Bungie: Halo 'Single-Handedly' Made Xbox

"Nobody at Bungie had any idea how big the original Halo or Master Chief would be to the Xbox or even the game and entertainment industries as a whole," the community manager told GamePlayer. "Bungie knew that Halo was a fun game... but had no idea it would single-handedly make or break Microsoft's entry into the game console market.

Microsoft has sold an estimated 22 million copies of Halo since the the first game launched in 2001, making it one of the most dominate modern franchises in video game history and pivotal in the success of Microsoft's foray into gaming.

[HighDefinition]

Wouldn`t be incorrect.

[Omegasyde]

Halo 1 was a system seller to me. I bought the Xbox 1 just for that game and the system link.

Awesome game, which in my opinion took away Goldeneye's title of best splitscreen shooter of all time.

I would also state that "Gears of War" is the "Halo" of this generation of consoles.

[HighDefinition]

I think Killzone2 is gonna take that spot. We`ll find out soon.

[Omegasyde]

I don't know about that, Gears of War 1 and 2 were critically acclaimed and were marketed heavily.

In both games, its man vs aliens. Killzone is Man vs Man with Asthma and red eyes. Kill zone 2 also looks like its not going to have any split screen action either.

[borgome]

I've never even heard of KZ 1, and haven't heard a peep about KZ 2.

[HighDefinition]

Then you`ve been living under a rock!

Look it up.

[Bathyj]

Killzone might be better than Halo in everyway but its not the Halo of this gen. Omega's right, its Gears.

Where he says that he not referring to it being good or anything, (even though it might very well be.) Hes referring to the fact, it just about the only game that people got an XB for, and even now, about the only reason to get one. Its the one game the console absolutely relys on, because without it, why would people buy the machine, just like Halo was to the first Xbox.

Like I said, KZ might end up being alot better tham both of them but it still doesn't hold than importance to Sony that Halo did, or Gears does to M$, because Sony doesn't rely on ONE franchise. Especially one with a checkerd past. They're could be NO KZ2 and PS3 would still be doing fine.

Thats not to say XB and 360 didn't/dont have any other games, of course they do, but without those 2 titles, coming when they did, neither console would have sold much.

[HighDefinition]

Good points.

I think Killzone2 is going to be BIGGER than most would expect, If COD4 did so well KZ2 I can see REALLY causing some noise.

[TheDude2dot0]

Gears is good, but it does not compare at all against Halo 1. I played Gears with my friend for two levels, then we decided to screw it and just play Halo 1 splitscreen.

Best FPS this year? My favorite would be Resistance or Team Fortress 2. Team Fortress 2 was something new, but I did hate how long the spawns were.

[JasonXE]

kinda. I remember splinter celll being a system seller for the original xbox and something to do with Xbox Live. The reason I got a xbox because the ps adapter wasn't out yet.

[Tomdc]

In tis discussion I believe you are all missing the correct answer... its LITTLE BIG PLANET!!!!!

[Spike47]

Halo practically carried xbox on its back. That's why MS has made so much advertising for the franchise. And after seeing that consumers buy into hype, they have used it on games like Gears of War 2.

[kevnb]

and guess what, Gears 1 was a game people really liked alot... All advertising does is make people aware, the game has to be liked by masses to sell well. Don't believe me? Just look at the classic massively hyped Brute Force...

[ape007]

halo 1 was a legendary game,I want bunjie to make another classic once again

halo 3 was kinda meh tbh

can't believe how halo 3 ended up like this,it was souless

halo 1 co-op never gets old,levels and battles were epic,halo 1 was an exceptional game

halo 1 was 9.8 game

halo 3 was like 7.5

halo 2 was like 9.4

[Vespertine]

I disagree about Halo 3 being "soulless"
It was a great game-- in my opinion.

Could you tell me how Halo 3 is "soulless" to you?

All of the Halo's have been great games.

[ape007]

halo 3 mp mode was fantastic but the sp campaign was souless,the level design,the guns(firing effect),battles,set pieces,the mission,the voice acting,it was a downgrade in all these aspects

remember the beach level in halo 1 or the snow level(my god,unbelievable good times),remember how large,deep and amazing they were,that's what I call epic

remember halo 3 levels,they were kinda empty,boring,pacing was dull,I mean the overall game design and quality was downgraded in h3

I respect your opinion but that's my opinion

[Fox01]

Hi Ape,
I think you should play games before passing out judgments. Don't buy into the PS3FANBOY crap you read on N4G; Halo 3 sole 8 million plus and it's still one of the most played Shooters on XBL.

[HighDefinition]

What does that have to do w/ anything he said?

