The Full Circle: 360 News Report 10.09.09
Posted by Dan Owen on 10.09.2009
This week's Full Circle details Microsoft's plans with the Halo franchise and a potential new feature that's pretty similar to something currently on the Playstation 3. Also, what did Activision nearly do that could have cost them millions?
Hello there faithful readers. So last week I was all set to deliver you the news on the world of the 360 and gaming when something unfortunate happened. It was raining pretty hard during my walk to class on Thursday morning. Just outside of the building I was headed towards, I have to walk down three steps. When I got to these steps, however, I slipped, flying head over heels to the bottom. I was fine, but my computer took a pretty hard fall and the screen basically shattered. So that pretty much put the kibosh on any column writing that day. I've gotten a new screen put on this thing, so hopefully I don't break it again before I can send in the column this week. Beyond that, how about my Minnesota sports teams??? The Vikings take down the Packers on Monday night in a game that wasn't nearly as close as the score might have you believe. Then, the very next night the Minnesota Twins win one of the greatest regular season games in the history of baseball. I was fortunate enough to be there in person for it, and I have to say it was the best sporting event I've ever seen. The game had so many twist and turns, ups and downs...whew, it was awesome and I can't stop talking about it. But suppose I'll have to in order to get this column done, so without further ado let's get to it!
Headlines
Microsoft Discusses Halo Plans For The Future
Frank O'Connor, the creative director for 343 Industries (which is a division within Microsoft that handles all things revolving around Halo), revealed that they currently have plans for the Halo franchise that span the next 6 years at least. In an interview with USA Today, O'Connor discussed all of the various outlets through which they are building the Halo universe and said that all of the novels, comics, and other things (obviously including games) tie together to form the canon (essentially the history) for Halo. He also that eventually the grand master plan will become apparent, which will tie together everything. Currently on the slate is Halo: Reach, which will serve as a prequel of sorts to the original Halo series (though O'Connor mentioned that the story will not be in the same mold as the Star Wars prequels), which will hit shelves in just about a year. Also coming is the book Halo: Evolutions, a collection of Halo short stories, and a Halo trilogy covering the history of the Forerunner society. O'Connor didn't stop there, though, mentioning that a number of Halo related comic books are either being released or coming down the line from Marvel Comics. Finally, there's the Halo movie that is currently on hold. Before the end of the interview, though, O'Connor made sure to tease fans a bit, mentioning that the ending saw at the end of Halo 3 with Master Chief drifting towards a mysterious planet has not been forgotten.
I think it's very cool how hard they have worked to develop this story behind this game franchise. Love the games or hate them, it's undeniable that this has possibly the most fleshed out background story of any console game franchise. There are other franchises with a deeper history just from the games, but I can't recall ever hearing of this type of effort being undertaken to develop the full story of another game franchise (very possible I'm just ignorant on this topic, though). Regardless, though, I get the sense that Microsoft has a grand plan for where this is all supposed to go, and I absolutely cannot wait to see where it goes (and this is coming from a guy that has played very little of the Halo series).
Microsoft Developing A Home-like Feature For Live?
Microsoft sent out a survey to Xbox 360 owners that seems to be hinting at a possible development of some sort of online community where gamers can take their avatar to play retro games in an arcade-type setting, similar to what Sony has with its Playstation Home feature. One of the questions asked gamers what name they liked best for this sort of thing, with options including "Game Room", "RetroCade", "AvatArcade", "RetroGame", and "Classics Live".
This would be an interesting development. It would be pretty hard to pass this sort of thing as anything other than a rip-off of Sony's Home, but that isn't that bad. This sort of thing happens all the time in all walks of life, with one company copying something that another company does that has been successful. Obviously this is all speculative at this point, though, as we are only making this assumption due to some market research that Microsoft is conducting. Don't expect anything for a good long time, but I think this would be a nice addition just to add to the sense of community that Microsoft hopes to develop with their gamers.
