"Halo 2.5" launching with Xbox 2?

If that link doesn't work (heard there may be problems with direct linking), the article should be on the homepage.

1st of all, I'm not too sure on the validity of this. The TeamXbox site, from what I read, has been wrong numerous times before. In fact, I wouldn't have even attempted to post a rumor similar to this, but I figured I'd go ahead since everyone here seems to like Halo 2...a lot. Plus, I like talking about next-generation consoles.

If true, I got some problems with this. Besides the problems with having at least 2 different versions of the Xbox 2, which I already discussed before, there are other things I don't like about this. First of all, I would assume that the time Bungie would spend/spent on Halo 2.5 either meant less for Halo 2 or less time in development for Halo 3. I'm sure that those of you who bought Halo 2 would be glad to know it could have possibly been better and that Halo 3 may take a little longer to come out.

Also, for anyone who just wants the hard drive and not Halo 2.5 (probably like 5% of the Xbox owners ), he/she may not like the idea of paying more for system because of a game they don't want (kind of like the FFXI/HD thing for the PS2; some people want the HD, but not the game).

Additionally, if Halo 2.5 is pretty good, that could possibly mean that fewer Xbox 2 launch titles get bought due to people playing Halo 2.5. This may be a sign that Microsoft may not offer backwards compatibility and that they want to offer a game that at least some people will surely like, kind of taking the place of BC in case of poor launch titles. I will say that they are probably smart in milking Halo though. They could probably sell a Halo 2.75 as well and probably sell a million or so copies.

I wish it would hurry up and be time for next-gen already. Why I am speculating about a rumor on a non-trustworthy site at 2:30 in the morning on Christmas day with a whole bunch of snow in my yard is beyond me.

 

Because Micro$oft, like many companies, likes to make money, and there is NO way they'll just stop at Halo 2, 2.5, or probably even Halo 3. Sure, Bungie can set it up so it seems like the last game in the series and it will go along with what they think, allowing them the opportunity to work on something else, but I'm sure Microsoft would then offer another developer the job of keeping the series alive if they can't convince Bungie to keep going with it. This may just end up killing the series though since the original developers won't be making the game. But Microsoft can make a lot more money that way.

 

I was kind of curious, so I decided to check out the forums and see what everyone had to say. I was sort of shocked to see how much negativity there was to this news. I mean, sure, I'd probably hate anything Microsoft does and probably praise anything Sony does (I'm trying to get better at that), so it shouldn't be too shocking that I didn't like the news. But to see some hardcore Xbox/Halo fans to not like this news was pretty interesting. It kind of reminds me of how I also read several Xbox fans wanting Blu-ray for Xbox 2, despite the fact that Sony is one of the patent holders and the fact that Microsoft seemed to be leaning towards HD-DVD. While it could make them some more money, it seems this move could definitly tick off some gamers.

One question that I cannot answer is would it have been OK to scrap Halo 2 as a Xbox title and have it as a launch title for Xbox 2? I, having little interest in the game, could care less what they do, yet some do think that this may have been the better move. The quotes seem to suggest that there were plenty things planned for Halo 2 that didn't quite materialize, and given the things I've heard/read about Halo 2, some more development time could have been beneficial. It would most likely look even better than this Halo 2.5, and probably have a few more good things about it.

I do want to reiterate that this may not be the best source. While I was reading the opnions of the posters on that site, I learned that the site also posted about a Halo 1.5, which definitly never came out, as well as an article that claimed a magazine article said Tekken 5 was coming to the Xbox (the news itself may or may not be true, but the magazine never stated that news in their issue). Of course, I read they were one of the 1st to report the IBM connection for Xbox 2, so they do seem to get some scoops.

I wonder what would happen had Microsoft not tried to jump the gun on this next-gen stuff. Let's say they wait at least another year and ride the profits coming from Xbox Live and some of their recent games that have made them some nice profits. The Xbox has been gaining momentum and another year could have been great for them. If they were to release late in 2006 or so, I would think Sony and Nintendo may not mind waiting as well to work out their issues (Cell, Blu-ray, Revolutionary...um...stuff). That would have given Bungie, or whoever, a little more time to come up with a launch, or near launch Halo for Xbox 2. In fact, going this route, the PS3, and maybe Revolution, may not reach American and European shores until maybe around mid to late 2007, which would give Microsoft about 3 years to come up with a Halo to minimize the initial sales of those systems, rather than the 2 years they seem to have now (may not even seem as much as 2 years depending on how much time will be spent of Halo 2.5). Oh well, Microsoft dug themselves into this hole.