Microsoft forced Bungie to accept 'Combat Evolved' name

CVG: Bungie has revealed that Microsoft marketeers forced it to put the infamous 'Combat Evolved' tagline on its original Halo - something the studio said it "hated".

[DelbertGrady]

"The compromise was they could add a subtitle. Everyone at Bungie hated it. But it turned out to be a very sticky label and has now entered the gaming lexicon to the point where articles that have nothing to do with Halo get titles like 'Skateboarding Evolved'. So I guess in hindsight it was a good compromise."

Then came Halo 2 and Halo 3. I'm more confused over the subtitle in Halo: Reach, although it's built on a novel that came out before the game was produced.

[Double Toasted]

Are these guys complaining? Nah, they couldn't be...

[MisterNiwa]

They get paid to not complain.

[Conloles]

Halo was an epic game.

[Sm0k3y_Bac0n]

Yep, Halo brought the FPS on quite a bit and was one of the best games of its time.

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

This just goes to show that not every decision a GREAT game studio does makes sense. The "Combat Evolved" part is iconic to Halo.

The first time I heard Halo, I wasn't sure what to expect. I didn't even know what the Halo part meant for the longest time. It's a one non-descriptive word...

[Hideo_Kojima]

One thing I hated about Halo 1...

You buy the game called
Halo: Combat Evolved...
and you can than download the a mod friendly version called
Halo: Custom Edition....

So when people said Halo:CE I was always confused as to which version they referred to.

Edit: This is what I mean

Read PS360_37 comment bellow he says
"Halo:CE completely revolutionized CONSOLE shooter"

Is that Halo: Combat Evolved
or is it Halo:Custom Edition

[Inside_out]

Halo: Combat Evolved was ingenius...They can call there RPG whatever name they want....Halo put them on the map....no pressure....COD: Modern warefare....it works and is as old as gaming itself...

[Noble Spartan]

It really was combat evolved.

Revolutionized the industry.

[Heisenberg]

replied to the wrong comment.

[interrergator]

half life

[Downtown boogey]

This comment by Conloles has more disagrees than agrees: What the hell?
Everyone who's played it would agree as would the critics, so what's the matter?

[SOAD]

People disagree with him because he trolls other threads, not because of what he's saying with that particular post.

[N4BmpS]

Basically that's what he does. He has no life is all. But regardless I think epic is an over used term some people don't even know what the proper definition is. Not saying Halo is isn't an Epic.

[Shepherd 214]

People use the term "epic" if a movie, game or book is set on a grand scale, which is typically a huge characteristic of an Epic.

The Iliad and the Odyssey, Beowulf, the story of Troy, all of them are Epics because of the type of adventure or stories that they tell. Movies and games have become attached to that form of story-telling with updated settings and themes, but using the term "Epic" when describing "Spider-man 2, Halo, The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, etc., isnt entirely inaccurate.

[Heisenberg]

Not necessarily about this guy in particular, but if you troll hard enough, people stop giving a shît about what you have to say. Why should you be able to troll tons of threads, and be a general douche, then when you wanna make a positive post every now and then about something YOU like, we should all listen and judge the comment on its own merits... No, you can't have your cake and eat it too. The same guys who troll want to be treated fairly and listened to? Then stop trolling others. And there's a difference between having an opinion, and trolling.

[cayal]

"Everyone who's played it would agree as would the critics, so what's the matter?"

I don't think Halo is epic and I've played it.

[Leio]

Halo Combat Evolved was the reason i bought my Xbox.. loved that game

[DaTruth]

They should have complained about the Halo part! It is just stupid to call the game Halo and have 10 haloless sequels and prequels!

[Death]

This "Halo" weapon was used to wipe out all sentient life forms. The Covenant were trying to fire the weapon and the UNSC were trying to stop it. The Halo technology still exists after the first game even though combat isn't taking place exclusively on one of the rings. It's actually a pretty good story which is suplemented by quite a few books now.

-Death

[Immortal321]

"MGS4"

[Cold 2000]

"Halo: Combat Evolved" sounds a whole lot cooler than just "Halo"

[TROLL EATER]

combat evolved sounded fitting it did evolve FPS

[yewles1]

Valve fans would like to have a word with you...

[Ultraplayerxd]

I agree. .but I'd rather just say Halo.

[telekineticmantis]

Taking from games like unreal tournament and half life doesnt evolve the genre it dilutes it

[PS360_37]

because UT and HL were both amazing console shooters....

Halo:CE completely revolutionized CONSOLE shooter.

Does it have to be spelled out for you to understand.

[dreamcast]

Goldeneye says hi.

