Realm Media Networks - Halo 3

Microsoft needlessly markets to 1 million Halo 3 customers

Luke Wallace — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 15:17:43 -0700

The media blitz has begun for Halo 3, the biggest title Microsoft is pushing this year for the Xbox 360. With the release on September 25 only a few weeks away, logos and artwork are beginning to appear everywhere, from 7-11 to Burger King. Preorders for the new Bungie title have already reached the one million mark, and you can tell Microsoft is excited.

"What we've experienced is nothing short of phenomenal," said Bob McKenzie, senior vice president of merchandising at GameStop Corp. "Halo 3 has eclipsed many previous records and will prove to be one of the must-have items of 2007."

Mountain Dew is launching a limited-edition drink called Game Fuel with extra caffeine and a slightly different flavor, and has been promoting this new product at events like the recent WSVG event in Dallas. Pontiac is giving away 1,000 copies of the game, along with a Halo 3 G6 GXP Street car. With displays popping up at every video game store, and various retailers around the country, Microsoft is comparing the advertising to the levels of a movie. Most movies with this much marketing have a video game tie-in, but luckily for gamers the Halo 3 movies are the tie-in for the game.

View our Halo 3 Image Gallery

Halo 3 Preorders Pass One Million Mark [Xbox.com]

Hey, Guess What?!

Jonathan Wilcox — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 23:00:03 -0700

Halo stole their theme music from a little SNES game called Solstice. Check it out. I'm tired and lazy, but I'll post a comparison soon.

Halo 3 Beta extended through June 10

Luke Wallace — Thu, 17 May 2007 08:13:43 -0700

The Halo 3 Beta launched yesterday with a problem that some considered very serious. Users who had purchased Crackdown in an effort to secure a Halo 3 Beta invite were unable to download the game as promised. Although the problem has since been fixed, Microsoft and Bungie have extended the beta period by a few days to June 10, 2007. This allows one more weekend of play before their free multiplayer testing is complete.

No one's going to complain about another weekend of free online multiplayer in one of the hottest games coming out this year, and any more time for Microsoft and Bungie to get gamers hooked is good for them.

For screenshots from Halo 3, visit our Halo 3 Gallery, and for pictures from the Beta process, visit our Halo 3 Beta Gallery

Halo 3 Public Beta Initial Impressions

Andrew Linder — Wed, 16 May 2007 07:43:46 -0700

As all of you probably know, the Halo 3 Beta went live this morning for those people who managed to get an invite through Friends and Family, the Rule of Three campaign, and the initial Public Registration. The Halo 3 beta download accessed through Crackdown is currently down, although Frankie from Bungie has assured everyone that they are working on the problem.

As for the Beta, my initial impressions are good. The download is 911MB, and took roughly 10 minutes on my cable modem. Matchmaking has been quite fast considering there are only 2500 or so people playing right now. The new weapons are a blast, with the Spartan Laser being one of the most fun, albeit challenging weapons in the new maps. Play seems rather balanced already, and the graphics are much improved over Halo 2. Frankie was right, you’ve got see the water. The Bubble Shield has added a whole new twist to the game, allowing you cover not only inside it, but also behind it. This allows you to arc a grenade over it without being shot by the enemy.

My only gripe thus far is the X button, which used to for reloading and has now been dubbed the "Everything Button." I find myself hitting it constantly during battle, deploying whatever item I have picked up. I'm sure I will get used to this over time, and it is just an initial annoyance during the adjustment period.

The only feature I wish we would see with Halo 3 that hasn't been announced is a Local Only gametype. See it as a throwback to the days when everyone would get together for weekly Halo LAN games. When Halo 2 came along, that all went out the window because everyone was able to play from home and didn't have to share screens. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but most gamers need encouragement to get out of the house once in a while, not stay home to play Halo 2 with their friends over Xbox Live.

Overall I am very pleased with this game, and can't wait to get the full version when it is released on September 25, 2007.

For more quick pics of the Halo 3 Beta interface, visit our Halo 3 Beta gallery

Microsoft gets free software testers for Halo 3 on May 16

Luke Wallace — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 08:28:20 -0700

Microsoft today confirmed the dates for the highly-anticipated Halo 3 beta program, in which players from all over the world will be able to fight against each other in the latest incarnation of the popular Bungie Franchise. Although not a public beta, Microsoft had a "Rule of Three" promotion to gather participants, and early copies of the game 'Crackdown' came with an invite into the beta, once it is available. The Microsoft press release has more details:

When gamers gather online to play the multiplayer beta via Xbox LIVE in May, they will be treated to three richly detailed, action-oriented maps: Snowbound, High Ground and Valhalla, which represent a mixture of large- and medium-scale combat environments and are brand-new to “Halo 3.” Each map will test gamers’ mettle as they are placed behind the controls of new “Halo 3” vehicles such as the agile Mongoose all-terrain vehicle, and armed with deadly weapons such as the new and improved Assault Rifle, the ferocious Brute Spiker, the devastating Spartan Laser and the treacherous new Spike Grenades. This is just a taste of what gamers will experience later this fall when “Halo 3” goes on sale.

Halo 2 is still immensely popular, with thousands of players online at any given time, and Halo 3 is expected to follow suit. Microsoft needs to test the capabilities of their service, and so a beta program is necessary. Hopefully gamers will be forgiving of the service during the beta period, as the servers will likely be tested under extreme duress. The goal during this brief period is not to provide a free Halo experience to ever gamer, but to test the multiplayer service that is likely to be in use for many years.

The beta program will run from 5 AM Pacific Time (or Microsoft Time) on May 19th through June 6th at 11:59 PM. The people getting up early to sit in front of the TV on that Saturday will not be just the usual kids, it may be older brothers back from college and even grown men who left friday night's party early to be home for the most anticipated beta in history.

“Halo 3” Multiplayer Beta Hits Xbox LIVE Worldwide on May 16 [Microsoft.com]

Microsoft Enlists Master Chief to Counter PlayStation 3's Launch Assault

Jeff Greeson — Mon, 16 May 2005 12:22:04 -0700

It has been rumored before that Microsoft and Bungie weren't going to have the sequel to Halo 2 ready for the November 2005 launch of Xbox 360. Now instead sounding like a delay, Microsoft has turned the tardiness of the next Halo into a weapon to combat PlayStation 3 sales. Sony has been cautious in releasing details of the next PlayStation, sticking to the industry standard of 5 year hardware cycles. We're expecting to see the PlayStation 3 in late 2006, and that is when Bill Gates, with great brilliance, has confirmed to Time Magazine that the sequel to Halo 2 is going to be released in conjuction with Sony's launch of the PlayStation 3. Stealing the thunder to Sony's launch will help Microsoft maintain their supposed install-base lead. Sony currently does not have a major must-have franchise locked up in exclusivity yet. GTA may be the closest, but the sales figures for Halo 2 do not lie. Halo is the saving grace of Microsoft's foray into the console gaming arena. Without Halo, Xbox would not be in the position it is today.

Halo 3 parrying PlayStation 3 launch [GameSpot]