Joystiq

Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Rumor: Halo 3 getting new achievements with Mythichttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/03/rumor-halo-3-getting-new-achievements-with-mythic/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/03/rumor-halo-3-getting-new-achievements-with-mythic/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/03/rumor-halo-3-getting-new-achievements-with-mythic/#commentsFiled under: Microsoft Xbox 360, First Person Shooters

So, if and when it's actually released, it looks like "Halo Mythic" (whatever it is) might actually add more than "0.1 bettar" to Halo 3. A sneaky spy at PAX caught a few pictures of 30 new achievements, reportedly part of Mythic, that would add a whopping 750 gamerpoints to the game. The pics and achievements have been reposted to the Ascendant Justic forum, and we've got the full list after the jump.

Now, Bungie, we have the names of these achievements, we have the name of the thing, now would you please just tell us what the heck Mythic is?

[Via X3F]

Rumored Halo 3 Achievements

1. Heretic Skull 25pt
2. Citadel Skull 25pt
3. Assembly Skull 25pt
4. Sandbox Skull 25pt
5. Orbital Skull 25pt
6. Longshore Skull 25pt
7. Tank Dropper 25pt
8. Zombie Repeller 25pt
9. Delicious Brains 25pt
10. Save This Film 25pt
11. Have Fun Respawning 25pt
12. Killtacular 25pt
13. Awww, Too Bad 25pt
14. ... Get the Horns 25pt
15. Post Mortem 25pt
16. Ghost Patrol 25pt
17. Blades of Fury 25pt
18. Pull 25pt
19. Hammer Time 25pt
20. Look Both Ways 50pt
21. Road Rage 25pt
22. Flag Dropped 25pt
23. Defend This 50pt
24. Came... From... Behind... 50pt
25. Alas, Poor Yorick 25pt
26. Double Double 25pt
27. Vidmaster Challenge: Brainpan 25pt
28. Vidmaster Challenge: 7 on 7 0pt
29. Vidmaster Challenge: Lightswitch 0pt
30. Vidmaster Challenge: Annual 0pt

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]]>bungiedlchalo-3halo-mythicmythicpax-2008Justin McElroy2008-09-03T16:00:00+00:00PAX 2008: Halo 3 Assembly hands-onhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/31/pax-2008-halo-3-assembly-hands-on/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/31/pax-2008-halo-3-assembly-hands-on/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/31/pax-2008-halo-3-assembly-hands-on/#commentsFiled under: Microsoft Xbox 360, First Person Shooters

As part of their Penny Arcade Expo presence, team Bungie lifted the mysterious curtain on their latest Halo 3 multiplayer map called ~~Purple Reign~~ Assembly, giving PAX attendees a new map to frolic about in. But knowing that it isn't a Midship, Gemini or any other Halo map remake, the big question is whether or not Assembly plays splendidly or if it is any fun at all. And we're pleased to tell you that, yes, it's an unbelievably well designed map that ranks high among our Halo 3 favorites. Impressions after the break.

First, let's get a few Assembly informative bits out of the way. Bungie did not and refused to talk about any specifics regarding Assembly including how it'll be released, when it'll be released or even if it's paid content. Knowing that info, let's jump into our hands-on impressions.

Assembly is a medium, medium-large sized space with plenty of room for 4v4 multiplayer matches of Slayer, Oddball, CTF or even King of the Hill matches making it a very versatile map. As far as cosmetics are concerned, Assembly is a true Covenant looking map with plenty of reflective purple walls to navigate through, greenish yellow grav lifts to launch you towards the heavens and gray walkways to ... uhhh, walk on. The coolest part of the map's look is the Covenant Cruiser that hovers overhead and is seemingly assembling some kind of Covenant structure. Hence the map's name.

Taking a look at the map layout itself, the best way we can describe its unqiue characteristics is by comparing it to a few other Halo maps even though it was made very clear that Assembly is NOT a remake or inspiration map. To us though, Assembly is a bit like Midship, Ascension and Gridlock combined. It's a circular multi-level Covenant map (Midship) that uses a central multi-tiered focused layout (Warlock) where players call fall off the outer ledge or jump from outer platform to outer platform (Ascension). Collectively speaking, it's a medium sized circular experience with numerous nooks and crannies on the outside, ramps and lifts on the inner rim, a few towers on the sides and a central structure where the action seems to always be focused towards.

