September 25th. This is the way the world ends. (HALO 3)

Just found this on Bungie.com.

Looks like I'm going to need an Xbox 360 a lot sooner than I thought. ;)

The news just hit GS too. I honestly did a double take when I saw that, I saw Halo 9/25 and thought they were talking about Halo 2 on PC until I read the headline closer.

I guess the feedback was positive enough for MS to give the go ahead on this one. Looks like they're not waiting for the holiday rush and are going in for the kill now, and not later.

I guess its time to pre-order this somewhere .

Can't wait... 

I'm actually surprised.  Not that Halo 3 is coming out earlier than most thought, but that a Gamestop employee was right about something! :shock:  I kid you not, two months ago while I was in my local Gamestop, an employee said that he heard that Halo 3 was coming out in September.  I thought he was making it up just to get me to pre-order. Go figure.

Well this is pleasant. When the beta ends, we'll only have 3 "short" months of waiting as opposed to nearly half a year of waiting.

I absolutely can't wait. 4 hours to go and I get my first taste of what will undoubtedly be the game to suck more hours away from my life than any other game I've ever played.

Well this is pleasant. When the beta ends, we'll only have 3 "short" months of waiting as opposed to nearly half a year of waiting.

I absolutely can't wait. 4 hours to go and I get my first taste of what will undoubtedly be the game to suck more hours away from my life than any other game I've ever played.

The_Duke_Lives

:evil: You lucky dogs who got in on the beta action. Oh how I wish I was able to also.

Anyway even though I'm not in on the action I'm still pretty pumped for it's release soon. I can't wait to read all the impressions and I'm really hoping that we'll see some match videos available on Marketplace for those of us who are sitting on the sidelines.

I have to say that this is somewhat surprising to me....I guess because I am use to the November releases. So when is all of the advertising going to start? Or does a game this big really need commercials and stuff like that?

Since it will be out in Septemeber I guess I need to remember which Gamestop I pre-ordered the game from.

Oh and BTW Oblivion is bad for your health, I'm going to bed.

dvader654

Yeah, try the Cure for Vampirism quest. Oh My God! :evil: 3 hours on it last night the most pain the ass portion of any game I've ever played!

Yeah, try the Cure for Vampirism quest. Oh My God! :evil: 3 hours on it last night the most pain the ass portion of any game I've ever played!

gaminggeek

Embrace the Dark Gift, don't throw it away.

I freaked when I got nailed with Vampirism in the game, but a week later I'd pretty much decided I'd never go back. Plus, it's awesome watching yourself smoke in the sunlight.

As for Halo 3, I'm honestly a bit surprised based on what the game looks like so far. I thought they may let it bake for a few more months. Strategically it's a very good move - basically sews up the fourth quarter for Microsoft.

I'm actually surprised. Not that Halo 3 is coming out earlier than most thought, but that a Gamestop employee was right about something! :shock: I kid you not, two months ago while I was in my local Gamestop, an employee said that he heard that Halo 3 was coming out in September. I thought he was making it up just to get me to pre-order. Go figure.

MLJ28

[QUOTE="gaminggeek"]

Yeah, try the Cure for Vampirism quest. Oh My God! :evil: 3 hours on it last night the most pain the ass portion of any game I've ever played!

Shame-usBlackley

Embrace the Dark Gift, don't throw it away.

I freaked when I got nailed with Vampirism in the game, but a week later I'd pretty much decided I'd never go back. Plus, it's awesome watching yourself smoke in the sunlight.

As for Halo 3, I'm honestly a bit surprised based on what the game looks like so far. I thought they may let it bake for a few more months. Strategically it's a very good move - basically sews up the fourth quarter for Microsoft.

You're wrong foul beast. I shall never join your ranks. I still collect the dust of your bretheren!

The news just hit GS too. I honestly did a double take when I saw that, I saw Halo 9/25 and thought they were talking about Halo 2 on PC until I read the headline closer.

I guess the feedback was positive enough for MS to give the go ahead on this one. Looks like they're not waiting for the holiday rush and are going in for the kill now, and not later.

MarcusAntonius

September is indeed the ideal month for a blockbuster release. Just out of the summer slump, and just before the run-up to the holiday season. If the game delivers, it will carry on dominating the charts way beyond Christmas and the New Year.

