410°

Halo Franchise Dev Director on MCC: “We Goofed, to Put it Politely,” “There Is Lots More to Do”

Halo: The Master Chief Collection has launched to pretty serious problems with online matchmaking, and a patch scheduled for today should mitigate them, yet 343 Industries isn’t hiding behind a finger, and Halo franchise development director Frank O’Connor was definitely honest in commenting about the hoopla.

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dualshockers.com
nicksetzer13445d ago

Well, the honesty and lack of PR speak is really relieving to see.

Phene3445d ago

It be crazy to see a new game launch nowadays and NOT have issues.

redwin3444d ago

Let this be a lesson to developers and high light the importance of beta testing. Beta testing should replace demos. If a studio is proud of their work and they are proud of their product then they should have no problem putting out a beta. It doesn't represent the final product but it gives you a good idea what the game is all about.

lawgone3444d ago

Ain't that the truth. However, the new COD has only had a few very minor ones. Everything has been pretty smooth.

XanderZane3444d ago

Becoming more like PC games every generation. Incomplete game released. Patch, patch, patch. Always something that doesn't work. This was one of the reasons why M$ used to charge fees to publishers/developers for more then two updates. They want developers to make sure the game was pretty much perfect before they launched the game on their system. I don't think they change a fee anymore for this generation. Developers can update as much as they want.

Magicite3445d ago ShowReplies(1)
badz1493445d ago

so they basically admitted that they shipped an incomplete game? and gamers should be ok with this, why?

starrman19853444d ago

No, they're admitting that their title has problem, problems they probably didn't foresee... Why do people have to be so negative?

They've announced they are going to work around the clock to get this sorted, it's not an ideal situation at all but we can just appreciate that they are doing all in their power to deal with it.

fr0sty3444d ago

Because this has become a standard way to ship games in today's gaming industry. Look at Driveclub, Skyrim, etc... Games being launched broken are far too common these days. This is why we have alpha and beta tests, to stress test the servers and the net code and make sure it can hold up.

XanderZane3444d ago

No, that's not what they are saying. lol!! The game was obviously complete when it shipped. The problem is they didn't beta test it with like 500K gamers in advance. When that many people hit the servers, that's when the problem was first discovered.

PC gamers should be used to this sort of stuff happening. Problems like this happen all the time with PC games, which is one reason I only play a select few PC games.

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aviator1893445d ago

Bright side: lessons learned for more-important Halo 5 launch.

MeliMel3445d ago

For sure, the other good thing is unlike Halo MCC there will be a beta. So any problems should be fixed way before launch.

FriedGoat3444d ago

Halo 5 is not more important than the MCC.

aviator1893444d ago

It isn't?
Hmm....well, I think it is. Unless you're just one of those people who likes to stick to older games of a franchise rather than moving on.

Gaming247allday3445d ago

I can only imagine how hard it is to launch one game successfully, never mind 4 on 1 Disk, i have faith in 343

DigitalRaptor3445d ago (Edited 3445d ago )

4 very old games.

I can't see how it ended up this way, when the original games ran well on a less advanced online network than exists today. Either they goofed due to goofy development techniques, or they were rushed to get it ready for November. I'd go with the latter. Still a great value package in the long term, but shame about what has happened so far.

tinynuggins3445d ago (Edited 3445d ago )

Really? You can't see the complexity in launching 4 games that share a set of over 100 multilayer maps while crossing that against multiple sets of playlists? Sounds like the most complicated scenario I can think of.

Lawboy23445d ago

@ tiny don't forget two of those games are running on two different engines allowing you to play classic and remastered with the touch of a button

Mind you that the game works good even in mp....the only problem was matchmaking issues

livedeht3444d ago

@lawboy...same engine different assets...but only on single player...asset switching is not available on multiplayer.

Spid3r63444d ago (Edited 3444d ago )

On Halo 2 multiplayer had issues the rest of the game is incredible...I have been playing single player and OMG you think you got new FPS skills but HALO puts a hurting on you. I am on the first HALO and the graphics are incredible cant wait to see halo 2,3 and 4. I am playing thru halo 1 right now and its amazing how they have connected the Halo Channel with the game. There are buttons through out the level and gives you a cinematic syn-ops in conjunction with the Halo Channel to present what occurred there giving it more life to Halo universe. What they have accomplish here is pure genius!

xDHAV0K24x3444d ago

Halo 4 was in 2012 how is that 4 "very old games" ??? and all bumped to 1080 and 60fps

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Mikefizzled3445d ago

I still cannot believe how flawlessly Halo 2 and Halo 2 anniversary are tied together.

dirkdady3445d ago

What did 343 do to earn your faith? New developer with little experience, many of their key industry vets like Corrinne, Kenneth, Scott Warner and Ryan Payton to name a few all left 343 industries after the last halo game which most halo fans had mixed feelings especially around the multiplayer.

Just trying to understand where this faith is coming from.

CrowbaitBob3444d ago

If the "faith" were based on a bunch of bullet points that can establish justifiable confidence in 343 then it wouldn't be faith, it'd be confidence.