After playing a few rounds, we were intrigued by some of the map's "features" including the central most lower part of the map that houses the Gravity Hammer. It's an interesting location because the Hammer is surrounded by four explosive fusion cores and a few times we saw players toss in a grenade or two on an unsuspecting Hammer-whore which only resulted in a severely weakened Hammer-whore. Speaking of Assembly's central location, on the upper most level players will spot active camouflage floating in some sort of super charged light beam. This too is a perfect place to chuck grenades into to rack up a few double (or triple) kills. We also loved the map's outer towers where jumping along the wall and navigating up towards the platforms is encouraged and those who make it up alive will be treated with rockets. Explosively useful rockets at that.

Now you ask, how does it play? Surprisingly enough, Assembly may be our favorite Halo 3 multiplayer map yet. It's a nice mix of close quarters combat, open long range combat and risk versus reward scenarios that you don't see too much in other maps. At times it's chaotic, other times you'll feel like you're stalking your prey and at other times you'll wonder why you can't walk ten feet without being loaded full of BR bullets. Honestly, Assembly is a very well designed map.

After surviving the reading that was required by the wall of text, we're sure you want some visually entertaining Assembly footage. You're in luck! Here's over a minute and a half of some off-screen Halo 3 Assembly gameplay footage set to musical deliciousness that is Benny Hill. Enjoy.

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]]>assemblybungiebungie-studioshalo-3joystiqfeaturespax-08pax-2008Dustin Burg2008-08-31T14:00:00+00:00PAX 2008: Halo Mythic ain't mythical, it's here... sort ofhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/30/pax-2008-halo-mythic-aint-mythical-its-here-sort-of/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/30/pax-2008-halo-mythic-aint-mythical-its-here-sort-of/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/30/pax-2008-halo-mythic-aint-mythical-its-here-sort-of/#commentsFiled under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, First Person Shooters, Online

Is this what Microsoft was not so quietly sweeping under the carpet when they nixed the Bungie announcement during their E3 keynote? We have no clue as of yet, and all we can get out of Bungie is a "we can't talk about it." We're going to try and batter down Bungie's doors today to get more info.

So far, here's what we know. The menu screen says System Version 1.2, when the Halo 3 retail version is only at 1.1, and there's only a multiplayer option, no campaign. What does it all mean? We caught up with Bungie's Brian Jarrard who told us the screen was from a build that they brought on Friday that "wasn't really meant to be seen. However, it's really not that exciting, it's gotten kind of blown out of proportion."

While the shakey-cam photo above from Addict Gaming might be the only visual evidence of Mythic, it's definitely coming. At some point. Bungie wasn't forthcoming with details, but we'll see what we can find out.

[Thanks, Robert]

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]]>Brian-JarrardBungieHaloHalo-3MythicPAXPAX-08PAX-2008PAX08Kevin Kelly2008-08-30T16:00:00+00:00Bungie staffer gets Xbox Live account hackedhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/28/bungie-staffer-gets-xbox-live-account-hacked/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/28/bungie-staffer-gets-xbox-live-account-hacked/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/28/bungie-staffer-gets-xbox-live-account-hacked/#commentsFiled under: Culture, Hacks, Microsoft Xbox 360

Let this be a good reminder to always err on the side of caution when giving out your Xbox Live information ... that is to say, don't do it. MTV Multiplayer found out that Halo 3 multiplayer producer Joe Tung can list himself among the gamers who have had their XBL accounts compromised. "Representatives from Microsoft aided Joe in swiftly resolving the issue," said Luke Smith, who didn't provide other details.

One rather sneaky method of account stealing has been "social engineering," whereby the hacker in question calls up Microsoft service support and pretends to be the owner of the account and gains the sympathy of the customer service rep. Of course, the biggest tactic so far has involved promising one billion MS points with a simple click of the mouse. Protip: Don't give out your password, no matter how enticing a proposition is.

