Where did 10,000 Halo: Reach players come from?

Sarcasticgamer.com gets a crazy screencap from Halo:Reach showing an insane amout of players playing the game before launch.

From the news post: "Halo: Reach is a hugely anticipated game. It comes out two days from now. Yet there are over 10,000 people playing it online.

Don’t believe me? Check out the screen cap, after the jump."

[TrevorPhillips]

Those 10,000 players are going to cop a big fat one.

[mercsfan]

Not all, alot of ppl in the UK got it delivered already,a long with a handful of stores selling it early. But hell, that's a lot.

[sack_boi]

The game is already out in France as well, also more than ten people in my friends list bought and are playing the game right now.

[Red_Orange_Juice]

I don't think it's that much. More than likely legitimate copies.

[JsonHenry]

No way they are pirates. These people just got it early. Otherwise it would be like most games - you simply can't get online because the matchmaking servers are not up and running yet. Which means MS has allowed this.

[gameraxis]

the photo reads only 2,000 plus players.... where is the 10,000 coming from? EDIT: ohhh there we go... second pic...damn those mf's they're getting a jump on the skill i HATE hackers that do bad in the gaming industry... its like the CIA will hire hackers that crack their system because they obviously have better code/interfaces than them... why don't all these intelligent hackers go make millions with their knowledge instead of stealing stuff all the time...

i'm a little tech savy, but intense code and engines is where i can't tred, i know about ram and cache and all that kinda stuff but i wish i had the skills to do what they do and apply it to a huge corporation or game company... I'm sure I'm not alone, its not exactly jealousy, its more like "damn i wish i could do what u do, why don't u do yourself good with it" instead of eventually getting a ban hammer to the face lol

and the most intelligent of these people didn't learn it at MIT, becuase those are the peeps that work for the fbi, hp, sony, ms... the TOP tier hackers are maybe MIT rebels or just pure genius and learned it all from out source... aaaaa... who knows

[vhero]

Piracy DUH!

[Kurt Russell]

Zavvi delivered there pre-orders on Saturday :P

[Emmettcelticfan]

Not surprised retailers always break street date

[Persistantthug]

So if I have a small electronics or game store and I've got a product to sell (even if its early), and I've got customers that want it RIGHT NOW....

Business 101 says I'm gonna sell that freakin product no matter what Microsoft says.
Why?

Because rent is due, that's why.

[Redrum059]

i like the way you think.

welcome to the real world fellas

[FragMnTagM]

I worked at an electronics store selling games on all systems and the reps from MS and Sony both said there is a fine for breaking the release date of every copy sold and/or delaying future shipments or cancelling more shipments altogether. The reason the conversation came up is that this girl that worked there never bothered to check when a game came out and always put them in the case early. The reps would see it and tell the manager.

[IHateYouFanboys]

Microsoft have banned stores from selling their big first party games because they broke the release date of big titles. not just a little 2 week ban or anything - they literally do not ship them any more titles that are published by MGS.

happened with Forza 3, among others iirc.

10 000 isnt too bad to be honest. remember, thats players - not copies. im sure many people have played 4 player split screen, so thats 4 players counted but only 1 copy.

id say most of those copies are legit, just sold early. one of my mates already has it as he owns a video game shop, and hes played it, yet its still 10 hours til the midnight release here in Aus.

[Natsu X FairyTail]

pirates obviously.

[TrevorPhillips]

Not only pirates my friend, some stores have broken the street date and decided to sell the game early to people.

[TLG1991]

not really, as nearly all online retailers send copies out early and when u have a stupid release day on a tuesday retailers send it way before the weekend to make sure you get it. all release date should be on a friday all over the world like in the uk (apart from this one of course)

[peeps]

also independent retailers.

My copy got dispatched on Friday. Don't expect to receive it until launch but obv stores will have been getting it in stock over the last few days. Not everyone playing the game early will have pirated it

[vhero]

Natsu for once your right people hate you though so you get a ton of disagrees even when your right lol. Breaking street date is one thing but I bet theres been that many players for over a week now as its been on the scene (as pirates call it) for well over 2 week now.