I just hope it's ready, eh?

I am rather surprised they're not going for the traditional November release. My guess would be that Microsoft wanted to get Halo 3 on shelves before Grand Theft Auto IV no matter what.

So I'm wondering what gets moved forward to escape the black hole of sales that is Halo 3.  There is no way that MS is releasing Blue Dragon or Mass Effect anywhere near that monster.  If Blue Dragon is set for August, does Mass Effect get pulled forward to July?  Or does it slip to November?  Lost Odyssey was set for December, but maybe that slips to 08. 

The Fall release schedule is getting really crowded when you factor in Half-Life 2, GTA IV, BioShock, Assasins Creed, Mercenaries 2, etc.  There are going to be a couple of these games fall through the cracks, and it won't be GTA or Halo.  I pray it's not Blue Dragon or Mass Effect either.

So I'm wondering what gets moved forward to escape the black hole of sales that is Halo 3.  There is no way that MS is releasing Blue Dragon or Mass Effect anywhere near that monster.  If Blue Dragon is set for August, does Mass Effect get pulled forward to July?  Or does it slip to November?  Lost Odyssey was set for December, but maybe that slips to 08. 

The Fall release schedule is getting really crowded when you factor in Half-Life 2, GTA IV, BioShock, Assasins Creed, Mercenaries 2, etc.  There are going to be a couple of these games fall through the cracks, and it won't be GTA or Halo.  I pray it's not Blue Dragon or Mass Effect either.

danmp18

I hadn't thought of that. One must wonder if third parties feel betrayed by this announcement. I'm sure Mistwalker in particular must somewhat put off by this.

That's awesome in one way, bad in another.

Bad in that, Mass Effect is going to get massively effected by this, and probably delayed until the end of the year at the earliest. Great in that, it probably means Halo 3 is coming along better than most thought, and good enough for a release 2 months early.

I'm surprised; I thought for sure they'd stay with the traditional November release.

Now, if Halo 3 comes out and the campaign is once again not as good the as original, and/or with a cliffhangar ending, I will riot about the early release.

Strategically a smart move for Microsoft. GTA IV is going to be massive, too. But what this allows is for people to, on the launch of GTA IV, to choose between the $600 GTA IV machine, and the $480/400 GTA IV and Halo 3 machine. I think Sony is screwed this Christmas. All of their exclusives can be hits, and it won't matter, because Halo 3 is a 360 exclusive, and it's cheaper to play GTA IV on the 360. Not to mention Bioshock, Mass Effect, Blue Dragon and maybe Lost Odyssey are all happening this year.

Real interesting to see if this will affect Nintendo at all. For the killer line-up Microsoft has going this year, they're more or less ignoring what Nintendo is doing. Everything they've got is bent on being a Sony-killer. That may give Nintendo the room to score an upset this Christmas, but they need some surprise hits like Nintendogs and Brain Age.

Brilliant move on MS's Part. This could definitly drive the sales of 360 through out the whole holiday season...maybe even surpassing Wii's momentum. People are going to be looking at consules for thier next gen fix of GTA, MAdden, etc. And 360 is in the prime spot to pick up that slack.

If MS lowers the price now on the Elite too 400...The prem to 300...And just remove the core. I would even be naive enough to say checkmate for Sony in NA. 

[QUOTE="Oilers99"]

Strategically a smart move for Microsoft. GTA IV is going to be massive, too. But what this allows is for people to, on the launch of GTA IV, to choose between the $600 GTA IV machine, and the $480/400 GTA IV and Halo 3 machine. I think Sony is screwed this Christmas. All of their exclusives can be hits, and it won't matter, because Halo 3 is a 360 exclusive, and it's cheaper to play GTA IV on the 360. Not to mention Bioshock, Mass Effect, Blue Dragon and maybe Lost Odyssey are all happening this year.

Real interesting to see if this will affect Nintendo at all. For the killer line-up Microsoft has going this year, they're more or less ignoring what Nintendo is doing. Everything they've got is bent on being a Sony-killer. That may give Nintendo the room to score an upset this Christmas, but they need some surprise hits like Nintendogs and Brain Age.

dvader654

Yep Nintendo will be very interesting to watch. Yeah they have Mario and maybe SSB which is gigantic but a cheaper 360 with Halo 3 and GTA IV is hard to fight. Who ever wins this holiday season wins the US war, its as simple as that.

