Microsoft pulled Halo announcement for a stupid reason
by Randy Nelson 
{ Jul 17th 2008 at 3:00AM }
As the story goes, Microsoft's presser was originally planned to run two-and-a-half hours, but Mattrick wanted to get it down to under 90 minutes. For some reason, a Halo game was cut to make way for such content (what Mattrick is quoted as calling "an embarrasment of riches") as the needlessly long (and silly) live demo of You're In The Movies. We're sure it wasn't cut because it would have taken attention away from Final Fantasy XIII for 360. Oh no. Never.
When do we get to see it, then? "We felt we could do this game more justice with a more dedicated event," Mattrick said in the L.A. Times piece. Given that Bungie was ready to rock with an announcement on Tuesday, we're guessing that it would prefer ... soon.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
albinogoldfish @ Jul 17th 2008 3:05AM
It doesn't surprise me too much, Microsoft's business model for the 360 going in was slow and steady, makes since for them to want to carry the momentum, this year isn't over yet.
.....still pretty fucked up though....
lawlersauce @ Jul 17th 2008 3:37AM
except the whole deal about hurrying and rushing to release the console ending up in a multi million dollar loss due to faulty hardware...microsoft always sticks to their plan 'cause America!
BananaBoat @ Jul 17th 2008 3:57AM
I've always thought their approach was the opposite. For instance, they announced a new dashboard, FFXIII, Netflix, The new Mii-ripoff, game loading to HD, a new portal, and showed Gears 2, a live gameplay demo of RE5, and Lips (can't forget lips).
Still, this is a hard pill to swallow. They did it to save time? Nuh uh. They did it because they realized they could save it as a big announcement for TGS or somewhere else. It would have been fine, but apparently Bungie didn't get the memo, and had us watching that stupid countdown meter for hours on end. If one half of the equation is telling people that an announcement is coming when a countdown runs out...then that announcement had better come....or you'll look like a bunch of morons.
Dirk Dorkelson @ Jul 17th 2008 4:27AM
Bananaboat, you're right, but the whole "game countdown clock" thing has become so played out and cliche at this point it might as well be those stupid MasterCard "priceless" parodies that stopped being clever five years ago. It's amazing to me that people still do them, or that people still pay attention.
MN Guy @ Jul 17th 2008 8:12AM
MS made the right move. Not allowing Bungie to stay true to their countdown, but rather having Mattrick randomly spill the beans in casual conversation, is way better.
apotheosis.x @ Jul 17th 2008 3:08AM
Epic Fail Microsoft.
Dirk Dorkelson @ Jul 17th 2008 4:29AM
Nah, "epic" would be the RROD, or if they somehow fumbled and lost the game entirely. This is barely a blip on the radar.
Duke @ Jul 17th 2008 10:41AM
I hardly think its an epic fail because they botched the announcement timing. The mystery Halo game will still sell millions and make all of them richer. If thats an epic fail, I have had the wrong goals my whole life.
Envoy @ Jul 17th 2008 3:09AM
They kept trash like Lips and that movie game but cut out Bungie's game? OOOO yeah because everybody is trying to get casual gamers now...=(
007craft @ Jul 17th 2008 3:23AM
The funny thing is the casual markets who would purchase lips and your in the movies, dont even know about, care about or watch E3. So I think the halo announcment would of been much more worthwhile
KonohaShinobi @ Jul 17th 2008 9:21AM
Not us PS3 owners ;)
DarkNessBear @ Jul 17th 2008 3:09AM
Microsoft has now officially the worst press conference. Yea, lower then nintendo's.
That's just stupid if it's true...
Mrblonde @ Jul 17th 2008 3:15AM
Nah man. Nintendo keynote sucked donkey donk. And I love Nintendo. They didn't live up to what they can really do.
albinogoldfish @ Jul 17th 2008 3:24AM
...big floppy donkey...erm..."donk"
Gun Barrier (Gamer Tag) @ Jul 17th 2008 8:30PM
eh, nintendo obviously didn't show anything to save time too.
Mrblonde @ Jul 17th 2008 3:10AM
It really is stupid. I'm not a uber uber over obsessed halo geek, I do like it, but thats just a dumb excuse. It would have made the whole keynote even sweeter. Like whipped cream on top of a sundae.
riggs @ Jul 17th 2008 8:34AM
on top of a hot girl
Misfit Toy @ Jul 17th 2008 2:50PM
Agreed. Why not have two uber announcements rather than just one? You'd have more people talking about your show. Dumb. Just dumb Microsoft.
Abscissa @ Jul 17th 2008 3:15AM
"We felt we could do this game more justice with a more dedicated event"
How 'bout just announce the damn thing and save all that money you'd be blowing on an "event".
Irwin @ Jul 17th 2008 3:16AM
Man, I wouldn't be surprised if this was one of the times that Bungie just couldn't finish the work it had to on time.
They have had run pretty close to not meeting previous E3 deadlines..you never know this time they just couldn't do it in time.
