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Microsoft hiring for Project Natal and Halo

by David Hinkle { Nov 6th 2009 at 5:00PM }

A variety of new job listings have emerged on a Microsoft employment site, including positions for Project Natal and -- perhaps more interesting -- positions for a new Halo game. These listings for Halo, likely for Halo: Reach, call for designers, AI developers and animators -- even a multiplayer game design lead.

As for Project Natal, some listings point to "a large franchise," whereas others quote "an excellent next-generation" project -- which could be just about anything. We confirmed with Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb that the listings were legit, though he couldn't provide us with any more info beyond that.

[Via HotBloodedGaming]

Rumor: First screens, details for Halo Reach leaked

by Xav de Matos { Nov 5th 2009 at 6:48PM }

MLG forum user (and MS Paint fanatic) ToM MoReLLo claims to have played Halo: Reach, and was somehow able to nab multiple blurry screenshots of the game as evidence. Now, when we say blurry we mean blurry. In fact, the classic images of Bigfoot were of higher quality than some of these screens. Perhaps our natural skepticism is taking over, but we're taking these images with a rather large grain of salt.

As for details, the forum post claims Reach will feature squad-based combat and perks, similar to that of Modern Warfare. Squad-based mechanics certainly make sense, considering former Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter creative director Christian Allen joined Bungie in 2007. But again, grain of salt.

Halo: Reach -- Bungie's final title in the Halo universe -- is expected to ship in 2010. Microsoft has yet to reply to our request for a comment on the images.

[Via Shacknews & NeoGAF]

ODST reaches 2.5 million sales; Haloverse expansions detailed

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 8th 2009 at 10:28AM }

After yesterday's full-fledged assault on mainstream gaming news coverage, we were refreshed to read this great USA Today report on the current state of the Halo franchise. Sure, it further promotes the tired opinion that Bungie's ever-popular shooter is set to overtake the Star Wars franchise in the cultural marketplace. However, it backs up that assertion with startling figures: According to the report, Halo 3: ODST has sold 2.5 million units in the past two weeks, bringing the total sales for the entire franchise up to a cool 27 million.

Additionally, USA Today further supports its thesis by compiling a list of the future franchise spin-offs, including -- *deep breath* -- Halo: Reach, the Halo: Blood Line comic series, Halo Legends, Halo Waypoint, the Halo: Evolutions novel (and another heretofore unnamed book trilogy), and more McFarlane toys. Some may accuse this franchise of succumbing to over-saturation -- we think it crossed that bridge around the time it got its own Mountain Dew.

Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach beta bundled with Halo machine

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Sep 16th 2009 at 1:45PM }

While entirely devoid of ill-fitting iconic helmets, one of Microsoft's new Xbox 360 Elite bundles -- designated for European markets, judging by the rating information on the box -- offers everything you need to stride 'n' strafe into the Halo universe. It's no "Super Elite," but the 120GB package offers a fair amount of elites to shoot at in the included Halo 3, its upcoming expansion, Halo 3: ODST, and (consequently) the beta for next year's Halo game, Reach. As usual, Microsoft has thrown in a one-month Xbox Live Gold membership, which is just long enough for you to realize that you can never ever beat the internet at Halo.

Prices are sure to vary from region to region (fun fact: it goes for roughly $580 in South Africa), so have a look on your shelves at the start of October, which is when retailers expect the bundle to drop in.

Halo will incorporate Natal 'when it makes sense'

by Richard Mitchell { Sep 11th 2009 at 7:30PM }

Speaking to VideoGamer.com, Halo 3: ODST producer Alex Cutting said that the Halo series will only incorporate Microsoft's motion-sensing Natal "when it makes sense." Cutting noted, "We're going to make the games we want to play," adding that the company "will definitely investigate it," though he didn't elaborate on any plans Bungie might have.

Regarding the feasibility of Natal control for first-person shooter, Cutting says that many doubted console FPS play before the advent of dual analog sticks. In other words, there's room to see controls evolve again. Cutting concluded that he wouldn't "bet against" Natal, saying, "There is a lot that can be done with it."