Activision Almost Passed On Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
It has come out this month that Activision didn't want Call of Duty 4 to be a modern warfare-based game. According to the comments made by Infinity Ward developer Vince Zampella, Infinity Ward had to fight Activision the entire way to have Modern Warfare made. The interesting thing is that Infinity Ward also did not want to make Call of Duty 2 (which ended up being the most successful 360 launch title), but ended up doing it as part of a compromise that got them some developer kits.
Just goes to show you that taking a risk sometimes instead of just taking the safe road can really pay off. Activision did all kinds of market research showing that people didn't want the game, but in the end let Infinity Ward make their game. The rest, of course, is history. What I really found interesting though is the bit about Call of Duty 2. I thoroughly enjoyed the game, but what's significant about that is that had IW not made COD2 they likely never would have been attached to the Call of Duty franchise for this generation. If that was the case they would have never even been in a position to develop Modern warfare.
Xbox 360 Dashboard Update To Begin Public Beta Soon
The newest version of the Xbox 360 Dashboard, which has Facebook, Twitter, and Last.FM integrated into it, is set to begin a public beta before the end of October. Similar to the last public beta that Microsoft conducted before releasing the last major update, select Xbox Live community members will be selected to participate. Beyond the additions of the social networking sites and streaming radio, it doesn't sound like anything major is planned.
Chalk this one up in the category of things no one actually needs. Half the time I'm playing video games my laptop is somewhere nearby anyway. However, it doesn't really hurt anything and I'm sure there will be times when I'm playing a game that I come up with something witty to post on Facebook. Really, though, once the novelty of posting on Facebook from my 360 wears off I probably won't give it another thought (unless of course someone from Microsoft wanted to sway my opinion and send me a beta!!!).
Quick Hits
It is being speculated by the website Split-Screen that two new exclusives could be on their way for Microsoft's 2010 lineup. The two games they have speculated on are Test Drive Unlimited 2 and Project Gotham 5. Test Drive Unlimited 2 has already been announced but the platforms have yet to be determined, though the first game in the series was released early for the 360. PGR5 is pure speculation at this point.
An update from a previous story I had about a new Wireless N router coming out from Microsoft. Gamestop now has the product listed, confirming the $100 price tag that was speculated. According to the listing, the product will be released on November 3rd. It also looks like the old wireless adapter will be knocked down to $80.
Halo will finally be coming to the PS3, just not in gaming form. Microsoft announced at Comic-Con 2009 that they would be releasing a 7-part mini-series on Halo that will be released via blu-ray sometime after its release over Xbox Live which means that PS3 owners will be able to watch it off of their Sony consoles. This could also be an indication that Microsoft is planning to incorporate blu-ray into its next platform.
5 new games have been added to the Platinum Hits Collection. Grand Theft Auto IV, Street Fighter IV, Left 4 Dead, Saint's Row 2, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed are all going to be available for the nice price of $19.99. Also, there are many stores that are offering the new Platinum Hits on a buy 2 get 1 free deal. Great deal for some great games!
Microsoft released a statement a while back in regards to the rumors that they might buy EA, "Microsoft has no plans to purchase Electronic Arts." Sounds pretty cut and dry here, but I'm not convinced that this isn't something that has been talked about behind closed doors and won't continue to be discussed, though I doubt it ever comes to fruition.
There was a short-lived rumor that Sony was trying to get a timed exclusivity deal in place for Alpha Protocol (meaning the game gets released on their platform first), but that rumor has now been discredited.
Halo 3:ODST has already generated more than $125 million in sales, more than 2.5 million copies of the game. Needless to say, the game has outperformed expectations for it.
Activision has filed a trademark for a possible Call of Duty Movie. I can't say it's a terrible idea given the popularity of the series now, but there also aren't a lot of video game movies that have worked out. We'll see how this one pans out, there used to be a time when comic book movies weren't that good either...
Television company Hitachi debuted a motion detecting technology very similar to Microsoft's Natal, with users motioning in the air to navigate through menus.
