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There is no Halo 4 beta or Halo4beta site
There are no plans for Halo 4 to receive a public beta, 343 Industries announced in a Q&A with franchise development director Frank O' Connor. He answered a slew of fan questions about Halo 4, revealing that it would be possible to play Grifball, that there would not be a color-blind mode (though considerations for that audience have been made in art decisions), and a few other tidbits. Check out the full factsheet here.In related Halo 4 news, Microsoft recently won a legal battle against the bogus website Halo4beta.net, but as there won't be a Halo 4 beta we don't expect it to be put back into official use any time soon. Microsoft has also filed a complaint against Halo4beta.biz.
Comic-Con 2009: Microsoft's Frankie talks Halo Waypoint
Pictured: enthusiasts living the Halo lifestyle And by "talks," we mean "briefly mentions." Yesterday during the Halo Comic-Con panel, which was almost entirely focused on the upcoming anime series, Halo Legends, consummate Halo shepherd Frank O'Connor spoke about Waypoint and what it means. "Halo Waypoint is something you can experience on your couch, then early next year, on DVD and digital formats. It will be the digital hub for all things Halo, [to] look at your Halo career, and enjoy your Halo lifestyle."Halo lifestyle? What does that even mean? An Xbox Live version of Home, where you're outfitting your own Master Chief's digital den with photos and Covenant couches? We'll have to wait and see.
2008 Yearbook: Microsoft Game Studios
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/xbox/2008_Yearbook_Microsoft_Game_Studios'; After a solid year for the Xbox 360 in 2007 many thought the system could never showcase the same amount of quality exclusives in a single year.In the 2008 Microsoft Game Studios Yearbook, we've compiled a list of this year's graduating class with a detailed account of each title's current status and the stories surrounding them.From heartbreaking cancellations, surprise feature announcements and expected sequels, the 2008 MGS Yearbook is filled with fun facts and information on your soon-to-be favorite titles. Also included in the yearbook are special joke awards given to each title that releases in 2008 that poke fun at the details most commonly argued about in the comments.From Ninja Gaiden II to Alan Wake, the 2008 Microsoft Game Studios Yearbook will have something for everyone.Ladies and gentlemen allow us to introduce the 2008 Microsoft Game Studios graduating class ...
Frankie talks Bungie's independence
The very interesting and somewhat confusing news of Bungie leaving the comforts of Microsoft and going independent has shocked and awed the gaming world, but what exactly does it mean for everyone involved? Well, according to Frankie in an interview with Game Informer not too much will change and he says it will actually benefit both parties in the long run.In his sit down with Game Informer Frankie talks about the future of the studio, where they're headed, how their operations will work and goes on to give praise to Microsoft saying that they've been extremely supportive of their decision to go independent. Mr. O'Connor also confirms the fact that they'll still be publishing under Microsoft Game Studios and that their future projects will revolve mostly around Microsoft platforms. Yes, it's still a somewhat odd and head cocking arrangement that has been set up that leaves a lot vagueness in the air, but if you're curious to know what we think this is how we see it: In general, Bungie (post Halo 3) wants to create other IPs and the only way for them to feel free to do so is to not be held back by Microsoft's Halo shackles. So, both companies agreed, they gave each other a big hug and continue to be best friends forever while Bungie technically becomes an independent studio. Sounds good to us, how about you?[Thanks, bigbeck89]
Halo 3 achievements are pretty much confirmed
One of the only Halo 3 related nuggets-o-info not to be officially confirmed by Bungie yet have been the game's achievements which mysteriously popped up (and later updated) a few months ago. But then there was all this rampant fanboy hubbub around a new set of achievements making their way online, all secret and fueling a rumor that Bungie might have released the first set of Halo 3 achievements as red-herrings. But fanboys, we have video proof that the original set of leaked achievements were spot on and very final. The overly long video above was taken while Bungie's own Frankie was online playing the gold build of Halo 3 and shows an official Xbox 360 guide achievement comparison for Halo 3. And like we said, the achievements are identical to the leaked Halo 3 achievement we've seen before. That's it, we're officially calling the task of trying to find out Halo 3's achievements before release solved and complete.