[madpuppy]

Wouldn't you think that MS would be banning all the consoles that have a pirate copy?

[TrevorPhillips]

I cannot pick it up on monday which is of course the day of midnight launch, I have to pick it up after college on tuesday.

[Convas]

Over eager retailers breaking the street date. It's cool though, they can have their fun, all stats are going be reset Tuesday, September 14th, 12:01 AM ;)

[chanto23]

someone reported earlier that you can start playing now for good...stats won't be erased...

[m23]

I think they have already reset everything, so now its good for everyone to play. Still kinda sucks those people have a few days head start.

[Motorola]

Microsoft play their own games too you know

[codyodiodi]

That's how you get that many people. Breaking street dates usually ends in receiving a fine and if the retailer does it a few times they may not receive the games on launch date.

Of course some stores will always get the game on time for release date providing they are big enough, but smaller stores like ShopKo or K-Mart can in fact lose the ability to get games before launch, and thus lose sales when the game launches.

[JonahFalcon]

Microsoft is NEVER going to punish KMart. KMart sells more copies of Halo: Reach than even GameStop.

[ThatArtGuy]

Kmart is part of Sears now. Definitely not a small company.

[crzyjackbauer]

i hate kmart
yet i do all my shopping in there
its just a few blocks from my house
i want a Walmart

[vhero]

Wow this whole thread wreaks of childish jealousy. People crying as others got a head start on virtual leader-boards?? People need to grow up a little bit and realise life is about more than virtual leader-boards. How about when you get the game ENJOY it for what it is. Getting to the top of a virtual leader-board isn't everything..

[Marquis_de_Sade]

Being one of the most notorious fanboys on this site, I don't really think it's your place to comment on the lives (or lack of) of others.

[kasasensei]

"but smaller stores like ShopKo or K-Mart can in fact lose the ability to get games before launch"

No they can't, Microsoft won't do that. :D

[m23]

People have gotten their copies already. Lucky bastards, I have to wait until Tuesday.

[Dazel]

Loads of folk have it early, works out like 0.5% of pre orders so it ain't no surprise imo. (Disclaimer, I've just done the math in my head so it could be out a little)

[theEx1Le]

Im one of those 10,000 :D, got mine yesterday

[ASSASSYN 36o]

^ One of the few people on this site who has said it and has proof of current game play on his gamercard.

[PhilipLarkin]

"number of players", not amount. Yay for Grammar Nazis.

Oh, and even if you are going to get it wrong; 'amount', not amont

[MGRogue2017]

... I wonder if all or half of 'em are newcomers to the series??

It'd be interesting to know, none the less.

[xtremeimport]

kid on my friends list is from france, and he said he got it yesterday.

[KillerPwned]

Right now with that many people MS will just let it go.

[lucifon]

Leaked copies. It's only 2 days til launch, its inevitable.

[Godmars290]

Aren't all of them going to get banned? more to the point don't they know they'll get banned?

[caffman]

if it's a legit copy you're all good mate

[Darkspade]

I bought my copy last night but scared to play online lol... Mom and Pop game stores are the best

[theEx1Le]

Don't worry, people with legit copies will be fine.

[Counter Strike]

and hasnt been launched yet... how the f**** LOOL

[beatrixkiddo]

there are Waaaay more honda's sold each year than ferrari's. still, i would much rather drive a ferrari. "Transformer's 2" made waaaaay more money than say "inception". still, I would rather watch "inception". Reach may be an awesome game, but just because thousands play it, doesn't mean it's the second coming.

[CombatEvolving]

PS3 and Xbox 360 games are the same price and so are the consoles. Xbox Live adds to the cost of Halo: Reach and yet more people play it before launch then most PS3 exclusive. Nice try.

[atticus14]

consoles are the same price? news to me...

I seem to remember a certain xbox 360 console that sells for 200, and makes up the majority of their sales.

