Why America Embraced Master Chief

There has been never been a phenomena in the United States like the Halo series, and in particular, its hero, Master Chief. While there have been crazes – the Pac-Man craze, the Pokemon craze, the Mario craze – they have never had the presence or popularity that Master Chief has had...

...The question is – why? Why has Master Chief captured the imagination? What sort of magic synergies have elevated Master Chief in America to icon level? This article shall explore why, and find that there actually is no mystery to Master Chief's success.

[Peter North]

C'mon RRODbot, stop the lies.

[JonahFalcon]

Guess you weren't around when Halo 2 and Halo 3 were introduced. Everyone from the NY Times to Mother Jones went on about it. Halo 2 had people playing on the big screen in Times Square. Halo 3 had worldwide launch parties that were so huge a suburb of London cancelled theirs because they feared it would become a riot.

Enjoy this Wiki article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[54percent]

hahaha I love the imagination of some people, are bots people?

[cyborg6971]

It's called hype halo is the most over rated game of all time just because ms has the money to put halo on the big screen doesn't mean it has captured Americas collective thought. Over saturation that is what halo is if every game had a 10 million $ budget and a 30 million $ ad budget it is bound to get some attention.

[Cajun Chicken]

NO WAY.

[randomwiz]

agreed.... not many people would know who Marcus Fenix is if you asked them.

I'd say the next biggest American gaming star is Kratos

[JonahFalcon]

Coulda been Duke :p

[Cajun Chicken]

I think Tommy from Prey and the (Surely upcoming sequel) will be the next MC, or at least 360 mascot. I really don't believe in Marcus Fenix as a character and Alan Wake doesn't particularly sound like a franchise yet, not really even Shepard from Mass Effect because you can alter him/her.

Overall, I believe Tommy is the best candidate.

[Pandamobile]

It should have been Duke. Master Chief has no personality whatsoever.

Whereas Duke is one of, if not THE most badass characters ever created.

[WildArmed]

duke, kratos........ (dare i say) Max payne? lol

[Blaster_Master]

At least Marcus Phoenix had some type of personality. What is with you fanboys that act like Master Chief is some kinda awesome character?

[deadreckoning666]

...but I thank him for the impact he has made in making gaming more popular.

[Pizzagaki]

Its not about Master chief his personality, its about what he pulled off, and experiences on his adventures.
Masterchief is the ultimate freak that withstands everything.

Besides, as if the Terminator or Robocop got so much personality.

[Microsoft Xbox 360]

"What sort of magic synergies have elevated Master Chief in America to icon level?"

All it takes is heavy presidential campaign-like advertisements and rigged reviews. Not to mention articles like these, giving the illusion of Halo being better than what it really is.

[ThanatosDMC]

Duke is better. Saving lots of sexy prostitutes.... errr...

Nathan Hale is much much better than MC. He actually has character.

[ShabzS]

chief doesnt have a bad ass character or a bad ass persona... he's not even written that way in the games

but its when you play him ... you feel it... when you take a hornet to the air and bring down some banshees and phantoms and then jump off midflight onto a scarab and beat down the pilot with a grav hammer ... blow it up and then jump down onto a ghost and clear out the brutes... it gets crazy ... after the set piece battles you cant help but think ...damn that was bad ass...

[Cajun Chicken]

Marcus Fenix is about as emotional as a cardboard cutout. That's why not him.

[AnttiApina]

Yes... Because we all know how Kratos is an USA citizen...

[hitokiri]

"Besides, as if the Terminator or Robocop got so much personality."

Have you even seen Robocop? The first movie i mean... Murphy had a lot of personality.

Anyways... i agree with everyone that says its could have been Duke but oh well, sh@t happens.

[ReservoirDog316]

Yeah and the Terminator had a personality, in part 2 at least. That's why it was sad when he died in the end.

Have you even seen Terminator or Robocop? Make it a priority, they're good.

[calis]

Seeing the ridiculously over hyped first paragraph I was wondering who wrote this dribble and of course it was Jonah, a 360 fanboy.

Halo isn't even close to the biggest phenomena in the United States, get real.

[Real Gambler]

Shorter version:

BECAUSE HE HAS A BIG GUN!

[FiftyFourPointTwo]

Master Queef is overrated. That is all.

