http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/824/824193p1.html Don't normally like to post rumors like this that are based on relatively nothing (so far anyway), but given what it is about and the fact that some major sites are reporting on it as well (don't know why?), I made an exception. I'm guessing that if this was true for some reason, it would probably be similar to David Jaffe's new studio (independent studio not owned by Sony, but still practically exclusive to the company...so far anyway). This would just give Bungie more creative freedom to do what they want rather than opening them up to other platforms (although they could do that if they want I guess). Most gamers may not even know the difference.
Probably more like the other way around, not to mention it would probably be trivial for Bungie to create a game with just as great of an online mode on the PC or PS3 (and who knows, maybe even the Wii someday....OK, that may be going too far ). Of course, if Bungie were to leave, Microsoft would retain the Halo IP, pretty much ensuring that future Halo games (developed by Bungie or by another developer) would stick to the Xbox platform (and PC too I guess...but using Live for Windows as opposed to Steam or something).
I don't think you understand how intellectual properties work. let me put it this way, there is no way in hell you will ever see halo on any system other than a microsoft system. bungie could create Balo...featuring Master Beef, if they wanted, but not halo on any other system. anyway, all this means is bungie will be able to create whatever projects they like. if they stayed with microsoft, they'd probably be working on halo4 already even though the series is supposedly finished. whereas now, they can go create their own new franchise or whatever they like.
ohhhh gotcha. maybe they can start a new story with master chief coming back to life with some weird stuff or something like that. eh im bored.
I worked for MS and sold a game company to them, once they suck you in they are like the Borg, no more free thought. A lot of the main Bungie people left anyway....a long time ago. DD
I thought Halo...at least as a fps...was pretty much done. I would love to see what else Bungie could do outside that franchise though, so the move if true wouldn't upset me...maybe come back and develop another Halo game down the road, take the franchise in a new direction. But for now I think Halo 3 will endure for a long while...no need to rush anything else.
By the way, IMO Halo is highly overated, it is a good game, with nice multiplayer, but I think Call of Duty is every bit as good. A lot of Bungie's notoriety IMO is because of MS marketing muscle. When MS bought Bungie, they were pretty much broke. DD
That seems rather inaccurate. From what I have read, Bungie's old time hardcore fanbase was understandably furious when they were bought by MS since Bungie was a small Mac-based publisher. As far as what newer fans think of bungie - the are fans probably because, marketing or not, they produced three pretty awesome games in the last 6 years. Oh yeah, and the rumor post at the top of this thread seems completely made up. If Microsoft is getting rid of Bungie - they would sell Bungie. You don't just "divorce" subisidiaries or divisions of your company, you either spin them off, sell them, take them public etc etc etc. Bungie is a corporate asset of Microsoft. If Microsoft just "lets Bungie leave" and divests itself of bungie, a multimillion dollar acquisition, for NOTHING the next thing that happens is that Steve Ballmer and BIll Gates get sued 156 times between now and tomorrow for breaching duties and wasting corporate assets. Microsof "letting bungie leave" strikes me as a juvenile fantasy of somebody who doesn't undertand much about how things work in the corporate world. It's not a democracy, you can't "opt out', Bungie is PWNED by microsoft - literally. If Bungie wants to leave, it's staffers have to BUY their way out, either with their own $$ or by arrranging for some third party to do so, who would then PWN them as well . It is possible that some Bungie's staffers could leave, of course with noncompete agreements that MS has probably locked the top guys into, I hope they have enough cash to last the next few months.
Yeah, that's some of the many things things I see wrong with this picture. As I said, I'm not sure why some sites (IGN, 1UP, GameDaily, NextGen, Gamespot, etc.) decided to report on the rumor, especially when it seems like there have been "rumors" just as believable, if not even more believable (FF7 Remake rumors were pretty strong, yet I don't recall them being reported on). I think I even remember a "rumor" (if you could call it that) about Rockstar wanting to get bought out by Sony that was just as believable as this. There are a few things that make me wonder though. I'd certainly expect some friction between Bungie and Microsoft at about this time (if not earlier in the year) regarding their next project, especially given Microsoft's past history with some of their other 1st/2nd party developers. The responses from MS regarding this rumor and the lack of a response from Bungie (including their community guys) seems strange too. The person that posted this on NeoGAF (probably the first major site this rumor got posted on, before it started spreading) is a developer that usually has some inside info on some things in the developer world, so it did surprise me a bit that he thought it was threadworthy. Of course, maybe he and the guys at Bungie just wanted to pull a joke on the gaming world.
I can't speak to the rumor, but Shane Kim is a friend of mine and I know for a FACT that MS is looking to lower costs. And allowing Bungie to spin off and make their own way is a great way to lower costs. They still get the IP......maybe they don't want the bodies and overhead anymore. And again Sam....Bungie was BROKE when MS bought them, they were great with their fans, but they had no money. They had to sell. Halo would have died without MS. DD
LOL - I just think MS marketing muscle is amazing...the hype is better than the gaming experience. Although to be fair, I have not played Halo 3 yet. DD
More info from "sources" via Game Informer (maybe a little more credible that random-guy-on-random-gaming-blog): http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200710/N07.1002.1438.22348.htm
I think it's the other way around. The first Halo was a big hit, even though it lacked Xbox Live support. Halo 2 added online gameplay and it became even more popular. Before Halo 2 came out, there weren't many titles that had longevity to be played for a long time after it's release. Halo 2 is still one of the top-3 or so most played games today, even though it's nearly three years old.
....which were last seen making multiplayer maps for Halo 2, right? These guys still don't get it, you can't just let a company go. If Bungie employees collectively purchase the assets of Bungie LLC or whatever it is from Microsoft that is one thing. I'm going to defer MS do the math as to whether or not that is a wise business decision.
Huh? If you have ever been at MS you would realize how ridiculously expensive it is for them to have an employee. Their costs are through the roof, so if they have a way of letting a company go but still retaining the rights to all the valuable assets...IE.. the Intellectual property they would jump at the chance. MS shuts down game companies it owns left and right.....they let the employees walk......and if they can get out of severance by letting them go and forming as Bungie again, it would make financial sense for them. It is cheaper for MS to develop stuff as 3rd party than it is to do it in house. DD
