Microsoft Makes Mistake With Halo 4

Microsoft announced today that the next installment in the Halo “trilogy” Halo 4 will be released on November the 6th of this year. The release day manages to miss some of the holiday seasons biggest games, Borderlands 2, Bioshock Infinite, Assassin’s Creed 3, and Medal of Honor: Warfighter. The date is also on the same day as the US presidential election, meaning that the voting turnout will be a lot less than usual.

[MrBeatdown]

It is pretty strange that Microsoft would decide to go up, almost directly, against Call of Duty. Especially considering this is more than just normal competition between publishers. Microsoft does a lot of the advertising for CoD, there's the timed DLC, and there was even a MW3 themed 360 bundle.

It will be interesting to see how the handle the fact that Activision is their biggest partner, yet also their biggest competitor.

[dark-hollow]

screw cod! i would gladly buy halo 4 day one over it.

[TheGOODKyle]

I'd buy anything over CoD!

[Pl4sm4]

a brown bag with a sammich inside has more creativity than cod

[Awesome_Gamer]

I'm not a fan of halo but i agree with you

[teething]

Halo 4 on election day is pure genius since an embarrassingly low % of the US actually bothers to vote during elections.

[EVILDEAD360]

Halo 4 will be the biggest event in gaming this year.

Black Ops 2 will be come out a week or two later and do incredible numbers as well.

These are two games that can co-exist..

It is finally time for Halo to get some holiday dollars. November is going to be crazy.

The biggest wiiner was Ubisoft finally figuring out that coming AFTER COD every year with Assasin's creed was idiotic and probably cost them millions.

Evil

[Yomaster]

Pl4sm4 said, "a brown bag with a sammich inside has more creativity than cod"

LMFAOOOOO! Funniest thing I've read in ages. Touche, sir, touche!

Halo 4 looking to take down CoD this holiday season!? Sign me up for a Halo 4 preorder!

[B1663r]

I think EA is the one that screwed up this year, not Microsoft. EA should take the year off. LOL. Oh wait, this is a chance to neg on Microsoft in the pretend game media, my bad.

[enfestid]

They haven't decided to go up against Call of Duty. Activision hasn't set a release date, or even announced Black Ops 2.

I imagine that since they're launching on November 6, Activision won't be launching Black Ops 2 on the same day -- it's bad for both companies.

[DeFFeR]

It probably won't matter - they won't be released on the same day...

Straight from the article:

"For the last few years, Call Of Duty has always released the first Tuesday in November. This year it looks like it will be Master Chief VS Unnamed AK holder."

No... CoD since W@W has released on the SECOND Tuesday of the month... not the first like the terrible "journalist" says. Do some fucking research before posting shit articles, "Dan Hobbs, Idiot extraordinaire."

[JokesOnYou]

Activision can easily release early Sept or push back their usual Nov launch for early Dec, either way it won't matter much even if they launched the same month, although they might have a small impact on one or the others initial sales ultimately the next COD will sell like hotcakes and so will Halo4.

[MrBeatdown]

Activision already confirmed a Call of Duty game is coming this year. I don't see them releasing early just to avoid Halo, especially when Halo is only available on one platform.

And they had to have two or three teams on MW3 just to get it ready for November 2011. I don't think they'd want to mess with their schedule, especially if it interferes with Elite and MW3's DLC schedule.

[badz149]

"Activision can easily release early Sept or push back their usual Nov launch for early Dec"

lol, you're saying it like AV's CoD is actually threaten by MS's Halo! if any of the two would have to change/alter their release date, it's MS, not AV! Halo is huge, no question about it, but compared to CoD? c'mon we know who's bigger!

[EVILDEAD360]

Metal of Honor October

Halo 4 the 6th of November

Black Ops 2 will probably launch the 13th but may even push to the 20th and still make Black Friday.

Evil

[chadachada123]

I don't see an issue. Halo 3, Halo Reach, and Halo ODST all were released pretty close to that year's CoD release, and share a lot of the fanbase (but Halo is definitely better, in my opinion).

[GraveLord]

Looks like Sony is getting timed-exclusive DLC from now on. Only reason I can think of for MS releasing Halo 4 so close to COD.

[Godmars290]

So not one thought or consideration that this might be a political maneuver to keep young and mostly Democratic voters from the polls?

[DeFFeR]

How do you figure that Halo fans are mostly Democratic?