Gearbox head Randy Pitchford said that adding easy achievements to a game can increase sales by up to 40,000 copies for a big name game. Can't say I don't believe him, either, considering some of the things I've heard achievement chasers say.
Peter Molyneaux has hinted at Fable 3 possibly using Natal. He wasn't saying that the game won't use the controller as well, but that he would like to try to integrate Natal into the game as well.
Atlus, who are RPG giants, appear to be making a move towards developing games for Xbox 360 and PS3. They recently put out a job posting looking for people with experience working on the two major platforms.
Deal of the Week
The best deal I found is listed above (the Platinum Games), but I was able to find a couple other ones that were noteworthy. This isn't the most video game specific deal, but it's an amazing deal if you can get lucky enough to have a Target that has this product in stock. Target has put the Sylvania LC427SSX 42 inch 1080p LCD TV on sale for a whopping $276.54, while its regular price is about $800. Now, this is a clearance item, only available in-store, and based on reports I've read about the deal, is extremely hard to find. However, if you can get that deal, DO IT!!! Good luck, amigos. Let me know in the comments section if you're able to make good on this deal.
What's quickly becoming a DotW tradition, I've got a bonus deal. This one's got to do with my favorite thing in life, food! McDonald's has their Monopoly game going again, and this time one of the prizes you can win is an Xbox 360 Arcade edition instantly. All you'll need to do is get an Angus burger or a large fry. Sounds like I'll be making a trip over to Mickey D's in the not too distant future to start up my game board, so start expecting completely unwanted updates on how my fortunes are going with it.
Trailer Park
Our first trailer is for Modern Warfare 2. This one seems to hint at some of the plot points. I won't lie, though, every successive trailer that I have seen has made me want this game more and more and more.
Our third trailer is of a type of game that I have always wanted desperately to be good. Hopefully this year's edition of NCAA Basketball 10 will live up to my hopes. Here's the trailer that details this game's integration of ESPN into the game.
Well, that's all for this week. Be back next week to find out how my McDonald's Monopoly playing adventures have gone, as well as how many large fries I ordered in the name of winning.
You wanna know why the Twins won the Central Division Tuesday night? Because two 411 writers were in attendance, that's why. Oh, and yeah Minnesota sports teams dominated this week. Well, except for Wednesday night and when we play tomorrow/tonight. But I got confidence in the Viks.
Posted By: The Salms (Registered) on October 09, 2009 at 12:25 AM
"Test Drive Unlimited 2 has already been announced"
Been hoping they make a new one for years
"Halo will finally be coming to the PS3, just not in gaming form"
I can just imagine faces lighting up and then BAM!! Big let down
Posted By: Guest#7752 (Guest) on October 09, 2009 at 03:09 AM
Please Microsoft do not try to copy PS Home. It was failure in general. The only fun I had with was quincy-ing people.
Posted By: Teh Aristocrat (Guest) on October 09, 2009 at 08:52 AM
Wait, Minnesota has sports teams? I thought they abandoned that when Kirby Puckett retired? Oh, well, at least you guys still have Prince, right? Plus the biggest piece of egotistical, me-first trash to ever don an NFL uniform. Oh, yeah, and a baseball team that won't make it out of the first round of the playoffs, no matter how badly I hate the Yankees.
Look, my Bengals are one fluke play away from being 4-0, but I'm not running around bragging about them. We're only 25% of the way through the season, and a lot could happen. Let me just apologize in advance for Adrian Peterson's injury, because he was my first-round fantasy football pick and he's bound to get hurt at some point.
Posted By: Wyatt Beougher (Guest) on October 09, 2009 at 09:58 AM
Sounds like the Microsoft thing isn't really like Home at all. Sounds more like the area you are in during 1 versus 100.
I can't imagine it'll be a copy of home, since every PS3 owner I know says Home is stupid.
Posted By: Guest#2608 (Guest) on October 09, 2009 at 12:56 PM
isn't the Angus burger at burger king????
Posted By: jaxorz90 (Guest) on October 11, 2009 at 05:55 AM
