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Microsoft: Halo is our 'centre piece'

Halo is Microsoft's "centre piece" franchise. That's according to Alex Cutting, producer on Halo 3: ODST from Microsoft Game Studios.

With the looming release of Bungie's Halo 3: ODST, Halo is back in the spotlight. And Cutting told VideoGamer.com that Halo is still massively important to Microsoft.

"Halo is our bread and butter," he said.

"It is a centre piece for us. We will invest in Halo as much as we can to make sure it's a healthy, respected, fun franchise, and we will continue to do so."
jtorry - contributor
Published: 112 days 12 hours ago | News | Xbox 360
 
 

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Dipso - 112 days 13 hours ago
1 -
"Halo is our bread and butter"

and there you have it folks, the reason why I've never owned an Xbox, kindly summed up in one little sentence by Microsoft themselves.
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MURKERR - 112 days 12 hours ago
1.1 - ^relying on one franchise is never good
wouldnt it make more sense to invest in more first party game studios than what seems to be 'milk' the halo name?
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superaktieboy - 112 days 12 hours ago
1.2 - while we're talking about halo,
anyone knew that halo wars movie existed? like animation: http://www.imdb.com/title/t... and (SPOILERS!!!) http://www.youtube.com/watc...
ain't watched it yet but might download/borrow it from somewhere :/

also, everyone should have known that halo was being milked when they announced halo wars.. Halo started as a FPS, shouldn't become a different genre..

EDIT: that imdb link is infact wrong!

EDIT2: ok.. nvm, i think it's just the cut scenes of the game put together :/
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THE MAX SPEED 21 - 112 days 12 hours ago
1.3 -
Metal gear started as 3rd person Action game.

Now it got 2 RPG on PSP.

Mario was Side scrolling Advanture

Now it got Sports and Racing games

I can go on and on with this.

Halo is not yet Quite milked compared to MGS and FinalFantasy and Mario and other,
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AKNAA - 112 days 12 hours ago
1.4 - "Microsoft: Halo is our 'centre piece'"
Noooo waaay! get the F#@K out!?!?
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stewgart - 112 days 12 hours ago
1.5 - @Max Speed
We are about to see 3 Halo games in the space of 18 months on a single console; Halo Wars, ODST and Reach. Now if that is not milking it I dunno what is. It's good for fans of the franchise however so I don't think we should really complain about it, we should only complain when a game gets severely overrated *cough Halo3*
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LiL T - 112 days 12 hours ago
1.6 - "Halo is our bread and butter"
I would rather have a whole loaf to choose from than just 1 piece of bread.

@ IdleLeeSiuLung
Yeah but my loaf of bread keep getting fresher and your slice is getting dried out.

My point being that I would rather have fresh new IP's and sequels that actually get better (graphics and gameplay) than be stagnant recycled crap.
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zlatko - 112 days 12 hours ago
1.7 -
It's one of the reasons why I regret getting my 360. This seems to be the only game franchise they really have and support. Everything else is covered by multi platform games.

I buy gaming consoles for GAMES I can't get anywhere else but that console. Halo isn't my cup of tea, so now what Microsoft? Can you finally start opening up first party studios to dish out games across all genres to please gamers?

I'm asking for too much though I think... I'm sure a day will come when the game being released will be Halo Cooking with Master Chef. :/
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IdleLeeSiuLung - 112 days 11 hours ago
1.8 - @lilt
"I would rather have a whole loaf to choose from than just 1 piece of bread. "

I would rather have a good piece of bread than a whole loaf of rotting bread.

My point being, milking is when you churn out crappy games for profit. I'm thinking Sonic the Hedgehog! So far all Halo games released have been well respected games. I expect nothing less of Halo 3:ODST and Halo:Reach.
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mal_tez92 - 112 days 11 hours ago
1.9 - I never liked Halo
The shooting just plain sucks, and the multiplayer is more about who can get the good dun or vehicle first.

Oh well...

Obviously a lot of people do like it so whatever. But relying on one game franchise is kind of putting all eggs into one basket. A basket with holes in it that I don't think is a very fun basket at all.
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Saaking - 112 days 11 hours ago
1.10 -
No Halo= No Xbox. Halo carried the first xbox and the 360. This is the bad part. MS is milking Halo to no end (3 games in 2 years) and if people start loosing interest then MS is screwed. They need to be sure Reach is the last Halo this gen and then put out Halo 4 or something for the xbox 3.
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Narutone66 - 112 days 11 hours ago
1.11 - That is
all MS got. They got nothing else.
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GameSpawn - 112 days 8 hours ago
1.12 - Agreed @ 1.1
It is sad that Microsoft relies so heavily on the Halo franchise. You really do need more than one franchise to cater to more of your market.