It isn't that simple, because if 360 barely eeks out a victory based on a vastly higher profile software line-up this year, what do they have left for 2008? GTA IV.V? I'm sure there will be some cool 360 games, but they're going all-out this year, and next year will be a let-down by comparison. When the Wii's killer apps are titles like Wii Health Pack and Wii Sports, I don't think they need suffer a similar drought. The 360 winning 2007's Christmas does not mean they will win the following ones. It will just mean they proved that they can win a Christmas season where shortages are not an issue.

On the other hand, if Nintendo wins Christmas 2007 despite a 360 that brings out Halo 3, Mass Effect, Blue Dragon, GTA IV and a number of other games, I don't think the 360 can catch up. Heck, they could win Christmas by so small a margin that the early year sales that Nintendo put up could mean that they lost the year overall. If this scenario happens, I don't see the 360 as having any way to stop the Wii, short of a massive price drop.

Then again, the 360 is getting all those high-calibre games this year, so I fully expect them to win. It's no guarantee, but it would seem to follow that enough of the PS2/Xbox userbase would be impressed by the 360's line-up to commit this year. But these kinds of years come once, maybe twice in a console's life-time. I see a Wii line-up emerging in either 2008 or 2009 as compelling as this year's 360 line-up, and when that happens, the Wii will dominate. Why? Because I see the system giving the 360 all it can handle with a lesser line-up this year.

The 360 will win this Christmas, but not by a wide margin, and prove that it will remain competitive with the Wii for the next couple years. But if the Wii does manage to win this Christmas with an inferior line-up, it could be a sign that the Wii's victory will be by a wider margin than most anticipate.

[QUOTE="dvader654"][QUOTE="Oilers99"]

Strategically a smart move for Microsoft. GTA IV is going to be massive, too. But what this allows is for people to, on the launch of GTA IV, to choose between the $600 GTA IV machine, and the $480/400 GTA IV and Halo 3 machine. I think Sony is screwed this Christmas. All of their exclusives can be hits, and it won't matter, because Halo 3 is a 360 exclusive, and it's cheaper to play GTA IV on the 360. Not to mention Bioshock, Mass Effect, Blue Dragon and maybe Lost Odyssey are all happening this year.

Real interesting to see if this will affect Nintendo at all. For the killer line-up Microsoft has going this year, they're more or less ignoring what Nintendo is doing. Everything they've got is bent on being a Sony-killer. That may give Nintendo the room to score an upset this Christmas, but they need some surprise hits like Nintendogs and Brain Age.

Oilers99

Yep Nintendo will be very interesting to watch. Yeah they have Mario and maybe SSB which is gigantic but a cheaper 360 with Halo 3 and GTA IV is hard to fight. Who ever wins this holiday season wins the US war, its as simple as that.

It isn't that simple, because if 360 barely eeks out a victory based on a vastly higher profile software line-up this year, what do they have left for 2008? GTA IV.V? I'm sure there will be some cool 360 games, but they're going all-out this year, and next year will be a let-down by comparison. When the Wii's killer apps are titles like Wii Health Pack and Wii Sports, I don't think they need suffer a similar drought. The 360 winning 2007's Christmas does not mean they will win the following ones. It will just mean they proved that they can win a Christmas season where shortages are not an issue.

On the other hand, if Nintendo wins Christmas 2007 despite a 360 that brings out Halo 3, Mass Effect, Blue Dragon, GTA IV and a number of other games, I don't think the 360 can catch up. Heck, they could win Christmas by so small a margin that the early year sales that Nintendo put up could mean that they lost the year overall. If this scenario happens, I don't see the 360 as having any way to stop the Wii, short of a massive price drop.

Then again, the 360 is getting all those high-calibre games this year, so I fully expect them to win. It's no guarantee, but it would seem to follow that enough of the PS2/Xbox userbase would be impressed by the 360's line-up to commit this year. But these kinds of years come once, maybe twice in a console's life-time. I see a Wii line-up emerging in either 2008 or 2009 as compelling as this year's 360 line-up, and when that happens, the Wii will dominate. Why? Because I see the system giving the 360 all it can handle with a lesser line-up this year.