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]]>bungiehalo-3joe-tungxbox-liveRoss Miller2008-08-28T20:30:00+00:00Bungie: No new Forge features for Halo 3http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/26/bungie-no-new-forge-features-for-halo-3/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/26/bungie-no-new-forge-features-for-halo-3/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/26/bungie-no-new-forge-features-for-halo-3/#commentsFiled under: Microsoft Xbox 360, First Person Shooters

Bungie's latest community update takes an energy sword to rumors that sprung up following the developer's Edge Award for Interactive Innovation acceptance video. Specifically, the dev clarifies that, "There will be no insertion of Campaign objects, enemies or friendlies via the Forge as folks have speculated." Okay then. What else? Oh, yeah, no "new feature that implements Campaign objects into multiplayer" is in the works, either.

Seriously, folks ... let's be more ambitious with our rumors! The video is clearly hinting at the fact that Halo 4 won't be developed by Bungie, or even Gearbox, but by gamers themselves. That way, if you don't like the story or missions, you'll have no one to complain to but yourself.

[Via X3F]

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]]>bungieforgehalo-3halo-3-forgeRandy Nelson2008-08-26T04:01:00+00:00Microsoft releases its PAX schedule: Gears 2, Halo Wars, New Xbox Experiencehttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/25/microsoft-releases-its-pax-schedule-gears-2-halo-wars-new-xbo/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/25/microsoft-releases-its-pax-schedule-gears-2-halo-wars-new-xbo/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/25/microsoft-releases-its-pax-schedule-gears-2-halo-wars-new-xbo/#commentsFiled under: Microsoft Xbox 360, First Person Shooters, Online

Microsoft has released their partial game schedule for the upcoming Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle, and it's chock full of Gears of War 2, Halo Wars, and the New Xbox Experience ... experience. Sure there's plenty of other stuff happening at their booth as well, but we're drooling over these three right now, fetch the bibs. Hopefully those "TBA" slots mean there's going to be some surprises from ~~Bungie~~ someone, which will really kick our saliva glands into high gear.

If you're going to be at PAX, be sure and stop by for some hands-on time with these titles, and then search out one of your favorite Joystiq bloggers to pal around with. We'll be the ones with the plastic spit-shields on to keep the precious electronics dry.

Pictured: our inner child at the Microsoft PAX booth, via Gamerscoreblog's Flickr feed.

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]]>BungieEnsemble-StudiosGears-Of-WarGears-Of-War-2Halo-WarsMicrosoftNew-Xbox-ExperienceNXEPAX-2008Kevin Kelly2008-08-25T23:40:00+00:00Rumor: More concept art from 'revived' Halo moviehttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/15/rumor-more-concept-art-from-revived-halo-movie/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/15/rumor-more-concept-art-from-revived-halo-movie/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/15/rumor-more-concept-art-from-revived-halo-movie/#commentsFiled under: Culture, Microsoft Xbox, Microsoft Xbox 360

You may recall that, a little over than a week ago, some purported concept art for a Halo movie based on Eric Nylund's Halo: Fall of Reach novel surfaced on the web. If you don't, here's a convenient link back through time. Pretty nifty, huh?

So it's going on 10 days later and a new, less "Spartans in Spaaaaace!" piece of art has sprung up, appearing to depict our finest future-soldiers in training. Make with the clicking on the image above or Source link below for a larger version ... and keep hope alive that the fight for a Halo film is eventually finished.

[Thanks, tbone!]

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]]>bungiehalohalo-moviemicrosoftmoviesRandy Nelson2008-08-15T21:30:00+00:00Bungie acceptance video teases new Halo goodieshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/12/bungie-acceptance-video-teases-new-halo-goodies/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/12/bungie-acceptance-video-teases-new-halo-goodies/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/12/bungie-acceptance-video-teases-new-halo-goodies/#commentsFiled under: Culture, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, First Person Shooters, Online, Video

Bungie could have strutted all the way back to home base with the "2nd Annual Halo 3 award for Interactive Innovation" without saying a word, but the developer was graceful enough to record an extremely cool acceptance video taped somewhere within the Halo universe. And it looks like it's filled with some new Halo goodness.