[Legion]

I am assuming he is thinking because most Republicans are PS3 players.

I think someone did a demographics on it and found that most Xbox 360 players were democrats. Anyone have a link to that study? ha

[mcstorm]

Maybe MS know something we don't about the release date. If they are out on the same day it should be interesting to see the two big names go up against each other. But I have to say I will not be picking up the next COD game but I will be picking Halo 4 up.

[00000000000000000001]

Yes, same here COD = NO, Halo 4 = big YES!

[Fylus]

I don't think anyone would actually be stupid enough to choose Cod over Halo... But then again, there are some pretty stupid people out there.

[lategamer]

People like Call of Duty. For all the hate it gets, IT IS A SOLID GAME. It's very accessible, the gameplay is fluid, the controls are solid.

People say it's the same game ever year, and really, the core gameplay is the same. But the fans buy it because of the updated Multiplayer (c'mon, MW3 did redo the killstreaks, added some new modes, etc.), Zombie/Spec Ops, and Campaign, etc.

Time for the disagrees :).

[spicelicka]

@letgamer
WHAT?? "MW3 did redo the killstreaks, added some new modes", and you consider that enough to buy it every year? You can do that shit with a title update.
We all know COD is a solid game, it's the fact that it's so disposable that it breaks within an year, so they just bring out the cow and release another one instead of supporting the older games. Fans buy it because they're stupid, and they have no choice.

[Dovahkiin]

Why would Halo 4 not be able to stand up against these games?

[enfestid]

It's not about being able to "stand up" against Call of Duty, it's about maximizing your sales. If two big-name properties in the same genre launch on the same day, a good chunk of people are going to choose one over the other.

The gaming industry isn't the only industry that works like this. Movie studios constantly change release dates based on competition in the same genre.

[Jazz4108]

I don't see what this article is even for. We have a game that's been announced a while ago that we have seen screen shots of and has a solid release date. Then we have a game this article is comparing it too that has not even been announced.

[_Aarix_]

And to the guy whos disagreeing, the next black ops is the current black ops so itd be stupid to buy a 9th call of duty. Food for thought. Halo 4 day one.

[Arkrite]

The Halo franchise is only 2 behind
Halo 1,2,3,odst, reach, ce anniversary
Hopefully i'll have both Halo 7 and cod 9 day 1

[jimbobwahey]

You forgot that Halo RTS game too.

[Kalowest]

CE Anniversary is just a remake of Halo 1, it shouldn't even count. And story line wise Halo 4 is the 4th.

[da_2pacalypse]

and Halo odst was just an expansion lol.

[KMCROC54]

Halo Wars (rts)
Halo Reach
Halo 1
Halo 2
Halo 3/ODST( sametime line)

Halo CE Ann (just a reboot w/ better graphics)

Halo 4 ( is truly 4 in the series)

[Ravenor]

@ Arkrite

Halo is also 2 years older, spans a hardware generation and with the exception of ODST has given a real technical Leap/jump/hop between games.

Aarix's comment wasn't necessary, but yours simply splits hairs for the sake of it. No one should care how many games in a franchise there are, it has got to be the dumbest argument against something. You either want to play it or you don't.

[spicelicka]

That's a stupid thing to say. Halo 4 is the 5th edition, that much i'll agree with. ODST was an expansion released after 2 years, never developed as a separate game and wasn't meant to replace halo 3 but supported it. Halo wars was a completely different game, it was never meant to replace halo. And halo anniversary was an HD remake, never meant to replace halo reach.

The only halos that were made and marketed as direct sequels were, halo 2,3, reach and now 4. And that's over a span of 10 freakin years!! While COD has been replaced 6 times in 6 years (including blackops 2) with barely any improvements. I don't know how much clearer it has to be.....

[Arkrite]

at least activision havent released EXACTLY the same game with better graphix Halo CE im looking at you!
Cheers Jimbob
Ravener i dont care how many halos or cods come out i like both franchises and as i said "Hopefully i'll have both day 1"
i was just letting aarix know its not just cod that rehash games theres quite a few games companies at it

[r21]

im pretty sure with 3 MW games out being about the same, gamer's will most certainly go to halo 4. there was even an article saying there was a decrease in COD interest.

[DasTier]

You'd hope so for variety's sake, but people seem to want to stick with what they know. And for the masses that's Call of duty.

