Halo 3 Zune US military edition

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 6th 2007 at 11:00PM }

Microsoft has come out with a Halo 3 military edition Zune for members of the US armed forces. The Zune will be available exclusively at military retail stores in August and comes with pre-loaded stuff that is probably similar to the civilian Halo 3 Zune.

A group of soldiers who left for active duty today from Baltimore Washington International airport received the first batch. Microsoft is offering the military edition of the Zune to military personnel and their families at discounted rates. So, if you're a member of the military or family member you might be able to make a couple extra bucks selling it to fanboys who love themselves some limited edition Halo stuff. We were bummed to find out the military edition didn't have camouflage or a cloaking device.

Note: Please keep the comments related to Halo 3 and/or the Zune.

Tags: halo3, halozune, military, zune

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Eric @ Aug 6th 2007 11:10PM

Note: Please keep the comments related to Halo 3 and/or the Zune.

Wish we could get these disclaimers (and enforcement) more often.

ExMcloud @ Aug 6th 2007 11:17PM

Thats wassup...Its a nice way to support the troops I guess.

accidental @ Aug 6th 2007 11:26PM

More like nice way to market Halo 3.
If it was available to the general public it wouldn't make anywhere near the kind of statement it does by offering it 'exclusively' to the ARMED FORCES.

kingofwale @ Aug 6th 2007 11:20PM

well, it is one way to finally sell 1 million units. (note, I said "sell", not "shipped")

Zeus the God @ Aug 6th 2007 11:33PM

Too bad they have sold well over a million. Oh, and when they said sold 1 million a few months ago, they meant "sold" not "shipped," dumb-ass.

lrn2read

kingofwale @ Aug 6th 2007 11:56PM

show me where they said they meant "sold", not "shipped"

because we know Microsoft is all about actual sale numbers.

over a year launched, proudly sold 1 million units, Should I buy Microsoft a medal for that?

RomeoDude @ Aug 7th 2007 12:29AM

Actually, they've SOLD 1.2 million units.

Ska Oreo @ Aug 6th 2007 11:25PM

Still wating for the, "god Halo is fucking mediocre, half-life 2 is awesome. I like to fuck my pc at night because I'm lonely and I have no friends." comments.

But the Halo 3 zune looks pretty cool. It almost makes me want to join the military. Almost.

Zeus the God @ Aug 6th 2007 11:34PM

Well, it is true. Halo 2 was mediocre, and Halo 3 beta was as well. The only true innovative and fresh Halo was Combat Evolved.

Half-Life 2 is better, and so are many other games.

Zeus the God @ Aug 6th 2007 11:35PM

Oh, and I, and probably any others wouldn't make comments if people would stop assuming people will.

After all, it was you who brought it up.

bighit24 @ Aug 7th 2007 12:09AM

I find your comment funny and ironic about the PC crowd as you have a DBZ character for your icon....anyways..Halo 3 (had to have relevance put in somewhere)

Jake @ Aug 7th 2007 12:12AM

Yes. I totally agree. Neither of the Halo's were the greatest game of all time so therefore the series is totally mediocre. Any game that is not the greatest of all time is mediocre. In my opinion, anyone who has played any game since Ocarina is a complete moron. Anyone who plays any shooter besides Half Life or the Counterstrike mod is even more of a loser. THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!!1!1*sin(pi/2)

Halo3 will obviously be mediocre because based strictly on the opinions of people who read opinions about the beta written by people, half of which, didn't play the beta. Halo 3 only has co-op both offline and online, multiplayer, single player, apparently the deepest game customization system in console history, and some stupid video save feature. No mods=weak sauce wtf!?

It is a pathetically weak game that had minimal development time, limited resources, a core gameplay mechanic that only a select few fantards enjoy, and a development team that clearly doesn't know how to make a good game. I bet there will be like 10 better console shooters in 2007 not to mention Crysis obviously renders all shooters ever made completely obsolete.

If fact, I bet Halo3 is only the best selling exclusive this year by 3 or 4 million (only 4 million preorders wtf overhyped anyone?) and ends up getting less than a 98 at metareview sites. I highly doubt much more than 5 million people will play it at least once two years from now.

ssuk @ Aug 7th 2007 4:13AM

Ding, ding, ding... Jake nails it perfectly.

