.com

Find it here..

http://forums.gameapex.com/showthread.php?t=7978

Pal @ Feb 9th 2006 12:46PM

We've had XP for so long, what the heck are you guys complaining about? At least you don't have to pay for, oh, OS X every few months.

I must say, I do use XP in Classic. It's just a lot less tackier, and every skin leaves a bad taste in a the mouth. Go Classic!

Xil @ Mar 12th 2006 6:48PM

I found out, for Windows vista to work to the max, the requirements WILL be 1 GB MB RAM, that is too much, it will work also on 512 ram, but will not run videos and or music or something like that, since it needs a 3D card for videos and 3D sound card for audio, or something like that. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the example of a perfect disaster windows will do, they overtried, windows vista will be 3D and more... it will have better security and many qualities, but at what cost?

HaloPCGamer @ Jan 16th 2007 10:45AM

I didn't sign up to X-Box Live when Halo 2 came out because I felt forced to. I felt like MS wasn't going to release Halo 2 for the PC, so I decided that if that's the way MS is going to play ball, then my response would be to NOT get X-Box Live [though I really wanted to].

But principles are principles. Now, it appears though I'm going to need to upgrade my machine and OS. I might well do, but it won't be because I want to play a game, it will be because there is no more support for a particular application on XP that I need [like no more security updates].

If buying the OS is an issue . . . then don't - easy as!

nicik @ May 9th 2006 6:12PM

i cant wait for halo 2 pc on vista sounds good to me when do we play lol they better not charge us ontop of our all ready high dsl or cable prices like 6 a mo to play halo 2 live one pc screw that ill be kicking ther asses lol im sure it will work on xp anyways or will make a crack for it that will they said theywere talking about only being fr vista to scare pp i bet they wont tho