Halo 3 is so unofficially gold
For the past few weeks Microsoft and Bungie employees have been spotted online playing a near final build of Halo 3 called Epsilon, but now it looks like Epsilon is through and the final build is out. This weekend, Bungie's very own Frankie was spotted playing Halo 3 online, but not the typical Epsilon build ... it was simply titled "Halo 3". If you check out Frankie's gamercard you'll notice that the game icon and achievements are achievable (although not viewable) leading us to believe that he was playing the final Halo 3 build and that the game has gone gold. No official Halo 3 gold status announcement has been made yet, but with less than a month before release the timing seems about right. We'll keep an eye on Frankie's gamercard for any new Halo 3 revelations, because we're a tad obsessed with Halo and because we need to practice our stalker skills.[Thanks, to everyone who sent this in]
X3F interview: Bungie's Frank O'Connor
In another 4 minute E3 round robin interview (check out our first session with Peter Moore), we got the chance to interview Bungie's Frank O'Connor, better known simply as Frankie to Bungie fans. We made sure to ask him about Halo, of course, but we also asked him about Peter Jackson's project and Bungie's magnum opus, Pimps at Sea.First of all, when did you actually start Halo 3's production? Was it almost immediately after Halo 2?Some of it was even before, you know, some of the concepting and design stuff was done before then, but pretty much three years of development.When you were doing Halo 2, was there a time when you were thinking Halo 1, Halo 2 and that was it, or were you always thinking trilogy?We were thinking of a trilogy. I can't say that we felt that during Halo 1 but certainly during Halo 2. That became very apparent that there was more story to tell than could fit into a 10 hour, 11 hour game.The last trilogy you did for Mac was the Marathon games. And Halo 1 you were originally doing for Mac ...There's some symmetry there, yeah.
Joystiq interviews Bungie's Frank O'Connor: Peter Jackson details
During a late night Microsoft interview session last Friday, we had a few minutes to chat with Bungie's head writer and (handsome) public face, Frank O'Connor. As was the case with our previously mentioned Peter Molyneux interview, we only had four minutes before being shuffled off to the next interviewee. The next interviewee, as it turns out, was Peter Molyneux. We'll let you sort out this blog writing time paradox on your own. For now, it's time to focus on the subject at hand: Pimps at Sea. Oh, and we asked a few questions about Halo as well.First of all, when did you actually start Halo 3's production? Was it almost immediately after Halo 2?Some of it was even before, you know, some of the concepting and design stuff was done before then, but pretty much three years of development.When you were doing Halo 2, was there a time when you were thinking Halo 1, Halo 2 and that was it, or were you always thinking trilogy?We were thinking of a trilogy. I can't say that we felt that during Halo 1 but certainly during Halo 2. That became very apparent that there was more story to tell than could fit into a 10 hour, 11 hour game.The last trilogy you did for Mac was the Marathon games. And Halo 1 you were originally doing for Mac ...There's some symmetry there, yeah.
Halo 3 beta absent, internet explodes
After months of waiting, Halo 3 fans are now being rewarded with ... more waiting. Those who got into the beta by purchasing Crackdown were supposed to be able to begin downloading at 8 a.m. today but, as of 9:40 am EST, still have not been able to start the download. Those accessing the beta through other methods are unaffected. Bungie's Frankie is already on the case, saying "We have alerted the appropriate Live authorities and they are taking care of the problem as we speak. More news as it comes in."Does that matter to the internet though? No. The internet, angered at having woken so early needlessly, is super pissed. One former fan on an official Bungie thread wrote "EVEYONE JUST PLAY GEARS..................FORGET BUNGIE" and that was when the demo was 1 hour and 8 minutes late. Man, that's cold. At this rate, in just a few short hours, they'll be screaming, "EVEYONE JUST PLAY BULLIT WHICH..................FORGET BUNGIE," and so on. They'll be lucky if anybody's left to play the thing when it finally appears.Update: A fix is on the way.
Joystiq chats it up with Bungie's Frankie
During the Halo 3 beta preview in New York, the guys over at Joystiq cornered Bungie's very own media man Frankie to discuss everything Halo. And even though he was tight lipped about Halo 3's story and future projects, he did talk about the Halo movie, what Bungie wants from the beta, and what kind of input they'll be taking from fans. Frankie also throws a hard left hook at Nintendo's Miyamoto for his remarks about Halo ... and let's just say we're looking forward to Bungie's new 2D side-scroller. Read the full interview after the jump.