[JonahFalcon]

The money says he isn't. LOL

[Boody-Bandit]

Well using your logic then Wii Fit is the greatest most embraced game this generation has seen! So where is your "Why has America embraced Wii Fit" article? I don't expect an answer anytime soon because unlike most people here I know who you are and your agenda. The biggest most immature shill the internet has ever seen. Why don't you sliver yourself back to usenet where you belong?

All I will add is google Jonah Falcon people. Then you will see what you are dealing with but I warn you it is disturbing.

[Pandamobile]

"None of this would matter if Halo were just a good shooter. The fact of the matter is, the Halo series stands alone with Half-Life as the greatest shooters ever made. The first Halo was so good, while it was winning every award known to man, people went to extremes to play online multiplayer, making Gamespy’s Tunnel program popular beyond belief. "

Half-Life 2 is in a league of its own, but nice try.

[Taarec10ToTheEnd]

Half-Life 2 is overrated also. And Crysis too. I hate Halo, but I'd take it anyday over any of Valve's generic trash. But I'd take Crysis over Halo anyday. Then again, I'll take Killzone 2 over any other shooter

[shutupandplay]

You`d take killzone 2 over halo: ce and half-life 2? You poor deluded fanboy, looks like siding with the ps3 has really corrupted you. I`m sorry for your loss.

[ULTIMATE_REVENGE]

American people like war

They liked Rambo, they liked Arnold schwarzenegger and so they will like Master Chief

[Pizzagaki]

The next Masterchief will be a different Spartan :)
And its not only the USA that embraced Halo.

[Godmars290]

Its going to be a different faceless guy with a gruff ragged voice who's only known by his rank, which will also be Master Chief?

Do tell.

[UNCyrus]

Hahahahah! Where else embraced Halo?

Halo 3 sold 3x more in the USA than it did in every other country in the world combined!
(source) http://www.vgchartz.com/gam...

[Pizzagaki]

Well, its better to compare the USa to continents, and not country's
The usa got like 350 million people living in it, thats more then all the country's in west europe combined.

[Godmars290]

Yes, and yet somehow 8 million Halo 3 owners, out of less than 30 million 360 owners worldwide, equates to the whole of the country being mad for the game.

Pokemon is and probably will be more popular for som time to come. If not forever.

[Arnon]

Halo 3 has sold 10.13 million copies. That's 1/3rd of all 360 owners. Yes, Master Chief is one of the gaming idols. It's a household name. It's a game that is played by all ages.

[ChanDangle]

Because Americans loves green power rangers.

[Pizzagaki]

*looks at avatar*

Actually, Masterchief looks more like a badass F1/Indycar driver.

[ChanDangle]

The stig is a legend on his own.

[ThanatosDMC]

Hey the green power ranger was my favorite in the original with his godzilla mech.

[ShabzS]

yeah... but then he then later returned as the white ranger and turned all depressed and boring...

[ThanatosDMC]

So true. Kimberly used to be hot back then... but damn, the years werent good to her.

[shutupandplay]

Halo just pwns. From the LAN parties, to professional team competitions, it`s one of the most successful games ever. Only the idiot ps3 fans try to put it down, and the only place they`re successful in doing so, is N4G. It`s their little haven, sheltered from the actual gaming world.

[deadreckoning666]

@shutupandplay- I agree with you 100%. PS3 fanboys want something to fail, that shows NO signs of stopping whatsoever. Whether they like it or not, Reach will come out and it'll raise the franchise and gaming to a whole new level with Natal support.

@NegativeCreep- Peter North is the first one to comment in EVERY thread hes in, yet HE isn't PATHETIC? Why doesn't he every come to the gamer zone huh?(Dude, show me ONE article where I said Sony pays someone off..just give me ONE. Ur full of crap. The day you learn to embrace BOTH consoles is the day ull see the light) Heres a bubble, I feel bad for you :)

Is Master Chief overrated? YES, ABSOLUTELY, but what the character has done for the popularity of the industry is MUCH MUCH appreciated by me and many gamers alike. If Halo never existed, gaming wouldn't be taken as seriously as it is today.

Ur right, Playstation DID begin the momentum. Afterwards, the Halo franchise helped CONSIDERABLY. Dude, Halo 3 is the MOST PLAYED exclusive between the PS3 and 360. Its not even about sales. Many people love the game. Neither u or I can change that.

HAHAHA u just proved my point Negative, have a nice day :)

[NegativeCreep427]

"...only place they`re successful in doing so, is N4G. It`s their little haven, sheltered from the actual gaming world."