RedJoggindSuit @ Aug 7th 2007 4:28AM

Uh no he doesn't... How can you say Halo 3 will be mediocre? The game isn't even out yet. If your going by peoples opinions on the beta, than you didn't play the beta or probably any Halo, therefore your opinions on Halo mean nothing. You are a nasty troll, go guard your CS mods.

Jake @ Aug 7th 2007 8:38AM

Dude. Go reread my post, only this time think.

(Hint: your sarcasm detector should be going crazy)

RedJoggindSuit @ Aug 6th 2007 11:27PM

If I ever get a Zune it will be this one.

Ska Oreo @ Aug 6th 2007 11:29PM

Then join the military.

RedJoggindSuit @ Aug 7th 2007 3:40AM

Not that badly...

ghostblur @ Aug 7th 2007 7:56AM

or wait for it to be on sale on ebay without having to join the military. just a thought.

the mole @ Aug 6th 2007 11:30PM

gotta sell those excess units some way...

Zeus the God @ Aug 6th 2007 11:36PM

They're producing them in line with shipments. No excess. Not to mention that the other Halo 3 Zune isn't brown, so there is no way this is excess stock.

Imadogg @ Aug 6th 2007 11:41PM

Looks pretty cool, but I'm fine with my Zune I got now (black). Here's to the troops.

megapenguinx @ Aug 6th 2007 11:47PM

I wonder if the discount goes for people who finished their tour...
I have an uncle who was a Marine so if I could, it would be interesting........

hvnlysoldr @ Aug 6th 2007 11:57PM

Not interested in Halo 3 and/or the Zune.

sp @ Aug 7th 2007 12:01AM

a thousand pardons. now that they're aware, i'm sure the article will be removed asap.

maylon @ Aug 7th 2007 12:06AM

Then why comment?

hvnlysoldr @ Aug 7th 2007 12:10AM

Because Alexander Sliwinski asked all comments be about Halo 3 or Zune.

Psaakyrn @ Aug 7th 2007 12:01AM

Now that isn't fair... But talking about military and gaming, I remember the bombed-but-still-working game boy, and wonder, how well would a Zune fair in a military situation? (though granted, a GB may not fair so well to today's bomb standards)

signalx25 @ Aug 7th 2007 12:00AM

Camouflage makes sense because it's what the troops wear most of the time. Is the helmet included too?

Schlomo @ Aug 7th 2007 12:03AM

I like the idea.
I own two iPods and an iPhone, and yet this thing still wants me to run over to my AAFES and pick one up. Partly because I love Halo, partly because my dad is an Air Force retiree and I therefore support our armed services in any way possible, and partly because it's the only good looking brown Zune there is!!!! (Oh, not to mention I buy all of my high-priced electronics at AAFES so I don't have to pay $20 in taxes to buy a Wii)

ExMcloud @ Aug 7th 2007 12:12AM

I'll say this like I say it to everyone else Zeus. Name another console shooter that can even come in the same room as Halo. Cuz if I recall it right when Half life came to consoles it was trash. Don't get it twisted Half Life 2 was awesome on PC but people only say Halo is mediocre because it did well. So now that every other FPS that comes out copies it they're some how better. Halo rejuvenated the genre, and made console shooters recognized, so people hate it? Halo 2 revolutionized online gaming for consoles , people don't appreciate it? Halo 3 adds a VIDEO PLAYBACK feature(which is un-heard of for consoles) and people just blow it off? Bungie has done more for the genre in the last 5 years than anyone else and people continue to hate on them for no reason. I'm not saying Halo is the best but its in the argument which is all that matters. Even if you think Halo is trash there are only 4 FPS that can be mentioned in the same breathe as it, PC or Console

Psaakyrn @ Aug 7th 2007 1:33AM

Well, Metroid Prime Hunters could come close, (At least the control scheme is considered good).. but granted it doesn't have as much multiplayer oomph. Stage design wise I would only note that Halo is one of the oft-used examples of cut-and-paste stage design, and I don't know enough about story to give it a rating.

