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"WoW in space": Bungie's MMOFPS named Destiny
A couple of years ago, fans of the Halo franchise were crushed to find out that their favorite first-person shooter probably wasn't going to make the leap to MMO space. However, the company behind the Halo phenomenon has been diligently at work on another highly speculated-about project -- and it looks as though this project could go a long way to giving the fans what they want. According to Kotaku, Bungie has been developing a massively multiplayer first-person shooter named Destiny. Previously code-named "Tiger," Destiny is described by Kotaku's unnamed source as being "World of Warcraft in space" and will run on all-new technology developed by the studio, including unique online connectivity and matchmaking software. Bungie is currently in a 10-year publishing agreement with Activision Blizzard, so presumably Destiny will be published by the company. Last year, Blizzard's Rob Pardo applauded the idea of a Bungie MMO, although he refused to comment on a collaboration between the two studios.
Halo: Reach co-op hard drive requirement unresolved, no ETA on fix
Following the launch of Halo: Reach, we reported that the game's co-op functionality requires an Xbox 360 hard drive. This was of particular concern to those who had purchased one of the newly released 4GB Xbox 360 S models. At the time, we were told that the issue was "temporary" and that Microsoft was "working to resolve it." Repeated attempts to confirm with Microsoft when the situation will be resolved have been met with assurances that the company would let us know when there's an update, though no further details have been provided. It's currently unclear if and when the issue will ever be fixed, so consider this a PSA: If you've been holding off on picking up Reach until this particular shortcoming is addressed, you may want to start shopping for hard drives instead.
Spend 3 minutes with Halo: Reach's Noble Map Pack
Did the trailer for the Noble Map Pack fail to sate your still-watering palette? Did you need a more extensive taste of the new Halo: Reach multiplayer arenas before their release next Tuesday? S'cool, we gotcha -- IGN has posted a video tour of the new maps, which we've embedded past the break.
Blizzard's Pardo talks Bungie MMO
reddit_url = "http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/25/blizzards-pardo-talks-bungie-mmo/"; reddit_target="gaming"; Tweet A Bungie MMORPG is a rumor that simply won't die. Whether it's Joe Staten hinting at a persistent world during the recently concluded GDC, or Bobby Kotick telling investors that one of the reasons Bungie signed with Activision was to avail itself of Blizzard's vast customer service expertise, scuttlebutt about a Halo-themed MMO is a speculative fire that's hard to douse. In a new interview at Next Gen, Blizzard boss Rob Pardo (co-designer on World of Warcraft) says his company could share resources with Bungie on an MMO project and furthermore, he'd love to play it. "I think that's one of the other reasons we've been so successful at Blizzard -- all of us play and love games. We're as big a fans as anybody. I would love to play a Bungie MMO. I think it would be cool," he said at last week's Blizzcon. Pardo was also quick to point out that Blizzard is very focused on their own development, and talk of a Bungie collaboration is somewhat premature. "There are a lot of ifs there. It would have to be a very specific proposal," he said.
Greenberg: Xbox 360 was top-selling console for fourth month in a row
Now that the NPD has decreed our mere mortal minds are unfit to handle hardware sales figures, we're tasked with finding information from alternative sources -- wait, what's this? Aaron Greenberg just tweeted that the Xbox 360 bested the competition for the fourth month in a row? Search: complete. Consider it the Halo: Reach bump. Previously, the Xbox 360 enjoyed three months of strong sales thanks to a hardware refresh, but Bungie's 343 Industries' franchise has been known to move consoles, so it's no surprise Microsoft dominated September. Greenberg elaborated in his following tweet that Microsoft sold 483,989 hardware units in September, "a 37% increase over last year." He also claimed the console is the only system with higher sales year-over-year. So help us settle a bet: how many of you picked up the special edition Reach console?
Bungie resets credits on 15K Halo: Reach cheaters
On top of announcing an earlier than expected playlist update (coming this Tuesday), Bungie revealed last night that it has reset the credits and ranks of "approximately" 15,000 Halo: Reach accounts. The studio also applied a one day credit earning ban on affected players, less for punishment than to "ensure that recipients receive an in-game notification of the action taken." The resets were handled last evening and specifically targeted folks who employed "an exploit that allowed players to complete a Challenge 20+ times via itentional network manipulation (i.e., disconnects.)." Bungie will also be completing a "more comprehensive pass" later this week, after the studio is confident enough in its automated banning system. We're taking this move as further proof of the age old adage -- cheaters never win.