[Shepherd 214]

goldeneye had poop controls

[ZombieNinjaPanda]

So, not sure if some of you don't realize it, but Combat Evolved was meant to signify the fact that they all use advanced weaponry and future stuff etc etc blah blah.

[Godmars290]

I never think, "Combat Evolved" when I think of Halo. I think of the Ring World novels.

[BeaArthur]

Well it is their IP, I guess they can do whatever they want.

[tahersaid]

...............

[Gray-Fox]

Do you believe that the westernisation of the eastern population of the world's society has had a diverse and detrimental affect to their customs and culture?

[Xpandemic]

Que?

[Killjoy3000]

While westernization has definitely emulated Chinese culture in a different limelight, I believe their values and culture have remained essentially intact and will continue to for a considerable amount of time.

[mikepmcc]

I really don't think that many asians play Halo...so you don't have to worry too much.

[karlowma]

Halo: Championship Edition, every time I see Halo: CE. Damn you Street Fighter.

[HarryM]

Halo: Custom Edition.

[IaMs12]

whenever i say the letters CE to someone they ask Combat Evolved? NO custom edition lol. I always just saw it as Halo 1 lol

[devilhunterx]

This.

[SOAD]

Or Collector's Edition.

[Fishy Fingers]

While the game was pretty much just known as Halo at the time, I really liked the "combat evolved", sounds quite cool and it really did help evolve console FPS. If there's one thing MS knows, it's marketing.

[booni3]

made me wonder what the game was about before i knew it was a shooter. hearing HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED before i knew what it was would only have intrigued me further.

[HarryM]

When I first glanced at the "Halo: Combat Evolved" name I thought that it was a sequel. XD

[dragonelite]

It did sell and combat evolved made it stand out even more and make a bald claim they delivered it changed console fps gameplay but we have to give Rare credits for putting the foundation on consoles in their n64 era.

[Rhythmattic]

Who the "F" cares.

Its the game that makes it what it is.....

[tigertron]

Every time someone refers to just Halo as Halo:CE I think Halo: Custom Edition, so its easy to get the two confused. I loved Halo: Custom Edition as flying Longswords and Pelicans was so awesome.

[jcgamer]

Marcus Fenix is in the exact same pose and holding his gun front and center just like Master Chief...coincidence? i think not...

http://cache.syberplanet.ne...

http://87.244.75.182/users/...

CLASSIC covers in my opinion :)

[TwistedMetal]

and cod series is bigger so I think people need to shut there mouths please. halo didnt even have dual wielding weapons. goldeneye N64 did. halo mp maps on disc were crap compared to 007 goldneye maps, halo mp character variety failed compared to goldeneye, halo weapons failed compared to 007 goldeneye which had way more and funner mp. Halo just had graphics. A N64 game has done more in the console gaming realm then crap halo lol. Dont get me started on perfect dark N64 which did more and first on consoles.

With that said pc shooters stomped out halo and the only reason people hype halo is because they arent hardcore gamers. They dont know what they are talking about when it comes to gameing. They are just mainstream gamers. Mainstream people are basically people who would say Justin Bieber is awesome in music or Miley Cyrus rocks just because of hype and popularity.

A lot of you guys are hypocrites because you would attack someone for likeing those crap singers but yet you praising some crap game. PC did stuff to push consoles forward. With out pc being in existence none of this stuff would of never happend. Halo didn't do crap so you people better recognize.

[danielle007]

was the first console game that proved to me that First Person Shooters can actually be just as solid control-wise on a console as they are on the PC. Plus, it was really my first big co-op game. So many memories just playing couch co-op and beating Halo with my friends.. & then killing them off in multiplayer.

And then Halo 2 like single-handedly started online gaming on the consoles, honestly. And everyone benefits from that.. I really doubt XBL would have taken off like it did without Halo. Plus, now we have PSN, and even the Wii has online gaming.. Thanks to the success of XBL, which owes its success to Halo 2.

If you look at the polish on the multiplayer experience, and look at what it did for XBL, and the whole console industry, Halo deserves the praise it gets.

[ASSASSYN 36o]

Halo: Combat evolved is on the PC and even the Mac. And the PC section is over there->

And xbox along with halo made it easier to have LAN parties vs. toting around a huge PC. Two xbox systems connected only required the easy to carry system and an ethernet cable and 8 people could have a teabag session blast fest for hours without the need of an internet connection.

And if you were at a university you could plug into the ethernet port in the wall of your dorm or campus apt. and play against someone across campus. Yeah xbox and halo made college campus gaming extremely fun. And golden eye was fun... for four people. 16 in halo was a lot better.