FriedGoat3444d ago

Faith is believing in something that has yet to be proven. It wouldn't be faith otherwise, it would be belief.

Father__Merrin3445d ago

i cant believe such a huge franchise has been launched broken, its 4 halos for damn sakes!!! if it was me id ask for a refund unless i wanted single player only

BlackTar1873445d ago

Dude broken or not it's still playable in a lot of ways and good fun. The term broken is used very loosely here and basically everywhere now a days

Kribwalker3445d ago

Did u get your driveclub refund? That's a social game that was out a month earlier then MCC and still isn't fixed yet. How bout an over under which game will be fixed first, with a driveclub head start aswell. I'd say MCC

PrinterMan3445d ago

Regardless of the game or the platform releasing a broken product is inexcusable! Unfortunately it is becoming the norm. Very disappointing trend to set.

And don't say well it's 4 games or it's got a lot of stuff...blah blah blah. If I buy a car it had better damn well drive properly!

Skankinruby3445d ago

I'm sure you were right there lining up to rip on the driveclub launch as well. Now the shoes on the other foot and you can't take it.

MeliMel3445d ago

Dont forget delayed for a long time to fix problems and still launched broken.

G20WLY3445d ago (Edited 3445d ago )

^Come on Mel, be fair, 343 took 4 games that were already up and working and still launched them broken.

My point is, it's not quite as simple as you're making out. However you cut it, it's not okay for ANY game on ANY platform to launch broken - no excuse is good enough.

Spid3r63444d ago

Do not compare what happened to Driveclub is happening to MCC please...The only issue here is matchmaking with the older Halos.. It simple the the script did not allow to jump in on an ongoing game instead it waits for the match is over before adding new people in so it would take longer then usual. The game still online and all and you are able to play online.

objdadon3444d ago

Driveclub is a new ip and is finally fixed. No excuse for halo at all!

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christocolus3445d ago

“its 4 halos for damn sakes!!!”

Exactly.

It was a huge undertaking and the single player campaigns are really fun so im not going to bombard 343i with hate mails and bs, besides im sure they aint happy about the issues either. It will definitly get sorted out.hopefully the upcoming update fixes all the issues with matchmaking.

Utalkin2me3444d ago

It's 4 previously working games, so i don't get that point. On the other note it seems to be hard to launch a working game anymore regardless of platform.

XanderZane3444d ago

@Utalkin2me
Really? Both Sunset Overdrive and Horizon 2 launched just fine with no online issues. Sunset Overdrive is a new IP as well. I thinking you're just grasping at straws. Your point fits perfect for the PC platform, but for game consoles, most games would play just fine right out of the box. I just got Lord of the Fallen & Dragon Age and both games played fine after it was loaded on my system. So online issues with Dragon Age either and I played for hours.

mhunterjr3445d ago (Edited 3445d ago )

It is hard to believe that MS would goof on their biggest title. But this isn't unprecedented. AC:U, Drive Club, BF4, and GTA:O come to mind.

That said there's plenty to do with single player, custom games, and forge until Matchmaking is fixed. I'm not gonna ask for a refund just because I had to wait 1 week for things to work right.

NeoGamer2323445d ago

It would be alright for you to comment if you actually owned the game or an XB1...

But, since you are just trolling XB1 all day long because you have nothing to play on your PS4 your comment seems more pathetic than anything.

isa_scout3445d ago

I have both an Xbox One and a PS4 and have plenty to play on both. I bought a Xbox One earlier than I wanted JUST for Halo, and must say I'm rather disappointed with the state in which it launched. Sunset Overdrive is a blast though. Having said that, if there's one game that's worth waiting for, its Halo. I'm a huge Halo fan and couldn't let those Halo 2 memories pass me by. Now I'm ready for the MP though so I really hope this patch fixes it. On a side note, is anyone else having frame rate issues trying to play Halo3 and 4 campaign co-op? Those are the only two I've yet to replay, but when I try playing co-op the framerate stutters like AC:Unity.

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Tedakin3445d ago

Goofed is an understatement but I respect them for being extremely vocal about the issue.

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140°

Five Games to Play While Waiting for Armored Core 6

The newest From Software game is just around the corner. These are five excellent games to play while waiting for Armored Core 6.

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gamefreaks365.com
Si-Fly257d ago

Can I suggest BG3 as a 6th? It’s helping me pass the time quite well.

anast257d ago

I'm still trying to finish WotR.

DivineHand125257d ago

With the release date being just a little over a week away, it may not be a good idea to burn yourself out on mech games until then.

RavenWolfx256d ago

i want a Chromehounds sequel so bad...

raWfodog256d ago (Edited 256d ago )

Surprised that the article didn’t mention Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries if we’re talking about mech-related games.

ZeekQuattro256d ago

It was an odd article imo. Like why are games that feature a handful of mech themed levels in there. When I think of mech games I don't think Halo and Wolfenstein no matter how fun those levels were.