If all you have is Halo = Xbox, then your market will be limited to Halo players for the most part.

Nintendo has Mario, Metroid, and Zelda to name a few. Sony, well theirs changes with each generation, but for what has lasted and sold you have Gran Turismo, Metal Gear, God of War, and Ratchet for just a few.
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Killjoy3000 - 112 days 5 hours ago
1.13 - Halo is our "centre piece."
Don't worry guys, they'll augment the comment with Gears of War when number 3 is coming out. And it'll go back and forth from there. They need to stop buying thier way into the industry and come up with some original first part games. Because I'm telling you right now that Viva Pinata doesn't f*cking cut it.

MS, invest in first-party studios, or the only thing you'll have exclusive is your ultra awesome DLC that nobody seems to care for. The developers won't play along with your payroll crap forever. they will eventually see the benefits of developing on Playsation, especially when the PS3 Slim helps Sony climb up the charts like Cole from inFamous. Face it people, third party exclusives are a thing of the past and Metal Gear Rising proves this. Must I list GTA IV, Bioshock, Dead Rising, Final Fantasy and DMC? Oh yeah, I already did because there are so many of them I don't even have to deeply think.

Too bad MS doesn't see in the same lime light that everybody else does.

And as Murker said, you cannot rely on one franchise forever.
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soxfan2005 - 112 days 3 hours ago
1.14 -
Nothing brings out the PS3 fanboys like Halo does. Two articles today, both swarming with PS3 fanboys. I guess all the good PS3 news in recent days isn't enough to hold their interest.

You guys say that the 360 doesn't have any good exclusives this year, but yet you seem to want to talk more about 360 exclusives than anything on PS3.

"Halo is all MS has". Kind of like saying that Michael Jordan was all the 1990's Chicago Bulls had. Those six cahmpionships can never be taken away because some believe that the Bulls were a one man team. Jordan was clearly the most important part of the team, but you can't be successful without a supporting cast.
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HolyOrangeCows - 112 days 2 hours ago
1.15 -
''...we can even charge $60 for expansion packs by adding a little more content and changing it's name!''

@sox
That sort of babble is for the open zone.
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soxfan2005 - 112 days 2 hours ago
1.16 -
My comment belongs in the open zone???

I don't suppose you have any problem with the VERY FIRST comment in this thread - he admits he doesn't own an Xbox 360 and says he will never own one.

This is a freaking Xbox 360 article, and looks who's here, as usual.
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HolyOrangeCows - 112 days 2 hours ago
1.17 -
''This is a freaking Xbox 360 article, and looks who's here, as usual. ''
Who? You, to complain about ''PS3 fanboys''?

What's wrong with the first comment? He's just stating his disdain to the fact that Microsoft focuses too much on Halo, thus he doesn't own the 360 because he doesn't like Microsoft's un-diverse nature.

Does that hurt you that much?
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thesummerofgeorge - 112 days ago
1.18 - @superaktieboy
No man, it's not a collection of cut scenes made into a movie, it's just the video game, that's why they have the (VG) beside it. IMDB lists video games on actors lists of work they've done, cause voice acting is acting none the less. IMDB doesn't only list movies.
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evilmonkey501 - 111 days 22 hours ago
1.19 - if you guys want first party 360 games...
keep dreaming. Remember last year when they disassembled, sold off or fired almost ALL OF THEM? Seriously, anyone else remember? I do. They plan on making Halo their flagship. plain and simple.just like halo.
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NewZealander - 111 days 22 hours ago
1.20 -
i will admit ive had a lot of fun times with my 360, played some great games...but MS have dropped the ball.

they announce very little in the way of new games, and have had almost nothing in the`way of exclusives to play in 2009, they dont even seem to bother hyping anything new or teasing 360 owners with upcoming projects (except natal)

MS are slipping up, i was playing old games for the better part of 09, mass effect, tomb raider legend, because there was nothing else to play!

so glad i picked up my ps3 slim, finally im able to play some of the exclusives ive been missing, and no sonys not perfect either but at least they tease you with upcoming games, and bring a little excitement back to gaming.
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aueslander - 111 days 19 hours ago
1.21 - @ superaktieboy...
Halo actually started out as an RTS game that moved to TPS just before MS bought them then it was changed to an FPS, do your research.

Thugh I will say saying halo in the MS center piece is about as surprising as the sky being blue, considering that all new Sony IPs this gen haven;t even equaled in sales the 10 mil of JUST Halo 3 so when MS has Halo in FPS and then sell over 2 mil in a pretty decent RTS.