Halo 3 beta's Friends & Family program explained
This week's Bungie Weekly Update brings a variety of news. Most importantly, Frankie details how the Halo 3 beta Friends and Family program will work. If you don't know, the Friends and Family program is a small number of people who will get to play the Halo 3 beta earlier than the general public. It's kinds of a thank you to those who are loyal Halo community members. Anyway, Frankie said that they have already selected the lucky few and all who qualified will be notified on May 11th via a PM on Bungie.net. Yup, those of you who are lucky enough to be part of the Friends and Family program will get your Halo 3 beta download code on the 11th exclusively through Bungie.net's PM system. So, be prepared, watch your PM inbox, and don't take it to heart if you aren't selected. We still love you. Again, there is just too much Halo 3 news in this week's Bungie Weekly Update for us to recap, so make the jump already. Frankie doesn't write a mini-novel every week for his health, it's for you!
No original Halo pistol in Halo 3
Yesterday, we reported on the updated Halo3.com website and its new info including confirmation that the original M6D pistol (with 2x scope) from Halo would make an appearance in Halo 3. But now we're finding out that this isn't really true at all. You see, Halo3.com is run by the corporate guys over at Microsoft and they got a few weapon details wrong. Frankie from Bungie jumped all around the internets to clarify this little pistol confusion stating that there will be a pistol in Halo 3, but not Halo's M6D. The Halo 3 pistol is called the M6G and will NOT include any scope. Sorry guys, it was just a little pistol mixup on Halo3.com. Nothing to see here, so just move along and stay calm.
Halo 3 details and rumors shot down
Holy informative Bungie Weekly Update Batman. This week, Frankie brings new Halo 3 details and talks the big boy talk, so let's jump right in. Some big news is that the Halo 3 beta will support a (widescreen enhanced) two player split screen option. So, you'll be able to share the Halo 3 beta love with your friends. Speaking of the beta, Bungie unveiled the default control scheme for the game with a pretty graphic that maps out each button's function. It looks like the RB will take most of the X button's old functions and that silly d-pad will activate voice chat. Also, Frankie shot down a few Halo 3 rumors that hit the intertubes this week. First, May 11th is only important for those lucky enough to be considered "press" as they'll be playing the beta a few days before the rest of us so they can get their stories written ... that's it. Secondly, Halo 3 is not going to be native 1080p at 60fps as speculated earlier, it's just not practical. And finally, the image above is the second wave of Halo 3's marketing materials considered the "emotional" phase. Can't you feel it all, Cortana's eyes, the despair, the hope ... it pulls at your heart strings. You know what to do, make the jump for all the Weekly Update details to make sure you're the cool kid who has this week's Halo 3 dish.
Luke Smith leaves 1UP to be Master Chief's poolboy
No, we don't actually know that 1UP's news editor will be fishing leaves out of the pool at the Spartan's summer home. But we do know, thanks to the most recent 1UP Yours podcast, that Smith, who has wasted no opportunity to express his love for Halo, will soon leave the world of gaming journalism for an unannounced position at Bungie. Smith did hint that he would still be in front of a mic at his new job, and Bungie's Frankie said in recent update that something was in the works that "might make the next official Bungie podcast that much better," so we probably have a pretty good idea of what he'll be doing. Smith's path may remind readers of that of Che Chou, who left his job as 1UP's managing editor for community management at Microsoft Game Studios or former Gamespot chief Greg Kasavin who left the site to work as an associate producer for EA.
Bungie confirms X-button functionality
In yesterday's post by Bungie staffer Frankie, what we already knew about Halo 3's mysterious X-button functionality was confirmed: It will be used to deploy equipment like the trip mines and bubble shields we saw in the recent Vidoc, and as of now is, appropriately enough, called Equipment. There's also some hinting about a third item that's yet to be revealed; we're hoping for nunchaku.Frankie also dismisses worries of the bubble shield unbalancing gameplay as he emphasizes how rare equipment will be on the battlefield. So you can put your dreams of building a bubble shield fort back in your fan fiction where it belongs. There's also a heaping portion of the requisite undermining of all the video you've seen so far and reminders of how much better everything is in the game's current build, which will hopefully hold true when we see for ourselves in May.
