Following the "Halo Universe" panel at the San Diego Comic Con 08, Eurogamer had a chance to speak with former Bungie content manager Frank O'Connor, who now works with Microsoft to manage the Halo franchise. During the interview, O'Connor stated that a "HaloCon" (that's Halo Convention, for the contextually impaired) is a definite possibility, adding, "Bungie has done fanfests at E3 and it would be lovely to see something bigger, something more ambitious in the future." In addition, we figure a Halo-based expo would also prove an appropriate time to follow through on certain... engagements.
Eurogamer did not let Bungie's seized E3 announcement go unmentioned, and O'Connor responded with an uncrushed spirit, explaining that "someone, somewhere decided strategically that another time is better, and it will be, and there's going to be an announcement and it's going to be awesome." This could mean that they actually know when they'll be following through on their promised E3 megaton, and (if you can wrap your mind around this) -- that they've yet to announce when they're going to announce what they're going to announce.
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At Blizzcon, they can announce stuff for more than just one franchise. =3
Let's see.
-Gnop!
-Operation Desert Storm
-Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete
-Pathways into Darkness
-Marathon franchise
-Myth franchise
-Oni
-Halo
-Pimps at Sea
-Three Unnamed New Projects
That's a whole lot more than other developers ever did.Infinity Ward for example, since there's such a giant fanboy war between them and Bungie.
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BIIIIIIG talk, buddy!
: (
Dragonball Z is totally on a different league than Haruhi.
Will I get voted down too?
Personally, I can stand the new anime, I can only really watch anime made before this decade, really love the stuff from the 90s.
Tiptup300, their talking about the poster behind Master Chief, its showing the characters from an anime (Japanese cartoon) called Haruhi.
But I also haven't given them a chance so what the hey, I should try watching them. :)
Don't thank me thank Mr.Khan
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/24/aol-makes-big-budget-cuts-across-blogs/
explains it all ... looks like we will all need to find a new home soon :(
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http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/bloggers/wii-fanboy-staff/
Since video game news is the only news that doesn't routinely enrage me (I was an economics major, what other reasonable reaction is there to current events?), I am confused by that article. Is AOL up for sale, or are they considering selling off their blog network? If so, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of their new advertising platform (which is explained in the comments of that article)?
And:
"I don’t know what’s going on with Engadget and co., or the lifestyle blogs, but the gaming bloggers were told yesterday to STOP ALL POSTING. Now, after the network bosses went into the fray, our two biggest sites are cleared, but the rest of the sites are working on a 5 posts/day deal, so long as those aren’t written by international bloggers, but only US writers. Anything above and beyond that is unpaid and will be written under a staff account. Nearly everyone has agreed to post for free, including columnists, in the hopes that we will all still have jobs come August 1, when they’re telling us we’ll be back — just on a smaller budget."
AOL can't seriously expect to hold onto all of their readers if they don't post anything... Just the type of bullshit I've come to expect from AOL.
Here's hoping it doesn't come to that...
It's not like Blizzard has all that much going on. StarCraft and WarCraft are basically the same game in different environments (with different locations/races), and WoW is basically a hybrid of the universe of Warcraft and the gameplay of Diablo, they're other IP, in an MMO setting. Yet they have crazy numbers of fans who attend they're cons. I think Bungie could pull it off, especially if they're announcing new stuff.
And besides, who wouldn't want to see some Pimps At Sea cosplay.
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I don't. I think the vast majority of folks who play games like Halo would never dream of going to a con (unlike, say, anime or comic book folk).
Although I don't know what kind of numbers Blizzcon pulls in, but if they shot for like 2,500-5,000 people it would certainly be considered a success, despite being somewhat low numbers by con standards.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e45J0SCXO5s
I bet a lot of readers of the books would be interested in a con, and they seem to sell pretty well.
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Blizzard also happens to have four massive franchises (WOW, Starcraft, Warcraft, Diablo) that all get great reviews and sell millions. Bungie, on the other hand, has had one franchise that has done well, with a couple others most people forget or would prefer to.
Knowing the rate of turnover at Bungie since before Halo 3 shipped and the impact Microsoft had in ensuring quality in the releases, I'm not convinced Bungie is capable of producing and maintaining multiple top-tier franchises like Blizzard.
Bungie doesn't have an MMO nor do they have enough decade-long fans to fill up a convention. Without either of those fanbases, a Halocon would be pretty spartan.
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Halo? The same Halo that holds your hand via auto-aim because the dual analogues are so imprecise. The same Halo game with a difficulty curve that matches Mario and Sonic Olympics. The same Halo with its linear, though cleverly disguised, "choose one of three routes" campaign mode.
But this is not a criticism of Halo, it just happens to be mentioned. The same could be applied to all FPS games. I abhor the terms "hardcore" and "casual", Mr Khan can testify to this, but to keep this brief I will make an exception. Many gamers who consider themselves hardcore for playing FPS are merely fooling themselves. It's embarrassing. There's nothing hardcore about being led, by hand, by the developer through a selection of barren levels: "here's the health pack, kid, pick it up now before the big boss." It's so played out. So insular.
I remember when platformers and point and click games were considered hardcore. Now look at them: dead as dead can be. They lacked dynamism and died a sorry death. That is the future of the FPS if this inward thought process continues. I believe Halo, like the majority of its FPS siblings, is no more hardcore than Wii Music. It's the same audience demographic and there is absolutely no cross over: Meet Mr and Mrs American Idol: The New Gamer.
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I agree with you(mind the FPS=Wii Music bit) though.90% of FPS's are far from hardcore.