Derka @ Jul 17th 2008 3:21AM
Someone is covering someones ass. Theres no way in hell they would cancel anything Halo to "save time"
Talryyn @ Jul 17th 2008 10:46AM
You know what, it is better to have MS look like crap then Bungie. So if it was a Bungie error, then if MS took the fall the fans will not be mad at Bungie for 5 years. You MIGHT be on to something.
Duke @ Jul 17th 2008 10:57AM
Both of you have pretty good points. Somethings fishy here.
Crusty Magic @ Jul 17th 2008 5:17AM
Dude Don Mattrick is a total D Bag, I couldn't help but notice what a terrible speaker he is at the press conference event this year. Fire that mo-fo Microsoft and bring in someone who can actually speak at a live showing of your software.
Joe @ Jul 17th 2008 3:39AM
It leaves them something to annouce in leizpig or what ever its called
MarkHawk @ Jul 17th 2008 3:40AM
IDK I got to go with Microsoft on this. While I would of loved a 2 hour conference (really I would, I wanted more time) but getting FF13 devs happy is a must. The 360 needs something other then shooters. Ending with a shooter while awesome for people like me is bad for Microsoft. They needed something new and I am glad to hear it will get it's own press event. Tough Call though.
TROJAN IMPALA @ Jul 17th 2008 3:46AM
I actually like the title because it was total Bull Shite and Microsoft needs to realize this is absolutely unnacceptable to its fanbase that kept the Xbox alive.
Cal @ Jul 17th 2008 3:54AM
It's only Halo...
Hala Madrid!! (Madrileno hasta la muerte!) @ Jul 17th 2008 4:46AM
I know man. I don't know why people its getting so angry about this announcement?
A new Halo game is coming and every 360 owner should be happy about this, and stop whining because we didn't get this news earlier.
aristokrat @ Jul 17th 2008 11:47AM
It's not like them delaying the announcement will have any bearing on the release of the game. Stop with all the "unacceptable" talk, you're entitled to nothing.
Rawnzilla @ Jul 17th 2008 3:58AM
E3 sucked. I'm sure all you weeaboos are happy about FF13, but those of us that like to play a game where you actually do more than select different text options are disappointed.
Fosssil @ Jul 17th 2008 4:28AM
Well, now we know just how "independent" Bungie really is.
They're still making Halo games, and they're still largely controlled by the whims of Microsoft execs... not much has changed apparently.
j.howlett @ Jul 17th 2008 9:10AM
they will get more money from game sales now.
Shadowcast @ Jul 17th 2008 5:56PM
Microsoft Game Studios is still their publisher, they're still responsible for marketing the game.
Kamizar @ Jul 17th 2008 5:07AM
I for one agree with Microsoft's delay, E3 is too small, Microsoft had a good showing and whatever Bungie has got is like an ace in the hole, best save that card for when you need to cover up a huge fuck-up or want to blow competition out of the water...
That's what I posted on X3F, I still stand by it, content greedy video game players are very greedy for content, besides, I dont think I could handle waiting for another game, im already gonna have to sell the farm...
Snowblind @ Jul 17th 2008 7:18AM
Exactly. They had Final Fantasy, which was a huge shocker, Sony and Nintendo failed to deliver anything really new or exciting. Announcing Bungie's new game now, would just be a waste.
And again, Microsoft focusing on games coming out this year was the right move. The main problem with Sony's, is that they basically spent 2 hours telling us why we should wait until next year to buy a PS3.
jynxycat @ Jul 17th 2008 7:58AM
FFXIII is coming out this year ?
News to me.
DarkNessBear @ Jul 17th 2008 2:40PM
What? Microsoft showed no new games. There biggest news was showing a game that the PS3 already has...
And Microsoft needed to show next year cause they have nothing...
Tim The Enchanter @ Jul 17th 2008 3:41PM
I think Snowblind means in the next year before the next E3.
Pedobear @ Jul 17th 2008 3:50PM
@Tim The Enchanter
Didn't realise FFXIII was coming out before the next E3.
Tim The Enchanter @ Jul 17th 2008 4:25PM
Nor did I, but he wasnt just talking about that game. New paragraph, new thought. ;-)
L4Flare @ Jul 17th 2008 6:09AM
Final Fantasy > Halo
Boffo the Sock @ Jul 17th 2008 11:08AM
Thank you for that unbiased opinion.
Dr. Stabbingworth @ Jul 17th 2008 11:29AM
Not anymore.
L4Flare @ Jul 17th 2008 11:34AM
Just my opinion obviously
Snowblind @ Jul 17th 2008 7:02AM
I thought most people hated Halo, why are you getting so angry over a delay? We all know why they pulled the announcement. Sony and Nintendo had dreadful conferences, Microsoft had no reason to make an announcement this big, when they clearly have the best line up this year.
