Halo 2 hits 5 million player mark

by Alexander Sliwinski { May 10th 2007 at 3:47PM }

Bungie announced that they've reached their 5 millionth player to experience Halo 2 online. The number refers to unique Live accounts that have played the title. That doesn't mean people stuck with it or that each of those tags belonged to different people. Bungie reached the milestone on the 2.5 year anniversary of the game's launch. The real test of Halo's power will be this fall when we see how well Halo 3 moves Xbox 360 consoles.

Tags: bungie, halo, millions, sequels

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

kingofwale @ May 10th 2007 3:52PM

pretty much everybody who has a Live account (around 6 mil) has played Halo 2 online.

that's pretty extraordinary. Kudos to Live users

Rubang B @ May 10th 2007 4:07PM

Who the hell is J-Lo 2?

DWells55 @ May 10th 2007 4:29PM

At least 50 of those accounts were my 2 months, 1 months, and 48 hour cards I used to level up friends with. Then factor in probably 250,000 accounts used for cheating that only played for 6 hours before they got banned.

DWells55 @ May 10th 2007 4:30PM

Oh, and to clarify, I meant other people probably racked up a total of 250,000 or more accounts to cheat with. I don't cheat.

ckolnik @ May 10th 2007 4:44PM

Let me clarify it to you DWells55, leveling up friends is also cheating. Let alone some of the stupidest crap you can do in a game period. I have a question for you: does having a high rank in Halo get you or your friends tons of girls?

sheppy @ May 10th 2007 4:47PM

"I have a question for you: does having a high rank in Halo get you or your friends tons of girls?"

Actually, isn't it counter productive? Like the players they matchmake you against are based on levels. If you suck, do you REALLY want to face a lv50 player? I mean, I got good at UT just by being fodder but still.

AirIntake @ May 10th 2007 4:48PM

Also, leveling up your friend isn't cheating. Jeez

Jonathan Tran @ May 10th 2007 4:49PM

Sure there could be multiple accounts to one account, but also there could be some accounts shared by friends or family. I think 5 million or SLIGHTLY under will be close

Mr Khan @ May 10th 2007 4:49PM

Wierd, i'd figure it'd be much higher, considering its only about 60% of people that bought a game who's strongest appeal was Online play (although by no means its only)

much like i was surprised about how, between about 30 million unique people who have bought in to Xbox, only 1/5th have used ANY online features (remember, that 6 million includes gold and silver)

It just makes you realize that, even in the Xbox family, Online gaming clearly isn't dominant, which is wierd considering how great that experience is...

DWells55 @ May 10th 2007 4:49PM

It's not cheating, it's been discussed on Bungie's forums multiple times. I have friends who are only good enough to be 20-somethings in Team Slayer. If I went in with them on my level 40 account, they'd get obliterated and no one would have fun. By having another account, I can play ranked games with my friends from school and help them get better.

Sounds like someone's just upset they lost their 16 in TS to a level 1.

sheppy @ May 10th 2007 5:24PM

"Wierd, i'd figure it'd be much higher, considering its only about 60% of people that bought a game who's strongest appeal was Online play (although by no means its only)"

Actually, I'm not that surprised. In an interview with PSM, the man behind UT3 said there is STILL a focus on the single player portion simply because well over 50% of the UT 2004 copies sold did NOT go online. This is why I like games that ship with bots. I can play an online style environment quickly without having to go into lobbies and such. Which is good if I want to practice my headshots and such. Actually, I think the main reason why I can't get into Halo online is just because I CAN'T practice against Bots.

GJM @ May 10th 2007 5:45PM

So does this mean it is or isn't overrated?

sheppy @ May 10th 2007 5:51PM

"So does this mean it is or isn't overrated?"

Depends on which troll finds this topic first, actually. Personally, I think it's a great milestone and I applaud Bungies success. Just because Halo isn't my thing (although Bots could definately get me into it) doesn't mean it's not a good series.

umm....hello??? @ May 10th 2007 6:30PM

@DWells55

You're a fucking imbecile. It's that EXACT crap that makes the ranked levels not even worth watching (so you used how many temporary accounts to re-level up to 40, or just 15, whatever). So when I play you and you're really a 27 like me in TS but your NEW gamertag account is only a level 1, why would I care that I lose when YOU know that you're really a level 40?You're not making your friends all that much better, and they just reach a higher rank where they can get pwned more easily. If you REALLY wanted to help them, you would either create a party or play matchmade games. Also, you just piss off the majority of legitimate players that are able to accept their rank for what it is...not that I'm NOT trying to get better myself.But if your friends REALLY suck, do them a favor and sign them up for gaming lessons from LEGITIMATE pros.

@sheppy
Yeah, PerfectDark (original) rules with their bots...it'd be a nice addition, but do you REALLY want to play against a bunch of pro-level bots superjumping because they're bored you can't no-scope them with your shotgun? ;) j/k

Jake @ May 10th 2007 7:51PM

Quite the accomplishment. I am one of the people who has Live but has never owned Halo 2. That is because I didn't own the original xbox, though. I liked the game and all and am really looking forward to Halo 3. What sucks is that I'll get my ass kicked by all the Halo vets. :)

Actually, I am most looking forward to the online coop portion of the game, as coop was my favorite part of the first two games. My hunch is that the single player will be the best for Halo yet, and I heard rumors that it will be 4 player coop enabled...