[BrunoM]

Fox ur right it is one of the most played online even i play it some times ...

but to me a game cant be ABOUT online play only so thats why i agree with him i LOVED halo 1 on the xbox but halo3 dosent have that IT thing any more .. the single player in halo3 dint do it for me ..

but online is a fun game ( just ask soulja boi hehe) naw but for reall its a fun game online ...

lets see what they can do wen they come out with the next one ..

[NS]

Perhaps i had too high expections but Halo 3 SP was a letdown for me too.

The thing was. After Gears 1 and knowing how important Halo 3 was to MS i really thought that MS will go all out in making Halo 3 a game to remember this gen. In truth Gears 1 one year before had better graphics and Halo 1 had a much better story.

To Bungies credit the MP is great but it got overshadow with COD4 MP months later.

[ape007]

"Don't buy into the PS3FANBOY crap you read on N4G"

here we go again

I finished h3 on legendary

what are you talking about

if you think that h3 is as good as h1 then you are admitting that you are an average gamer,simple as that

you don't know what's quality,you just saw the same art direction,themes,music,charact ers and automatically you said it's the same as h1,average gaming at its finest

[DiabloRising]

I too was let down by Halo 3. Halo and Halo 2 were pretty damn awesome. Halo 3's campaign was a letdown for me. The multiplayer is cool, even though I dislike the muzzle drift. I do enjoy the color palette and visual style. I LOVE the replay/record options, and I think more games should use that in this day and age.

But the story? Bleh. Anticlimactic. I'd love to see an awesome Gravemind fight... instead we get... well you know who at the end. Lame. Also, it crossed the line, I felt, from homage into just copying Halo 1, especially the final level.

Halo 3 is NOT a bad game, just a major let down for me. EVery Xbox gamer should have the series in their collection.

[Breakfast]

We'll see where MS takes the series, in a couple of years.

Im assuming, theyre going straight to the dairy factory...but the best damn dairy factory gaming has ever seen.

[poopsack]

wow fox you idiot, ape is one of the level headed guys in here, he's even argued with me to prove that, and he tells it like he see's it. not his fault if you cant here the truth. I played halo 1 and 3 multiplayeron my friend's 360,they're both awesome but Halo 3's campaign was kinda dull, missing intensity.

[gaffyh]

@Breakfast - I think you'll find that that is Final Fantasy

[xenogamer]

i am an RPG gamer, i dont like FPS, but halo has the best universe and story that ive seen in a shooter, it really makes me sad to see that halo 3 is souless and shallow, the story is awesome!! Its funny when ppl say halo3 story sucks, and i tell them you find out soo much about medicant bias, Gravemind, the librarian, and the Precursors, and they all go... um... that wasnt in the game? what game did you play? if you read the terminals you find out sooo much, and each level of difficulty has different messages, ive read all the books too, and the story rivals those of rpgs games. My favorite rpg is xenogears so i know a thing or two about awesome stories in games. Halo 3 had the same things the other two had, you just found out more of the story thats it, the bad things tho, was it was really short, and it was more of the same, but if it aint broken dont fix i say. I cant wait for Halo recon and the next sequel.

[Omegasyde]

When Cloud or Master Chief comes out with their own sports game or a kart racer...then it will take the crown from Nintendo's Mario.

Mario is the number 1 dairy which comes from a land that is mostly lactose intolerant. ;)

[ultimolu]

Fox is a fine example of what I'm talking about.
A fan with a superiority complex.

I suppose ape can't even have his own opinions in terms of what he likes to play.

Very low Fox.

[pshizle]

halo1 best campaign
halo3 2nd best campaign
halo2 campaign major disappointment false promise during e3

but anyways i love them all!!!
halo2 revolutionized multiplayer and graphix

HALO 3 FAILED UPON BEING EPIC SCALE...and graphix are not omg

[Spike47]

halo 1, and halo 2 was better for me only because it looked better. Halo 3 was just not the halo I expected at all.

[CrippleH]

It had the most annoying thing in Halo 3 to me.

That BS Cortana talking BS. I was all like STFU already.

[Vespertine]

About Halo "making the Xbox"
That isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Edit: Why is everyone disagreeing with me?
Goddamn fanboys are pathetic.

[Breakfast]

Members of n4g will make it a bad thing.

Just wait till this story hits the mainpage.

[HighDefinition]

It happens.

[Breakfast]

...funny comment non the less.

:)

[PirateThom]

No Halo, no Xbox.

It's as simple as that.

Even if the Microsoft were to scrap future consoles, I can guarantee you Halo will live on.

[DJ]

All i ever played on mine was Halo CE and Halo 2.

[Nikkelz]

i didnt know that

sarcasm

[Panthers]

100% True. I bought the first Xbox strictly for Halo CE. And so did a lot of people I know.

