Video games are still seen as somewhat of a “fringe” medium. Despite the millions upon millions of consoles sold worldwide, video games are largely viewed outside of mainstream media.
In Hollywood, where Jamie Kennedy movies can still make money and unholy spawn such as 2004’s Van Helsing-from which I have still not recovered-can make $120 million in the United States alone, the view that video games are outside the norm could have been justified. With the release of Halo 3, Microsoft hopes to change that.
“What’s the big deal?”
Unless you’ve been hanging out in the Amish town of Arthur, Ill., for the last calendar year, you have no doubt heard about Halo 3. The game from Microsoft-owned studio Bungie for Microsoft’s Xbox 360, is the newest installment in possibly the most successful video game franchise of all time.
“Just how popular is this series?”
The first two Halo games for the original Xbox sold 14.8 million copies, combined. Halo 2 was still the most-played game on Microsoft’s online “Xbox Live” service until the release of Halo 3-a full three years after its initial release. The first game all but saved the original Xbox, and the second game made $125 million in its first 24 hours.
That record for highest media sales was later broken by the opening weekend intake of Spider-Man 3 ($151 million).
Not to be outdone, Microsoft launched an all-out media blitz promoting Halo 3. Everything from Mountain Dew and 7-Eleven to midnight openings of electronics stores and Halo 3 decked-out versions of Xbox gear were all aimed at pumping up the buzz about Microsoft’s new cash cow.
Whether it was pure over-saturation or an attempt to reach out to people who were not already Halo fanatics, Microsoft’s ploy worked. Halo 3 made roughly $170 million in its first 24 hours, snapping Spider-Man 3‘s record-breaking weekend. Not that Microsoft had much work to do; more than a million copies of the game were pre-ordered months before the release.
“So what?”
Microsoft gets a boost in revenue in a division still dipping in the red. It’s not just the initial sales of the game. Halo games have a longevity most other games don’t. Halo 2’s online success was enough to keep many gamers paying Xbox Live’s $50 annual subscription fee just to play. Halo 3 will likely meet or exceed that same number of people paying to play online.
Despite its success, Microsoft, and every other producer of game consoles, is getting hammered by Nintendo’s Wii in sales. Microsoft is hoping that Halo 3 might entice a few more people to buy a 360 instead of the Wii. Since Microsoft owns Bungie, Halo games are Xbox exclusives, which may spur Halo 2 fans to finally take the plunge and upgrade to a 360.
There’s also the future of the Halo franchise. A Halo-themed strategy game is planned for next year, a film adaptation has been rumored to be in the works for years and Peter Jackson, director of the excellent Lord of the Rings film trilogy, is tied to Microsoft to develop at least one game set in Halo’s universe.
“So forget the hype; is it worth it? Can’t I just take my $60 and go see Good Luck Chuck six times?”
Well, crazy person, in a word, yes. In two words: yes, absolutely. For anyone who merely liked one or both of the first two Halo games, there’s more than enough here to entertain.
A fairly good, albeit action-movie-esque, story with fun game play that you can play by yourself or with friends online, a robust multiplayer mode that’s fun online and off and a map editor with multiplayer support that promises more than its fair share of goofing off. Feel like dropping a car on top of your friend? Do it.
Halo 3 breaks the mold, too. The game automatically saves every game you play in any mode. You can then choose to save it permanently, clip out favorite segments and take a screenshot. Screenshots are automatically uploaded to profiles at Bungie’s website for computer use, and you can tag up to six of your favorite clips and pictures as “File Shares.”
Then anyone, friend or stranger, encountering you online can choose to download and watch your game movie. They can also cruise your profile on the website and select your film, and it will immediately start downloading the next time they log on Halo 3.
In addition, you can upload maps and game types that you or your friends have created for others to download and try out. It is like YouTube-esque format where participants had virtually no creative control before.
So for all the Halo hype, there is quite a bit of substance.
The producers have made a revolutionary change for the industry both in game features and sales figures. The game promises to both inspire copycats and keep people online for a long time to come.
It is just the thing Halo fans and Microsoft have been waiting for.