Simply put, as others say, mention Halo and more haters will come then those who like the game. I like it but am not a hardcore fanboy. Also, amazing that the huge amount of Halo fans are actually PLAYING the game (as evidence of the large number of players always playing it) as opposed to the Sony fanboys who would rather be on here hating on Halo as opposed to playing one of their new exclusive IPs or wanking off to them. Basically, all the UBER SUPER COOL Sony exclusives out there and the Sony fanboys would rather be on here hating on Halo as opposed to, I dunno, PLAYING THEIR GAMES??? I think it is funny.
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THE MAX SPEED 21 - 112 days 12 hours ago
2 -
pretty much obvious.
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KionicWarlord222 - 112 days 12 hours ago
3 -
Of course .

Without halo there wouldn't be xbox nor xbox 360 .

Personally i dont want halo to go any time soon .
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The Wood - 112 days 12 hours ago
4 - halo has done a lot for MS
MS have to pay it its dues. Time to have 'more' centerpieces i say. I thought gears was gunna be MS's main game but the second game kinda messed that up. Its stil major though
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Pizzagaki - 112 days 12 hours ago
4.1 -
You can have multiple trademark series, but you can have only one centerpiece.

Gears is one of such trademark series.
Ms their trademark series will continue to grown in numbers.
This year Forza will clear the ring, Next year its Alan Wake.
But the center will always be Halo.
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Soda Popinsky - 112 days 12 hours ago
4.2 -
Gears is the biggest new IP this gen. How did it mess up, exactly? You not personally liking it is one thing, but saying it messed up is just wrong.

Halo is for MS what Gran Turismo is for Sony.
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Keowrath - 112 days 10 hours ago
4.3 -
Gran Tourismo... Or God of War... Or Uncharted... Or Metal Gear SOLID... Or Killzone...

I bought My PS3 for MGS4, I won't be getting GT5 as I'm not a huge racing fan. I would say PS3 has enough different big name games to not have just one centrepiece.

I would agree however that Halo is the main focal point for the 360. This isn't meant as a fanboy attack on the 360 but IMHO when I think of the 360 I think of Halo, when I think of the PS3 I think of all of the above. It might have something to do with the huge amount of marketing that Halo recieved compared to any other game on the system.
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Pizzagaki - 112 days 12 hours ago
5 -
Halo is legendary.
And legends deserve the legendary treatment.

Legends are always in the spotlight, and Halo got more spotlight then any other game series ever made.

Fear the Halo effect!
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Dipso - 112 days 12 hours ago
5.1 -
@Pizzagaki

Your lies just made a little Italian plumber cry.
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Pizzagaki - 112 days 12 hours ago
5.2 -
Explain to me how those where lies.
Theres no game series atm getting the combination of love/marketing/sales/reviews/o nline crowd as much as Halo does.

Sounds to me your bitter cause the best selling ps3 game is gta4, and it didnt even sell half the amount that Halo3 did.
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leyego - 112 days 11 hours ago
5.3 -
and i quote
"Legends are always in the spotlight, and Halo got more spotlight then any other game series ever made."

EVER MADE??
no i don't think so, mario is much bigger then halo. some might also say zelda and final fantasy are also bigger then halo.
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Dipso - 112 days 11 hours ago
5.4 -
@pizzagaki

I'm merely stating that despite Halo's undeniable fame it's hardly a more "legendary" franchise than Mario. You cannot argue with that end of. As for me being bitter about sales...check my comment history if you like, I care nothing for sales or the console war.

I certainly don't do "bitter" over something as trivial as the entertainment industry.
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Optical_Matrix - 112 days 9 hours ago
5.5 - LOL@Pizzagaki
MGS says Hi. Zelda says Hi. Mario says Hi. Gran Turismo says Hi. Final Fantasy says Hi. POKEMON...POKEMON says Hello. The popularity of these series' dwarf Halo. Names like Link, Mario...Pickachu...are names just about every household is familiar with. You don't hear 40/50/60 year olds talking about how they know who Master Chief is.
If you think Halo got more spotlight than any other series ever made you are obviously a 360 fanboy or 13 years old or both. The stuff you come out with cracks me up.
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DeathroW22 - 112 days 3 hours ago
5.6 -
It really does deserve respect, but honestly: "and Halo got more spotlight then any other game series ever made. "

is just wrong
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Soda Popinsky - 112 days 12 hours ago
6 -
"It is a centre piece for us. We will invest in Halo as much as we can to make sure it's a healthy, respected, fun franchise, and we will continue to do so."