[Tazz]

@Darkspade: Don't be scared to play, Bungie even gives you a little message telling you about early access.

And yeah, I'm one of those 10,000 people.

[GigaGaia]

Probably about 90% of those are pirates.

[lonix]

Have always been a little dodgy

[Solid_Snakeps3]

''Where did 10,000 Halo: Reach players come from?''
Bill Gates: From MY pocket! TADA!

[ReBurn]

Ten thousand people really isn't that many, all things considered.

The game's probably going to sell close to a million copies in the coming weeks, and this is a very small percentage of the people with it. I bet it doubles or triples that number in the next day leading up to official launch.

A lot of online retailers ship before street date to guarantee release date availability, and some stores sell it early either on purpose or by accident.

[IHateYouFanboys]

"The game's probably going to sell close to a million copies in the coming weeks"

mate its going to sell a few million the day it comes out. in the coming 2-3 weeks itll hit 4 million plus id say.

[IHateYouFanboys]

just like to point out that early reports show that Reach sold over 3 million copies on the day of release.

[Marquis_de_Sade]

Close to a million copies? This is Halo we're talking about...

[gamer0123456]

thats more than killzone 2 uncharted 2 and socom cominded rofl......sry I had to

[QuickdrawMcgraw]

Just got a 360.Having never played a Halo game.Is it worth playing all the halo's before I play reach.

[newhumanbreed]

I haven't really played the campaign on any of them either, but this one is a prequel, so I doubt you'll need to play them before this one.

[STICKzophrenic]

Like newhumanbreed said, this is a prequel to the Halo trilogy.

Having never played a Halo game, this would actually be a perfect place to start. If you like it enough, it will transition perfectly into Halo: Combat Evolved, that is if you can deal with the difference in graphics. Halo 3 was my first Halo game, and it was jarring to go back and play Halo: CE, but it was worth it.

[kasasensei]

"this one is a prequel, so I doubt you'll need to play them before this one."
+
"Like newhumanbreed said, this is a prequel to the Halo trilogy. Having never played a Halo game, this would actually be a perfect place to start."
= NO!
On the contrary!

[Convas]

Why not Kasa? Reach is the birthplace of the Halo lore. If he starts at Reach, he'll go straight from there to understanding WHY Master Chief and the Pillar of Autumn were where they were at the start of CE and every thing will fall into place marvelously.

For someone just getting into Halo, Reach is THE best place to start.

[cygnuszero]

It really doesnt matter. Ive played all of them and I couldnt tell you what the story is. Its all standard issue sci fi stuff, Im not interested in it, Halo to me is about the gameplay.

[Fadetoblack69]

It's a pre-padded number. Online players now starts at 10k instead of 0 */jk*

[Rom828]

I AM STILL WAITING... Come on Tuesday.

[DOOMZ]

They always break street date!

[cygnuszero]

Yep, tons of them around, especially in the big cities.

[kasasensei]

Already 10 000 people? More than KZ2 or MAG then? And the game is not even officially released!

Looks like the King is back!

[StitchJones]

Oh look a dig at PS3, that was quick.

[CrIpPeN]

Oh no you didn't.

[ropelli90]

Here in Finland pre-order games are shipped 2 working days before launch, because shipping a game in a letter takes 1-2 days to get to its destination. So some people get receive their copy one day early which is almost 1,5 days earlier that in the US because the of the time zones.

I'm not saying this is the only reason, it's just one of the many reasons.

I just checked my mail and I was out of luck. I didn't get my copy of Halo: Reach today... have to wait until tomorrow ...

But I noticed that at the time the article was released it was still Sunday night so the 10 000 players aren't all Finnish players that have received their copy early.

[Eamon]

Got mine early today >.<

[Eamon]

sorry you're right, I didn't get mine early today.

[StitchJones]

It sucks big time. Every 'early' player should have their accounts locked or banned. That will force people to comply and keep companies from breaking street date. Also stores SHOULD be fined for selling copies early, plain and simple.

[CrIpPeN]

They probably got it early or download it from torrents. LOL!