More Halo 3 beta talk and Halo 2 news
The latest Bungie Weekly Update brings us a few more details about the Halo 3 beta and talks about the changes going on over in Halo 2 land. First, let's jump into the beta news. Frankie further clarifies his clarification about the new X button "Equipment" function. The X button will pick up and drop equipment items like the bubble shield and tripmine (others items may be in the works), but not "throw" them. So, they'll be items on a map that have to be picked up like any other weapon and once dropped ... they'll activate. Also, the bubble shield will allow people to pass through it, but stop bullets and grenades in their tracks. It's also interesting to note that the bubble shield will be "breakable" and stationary in the beta, not rolling once dropped. For those of you who are overly excited about Halo 3's recording function, it'll be available in the beta, but in a stripped down version only. And before we forget, there is plenty of Halo 2 news to be read about various problems, the new matchmaking structure, and information on the new maps. Again, we can't recap every jewel from the Weekly Update, so it's your fanboy duty to make the jump and read it all. Quickly, jump!
Halo 3 video questions cleared up
Bungie's own Frankie jumped over to the NeoGAF forums to clear up some speculation floating around the new Halo 3 vidoc that was released this morning. In Frankie's post, he re-emphasizes that all the multiplayer gameplay footage was taken from the alpha build and that it is not representative of how pretty the game looks saying that, "All of the water you saw, for example, is placeholder. No decorators are in those maps. The frame rates are all over the place. Some of that footage has correct lighting, some of it doesn't. All of that footage is olde." He also goes on to explain that the new bubble shield and trip mine are two of the X button's deployments and are not treated as grenades as some thought. So, the beta will be graphically prettier, the frame rate will much more consistent, and the X button does indeed control the bubble shield and trip mine. Not too shabby. [Via HBO]
Bungie hints at big announcement this week
This week's Bungie Weekly Update brings us talk of Halo 2, Halo 3, and a hint at some significant news coming this week. On the Halo 2 front, Bungie announced that they will be rolling back all the ranks for all gametypes in preparation for the new maps. They'll also be releasing an update that'll allow their patented Banhammer to further bring the pain, which could make for some rocky matchmaking the first week or so. Be prepared, you were warned. But that's Halo 2, we want Halo 3 news and we want it now! And Frankie didn't disappoint as he discusses the evolution of the fusion core, ambient sounds, and announces that another Halo 3 vid doc will be coming down the pipeline in the near future. Most exciting is Frankie's hint about this week's news saying that there will be "Big changes coming. Big changes and big news. Next week is going to be significant". Big changes and big news eh? We can only speculate to what will be gracing our ears and eyes this week (Halo 3 beta news anyone?), we're eager with anticipation. Enjoy the update and enjoy the sun, make the jump and have some fun.
More Halo 3 weapon and multiplayer details
In an interview with Gamepro, Bungie's Frankie answers questions about Halo 3's weapons and a few multiplayer inquiries. Among the nuggets of information squeezed from Frankie's lips are that the Needler has been overhauled (again), the Spiker is the Brute version of the SMG, and that the various types of grenades add another layer of strategy to the whole ball of wax. Equally interesting is that Frankie pretty much confirms Halo 3 will be using Halo 2's party based matchmaking (as if we doubted that) and when questioned about online co-op Frankie answered, "What is a co-op? We'll do our best to make the online experience a blast". Haha, funny Frankie. You know we want our online co-op and we want it now, or just when Halo 3 is released. That'll do. Read the full interview after the jump. [Thanks, to everyone who sent this in]
Frankie talks Halo 3 dev process
One thing we know for sure is that Halo 3 will be coming out this year, it will be huge, and it'll be put under one giant microscope. So, how does the Bungie team deal with all the internal pressures, development process, and stay on track? In a Next Generation interview, Bungie's own Frankie says that compared to Halo 2 the whole project is" well managed, it's well scheduled, and it's a pretty happy environment". Frankie also talks about what the main focus is right now and how they are polishing, refining, and adding layers and layers of goods onto Halo 3's framework. He also mentions that they do indeed have a hard date when they have to push the Halo 3 beta out the door (which is soon), but doesn't know when it'll make it into the public's hands other than a rough "this Spring". Halo 3 downloadable content talk and insightful interview banter can be read after the jump.[Thanks, Eric]