Joystiq readers will recall that Bungie boss Harold Ryon stated earlier this year that he "absolutely" thought Natal could work in Halo: Reach. Given Reach's likely proximity to the Natal launch, and Halo's massive following, we don't think it's reaching too far to assume it will incorporate the device in some way.

'If people love it,' Halo's Firefight mode could be added to Reach

by Ben Gilbert { Sep 7th 2009 at 11:45AM }

Halo 3: ODST's ~~survival~~ ~~horde~~ Firefight Mode is probably the most notable addition to the upcoming Halo 3 expansion from Bungie Studios. With Halo: Reach headed to consoles next Fall, the developer had left the possibility of the new mode's inclusion in that project up in the air ... at least until now. Speaking with Eurogamer at PAX 2009, Bungie community manager Brian Jarrard said Firefight could very well make it into Halo: Reach -- "if people love it," that is.

"I don't think we've ever been known to really take things away from each successive release, so I think it's safe to say that if Firefight gets a lot of traction and people love it, it probably has a good future home in our next title as well," Jarrard said. Shh! Nobody bring up the battle rifle!

Gallery: Halo 3: ODST

Bungie reveals new Halo 3: ODST campaign level, 'Kizingo Boulevard'

by Ben Gilbert { Sep 4th 2009 at 1:40PM }

Save for the one story mission we saw at E3 2009 and the character introduction trailer, Halo 3:ODST's single-player campaign hasn't seen heavy exposure from developer Bungie. That all changed last night, when GTTV got a hold of design director Paul Bertone, who revealed "Kizingo Boulevard," a tank-based level that follows an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper from "kind of in the middle of the story."

Later in the episode, Bungie's creative director, Joe Staten, teased a bit of info regarding next year's Halo: Reach, saying, "We're really excited about telling a story with more Spartans in it." Host Geoff Keighley pushes Staten on squad-based Halo rumors and receives an interesting answer: "Without any of the baggage of sort of squad-based combat, I think that would be a safe assumption." Maybe we'll finally find out what happened to Linda, Fred, and Kelly!

... we did not just write that.

Gallery: Halo 3: ODST

Continued →

How to reach the Reach beta on ODST

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 22nd 2009 at 2:00PM }

Bungie is trying to make entry into Halo: Reach's beta as easy as possible -- at least if you pick up Halo 3 ODST next month. Bungie explained to Joystiq at GamesCom ODST's main menu will host an "extras" tab, which will contain access to the Reach beta once it activates sometime next year.

Bungie considers the beta to be "a big part of the value of the disc." And as much as the studio hopes that the beta launch will "work like buttah," we're already preparing to shut down our tips box on that day to stop the whining wave of entitlement ~~when~~ if something ~~inevitably~~ goes wrong.

Microsoft says Halo Chronicles is 'on hold' - doesn't use the 'C' word

by Ben Gilbert { Jul 28th 2009 at 5:30PM }

While Microsoft wouldn't say that Halo Chronicles was "canceled" – Peter Jackson told us during the San Diego Comic-Con that the ambitious episodic series was "no longer happening" – it did confirm to us that the project was "on hold." Today, Microsoft hasn't outright confirmed the partnership's end, but clarified the project's current status.

"Microsoft Game Studios is deeply committed to supporting and strategically growing the Halo franchise, and our relationship with Peter and his team is something that we greatly value. Given the bandwidth of both of our companies we've decided to put this joint effort on hold and prioritize resources against other projects like Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach and Halo Legends."

Jackson's manager re-confirmed to the Company Town blog that the collaboration between Microsoft and Jackson had ended allegedly as early as last January. Microsoft has yet to comment on what role it plays in Wingnut Interactive, Jackson's game production company, said to be "still working on new IP."