The 360 will win this Christmas, but not by a wide margin, and prove that it will remain competitive with the Wii for the next couple years. But if the Wii does manage to win this Christmas with an inferior line-up, it could be a sign that the Wii's victory will be by a wider margin than most anticipate.

MS mentioned that they're giving room for great titles to be available next year. Fable 2, Condemned 2, Too Human (maybe), Alan Wake, PGR4 (could be delayed), SC 5 Conviction (doubtful it will make it this year), and perhaps Lost Odyssey could be delayed too and few other RPG's and what about Ninja Gaiden 2?. So I'm not worried for 08's lineup seems to be as good as this year IMO.

As for GTAIV being bigger than Halo 3 on the 360? I don't think so, going by preorders alone, or sales on day 1; I give the edge to Halo 3.

People are predicting GTA sales based on last gen when the game debuted on a system with over 100 million owners.Uncle_Tbag

There were 100 million PS2 owners in 2001?

[QUOTE="Oilers99"][QUOTE="dvader654"][QUOTE="Oilers99"]

Strategically a smart move for Microsoft. GTA IV is going to be massive, too. But what this allows is for people to, on the launch of GTA IV, to choose between the $600 GTA IV machine, and the $480/400 GTA IV and Halo 3 machine. I think Sony is screwed this Christmas. All of their exclusives can be hits, and it won't matter, because Halo 3 is a 360 exclusive, and it's cheaper to play GTA IV on the 360. Not to mention Bioshock, Mass Effect, Blue Dragon and maybe Lost Odyssey are all happening this year.

Real interesting to see if this will affect Nintendo at all. For the killer line-up Microsoft has going this year, they're more or less ignoring what Nintendo is doing. Everything they've got is bent on being a Sony-killer. That may give Nintendo the room to score an upset this Christmas, but they need some surprise hits like Nintendogs and Brain Age.

D3s7rUc71oN

Yep Nintendo will be very interesting to watch. Yeah they have Mario and maybe SSB which is gigantic but a cheaper 360 with Halo 3 and GTA IV is hard to fight. Who ever wins this holiday season wins the US war, its as simple as that.

It isn't that simple, because if 360 barely eeks out a victory based on a vastly higher profile software line-up this year, what do they have left for 2008? GTA IV.V? I'm sure there will be some cool 360 games, but they're going all-out this year, and next year will be a let-down by comparison. When the Wii's killer apps are titles like Wii Health Pack and Wii Sports, I don't think they need suffer a similar drought. The 360 winning 2007's Christmas does not mean they will win the following ones. It will just mean they proved that they can win a Christmas season where shortages are not an issue.

On the other hand, if Nintendo wins Christmas 2007 despite a 360 that brings out Halo 3, Mass Effect, Blue Dragon, GTA IV and a number of other games, I don't think the 360 can catch up. Heck, they could win Christmas by so small a margin that the early year sales that Nintendo put up could mean that they lost the year overall. If this scenario happens, I don't see the 360 as having any way to stop the Wii, short of a massive price drop.

Then again, the 360 is getting all those high-calibre games this year, so I fully expect them to win. It's no guarantee, but it would seem to follow that enough of the PS2/Xbox userbase would be impressed by the 360's line-up to commit this year. But these kinds of years come once, maybe twice in a console's life-time. I see a Wii line-up emerging in either 2008 or 2009 as compelling as this year's 360 line-up, and when that happens, the Wii will dominate. Why? Because I see the system giving the 360 all it can handle with a lesser line-up this year.

The 360 will win this Christmas, but not by a wide margin, and prove that it will remain competitive with the Wii for the next couple years. But if the Wii does manage to win this Christmas with an inferior line-up, it could be a sign that the Wii's victory will be by a wider margin than most anticipate.

MS mentioned that they're giving room for great titles to be available next year. Fable 2, Condemned 2, Too Human (maybe), Alan Wake, PGR4 (could be delayed), SC 5 Conviction (doubtful it will make it this year), and perhaps Lost Odyssey could be delayed too and few other RPG's and what about Ninja Gaiden 2?. So I'm not worried for 08's lineup seems to be as good as this year IMO.

As for GTAIV being bigger than Halo 3 on the 360? I don't think so, going by preorders alone, or sales on day 1; I give the edge to Halo 3.