Why do you try oh so hard to secretly pawn off your pathetic fanboy life on others?

@ deadreckoning

"PS3 fanboys want something to fail, that shows NO signs of stopping whatsoever"

Sounds very similiar to the way idiots like you perpetually troll Uncharted 2 articles with your "Sony pays off for these perfect reviews" conspiracy theories.

"If Halo never existed, gaming wouldn't be taken as seriously as it is today."

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the ACTUAL REALITY of the matter is that if Sony had never entered the gaming industry with the original Playstation, the gaming industry would not be taken as seriously with regard to more mature or adult tastes in gaming as it is today. Playstation was THE console that displayed to the general public that gaming can consist of more than simple side-scrollers and platformers. Game consoles were no longer exclusively considered as "a kid's toy" after the Playstation.

Show me some proof that Master Chief preceded the Playstation. Go ahead, entertain me, kid!

"Ur right, Playstation DID begin the momentum. Afterwards, the Halo franchise helped CONSIDERABLY."

Well, here is the final nail in your Master Chief fanboy coffin. If the Playstation had not broken through the barriers that were original set in place for "videogames" in the 90's and if had not changed the status quo of what a videogame can be and would not have expanded the industry as it is seen today, Microsoft would have never considered a venture into the gaming industry with the Xbox. The industry had grown to the point where a big corporation like Microsoft had seen that profitability with creating a videogame console of their own was possible.

It is very reasonable to say that: No Playstation = No Xbox.

[shutupandplay]

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but the ACTUAL REALITY of the matter is that if Sony had never entered the gaming industry with the original Playstation, then ps3 fanboys would not exist, and the gaming world would be free of their BS crying and whining."-Fixed.

[MK24ever]

Sci-fi, war, shooting, guns, generals, troops, lack of respect for others (in this case aliens), Microsoft Hype-machine, media support from pro-American made products, do I really need to continue explaining why is Master Chief so popular?

He isn't popular, he was made popular.
I respect american ppl, american gamers, but the media, politics in general and some over-ignorant factions of your society is truly truly sad, so much that it can create a shadow over the many decent and normal US citizens.
Maybe Obama will fix what become wrong in the last 150 years in US.

[Godmars290]

You can't look at MS only ever growing ad budgets around a Halo game, the $2K promo bundles that went out to reviewers, and say that its popularity is genuine.

[kaveti6616]

I didn't think it was possible to infer political ideology from a video game... but you made an effort. From the plot of Halo, it was the Covenant that were hostile first. The UNSC did not start the war, they only defended themselves. The Covenant are nothing like the terrorists from the Middle-East. The Covenant are meant to be interpreted as a faceless, nameless threat in the first game. In fact, in the first book, Halo The Fall of Reach, the Covenant's side of the story is never told, not once. The humans did nothing to provoke the wrath of the Covenant. The Covenant was just going around, assimilating other species and going on some religious mission set forth by the leaders, the Prophets.

Halo is about killing aliens who are trying to kill you. Hardly anyone I know who plays the game has ever interpreted the plot of the game to be referencing any real life conflict. The reason why Americans love the Master Chief is because he is the nameless, faceless hero that we need in times of hardship. He is the Chuck Norris of the video game world. He does not die, he does not quit, and he is never afraid of anything or anyone. He does his mission with honor, with dignity. American ideology has become rooted in patriotism. Master Chief represents a true patriot. His cause is never questioned.

More than anything, it is a mindless shooting game. The characters have no depth in the games themselves. In the novels there are more details.

[zagibu]

Not that I completely agree with OP, but your arguments actually work in favor of it. Of course the Covenant attacked first. America is always attacked first as well. At least that's what history tells us.

[Obama]

You are absolutely correct. We should teach our children to look down on Master Chief.

[kaveti6616]

I don't think, historically, that America has been attacked first. America is a capitalist nation and thus it has interests in other regions which can support its infrastructure. The Middle-East is said to have an abundance of oil reserves. The United States has shown a lot of interest in it, and in years passed different government administrations of the United States have made deals with administrations of the Middle East to get oil. The attacks that America has fallen victim to are in response to perceived attacks inflicted upon the Middle East. The terrorist groups didn't choose to attack America for no reason at all, although you have your right to question whether their reasons were valid and enough to justify the killing of American civilians.

History is but a fable agreed upon. There is no real Truth.