We know this new Halo game isn't coming until next year, and it would have only detracted attention from the other games at their show, and give people a reason to wait until next year to buy the console.
It's silly they pulled it at the last minute, but it makes a lot of sense.
ww3ace @ Jul 17th 2008 8:33AM
most people LIKE halo in some way, its just that the people who don't are VERY vocal about it
Snowblind @ Jul 17th 2008 11:27AM
That's different. It's a previously Sony exclusive game, and perhaps one of the biggest series' in the world. A lot of people are buying PS3's simply to get the next Final Fantasy. Holding off on that anouncement would have been a mistake.
Impressive!...not so much @ Jul 17th 2008 12:46PM
Snowblind...you said you don't know how to correct me, and clearly I must give you credit...it is after all one of the only credible things in your post. So now let me please extend to you the same curiosity.
I addressed this before but I'll do it again. It is not whether you need Home or not, I could just as easily say do you need Halo, or Gears? After all there are many other shooters out there you could play, right? But you still enjoy it...they are beautiful games...but my only point is GIVE CREDIT WHERE IT IS DUE. You can't even say one thing positive about Home, from the trophy room to display trophies in an INNOVATIVE way ( Definition of innovative as I am using it in the text: adjective
1. ahead of the times; "the advanced teaching methods"; "had advanced views on the subject"; (((("a forward-looking corporation"))); "is British industry innovative enough?"...That is to satisfy your whit, or your attempt at it I should say). also allowing users who cannot make it to GDC, or TGS, and E3 to go there virtually allowing developers to enter the homes of consumers. Or to have spaces that are designed by developers themselves for users to enjoy...that is innovation my friend but because you are acting quite fanboyish ( Fanboy: (sometimes spelled fanboi) is a term used to describe an individual who is devoted to a single subject in a fanatical manner, or to a single point of view within that subject, often to the point where it is considered an obsession. Fanboys remain loyal to their particular obsession...that was some whit of my own). you have not bothered to look into such things.
Next, you don't see how Blu-Ray is helping with video games...sigh. When games like MGS4 are on duel layered Blu-Ray disks (that is 50GB) and uses it all, and Microsoft uses DVD 9 (that is 9GB) you don't see how that changes the scope of how games are viewed? Again my point is proven in the Sony initiative to think a step ahead in not only helping developers, but also to enrich the experiences of gamers...for goodness sakes man (or woman) there are maps on Killzone 2 that wont fit on the disk format Microsoft uses. Oh but wait if Microsoft's next console uses Blu-Ray you are sure to here a surge of voices cry in the streets Blu_Ray has arrived!!! This is the stuff I say needs to stop, and that is innovation my friend.
A failure rate in the 360 doesn't matter....(Fanboy (sometimes spelled fanboi) is a term used to describe (((an individual who is devoted to a single subject in a fanatical manner,))) or to a single point of view within that subject, often to the point where it is considered an obsession. Fanboys remain loyal to their particular obsession.
I do give you credit for that comment...Sony did get FF off of Nintendo, but where able to develop their OWN multimillion dollar games since then.
Lastly, adding more players doesn't mean innovative...(Innovative as I am using it in the text:((( ahead of the times))); "the advanced teaching methods"; "had advanced views on the subject"; (((("a forward-looking corporation"))). Where has this been done ever before on a CONSOLE...Oh yeah 60 players on RFOM (Innovative) and please tell me what games on Xbox support fifty people.
Did you ever think about people that bought an Xbox just before the 360 released? Microsoft stopped all support of their console and focused on 360, if anyone enjoying Microsoft's content wanted to continue enjoying it they had to cough out more money. All this while millions still enjoy fresh new content on their PS2's every year. My point? One, I am not a fanboy I simply look at truths, secondly you should want a company to have YOUR interests in mind, not only theirs..if leaving a loyal customer in the dust after their support appeals to you keep on keeping on (again in the realm of subjectivity I can't tell you what to do). You as a customer that not only pays for games, accessories, and a good online service deserve loyalty from the company...as well as a company that thinks ahead instead of nowhere past two years from now. You also deserve to have a company that offers ORIGINAL content, and fun and exciting innovation. This is not a post to make you go get a PS3 this is merely a voice in the realm of subjectivity. You can look up everything I am saying...go watch E3 or go look in Websters dictionary for your mug shot...
(This post is not meant to offend or oppress any of the parties it is addressed to. If this post has in any way offended anyone you have my sincere apology before said offense occurred. This post is aimed at discovering truth and leaving behind patronizing falicies ment for fire side chat, thank you.)
Vcize @ Jul 17th 2008 2:12PM
"and please tell me what games on Xbox support fifty people."
Frontlines: Fuel of War.
You might not have heard of it for several reasons:
1) You're the most blind fanboy I've ever seen on this site, which is saying a lot given some of the people on this site.
2) Having a bunch of players in no way automatically makes a game good. In fact, it generally does the opposite.
3) Adding players is not a big innovation, else you would have heard of this game.