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180°

Best Xbox Game Studios Franchises

These are some of the best and most popular video game franchises now owned by Xbox Game Studios and Microsoft.

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gamefreaks365.com
Sciurus_vulgaris266d ago (Edited 266d ago )

Microsoft was involved with Halo, Gears, Forza, Ori, Flight Simulator and Fable from early development, I will give them credit for those franchises. Fallout, Elder Scrolls and Doom were established franchise before being acquired by MS.

Crows90265d ago (Edited 265d ago )

Exactly. They had nothing to do with their most popular franchises now.

Their old franchises are dwindling and pretty much non-existent.

They've had perfect dark in the chamber this whole time and haven't done squat...that tells you the kind of company they are. Fable is another franchise that's been destroyed and ignored...let's see how the new game turns out.

Profchaos264d ago

Yeah perfect dark, banjo conquer ms seems to kill more franchises then they like to admit while pretending to care about others like hexen

Sitdown265d ago

Given the article specifically says "now owned", what made you feel the need to do a break down?

thesoftware730264d ago

Sit-down,

Because it's N4G and any opportunity to shit on MS is never missed.

Rude-ro265d ago

Gears is not.
It was the same as mass effect:
Just contracted.

closed_account266d ago (Edited 266d ago )

Ah yes, feels like forever ago since Microsoft created Skyrim. So much so, I had actually forgotten they had created it and the other Elder Scrolls games! 🤔

*They really shaped my preteen years w the original Doom too!

ocelot07265d ago

Don't forget the original Elder Scrolls way back in 1994 or fallout in 1997.

Sitdown262d ago

So you don't understand the combination of "now owned"?

Crows90265d ago (Edited 265d ago )

I fully expect all these popular franchises to be killed off by Microsoft. Just a matter of time.

Unless they take a huge distance approach which pretty much means they don't ba e anything to do with the games being made ...in that case the franchises should be fine. But then...they shouldn't really get credit.

DOMination-265d ago

"I fully expect all these popular franchises to be killed off by Microsoft. Just a matter of time."

Based on what?? Microsoft usually gets stick for releasing too MANY games in their franchises, to the point where it's quite a long-running joke - one I'm sure you've partaken in before.

Pretty much all of their major IP has had releases in the last five years or have upcoming releases scheduled so I see no evidence whatsoever for this claim.

"Unless they take a huge distance approach which pretty much means they don't ba e anything to do with the games being made"

But.. They HAVE been very hands-off for a long time and have drawn lots of criticism for it?

fr0sty265d ago

See: All of Rare's games

DOMination-264d ago

I really wouldn't say that MS have let Rare franchises die. They've just had the freedom to create new IP in Sea of Thieves and Everwild. MS are currently developing a Perfect Dark game, licensed Killer Instinct out, Rare themselves released several compilations and several Banjo games as well as PDZ in the past.

I'm not sure what else you could want. They can only make one game at a time. You can't say MS let all their franchises die but also be annoyed that they allow their studios to make new IP.

Profchaos264d ago

If that's the case where my banjo or conquer sequel why didn't I get sunset overdrive 2 oh yeah not enough bro in those games

ChasterMies265d ago (Edited 265d ago )

EA is a good example of what can happen to a franchise when a larger corporation buys up studios from a smaller corporation. Quarterly earnings should never matter more than quality.

wiz7191264d ago

@Crows that is the case , Zenimax is operating independently of MS and have full creative freedom to do what they want. Zenimax games aren’t being published under XGS ,

ravens52265d ago

Soon Microsoft will be known for making Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Candy Crush, Call of Duty etc. Lmao they know what they're doing. Especially with the archiving issue the gaming industry has.

closed_account265d ago (Edited 265d ago )

Microsoft built the game industry. Microsoft invented games. Didn't you know? ;)

**What a bizzaro world we live in where the losers can become the winners overnight.

Hypertension140265d ago

@ravens52

What are those franchises you're talking about?
Activision/Blizzard only makes Call of Duty and Bethesda has Elder Scrolls and Starfield only, stop making it seen that is much more anti competitive/consumer than it actually is.......

Profchaos264d ago

Zero creative vision and the ability to bankroll it by purchasing everything that everyone else had success with even Halo wasn't technically theirs Bungie had to sell it to them to become independent

Atari6052B265d ago

You mean any studio Microsoft could acquire to flog last gen games on game pass ... What happened to HD-DVD that Microsoft pushed so hard ...

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70°

Games with the dumbest NPCs

Non-playable characters in certain games are meme material, thanks to their foolish behavior. These are the big-budget games with the dumbest NPCs.

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gamefreaks365.com
closed_account267d ago (Edited 267d ago )

Bethesda makes the most consistently stupid NPCs, like really bad... yet I still can't help but love playing their games. Guilty pleasure, I guess. *sigh* 😩

Flawlessmic266d ago

How did redfall not make the cut.

anast266d ago (Edited 266d ago )

Every Bethesda game and Every Halo game. This list needed to have Cyberpunk somewhere.