[TROLL EATER]

Most honourable gaming charectar there is. he shud be president

[FiftyFourPointTwo]

You want a video game character to be president? WOW. Kids these days.

[Grammar_Police]

"Most honorable character. He should be president".

[shutupandplay]

You are an idiot, Americans and British have spelling differences. Again, I am going to reinforce the fact that you are an idiot due to your complete ignorance. Grammar police this b1tch.

[The Iron Sheik]

Jonah Falcon needs to stick to being prank called and mocked by the Stern show. He is good at that. Leave gaming to the people who know what they are talking about. Check out the video, this guy is a douche.

[NegativeCreep427]

"the Pac-Man craze, the Pokemon craze, the Mario craze – they have never had the presence or popularity that Master Chief has had..."

So apparently Master Chief is now labeled as an even bigger gaming phenomina than Mario? Ummm, no I don't think so. Halo sales have been exceptional, but not to that point.

"Why has Master Chief captured the imagination?"

Funny when Master Chief himself seems to have been thought up and created by people with little to no imagination for exceptional character charisma or character development.

"What sort of magic synergies have elevated Master Chief in America to icon level?"

LOL! Oh this is too much. This article was written by someone with a crazy imagination. Watch out Obama, Master Chief is now an American icon. MC for President 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL, oh this article just kills me!

[Deadman64]

I wouldn't go so far as to say Master Chief is bigger than Mario, but he is defiantly nearing the pedestal Mario is on. Again not replacing Mario, just standing up there with him.

I really don't understand how you can deny that he is big?

[MetalGearBear]

Master Chief was not hero.
Because Halo was copied on power ranger.

[JonnyBigBoss]

I really can't stand how he looks... why couldn't they have done a better job with the suit?

[Morbid Bulldozer]

You should consider a closed helmet yourself. :>

[kaveti6616]

Ouch. In Jleacks defense, if that avatar is a pic of him, he's really not ugly. And I am straight.

[Gun_Senshi]

Because they are dumb

Go in Europe and ask who is master chief, they tell you "Master Chef?"

[rucky]

lol at first I actually thought this was an article about the show. Then I saw the number of comments and said "somethings not right here".

[DonCorneo]

but power rangers and failo do have the same art direction minus the cool mechs.

at the end of the day, the power rangers franchise has a higher net worth than the failo franshise.

go go power rangers

[dboyman]

I remember the power rangers when I was a kid, but I also remember many things from the show were from the Japanese Super Sentai series. As quoted from the wiki article http://en.wikipedia.org/wik... :

"the Power Rangers concept originated from the Japanese tokusatsu Super Sentai Series. Rather than making an English dub of the original, the American production team put together a "new" production with English-speaking actors spliced in with the original Japanese footage in varying ratios. Due to the very Japanese nature of many of the Super Sentai Series' stories and design, the American shows vary detail to appeal to a Western audience. However, they typically dub many of the action sequences featuring the characters in costume and the mecha (referred to as "Zords" in Power Rangers)."

[lamigol]

Master Chief looks stupid. He is not a good look for a world saving hero. He is however a good look for a man at an Elton John party

[Pizzagaki]

Says the man with star wars troopers in his avatar.
They did a whole lot better job on Spartans then they did on those troopers.

[clintagious650]

When I think of masterchief I get a picture of him using wiifit lol. I think because hes not a gaming icon that blew me away like solid snake, mario, zelda. He reminds me of wiifit because halo sells millions but never wins GOTY. The series has really fallen off since the first & is such an overrated series now. Fun online game but thats about it. Story from 2 & 3 are generic at best & in order to really understand the halo world u need to buy books lol. Masterchief is like the guy on the kfc bucket. Sells alot but will only be known because of the large fanbase who enjoys halo but to gamers like myself he will always be just an overrated icon on a chicken box.

[zootang]

Treasure hunting Drake? He is one cool cat

[BYE]

Drake is just badass.

[The BS Police]

At the age of 14 the Master Chief killed four ODST soldiers in hand to hand combat in seconds without the aid of any sort of armor. How many other game characters can attest to that?

[ShabzS]

haha i remember that ... "fall of reach" right ... after the genetic experiments...

[zootang]

Sounds like Tyson

[Ko_Uraki]

Because Master Chief is Captain America in a different universe.

[Ninjamonkey]

The great thing about master chief is the fact he is faceless. Although he works alone a lot his facelessnes represents the army. Theyre not a one man thing, theyre faceless, theyre a team.