Are these some teasing tidbits about a possible Map Editor? Check out that last shot when our soldier pal lobs a plasma grenade towards the camera. Verrrrrrrry interesting. It's definitely a lot more robust-looking than Halo 3's Forge editor. Also, those look like new AI models of past cast members ... including Cortana. Playable models? In-game NPCs that'll be on your squad? Cats and dogs, living together? Who knows. What's for sure is that Bungie is saying "the ride isn't over yet."

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]]>AIBungieHaloHalo-3improvementsmap-editorrumorsKevin Kelly2008-08-12T15:29:00+00:00Edge proclaims Halo 3 most innovative game of 2007, 2008http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/12/edge-proclaims-halo-3-most-innovative-game-of-2007-2008/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/12/edge-proclaims-halo-3-most-innovative-game-of-2007-2008/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/12/edge-proclaims-halo-3-most-innovative-game-of-2007-2008/#commentsFiled under: Culture, Microsoft Xbox 360, First Person Shooters

From a list of runners-up that included the likes of Grand Theft Auto IV, Portal, Super Mario Galaxy, and Wii Fit, UK games magazine Edge has awarded Halo 3 its 2008 "Edge Award for Interactive Innovation" with four months left in the year. The decision itself seems to lack a certain degree of, well, innovation, as Edge previously selected Halo 3 as the "Best Innovation" in games for ... 2007.

Upon bestowing this honor upon the game last year, Edge's staff stated, "[Bungie] built Halo 3 to express what its fans dreamt it could be: four player online co-op, a level editor, screenshots, and the best matchmaking system in the world." Eight months later, the game has garnered ~~nearly identical~~ equal praise, "From its Theater mode to Forge, and the way a party playing through Live can seamlessly manoeuvre between them, here is an experience that demonstrates an unparalleled understanding of the potential for console online play."

Could we be due for a Halo Three-peat in '09? Perhaps, if the trailblazing likes of Madden NFL 2009 or Soul Calibur IV don't make the short-list for this coveted honor.

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]]>awardsbungieedgehalo-3halo3Randy Nelson2008-08-12T13:28:00+00:00Bungie: Halo can learn from Call of Duty 4http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/06/bungie-halo-can-learn-from-call-of-duty-4/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/06/bungie-halo-can-learn-from-call-of-duty-4/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/06/bungie-halo-can-learn-from-call-of-duty-4/#commentsFiled under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, First Person Shooters

"We have a lot to learn from their success too, they did some very innovative things to keep people going and their experience-rewards system was something that we paid a lot of attention to." Is that any way to talk about your main Xbox Live competitor? Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Bungie's Lead AI Programmer, Damian Isla, had quite a few nice things to say about Infinity Ward's ridiculously successful shooter, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Isla joins a chorus of reviewers in praising the game's single-player campaign for its tight pacing and scripting, praising the developers for doing "a hell of a job with their set pieces, of scripting certain moments that they were really sure the player was going to actually see and experience first hand." Though Isla notes that Halo 3's gameplay is heavily dependent on simulation (meaning in-game physics and reactions, not reality), it still "has a lot to learn" from Call of Duty 4's tunnel of fun approach.

With Infinity Ward's next project rumored to be a sci-fi shooter, it seems the studios might soon be trading places outside of the Xbox Live rankings.

