Yes, there’s quite a demand for Bungie’s newest creation, and it still has a while to hit the shelves.

According to Xbox Evolved, preorders for Halo 3 have topped 4,000,000 units, making it the “most preordered video game of all time.” Yes, much like the demand for a good movie, the demand for this video game has skyrocketed.

And why? Well, let’s just face it: Halo and Halo 2 rocked.

Talk about some exciting new features. Along with an interview with “Mr. Jukes,” you can download the footage here.

My favorite part was watching people get stalked.
Read the full article »

 

Well, May 8th has come and gone, and something seems amiss. There’s a void lingering in the air; an enormous absence bearing heavy on my soul. Ah, that’s right: Halo2 for Windows Vista should be out now. But no. Instead we get news that it’s been held back until May 22 so the developers can fix some technical issues. And now we can only hope that it will actually come out then.

In this week’s Bungie Update, it’s been revealed that on May 15th, the day before the Beta goes live, Bungie will be releasing a Beta guide containing FAQs, tips, tricks, map guides and more. As far as the beta itself goes, the update states, “The code itself is about 99.99% complete, and it’s in the final test and certification stages (fingers crossed).” Bungie also revealed that there will be a secret, ‘Friends and Family’ level in the public beta. Actually, it sounds like it will basically be a preselected group of players who will receive the beta a few days earlier than everyone else.

Reference was also made to the leaked beta footage that has popped up since the internal beta began. “Naturally we’ve had our share of leaks from the internal beta, and while it makes us angry that some people want to ruin the surprise for others, the real joy of the Beta is in the playing.”

In addition, Bungie thinks they have solved all the issues with downloading the “Blastacular Map Pack” for Halo 2.

The co-founder and former CEO of Bungie, Alex Seropian, is praising the decision to downsize E3 this year. Seropian said, “I’ve got to say, it’s a huge relief. As a developer, E3 brought its share of excitement. There’s a lot of attention put on the industry and if you’ve got something that’s debuting or being shown, it’s very exciting. But more often than not, it ends up being a huge drain on resources to focus and to prepare for an event that really, from a developer’s perspective, did not seem to serve any purpose whatsoever.” He went on to say that he felt the old E3 benefited publishers more than developers, and then said, “It was really a big strokefest for the publishers to see who could make the most noise.”

While I would agree that the old E3 was a huge resource drain, it’s hard for me to refer to it as serving no purpose. I’ve seldom experienced anything that came close to the grandeur of E3, and that I will miss. Oh, and the booth babes too, of course.

Here’s an interesting look into the new Halo book called Halo Effect: An Unauthorized Look at the Most Successful Video Game of All Time.

Retrospectives are always fun, and it definitely is cool to see how Halo evolved both as a game and a cult phenomenon. From kind of a cool first-person-shooter to a game that could get a person in trouble.

The roots? Well, for instance, one author in the book wrote, “There was a time no one outside of Bungie cared about Halo. Or if they did, they cared for no reason at all. Or the wrong reason.”

Bungie, here’s to you.

If you think you’re an in-game artist, here’s your chance to show it off. Bungie has announced a contest to design an emblem for inclusion in Halo 3. Even if you’re not an artist, Bungie says that the entries don’t have to be pixel-perfect, or even in digital format. They can be submitted via email or snail mail. The official rules for the contest can be found here, so make sure you check them out before you start sketching.