Its got the rigght mis. It released at the best possible time, and it was hugely fun.

And all of master chiefs beliefs are exactly the same as the average american. Or the weay they view their armies.

[patterson]

Halo isn't a symbol of America.
It is simply a reminder that marketing > all.

[I am Legend]

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

^^^

No other game brings me into the story like HALO.

The story...the gameplay...the music...the whole universe is something extraordinary.

Of course, I can't say that here. Seeing how it's an overrated piece of junk to everyone.

[zagibu]

It's not junk, just overrated. It could have been so much better if Bungie hadn't been bought by Microsoft.

The flood was cool though.

[Dude420]

The word overrated is overrated.

This cut scene was awesome IMO

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[iceman06]

I WILL agree about the MUSIC...absolutely beautiful and has that EPIC scope to it.

[Dawale]

So no one remembers Lara Croft?

[Thoreau]

faceless. i am born and bred in america and i see americans as brainless fools. doubt me? go and ask the rockefellers, bush, soros, murdock.

[Thoreau]

not being able to run or truly aim down the sights. halo 1 and 2 were solid, but halo 3...i cannot tip my hat to that game. halo is not progressing as a game except bungie toning down certain guns and adding duel wield. i am ready for reach so i may purchase odst for the beta. hopefully bungie will tune up the gameplay.

[BYE]

I didn't know he was that popular in the US. In Europe, about 99,9% of the people probably don't even know him.

Or is it just another site making up things? That's more likely.

[ForROME]

Kratos should come aftet master chief

[JeepGamer]

The reason people embraced Master Chief was the same reason people so fervently embraced Ocarina of Time.

You had a system and then there was this other system that wasn't just outselling yours, but outselling you hand over fist and a metric ton of great games came out on it.

Then along came a game that was just for your system, a good one, and it justified both existence of your system and your purchase of it so you held it aloft like a shining holy platinum object and worshiped it.

[iceman06]

"Until the day I held aloft my magic sword and said....power of Greyskull...I...Have...The...P OWER!!!"LOL
---by the way...if anybody on NG4 can actually RELATE to that quote...dayum you're old---sigh...me too!!!!

[Socomer 1979]

Masterchief is the xbox guy.
That's all.

I honestly thought halo was a spoof on videogames after playing it.
I was shocked that people took this crap as the law of fps.

[ps360master]

10 million bought halo 3......even the 1000 that disagree here...lolz

i know who the real winner is....

Master Chief....

[Enigma_2099]

There are better frigging games on the 360 ITSELF than Halo 3. if Gears of War had came out first, do you honestly think anyone would give a D**N about Master Chief? Uh... NO.

[Bigpappy]

Bungie just does a great job with making sure the game executes perfectly. The game is smooth and action pack. The acting is well done. You fell like you can handle any challenge. With halo, even when you are getting your butt kicked, you think you can do better next time. This is because of the details Bungie programmed in to the gameplay. Halo is comfortable to play! That is the magic.

[Pootangpie]

oh wait that's right america and the rest of the great country's in the world such as europe,Russia and germany don't like a charcter from a nation that loves to sniff there own farts and rub how the better then everyone else in socity face espically a nation that has shows with a style of charcters with Stupid hairdoos retarded outfits from a reinsance fair oh you and possibly the worst script in the history of film and game making I hope japan gets nuked into oblivion one day they way that country and people act I don't think anyone would miss them if they were absent from socity solid snake may be an american but who sure acts like the rest of fart sniffing assholes from that country

[iceman06]

I don't think that it is fair of you to criticize Japan for the output of some dumb shows. If that were the case...they could always say that Tila Tequila, Paris Hilton, and Flavor of Luv are representative of American culture. I actually LIVED in Japan for 3 years and as a society they ARE much more polite than Americans. I am an American...but I would even say that our cultural hubris is almost unrivaled amongst the rest of the world...save a couple of the Middle-Eastern countries and only in terms of the religious zealotry from them.

[gumgum99]

The Master Chief can, in many ways, be considered the Xbox's Mario. It is this reason that America embraces him much like Japan embraces Mario.

[KRONie]

why is this tagged for PC?

[thetruth]

There was a startling correlation I realized when i picked up halo back at launch. These aliens we were fighting had a religious agenda, much like the taliban, to wipe the human race (the western world in the real life context) off the planet. By assuming the role of master chief, we were essentially fighting the taliban in the comfort of our living rooms.