[QUOTE="Uncle_Tbag"]People are predicting GTA sales based on last gen when the game debuted on a system with over 100 million owners.UpInFlames

There were 100 million PS2 owners in 2001?

I think he may have had poor choice of words there. I believe he was speaking about Halo 2 vs. San Andreas in Fall of 2004.The_Duke_Lives

Yeah, I figured as much which is why I pointed out that Grand Theft Auto III performed almost as well way back in 2001 (when there were approx. 20 million PS2 owners around). Grand Theft Auto III was the best-selling game of 2001, and it came second in 2002 - behind only Vice City. Grand Theft Auto III sold almost 12 million copies, Vice City around 13, and San Andreas almost 15. To make it sound like Grand Theft Auto IV doesn't stand a chance against Halo 3 boggles my mind. Fact is, Grand Theft Auto is the bigger franchise here, it was Halo that had to move its release date to stand a chance againts the controversial mammoth, and there was more interest on these forums for a certain trailer than a certain open beta. :wink:

[QUOTE="The_Duke_Lives"]I think he may have had poor choice of words there. I believe he was speaking about Halo 2 vs. San Andreas in Fall of 2004.UpInFlames

Yeah, I figured as much which is why I pointed out that Grand Theft Auto III performed almost as well way back in 2001 (when there were approx. 20 million PS2 owners around). Grand Theft Auto III was the best-selling game of 2001, and it came second in 2002 - behind only Vice City. Grand Theft Auto III sold almost 12 million copies, Vice City around 13, and San Andreas almost 15. To make it sound like Grand Theft Auto IV doesn't stand a chance against Halo 3 boggles my mind. Fact is, Grand Theft Auto is the bigger franchise here, it was Halo that had to move its release date to stand a chance againts the controversial mammoth, and there was more interest on these forums for a certain trailer than a certain open beta. :wink:

Nope, nope you got it all backwards :P In the long run GTA IV will sell more (being multiplatform helps) As for the trailer, there was a huge buzz as we didn't see a single screenshot of the game, regardless I'm not negating the immense GTA popularity, but seeing Halo3 releasing three weeks earlier than GTAIV, I see it stealing some of its thunder. People are going to be hooked on the multiplayer, it'll be interesting to see the NPD numbers these games put up though.

My birthday!! Fun.

Sadly, I have yet to pick up a 360, so I geuss this has minimal impact upon me :P 

Nope, nope you got it all backwards :P In the long run GTA IV will sell more (being multiplatform helps) As for the trailer, there was a huge buzz as we didn't see a single screenshot of the game, regardless I'm not negating the immense GTA popularity, but seeing Halo3 releasing three weeks earlier than GTAIV, I see it stealing some of its thunder. People are going to be hooked on the multiplayer, it'll be interesting to see the NPD numbers these games put up though.D3s7rUc71oN

Grand Theft Auto IV trailer broke teh internets! :P

I agree, games like Halo and Gears of War put up these incredible, record-smashing numbers in an extremely short period of time, but they also burnout quickly. On the other hand you've got these marathon runners like Grand Theft Auto, The Sims, and World of Warcraft that just keep going and going.

[QUOTE="D3s7rUc71oN"]Nope, nope you got it all backwards :P In the long run GTA IV will sell more (being multiplatform helps) As for the trailer, there was a huge buzz as we didn't see a single screenshot of the game, regardless I'm not negating the immense GTA popularity, but seeing Halo3 releasing three weeks earlier than GTAIV, I see it stealing some of its thunder. People are going to be hooked on the multiplayer, it'll be interesting to see the NPD numbers these games put up though.UpInFlames

Grand Theft Auto IV trailer broke teh internets! :P

Rofl so true, It remind me of the old 56k modem speed connection of trying to download a trailer :lol: I'm glad those days are over :P

[QUOTE="The_Duke_Lives"]I think he may have had poor choice of words there. I believe he was speaking about Halo 2 vs. San Andreas in Fall of 2004.UpInFlames

Yeah, I figured as much which is why I pointed out that Grand Theft Auto III performed almost as well way back in 2001 (when there were approx. 20 million PS2 owners around). Grand Theft Auto III was the best-selling game of 2001, and it came second in 2002 - behind only Vice City. Grand Theft Auto III sold almost 12 million copies, Vice City around 13, and San Andreas almost 15. To make it sound like Grand Theft Auto IV doesn't stand a chance against Halo 3 boggles my mind. Fact is, Grand Theft Auto is the bigger franchise here, it was Halo that had to move its release date to stand a chance againts the controversial mammoth, and there was more interest on these forums for a certain trailer than a certain open beta. :wink:

SA sold 14 mil on an installed base of 100 million, or close to it. H2 sold 7 million on an installed base of approx 13 million. That's 1 in 6 for GTA and 1 in 2 for H2. 