Sounds very good. Keep up the good work!
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Pizzagaki - 112 days 12 hours ago
6.1 -
Amen, i like Halo, and i wont be bored with it anytime soon.
Halo is like the X-men, it will go on, and on, and on, and people will love it.
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ChozenWoan - 112 days 5 hours ago
6.2 - "It is a centre piece for us. We will invest in Halo as much as we can to make sure it's a healthy, respected, fun franchise, and we will continue to do so."
Translation: They are going to spend more on marketing the game than they did on development of the game. In other words they are going to pull and EA.

Looks at Soda's avatar... NVM. lol =P
here have a bub for sharing a laugh with me.
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LukaX23 - 112 days 12 hours ago
7 -
No sh!t, Microsoft.
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ukilnme - 112 days 12 hours ago
8 -
Go Halo! Haters can go to....
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jkhan - 112 days 12 hours ago
9 -
To be honest, I love Halo 1 and 2, especially 1, it was an amazing game. But there is one thing i like about Sony is that they never rely on one franchise. This gen the only disappointment i had from Sony's end was the lack of solid rpgs in general. Microsoft on the other hand relies too much on Halo. We all know holiday 2010 highlight from Microsoft will be Halo Reach. I mean seriously? How about a brand new IP, how about a new game that revolutionizes the genre like Halo 1 did.
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tripewire - 112 days 12 hours ago
10 -
MS has a centerpeice game.

Sony has GT5
Sony has Naughty Dog
Sony has Insomniac
Guerilla Games
LBP
Ico
Quantic
SMS
Sucker Punch

Dont like one centerpiece? Check out the other ones....
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BaschPS3 - 112 days 11 hours ago
11 -
I can tell. Honestly though, I think they have better quality titles than Halo. For one Gears of War 1/2 were way better than H3, but I'm inclined towards Bioware's exclusive RPGs. Well, as close as you can get. Even if their titles are multiplatform, largely PC, nothing beats Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, and Mass Effect. Good times, good times.
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djpolofish - 112 days 11 hours ago
12 -
lets hope they dont kill it because of the poor format choice DVD, they shouldnt be limiting a game like this
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KionicWarlord222 - 112 days 11 hours ago
12.1 -
lol...what?

Halo cant be killed off .
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giovonni - 112 days 10 hours ago
12.2 - Djpolofish
DVD is not a poor format of choice at this time. I really hate to get off topic, but this whole DVD poor formate is getting real jaded. All Blu ray has done so far is given us longer cut scenes, and uncompressed music, all on one disk. That's not a huge leap compared to DVD's replacing CD's as the supporting formate. Now, if you have played Halo, it has always had a polished presentation with its music, and the story. The game play may have been lacking in areas, or may not have live up to everyone's hopes and dreams. However, right now DVD will not hold back a game like Halo... Let the disagrees pour in...

Now as far as Halo goes, of course it's their center piece, just how Sonic was sega's center piece, and Nintendo's Mario was their center piece. All side those master pieces Sonic, had Panza Dragoon, VR Fighter, ect. Nintendo has, Metriod, Donkey Kong, Mario, Smash bros etc. Microsoft the younger out of the bunch, has Halo, Gears, M.E, Fable etc. Bottom line every company has a center piece backed by other titles that they try to push along with it.

As far as being milked, Halo is in no way being Milked. For one it sticks to the Halo Universe. There is no Halo kart, no Halo sports, and no Halo bikini edition complete with Commander M. Keyes left and right bumper titty shake. So, what if they release 3 to 4 titles in one generation. If it was like that, why aren't people getting mad at Nintendo with the milking for Mario?
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jcaashby - 112 days 4 hours ago
12.3 - @ djpolofish
So let me ask you...what OTHER option did MS have when they designed the xbox 360???

Blu Ray wasnt an option because one..sony owned it and 2 It wasnt even available to even sony as an option.

HD DVDs was also not available at the time the xbxo 360 was made.

So tell me genius WHAT other option did MS have besides DVD??

So I will say that DVD did just fine for MS as it was really there only option at the time the system was designed.

Also MS the system is selling well and is solidly in 2nd place.
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DeathroW22 - 112 days 2 hours ago
12.4 -
Sony has never owned blu-ray
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jack_burt0n - 111 days 21 hours ago
12.5 -
@DeathroW22

they own 33% of bluray.
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jjohan35 - 112 days 11 hours ago
13 -
It's their only piece, not center piece. And this is coming from a 360 owner. I always felt Gears of War was overrated (and buggy). L4D was on the PC for me, even though I rarely play PC games.
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