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]]>BungieCall-of-Duty-4COD4FPSHaloHalo-3Halo3Infinity-WardXbox-LiveLudwig Kietzmann2008-08-06T18:00:00+00:00Microsoft's Frank O'Connor hints at 'HaloCon', comments on 'Bungiegate'http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/26/microsofts-frank-oconnor-hints-at-halocon-comments-on-bung/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/26/microsofts-frank-oconnor-hints-at-halocon-comments-on-bung/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/26/microsofts-frank-oconnor-hints-at-halocon-comments-on-bung/#commentsFiled under: Culture, First Person Shooters

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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]]>breakingnewsbungiebungiegatecomic-con-2008conventionfrank-o-connorhalohaloconmicrosoftGriffin McElroy2008-07-26T20:00:00+00:00Bungie working on 'three distinct projects'http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/25/bungie-working-on-three-distinct-projects/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/25/bungie-working-on-three-distinct-projects/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/25/bungie-working-on-three-distinct-projects/#commentsFiled under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

Bungie is busy getting ready for next month's Penny Arcade Expo, but it isn't going to be revealing any new games at the event. Especially that one Microsoft doesn't want it talking about. This shouldn't be taken to mean that the company has nothing going on. Au contraire. According to its latest news update, the dev has not one but three new games in the works.

"Rest assured that when the time is right, we will be making announcements and talking about the stuff we're currently working on," the post reads, continuing, "At the moment we do have three distinct projects underway within Bungie - some familiar, some not. Some on a closer horizon, some quite far off."

Let's see - one of the games is a new Halo project, but the other two? We'll let you get creative in the comments section. Bonus points if the idea doesn't include pirates, pimps, or flaming ninjas.

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]]>bungiebungiegatepenny-arcade-expoRandy Nelson2008-07-25T21:30:00+00:00Bungie: E3 announcement cut 'no laughing matter'http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/24/bungie-e3-announcement-cut-no-laughing-matter/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/24/bungie-e3-announcement-cut-no-laughing-matter/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/24/bungie-e3-announcement-cut-no-laughing-matter/#commentsFiled under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

It's a case of "he said, he said" in the latest chapter of Bungiegate. This time around, the news centers on a comment made by Xbox senior VP Don Mattrick regarding Bungie president Harold Ryan's reaction to being told his company's new Halo game announcement was being struck from Microsoft's pre-E3 media briefing.

According to Eurogamer, the site was told by Mattrick during the show that Ryan had "just laughed" and said "We agree" upon receiving the news. Ryan recalls the conversation quite differently. ""Keeping things clean, I certainly didn't agree with the decision to delay our news until sometime after E3," he told Eurogamer today, adding, "Bungie is always concerned first and foremost with our fans. Whenever we are prevented from exceeding their positive expectations it is not a laughing matter." Oh snap. Begun, these Halo Wars have.

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]]>bungiedon-mattrickhaloharold-ryanmicrosoftRandy Nelson2008-07-24T22:00:00+00:00Microsoft pulled Halo announcement for a stupid reasonhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/17/microsoft-pulled-halo-announcement-for-a-stupid-reason/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/17/microsoft-pulled-halo-announcement-for-a-stupid-reason/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/17/microsoft-pulled-halo-announcement-for-a-stupid-reason/#commentsFiled under: Microsoft Xbox 360, E3, Business

Even the L.A. Times is caught up in Bungiegate - and it's getting (some) answers. The paper spoke with Xbox senior VP Don Mattrick, who told its writers that Microsoft decided to omit the announcement of the next Halo universe game from its pre-E3 press conference ... to save time.

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.

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]]>breakingnewsbungiee3-2008haloRandy Nelson2008-07-17T03:00:00+00:00Surprise! Mattrick says Bungie working on new Halo gamehttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/16/surprise-mattrick-says-bungie-working-on-new-halo-game/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/16/surprise-mattrick-says-bungie-working-on-new-halo-game/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/16/surprise-mattrick-says-bungie-working-on-new-halo-game/#commentsFiled under: Microsoft Xbox 360

In an interview with MTV News, Xbox bossman Don Mattrick confirmed that Bungie was indeed working on a new Halo game for Microsoft Game Studios. Asked to clarify if this project was either Ensemble Studios' upcoming Halo Wars or the still mysterious Peter Jackson Halo Chronicles project, Mattrick said neither. Evidently, this would be another Halo game. We know, you're shocked.

The real question is: Is Mattrick talking about the long-rumored Halo Recon Advanced Warfighter title or the recently teased game whose announcement was unceremoniously canceled? Or perhaps those two are one and the same? Regardless, Mattrick wasn't sharing that info; he quickly changed the subject.