Bungie update images add 250 Gamerscore, 10 'Cheevos to Halo: Reach
This week's Bungie.net news update brought with it more than just info about Halo: Reach's Xbox Live stats -- it also featured a couple of screens showing an extra 10 Achievements and 250 Gamerscore for the just released title. In a segment explaining how to install the game to the 360's hard drive, two screens can be clearly seen with the adjusted Gamerscore and 'Cheevo count (1250 up from 1000 Gamerscore and 59 up from 49 Achievements). Bungie doesn't directly address the changes in its update, instead hinting at "some new stuff" being added in a "potential second October update." Unfortunately, this hint is dropped right after talk of the regular housekeeping performed on Halo multiplayer, so it's unclear what's being hinted at directly. Halo 3 was eventually lavished with an astonishing 1750 Gamerscore when all was said and done, so the idea of an extra 250 doesn't seem like much of a reach if you ask us. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Microsoft: One Halo game every three years 'probably not frequent enough'
"I will say I think one Halo game every three years -- which was kind of our old cadence -- is probably not frequent enough," Microsoft VP Phil Spencer told IGN. For Spencer, it's a matter of keeping players "engaged" and "not going dark for two years" at a time, akin to what Activision has done for Call of Duty. "I used to look at annual releases of non-sports games as people just trying to milk me," Spencer said. "I figured nobody had enough time to do a good job, and all of the negatives that we would associate with those kinds of scenarios. Kudos to Activision because they've done a good job building a good game, continuing to release each year and I think the fans feel like it's a good thing that they do that." He added that, "watching them and seeing what they do -- we take inspiration from a lot of places -- but obviously they're a big success." For Microsoft, the hurdle is now going to be a change in developer -- Bungie's leaving some big shoes to fill.
Halo: Reach Invasion mode Forge guide
Having a tough time designing Halo: Reach Invasion variants in the game's expanded Forge utility? Yeah, us too -- that is, until we read Bungie's handy little guide for budding modders, which breaks down the process of creating an Invasion map from start to finish. The guide provides the know-how for setting up CTF and Assault-based objectives (and a host of other options), in addition to the 4-1-1 on creating multiple objectives in each phase of your custom Invasion game. If knowledge is power, then this guide is the equivalent of hooking up your brain to a car battery.
Halo: Reach grabs $200 million day one
Microsoft Game Studios VP Phil Spencer just announced at the company's TGS press conference that Halo: Reach made $200 million on its first day at retail. We know that's not much of a stretch for you all to imagine, but it seemed like an important facticle to grasp. If most of those copies were sold at the $60 MSRP, that's about 3.3 million units.
Year of Xbox Live Gold and free Halo Avatar item for $30
You may have noticed the above advertisement on the Xbox 360 dashboard -- we've yet to encounter this ourselves, but we've been assured it's there. Engadget writer @rjcc first tipped us off on the deal, which adds a year to your Xbox Live Gold membership, along with the pictured Halo: Reach helmet above. Get 'em both for $29.99, because we all know Xbox Live won't be that cheap for long.
Mega64: Halo spoils another Cabela's game launch
We're not sure how Cabela's could be so consistently unaware of the games landscape, but we'd be remiss if we said we weren't glad. Otherwise, we wouldn't get hilarious videos from Mega64, like the one we've embedded past the break. We don't want to ruin the ending for you, but let's just say the Cabela's guys are ready to finish the fight. [Thanks, Tyler]
Video: Bungie previews Halo: Reach's 'The Cage'
Out on the grind? Take a breather and check out this developer walkthrough of the Halo:Reach Forge World map, the Cage. Don't worry -- you'll be home soon enough.
Halo: Reach Walmart ad doles out the smack talk between friends
Jim Gaffigan summed up the "merits" of camping rather well, which we point out because there's a new Walmart ad that shows you how to deal with a friend stupid enough to go camping the night Halo: Reach launches. Personally, we'd never befriend somebody who had their priorities that mixed up.