Granted, MPH is on a portable so it doesn't really count.. I've yet to see a good FPS control scheme for Wii, so until then, I would still agree that Halo is still the "best" FPS for a non-portable console... if only because it's the only reasonable FPS on a non-portable console that I've seen.

NukeAssault @ Aug 7th 2007 12:31AM

Pretty cool.... wonder what if any additional content will be provided. Im sure it will come with all the stuff the normal H3 Zune does.

Snatcher @ Aug 7th 2007 1:30AM

I'm probably one of the few on here that actually buys my music. I want a Zune but all of my music is on Itunes. Will the Zune play my Itunes downloaded music without jumping through hoops?

Yuccadude @ Aug 7th 2007 1:37AM

No, you can't play your Itunes music on your Zune due to licensing issues. But if they square those away, I'm sure that there would be a press release about it.

HornsOfPower @ Aug 7th 2007 8:28AM

You have two options in reality. One is that you burn the bought music to a CD and then rip it to your Zune marketplace. Two you get a media rights stripper and convert the files into mp3's.

thenino85 @ Aug 7th 2007 10:28AM

I once heard that you could download QTFairUse6, strip all the encryption off your iTunes music easily using that program, then use iTune's "Convert into MP3" function to convert all your music to a form that you can put on any MP3 player. That's what I've heard on the streets, any way. Not like I've ever done it or have 100 songs that I've put on my Zen in that matter. No sirree, Bob. Because putting music in a format that Apple doesn't make money on is wrong, and you are a bad person who supports terrorism if you do it.

Eddie @ Aug 7th 2007 2:16AM

Any idea on what's different between this and the civilian Halo 3 Zune?

Chameleon @ Aug 7th 2007 5:58AM

well that didn't take long ...

ghostblur @ Aug 7th 2007 8:09AM

Recently my ipod nano went through a terrible accident that involved my shorts and a washing machine. So I thought about my options, buy an ipod or find something else. I have to admit that I love the apple itunes software and it works rather well in my opinion. But I deceided to give the Zune a chance. I bought the Halo 3 edition Zune, because I am a fan of the series. To me it is like buying sports related material for a football team I like. Except for the fact that I actually would pick playing video games over watching espn sports any day of the week. After a weeks worth of using the Zune, I can say I like it.

There are three cons with the device:

1. One the Zune Marketplace could use a lot of work. Hopefully sometime in the near future they will have some sort of Video marketplace items to buy. They should also make it so that you can see the money system in actual dollars instead of marketplace points. The one thing the Zune marketplace has going for it is that you can pay a monthly fee to listen to as much music as you want. I was a Napster user and loved that option. I like paying the price of 1 CD a month to listen to as much music as I want.

2. I had to buy ImToo DVD to Zune ripper to bring DVD related material to my Zune. The first movie I ripped to my Zune was Hot Fuzz and the sound and video is crystal clear. Awesome experience. What sucks is that the software didn't come with the Zune. I know there is Freeware software out there that will not cost you a dime. But this software is as easy a push of the button.

3. For God Sakes include an AC adaptor with your product. That one goes out to Apple as well. Stop being cheap bastards.

I would recommend the Zune to others. Especially if you are a Halo fan. I don't think right now it is better than the ipod. But I don't necessarily think the ipod is better than the Zune either. As always .... METAL!

kinshadow @ Aug 7th 2007 12:52PM

On point 2, ripping DVDs is illegal as it violates the DMCA. Even if you own the DVD, it is illegal. Thus, you will never see MS, Apple, or andy other "big" names put out ripping software. Most for-sale versions eventually get pulled into court (i.e. DVD X Copy) and out of bussiness. For now, you'll just have to stick to doom9.

ghostblur @ Aug 8th 2007 9:49AM

Wow I see that you are a patriot of the U.S. And you like to imagine children getting raped and put to the death by our soldiers. You should probably pick up a book from you local library sometime and try learning more than what conspiracy theorists on message boards try to preach. And in the atempt that it was suppose to be some hack witty satire; it wasn't funny. You should kill your self.