For respective platforms, 360 vs. PS3, which audience is currently the most robust and willing to spend big on every new game? The 360, and amongst 360 owners, what title are we more interested in? H3 by a long-shot.

You are comparing apples to some fruit yet undiscovered. Things have changed drastically: the dominant console that sold all those copies of SA is practically non-existent. In order for GTAIV to miraculously beat out H3, there would have to be more Xboys purchasing it that H3. Think about that: 360 owners more interested in H3 than GTAIV? Not going to happen. The 3 million PS3 owners, even if each and every one of them bought GTAIV, wouldn't come close to making up the sales gap you'll see between H3 and GTA on the 360.

I don't understand why you think there's more interest in the GTA trailer than the Halo beta. The Halo beta sold 1/2 million copies of a mediocre game. I know not all CD owners bought it primarily for the beta, but it has to be at least 200-300k. That is astounding.

Ask any web-admin, any magazine editor, any gamestore exec, they'll all tell you that Halo has more pre-release interest than any other game in history. People are willing to pay 129.99 for a collector's edition which will undoubtedly sell out pronto. People started reserving it a year ago. It's a phenomenon unmatched in gaming, and only overshadowed by a few other titles due to poor sales of a company's first console. 

Mark my words and this thread: H3 will debut and outsell GTAIV by 200% at least in their respective first months.

[QUOTE="UpInFlames"]

[QUOTE="The_Duke_Lives"]I think he may have had poor choice of words there. I believe he was speaking about Halo 2 vs. San Andreas in Fall of 2004.Uncle_Tbag

Yeah, I figured as much which is why I pointed out that Grand Theft Auto III performed almost as well way back in 2001 (when there were approx. 20 million PS2 owners around). Grand Theft Auto III was the best-selling game of 2001, and it came second in 2002 - behind only Vice City. Grand Theft Auto III sold almost 12 million copies, Vice City around 13, and San Andreas almost 15. To make it sound like Grand Theft Auto IV doesn't stand a chance against Halo 3 boggles my mind. Fact is, Grand Theft Auto is the bigger franchise here, it was Halo that had to move its release date to stand a chance againts the controversial mammoth, and there was more interest on these forums for a certain trailer than a certain open beta. :wink:

SA sold 14 mil on an installed base of 100 million, or close to it. H2 sold 7 million on an installed base of approx 13 million. That's 1 in 6 for GTA and 1 in 2 for H2. 

For respective platforms, 360 vs. PS3, which audience is currently the most robust and willing to spend big on every new game? The 360, and amongst 360 owners, what title are we more interested in? H3 by a long-shot.

You are comparing apples to some fruit yet undiscovered. Things have changed drastically: the dominant console that sold all those copies of SA is practically non-existent. In order for GTAIV to miraculously beat out H3, there would have to be more Xboys purchasing it that H3. Think about that: 360 owners more interested in H3 than GTAIV? Not going to happen. The 3 million PS3 owners, even if each and every one of them bought GTAIV, wouldn't come close to making up the sales gap you'll see between H3 and GTA on the 360.

I don't understand why you think there's more interest in the GTA trailer than the Halo beta. The Halo beta sold 1/2 million copies of a mediocre game. I know not all CD owners bought it primarily for the beta, but it has to be at least 200-300k. That is astounding.

Ask any web-admin, any magazine editor, any gamestore exec, they'll all tell you that Halo has more pre-release interest than any other game in history. People are willing to pay 129.99 for a collector's edition which will undoubtedly sell out pronto. People started reserving it a year ago. It's a phenomenon unmatched in gaming, and only overshadowed by a few other titles due to poor sales of a company's first console. 

Mark my words and this thread: H3 will debut and outsell GTAIV by 200% at least in their respective first months.