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]]>BungieDon-MattrickE3-2008HaloChristopher Grant2008-07-16T05:16:00+00:00Microsoft's Phil Spencer on Bungie's missing E3 announcementhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/16/microsofts-phil-spencer-on-bungies-missing-e3-announcement/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/16/microsofts-phil-spencer-on-bungies-missing-e3-announcement/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/16/microsofts-phil-spencer-on-bungies-missing-e3-announcement/#commentsFiled under: Microsoft Xbox 360, E3

We had a chance to speak with newly appointed general manager of Microsoft Game Studios Phil Spencer earlier this afternoon but there's good news and bad news. The bad news: We spoke with him just a couple hours before Bungie announced that the very same Microsoft Game Studios "changed" plans to announce the game this week. The good news: We just so happened to ask Spencer about the lack of a Bungie announcement in Microsoft's press conference (as expected) and the publishing relationship with Bungie.

Spencer: "Our relationship with Bungie was always about a triple-A creative studio building content for our platform, and our working relationship brought about Halo 1, Halo 2, Halo 3 - which I think are great games. If that's the core of the relationship, creative people building content for our platforms, I don't think the relationship has changed. We have a relationship with a very talented studio who wants to create games for Xbox.

Joystiq: Speaking of Bungie, there wasn't any mention of Halo games or Halo projects during the presentation yesterday and there wasn't any mention of Bungie or Bungie working on any other projects. Bungie has been teasing something on their website for the last couple weeks, and it seems like they're ready to announce it but they're doing it independently of Microsoft. Is that indicative of any kind of change in that relationship - that they wouldn't have that game announced at the E3 conference?

Spencer: We focused the E3 event on games that are coming this holiday, from a first-party perspective. If you look at the games we talked about in the briefing, the games that you will see - Banjo, Viva Pinata, Fable 2, Gears of War 2, Lips, Scene It - these are all games that you're going to see this fall. That was the decision we made - we did the same thing last year, if you'll remember - to try and really introduce people to the games as they come towards completion, we'll show them what we have and what is coming. The relationship to Bungie and the projects that we're working on together - we don't have anything to announce today - but it's in our plans.

it's not clear if Spencer is saying that whatever project Bungie is working on wouldn't have been available this year (rumors be damned) and that explains its absence from E3. We'll publish the rest of the interview as soon as we're done transcribing it.

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]]>BreakingNewsBungieE3-2008HaloPhil-SpencerChristopher Grant2008-07-16T01:26:00+00:00Bungie: E3 game announcement pulled by publisher [Updated!]http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/15/bungie-e3-game-announcement-pulled-by-publisher/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/15/bungie-e3-game-announcement-pulled-by-publisher/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/15/bungie-e3-game-announcement-pulled-by-publisher/#commentsFiled under: Microsoft Xbox 360

After weeks of speculation regarding their new project, Bungie just updated their site with the sobering news that plans to announce the game at E3 "were just changed by [its] publisher." We can only assume that that publisher is none other than Microsoft Game Studios; if so, it's certainly not a promising sign for the newly freed Bungie's publishing relationship with former parent company Microsoft.

We've put requests into Bungie and Microsoft. Read Bungie pres Harold Ryan's message after the break. (Note there's no mention of the publisher; looks like they want to keep it clean).

[Update: We just heard back from Bungie's Luke "Luke Smith" Smith who tells us, "We still have an exclusive publishing agreement with Microsoft, as we confirmed when we announced the split last year. That arrangement has not changed." So, there you have it. No word back from the Big M. Update 2: Luke's keeping busy. He left two comments on NeoGAF (here and here) not only assuring skeptics that this was in fact not a part of the game's marketing plan ("not our style") and that Bungie's publisher is, indeed, Microsoft.

Update 3: Those sleuths at X3F have noticed a sort of reversal in Bungie's teasing: references to the superintendent in Halo 3 have been removed. Update 4: We interviewed Microsoft Game Studio's Phil Spencer earlier this afternoon, just before this news broke, but conveniently we had already asked him about the absence of Bungie's game at the Microsoft press conference. Read his comments here.