[The BS Police]

The two weapon limit, the golden tripod of wpeaons, grenades, and melee, regenrating shields, perfecting vehicle combat, big open ended evironments, and most importantly perfecting the controls for console FPS games.

Every FPS game since then including the COD series borrowed from Halo's formula

[Spydr07]

Every FPS has also borrowed from Goldeneye, as well. Not saying Goldeneye was better than Halo is, but it was just as important for the advent of the console FPS today. It might have been even more important. Who knows? But from the multiplayer maps and silky-smooth controls, to the addicting split-screen play, Goldeneye was THE pioneer of console FPSs.

[DeeBee]

The thing is nobody uses that subtitle when talking about the game, everyone just refers to it as Halo. Only magazines, wanting to be 100% accurate, bother with it.

[Tony-A]

Every person I know didn't even called CE "Halo: Combat Evolved". They always called it "Halo".

I always called it "Halo".

[f789790]

I've only used the term "Halo CE" when referring to Halo Custom Edition on the pc.

[Jazz4108]

At gamestop we use the ce to refer tothe collectors edition. lol

[aviator189]

The Combat Evolved part is what actually made me more interested in the game when it first launched. It seems to me that Bungie has been doing alot of M$ dissing since their announced partnership with Activision. They're dissing the company that marketed the hell out of their games for the past decade. It seems to be really immature on their part. These guys are really starting to get annoying.

[Spydr07]

But when it's a Sony dev doing it (tho they really don't insult Sony when they leave) it's sooooo funny (for fanboys). I think it's annoying and disrespectful regardless of the platform a dev started on. What image of professionalism are the devs sending to their future console suitors by doing this? That they have no loyalty and will trash talk you at the tip of a hat?

[Obama]

Well Bungie is mutli now so they can do whatever they want.

[PS3ROCKS]

Name I still don't get what you do with it.

[TheObserver]

Half Life is the game that really evolved the FPS genre. Using the same engine, it spawned numerous mods that became stand alone games themselves. Like Counter Strike and Team Fortress (Popular ones).

Who in the FPS world does not know of Counter Strike?

I wont even mention STEAM and digital distribution.

[PS360_37]

FPS on consoles.

For your name, you aren't very observant.

[The BS Police]

While Half Life is a great franchise in it's own right it did not have the influence that DOOM, Goldeneye 007 or Halo have had on the genre.

I never even heard of Half Life untill 2004.

[asdr3wsfas]

Counter strike was a Half-life mod that popularized realistic squad combat. See COD.

[dizzleK]

because kabuki fighters: combat evolved didn't have the same ring to it.

[xg-ei8ht]

Halo was a great game and i really enjoyed it.

[drzmvp554]

Well honestly Halo: Combat Evolved sounds better then just halo. To me the name has a big impact on the sales of games.

[Xander756]

I've always said Bungie does the opposite of everything they shoudl do. Combat Evolved was a great name so it really isn't surprising to learn they hated it.

[jacksonsgames]

I always thought that it was a stupid name. Combat Evolved?

[N4BmpS]

I wouldn't say Halo evolved the FPS genre as much as it made it more popular but it did something.

[Karum]

I loved the original Halo, I had it on PC and played multiplayer mostly with my friends on our own little dedicated server. So many good nights in Ventrilo having fun with some beer, getting a little drunk and laughing every time someone got taken down with an awesome kill.

Good times indeed.

halo 2 not being on PC was what made me buy the original Xbox...then I hated Halo 2 but I got to thinking recently that maybe it was just the original xbox controller i hated...man that thing was huge, the 360 refinement is soooo much better.

[AEtherbane]

The first halo essentially "evolved" the FPS genre, and the sci-fi setting for one. I have nothing against it.

[SpLinT]

misleading preview. they didnt "hate 'combat evolved' " . they hated the fact that they had to have a subtitle.

[MadMan00]

How about a RPG game for Bungie? Or can they only do FPS? Only time will tell.

[spektical]

didnt socom have online before halo?

halo did one thing that has helped other FPS, and thats health regen.

[Tsar4ever01]

So that why eh? I 've been wondering where "Combat evoved" was put in there so long ago.

[arakouftaian]

I never had a xbox and fall in love with fps
on the PC with Duke nukem, half life later Arther the 64
n64 with 007,duke nukem, doom.
And on the PS2 with Medal of honor, half life, Killzone, black hawk down, COD2 and at last BLACK.

So saying HALO "create" fps or mak everyone loves fps is over reacting.
Maybe for you and that's cool but don't act like a blind fanboy.

[Mr Tretton]

Killzone 2
War. Perfected.

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!