Bungie says Halo: Reach is its last Halo game, working on new IP with new publisher

by Ben Gilbert { Jul 24th 2009 at 6:14PM }

Let's face it, folks -- ten years is a long time to be working on a single franchise. That ten years could feel like a lot more when you're rarely on break, back in the development seat for another new Halo nearly every two years. Such is the tale for ex-Microsoft developer Bungie Studios, who told IGN UK at this week's San Diego Comic-Con, "After Reach that's it for us." Meaning that after next year's Halo: Reach ships to stores, Bungie is out of the alien killin', FPS genre -- at least those starring members of the UNSC, that is.

Though Bungie's Lars Bakken doesn't go into tons of detail about the studio's next game, he does say, "We're already working on a new IP that we can't talk about yet ... we've done a lot of different styles - first person to third person to RTS - so it could be anything." Eurogamer found out earlier in the day from Bakken that the upcoming game has yet to find a publisher, though Bungie is currently in talks with various companies and he says, "those talks are, I guess, close." Future Halo titles (you thought Reach was the last?) will be handled by 343 Industries, the recently trademarked, Microsoft-owned studio.

We contacted Bungie for comment on Mr. Bakken's comments and were told, "While it's great to see so much public interest over what the future holds for Bungie, we're not ready to talk about any plans or games beyond Halo 3: ODST or Halo: Reach. It's no secret that we've had multiple projects in development nor that we've also been working on original IP in tandem to our Halo titles but our focus right now is on our two upcoming releases. We'll have more to say when the time is right."

Source 1 - IGN UK
Source 2 - Eurogamer

It's no stretch that Halo: Reach could use Natal

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jun 29th 2009 at 1:30PM }

It appears that Halo: Reach may be a warm-up exercise for Natal sales. Bungie Studio President Harold Ryan tells the Seattle Times that he "absolutely" thinks that Reach could use Microsoft's motion-sensing peripheral (provided both launched around the same time frame).

Let's take a look at why Project Natal + Halo makes sense:

The Halo name has helped sell other iffy propositions like Halo Wars.
The game is already called Reach, come on.
This answers the question: "How is MS going to get core gamers to buy/upgrade to Natal?"

However, then we must ask: "Do core gamers want to actually exercise with their Halo?" This gamer's biggie-sized core politely responds, "As long as it involves fries and a shake after."

E3 2009 highlights: The Xbox roundup

by James Ransom-Wiley { Jun 12th 2009 at 11:45AM }

E3 was brütal! If you blinked, for a split/second, you missed something. Even if you were trine to keep up, it was a blur -- staying a.wake like that, you only pushed yourself to the brink of your own dark void. That's where Joystiq comes in; to crackdown on the madness; to reach out ... with conviction -- phew! Crysis averted.

We've scoured the dark corners and survived the inferno to piece together this roundup of all things Xbox at E3. Why? Just 'cause we love you. So, draw nier and shift your eyes past the break.

Continued →

Halo: Reach is an FPS

by Justin McElroy { Jun 3rd 2009 at 2:27PM }

It took a little doing on our part, but we've finally got a new detail for you about Halo: Reach. Are you ready for this? It's an FPS. Actually, Microsoft's John Schappert told us "Of course it's an FPS," which seemed a little cheeky from a company that recently released a Halo RTS. But who are we to judge?

So, there you go. FPS. And also ... no, that's it. But hey, it's something, right?

Here's the Halo: Reach E3 trailer

by David Hinkle { Jun 1st 2009 at 5:20PM }

Microsoft's keynote held a big surprise in Halo: Reach, and we've finally got a direct-feed version of what was shown there for one and all to enjoy. It's worth watching for, well ... because it's Halo.

Gallery: Halo: Reach

Bungie confirms Halo: Reach, beta included with Halo 3: ODST

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Jun 1st 2009 at 2:37PM }

Glimpsed briefly at Microsoft's E3 press conference: A teaser trailer for Halo: Reach! You're lucky to have us deliver you some incredibly surprising and well-researched facts! Here they come:

Bungie and Microsoft are working on a new Halo game, called Halo: Reach.
It's out in 2010.
Purchasing Halo 3: ODST will net you entry into the Halo: Reach Xbox Live multiplayer beta.
You will probably buy it.