[Ravenor]

The people who play CoD largely and feed into the CoD money machine don't play lots of different games. Decrease in interest in CoD generally means a decrease in interest for games in general for most.

The CoD community more or less doesn't care about Halo.

[Kingdom Come]

I think with the contract for timed-exclusive DLC Microsoft will have a certain degree of insider knowledge regarding the game and therefor know it will not collide with the release of Halo 4. I'm guessing we'll just have to wait and find out, but either way, I despise the Call of Duty franchise and will be purchasing Halo 4...

[SleazyChimp]

Past Halo titles, from Halo 3 on, have all released in September seemingly to avoid such a conflict. I'll bet MS knows something we don't. Everyone assumes that COD will release this year and will have exclusive content on the Box. I really can't see these two juggernauts slugging it out if any of that were true. Perhaps Activision and MS had a falling out or could they be skipping the annual release.

Activision would be smart to go M.I.A for a year and refresh the franchise on the next wave of consoles in 2013.
edit; I know anniversary came out in Nov., but that's not really a new release as it was a HD remake.

[Tai_Kaliso]

So you think Activision is going to leave hundreds of millions of dollars on the table and not publish a game that will end up selling 20+ million copies? Not gonna happen.

Halo and COD are vastly different games and are geared at vastly different types of gamers. I think people don't understand how rabid Halo fans can be and how much people want to play as Master Chief again.

I'll be picking up both, so problem solved. I don't see this as an issue at all. Halo 4 is already topping the pre-order charts and Microsoft hasn't even started with the multi-million dollar ad campaign.

[DasTier]

This, at least the 1st part, I've played most of the Halo games in the franchise (all i think), and they may not be the best in the world, but they do have a certain aura about them. I just enjoy playing them. They feel a lot more personal and specifically designed at the people playing and enjoying them than Franchises like COD, EA Sports games even BF. The community in Halo 3 was amazing. I don't think I ever experienced anything else like it. Sadly this changed in Reach (It didn't give me that warm fuzzy feeling) Lets hope 4 picks up where 3 left off.

[m23]

Assuming COD and Halo 4 do release the same day, the marketing campaigns for the games will be huge. It will be an epic day at midnight launches. Something makes me feel as though this won't happen, like SleazyChimp says above, MS may know something that we don't.

[BattleTorn]

They probably know that Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 releases on Nov.13th 2012

[Tai_Kaliso]

Its two totally different games, Call Of duty, while fun, is a twitch shooter at its core, while Halo is a game that takes a bit more skill.

One is more realistic and one is space marines. I like the fact that Microsoft is going up against COD. I'll be buying both, but I like that Microsoft is doing what so many other companies are afraid to do, even EA with their Battlefield 3 game.

Halo isn't a small franchise and the return of the Chief cant be underestimated. This game is going to do crazy good and will probably end up outselling BO2 on the Xbox 360.

[BattleTorn]

Remember World at War when Call of Duty had Vehicles and large maps (where you'd practically had an option of spawning at redeployment locations)

..but then it started getting compared to other FPSs that had those - so the withdrew the innovation, further pidgenholing the franchise as a twitch 'arcade' shooter.

[Kamikaze8]

Great grammar and editing in this piece, eh? And they make it sound like everyone in the world is going to skip work/school and voting for Halo, but that isn't a safe assumption to make.

[InTheLab]

MS has to move Halo to early winter. Nothing else in the tank, just like moving Gears last year from spring to fall. You have to end the year on a high note.

As for them launching so close to CoD. The hardcore fans will line up as usual for Halo and the part timers will be in line waiting for CoD.

MS has a strong partnership with Activision so it does seem odd creating this conflict...

[BattleTorn]

If anything they'd move it to early fall, just like Gears.

No shooter is going to want to release within the weeks following Call of Dutys' release.

[ddelella]

I'd buy Halo 4 over COD any day. The campaigns in COD are good but the multiplayer is lacking the same quality I find in the Halo series like constantly changing game types, user created map playlists, and better player balancing. Bring on Master Chief!

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Well if thats the case, MS would be focusing on Halo 4 ads and leave Activision to advertise Cod for Xbox. So We could be seeing Cod/Halo ads running all over the place or side by side which is good for MS console awareness.

[Gamer-Z]

My money is on Halo 4 and screw COD its the same bs every time.

[ultimatek1]

you all have it all wrong, ths move was deliberate. Microsoft expects Halo4 will not sell like reach nor halo 3, so moving to this release date gives them an excuse for lower sells, plus gives 343 industries more time to polish the game. Anyhow i will buy it.