Bungie building a new engine for Activision project
Like the Halo series before it, Bungie is working on its own, brand new game engine for use in its forthcoming Activision project. "Just like we don't want to develop a game off someone else's IP, we want to push our own technology in the same way. That's going to be our position for the forseeable future," Bungie's Brian Jarrard told Develop in a recent interview. Furthermore, that new engine is already being worked on, though it's still in the early stages. "Yeah, [the new engine is] actually in development, so I would say it's in a stage where, technically we're still at the end of a pre-production mode," Jarrard explained. He did admit that, "now that Reach is done the full weight of our team is rolling into the project," adding, "Real work is underway." We're excited to hear more about Bungie's next project, but for now, we've got an inevitable glassing to face.
Video: Halo: Reach's Firefight, as previewed by Bungie
We don't know what you guys are pumped for most in Halo: Reach, but for us it's easily the new Firefight mode. That's why we had to share this video, which does an amazing job at slowing down time and making our wait that much tougher. Join us by checking out the video past the break.
Halo: Reach 'Deliver Hope' live-action short released in full
Soul-stirring music? Check! Gigantic battles and fancy special effects? Check check! That's right, folks -- it's another Halo: Reach live-action short. This time, the original "Deliver Hope" video is extended to over two minutes of apocalyptic action.
Halo: Reach launch festivities detailed by Microsoft
Next week's release of Halo: Reach carries with it some dire consequences for one New York City Best Buy-owned location -- the Times Square Best Buy theater will be taken over by thousands of rabid Halo fans, patiently waiting for their copy of Reach at 12:01am Tuesday on the dot. Additionally, the theater will feature a "surprise musical performance" and a chance to meet the creators of Reach. Seattle will also be holding a major launch event. The Experience Music Project / Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame will host folks from both Bungie and 343 Industries, as well as a chance to compete in tournaments and win "coveted Halo prizes." Will you finally get that real-life plasma sword? We certainly hope not. That's dangerous! As expected, US game retailers (from GameStop to Walmart) will be holding midnight launch events across the country, though we suggest you check with your local retail outlet before lining up next Monday night. A week's worth of Xbox Live-based activities -- named "Invasion Week" -- are also planned, which you can find detailed after the break. [Thanks, p01nt.]
Halo: Reach Legendary Edition gets developer commentary
Setting the price at $150, Bungie claims to give you the most complete Halo: Reach experience possible in the game's Legendary Edition, shipping next week. Adding to the sculpture and other various material goodies included in the package, Bungie recently revealed another piece of content: "two full hours of exclusive, behind-the-scenes campaign commentary covering unrevealed aspects of Halo: Reach's production." Creative director Marcus Lehto and crew commentate an entire campaign playthrough -- "judiciously edited to excise the downtime" -- and show off Reach "from concept to cutting room floor." Additionally, Bungie pointed out in its weekly update that it won't be punishing folks for playing Reach early (legitimate copies, at least) -- but there will be a credit reset at launch. This means that those of you lucky enough to secure an early retail disc shouldn't get too attached to that sweet helmet or those shiny shoulder pads -- they'll disappear come September 14. Bungie also warns early players that the multiplayer is still in a "test" state, meaning various issues may pop up (matchmaking, credit acquisition, and the daily challenge are all said to be "running at less than optimal levels"). Even so, if you've gotten an early copy, you can enjoy the single-player campaign for the next week.
Halo: Reach's Spartans who didn't make the cut
Bungie revealed an interesting tidbit about the creation of Noble, the protagonist Spartan squad engulfed in the conflict on the titular planet in Halo: Reach. There were initially more members of the team, though two were eventually cut in favor of the five in the final Noble team we know today (excluding Noble Six, the player character in Halo: Reach). "Back in the early days, we talked a lot about The Magnificent Seven and The Seven Samurai," Lee Wilson, story and cinematics lead, said. "And yes, originally, there were seven Spartans. Here's a little bit of trivia for you guys: Rosetta and Tom, yes, were two of the Spartans we had to cut, unfortunately." Wilson described Rosetta as being "sassy," while Tom was "a cowboy." If you need us, we'll be pouring one out for the first casualties in the Fall of Reach.