Update 5: Xboss Don Mattrick has confirmed that Bungie is in fact working on a new Halo title. Whether or not this unannounced project is that title is unclear. Update 6 (17 July): Mattrick tells the L.A. Times the Bungie announcements was cut to -- get this -- save time. After all, they had an "embarrassment of riches" as it was.]

From: Harold Ryan
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 7:00 PM
Subject: E3 Announce

For the last several months, we've been building toward a reveal of something exciting that Bungie is working on. We were looking forward to sharing that with our fan community during the week of E3. However, those plans were just changed by our publisher.

We realize that many of our fans are disappointed by this turn of events; members of the Bungie team share that disappointment.

When the right time comes, we look forward to sharing this exciting announcement with you. Until then, we appreciate your continued support and patience.

Harold Ryan
President
Bungie LLC

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]]>BreakingNewsBungieE3-2008MicrosoftChristopher Grant2008-07-15T22:15:00+00:00Bungie.net countdown tells us to calm down, keep it cleanhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/14/bungie-net-countdown-tells-us-to-calm-down-keep-it-clean/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/14/bungie-net-countdown-tells-us-to-calm-down-keep-it-clean/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/14/bungie-net-countdown-tells-us-to-calm-down-keep-it-clean/#commentsFiled under: E3

Seems like we're inching closer to that July 14th announcement Bungie is supposed to make today. Bungie.net has been updated with a new countdown, which refreshes with a new message:

Keep it clean
Please remain calm
Services will resume
No public access
Emergency lights active
Proceed with caution

What will it be? Halo Blue? A XBLA game? Or something entirely different?

[Thanks to everyone that sent this in!]

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]]>bungiebungie.nete3-2008Andrew Yoon2008-07-14T15:30:00+00:00Wal-Mart database shows entry for Halo "Blue"http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/14/wal-mart-database-shows-entry-for-halo-blue/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/14/wal-mart-database-shows-entry-for-halo-blue/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/14/wal-mart-database-shows-entry-for-halo-blue/#commentsFiled under: Microsoft Xbox 360

Click to embiggen

A trusted Wal-Mart source has sent Joystiq an image taken from the company's intranet, "The Wire," showing a listing for Halo "Blue." We've also received an unverified tip detailing Halo "Blue," though it's unclear whether that information stems from the same retail listing. With so little information available about what Blue is, we're guessing the shown Sept. 30 date is placeholder. The Microsoft press conference is in less than 12 hours, so stay tuned.

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]]>bungiee3-2008expansionhalohalo-3halo-blackhalo-bluehalo3wal-martAlexander Sliwinski2008-07-14T03:00:00+00:00Speculation: Bungie to debut XBLA title tomorrowhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/13/speculation-bungie-to-debut-xbla-title-tomorrow/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/13/speculation-bungie-to-debut-xbla-title-tomorrow/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/13/speculation-bungie-to-debut-xbla-title-tomorrow/#commentsFiled under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Online

Based on their overt teasing, we're willing to bet Bungie is announcing a new game tomorrow. An unverified tip to Joystiq said that whatever game is announced Monday will be out this year. Assuming this isn't Halo Recon Advanced Warfighter or Peter Jackson's Halo project, one potential candidate for such a title with a short development time would be Xbox Live Arcade. A recent countdown rumored to be connected to Bungie (and once counting down to tomorrow) has changed to now end on August 7 just after 7:00 pm PT, although a WHOIS query of the site doesn't add credence to the rumored connection.

Compounding the rumor is Bungie's mysterious fixation with "The Superintendent." Who's the superintendent? We're glad you asked. He's the icon shown above who as far back as May has been popping up on Bungie t-shirts, in their news posts and forums and in the recent Bungie Day gamerpics pack as the unacknowledged eighth gamerpic. So are we barking up the wrong tree? We'll find out for sure tomorrow.

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]]>bungiehalorumorsuperintendentthe-superintendentRoss Miller2008-07-13T20:30:00+00:00