[billybonez]

How people saying screw COD when COD helped your ideal game out? Without COD halo would be stuck in the stone age. Load outs,Perks,weapon customization. Oh yeah I forgot ''their not the same''

[spicelicka]

lol without halo COD wouldn't even be here so you can say the same thing about COD. It's all part of the evolution, if you had any sort of sense you would realize if COD didn't get popular, some other game would done it and halo would still change.

How are you saying COD "helped" out halo when most people dont give a shit about perks and load outs and would've bought the game anyway.

And you think COD just invented those things when it came out? All it did was take elemets from RPGs and implement them into multiplayer. I'm not hating on COD4 but techinically then without world of warcraft, COD would be stuck in WW2...

[OC_MurphysLaw]

MS puts Halo 4 squarely in the N. American Holiday season... They will have no issue selling a megaton amount of Halo 4 to the masses. And Halo 4 will help drive even more console sales for MS... You thought their Holiday was big last year... this year will be insane.

[Summons75]

Is it really that much of a shock they released Halo 4 in the same time frame as every Halo since Halo 3? When they said holiday of 2012 I just automatically assumed sometime in November.

[m23]

Reach and ODST were released in September.

[Warrior 3000]

Dumb news post. I cant stand n4g anymore with moron writers like this.

halo 2 came out in nov. im guessing that was a bad choice for microsoft as well?

GTFO.

[humbleopinion]

What people here seem to miss is that many shooter fans will buy both anyway. And if you can get two birds while only standing in line for one midnight release, why not?

So while some people who can only afford one game will have to skip or wait with one, other people who were on their way to pick up just one game might end up with 2.
All of this is assuming that the games actually release on the same day. My guess... they won't.

[Buff1044]

People who really want to vote will do so, Halo 4 or no.

[clarkjudo]

Its release date is on the day of the US presidential election. No problem there because there is no one to vote for. Except I will vote for Master Chief during this US Presidential Election! :)

[theWB27]

If there's any shooter that wouldn't care about COD it's Halo. It could release against any game and do just fine.

[Paradicia]

Nope.avi

[FarCryLover182]

So, does Microsoft have something up its sleeve for September? Since 2007, they've released big titles like Halo 3, Reach, Gears 3.

[rezzah]

LOL look at that title!

Trying to pass it off as a real article.

[Swagman2321]

I think Halo 4 will do just fine, I think the market is tired of Call of Duty and I also think it's time for something new. Granted there has been a Halo release every year for the last few years now, but nothing like Halo 4. This is big, the market is ready to move and Halo 4 is ready to help with that. And please all you 12 year CoD players don't spam me just because you think Call of Duty was the first, first person shooter ever. It's time for that franchise to take a backseat, it's stale and boring.

[FinaLXiii]

What about GTA5?

[Ima9er4Life]

Out of all that, I ain't buyin no Halo 4. I be busy playin Madden on Ps3 and Madden on PsVita, I want to check out Bioshock, Medal of Honor, and Boderlands 2. I use 360 for shooters (most of em), and everythang else is Ps3

[KaiynN]

Its not about outselling any other game, it shows MC has faith in 343 and in the new halo games. Starting a fanboy war probably wasn't their plan!

[theeg]

The only mistake would be not releasing the nextbox and having this as a launch title along with the 360 version this year in november!

if miscrosoft does not do exactly that, they are beyond retarded

the xbox is ancient, the ps3 is ancient, 720p looks terrible, jaggies are unbearable

ps3/360 are last gen!

[ElectricCarrot]

Business 101 dictates that it's more logical to release something like Halo 4 to an established console userbase to maximize sales. Releasing Halo 4 as an exclusive launch title for the next Xbox won't be as profitable.

[theeg]

Business 101 dictates releasing it on TWO platforms simultaniously will satisfy all existing customers and spur the transition to the new product.

notice all those bluray and dvd movies?

[MultiConsoleGamer]

This site, which is based in the UK, obviously doesn't understand what the voting process is like in America.

If anything the election day will bring more people out to buy the game. It takes all of 5 minutes to vote. And since you're out, you might as well puck up Halo 4.

My job actually used to give us a half day on important election days.

[susanto1228]

What are you talking about!!! this is great news!!

HALO WAITS FOR NO ONE

[gcolley]

it will still outsell them