Hartley's Oath - IP CHECKED - APPROVED

[Janeway]

However you have had umpteen replacements and mine is... well my first console. It does indeed have the RRoD and I haven't seen cause to rectify this problem but I may in September and for the Halo CE revamp - which may just be the greatest news ever (I honestly do not care about a Halo 4, 5 & 6 - they're just milking it now.)

Very true. Although, Halo: CE's remake is just as much of them milking the franchise as Halo 4, 5, and 6 will be.

[Wh1skers]

I still have Legacy lying around somewhere.

To be honest, I don't think they're milking Halo. When it's such a big universe, there's lots of scope for new stories and characters so they can keep it fresh and interesting. As long as they don't fall into annual releases the games should still be good I think.

[Zion]

Im jsut worried because I dont think microsoft will put the love that bungie did.

[Wh1skers]

Well yeah, that's somewhat true.

The problem is, people are so against change in the video games industry. TV Programmes and films can undergo massive changes and remain successful, but with a game it's most likely their fans will hate the changes.

Personally, I'm looking forward to the new games. I can't wait to see what they're going to be like. New characters, new enemies, and it seems they're going to delve deeper into the Master Chief's mind - he's not at 100% mental health after all that he's been through. (Could be brilliant, as long as they don't go overboard. I do not want to see Chief crying thank you.)

[Zion]

I would love to see him meet up with the survivng spartan II and III's traped on the safe world

[Costello]

Another Halo trilogy - regardless of what possible opportunity to expand the narrative there exists - is definitely milking a franchise. Bungie said they would stop at Halo 3. However it did not make corporate sense, I picture a board meeting with a Microsoft Xbox Games Studios representative informing Bungie's head-honcho that it would not be commercially viable to 'stop there'. You see Microsoft adopts an archaic but countlessly proven effective strategy, milk a cash-cow until the assets are no longer marketable. That is exactly what we shall witness, no doubt Bungie will do well, but at the heart of it this is a Mario Galaxy 2 in progress and we know it. Although the Halo CE remake is an example of that, it's 343, and they are much more dedicated to the Halo lore than Bungie so I feel it will be a testament to that first epic instalment and thus worthy of purchase. Halo 4, 5 and 6 will be as impersonal and superficial as their numbered titles.

[Janeway]

Well yeah, that's somewhat true.

The problem is, people are so against change in the video games industry. TV Programmes and films can undergo massive changes and remain successful, but with a game it's most likely their fans will hate the changes.

(...)

What you have to understand Craig is that it isn't so much of what industry we're talking about but rather what market audience as to whether or not people are so against change. The primary audience for Halo and games of that nature are in fact anti-social pimpled face people (I say that with all the love and care in the world for anyone who may fall into that audience). This can be easily seen by going on Xbox LIVE and playing a game of matchmaking where anyone who's socially adept can tell that these people haven't seen the light of day in weeks. As a result of this, these people have more times on their hand and therefore take to the internet where they voice their opinion about every little thing that goes against the "story" or the "gameplay." They also take space away from Youtube cat videos for their "examinations of why previous game X was better then current game Y."

This is why games of the same akin as Angry Birds (Angry Birds > Halo) and Facebook games don't receive the same criticism with each new iteration of the game (Angry Birds Rio was definitively different from the original Angry Birds). It's a totally different audience. Just like with television and film productions. The minority becomes the majority and the majority becomes the minority.

And then you have the people that want a deep and emotional story in a Michael Bay film or they otherwise think it's bad but that's a whole other story...

In the end however, they are indeed milking Halo now. You don't make Halo 3's intertitle "finish the fight" to simply start a new fight four years later because they couldn't come up with something original. I guess I'll just have to look forward to Halo 5: Master Chief and Friends!

Also @ Zion, you're probably right. Also I don't particularly like Microsoft anyway

Everyone secretly cheers for the underdog. Even if your the one on top. The difference is, some just publicly do it.

[Wh1skers]

I see where you're all coming from. Nonetheless, I am looking forward to Halo 4 and can't wait to see what it will be like.

[Zion]

I cant wait either and I know people were concerned about him popping off a jet pack but I think thats just microsoft letting us know they want to continue the the support abilites that were in halo reach.

What does concern me is that the video just didnt have the same polish that bungie would have given it. maybe it was just rushed to make E3

[Hartley]

I'm all for a new Halo game, I just hope we don’t get a new Halo game every year, and Microsoft/343 doesn’t destroy what Bungie created.