[Vespertine]

Same here.

Halo was the reason why I got the Xbox in the first place.

[devilhunterx]

I agree with Bungie. Nothing else was good on that bullet proof goliath.

[Bathyj]

Well, til Splinter Cell came out.

[Raptura]

Imagine if Halo was never released and XBOX didn't have a popular game like that. Would we have a 360 now?

[PirateThom]

Nope.

And, secondly, hell no.

Halo was the only thing that kept the XBox alive.

However, I'm glad it did, because as God awful as the XBox was, the 360 has a fantastic library of games and has given Sony a lot of competition.

[giovonni]

I don't agree that xbox was as bad as it seems. Splinter Cell, Dead to rights, Jet set radio Future (which is still my fav). Hitman, Ghost recon,
and a few others really made me get an xbox. However, Halo is the face of MS. Live, really put MS on the map cause even though Halo was out. PS2 WAS STILL DOMINATING. Even when Halo 2 came out if it wasn't for Live Halo 2 wouldn't have had been the multiplayer it is now

[kevnb]

KOTOR, KOTOR 2, Oddworld Strangers Wrath, Chronicles of Riddick, Psychonauts (the ps2 port sucked), Fable, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Ninja Gaiden Black were all games that were not only great, but begged to be played more than once. Heck those games are all still worth playing today. Add in Halo 1 & 2, the best version on Burnout 3 and Prince of Persia and you have my entire lineup for xbox. Not bad for just one console.

[ToastyMcNibbles]

halo...the only game to define xbox...haha and then they say the ps3 has no games lmao oh the irony

[Zerodin]

So shut up.

[ToastyMcNibbles]

thats wierd i didnt know ratchet and clank, uncharted, heavenly sword, god of war, gran turismo, warhawk, littlebigplanet, resistance 2, motorstorm, shadow of the collosus, ico, syphon filter, twisted metal and others were built from snes franchises...interestinggggg

[user858621]

crash bandicoot, spyro the dragon, ridge racer, ape escape dude just cuz final fantasy 7 came 2 ps1 doesnt mean it was made off snes franchises :l noob!!

[The Unwanted Truth]

The Playstation brand was actually believe it or not, part of Nintendo. They split and made the PS1. Final Fantasy was on the SNES btw, just not number 7.

Ah, the days where a Playstation console had games... Like the Playstation 1 and 2. Ah, but those days are long gone now. Cancer curing is the only thing worth it on the PS3.

The unwanted truth.

[zep]

an over hyped game by Americans same as Gears

[Xlll]

The Truth about The unwanted truth, he is a moron with no equal. Btw you left out RE Tekken and Battle Arena Toshinden.

[Gue1]

Legend of Dragoon, Xenogears, Parasite Eve, Tenchu, Wild Arms, Katamari Damacy, Devil May Cry, Onimusha, Kingdom Hearts, Xenosaga, all this games started on Playstation.

Zerodin hates Sony for the wrong reasons. if he hates Sony because they supposelly stole Nintendo games then the same could be said about the X360? you know they now have Devil May Cry, Tenchu, ect. MS only have like a couple of games that started on their box.

[Raoh]

i didnt have an xbox but a friend brought his over and we played co op campaign mode on all difficulties.. loved that game..

didnt care for halo 2 or 3...

the MP in my opinion is simple paint by the numbers.. shame unreal tournament 3 didnt do well, while it too is a shadow of its former self, i still find it to be better than halo 2 and 3 which is what i first thought of when i played halo multiplayer..

[giovonni]

Is a great game, it introduced us gamers to a new way of gaming. The response of the Grunts when you over power them was classic. The A.I in the game was something I had never seen in a console. With that said, Halo introduced me to the Xbox. However, there were other games that should be credited. Splinter cell was introduced by way of xbox, ghost recon (although a p.c game), dead to rights, Hitman(although a p.c game). The success of these games really gave Xbox the boost it needed. Lets face it one game can propelle a system but To say Halo single handedly did it. I truly don't agree with that. If anything the use of Live really did it for xbox

[Aclay]

That's exactly what I've always thought... I mean, last generation I never owned an Xbox and didn't even know much about the Xbox, and literally the only major game I knew about that was on the Xbox was Halo. Without the Halo series, there really wouldn't be a Xbox brand.

Sometimes I think Microsoft relies too much on the Halo series (and now the Gears of War series) for it's platform's success because it's like Microsoft is alternating each year with a Gears and Halo title (Gears 1 2006, Halo 3 2007, Gears 2 2008, Halo Recon and Halo Wars 2009, Halo Chronicles, etc....)

Yeah I know, both Gears and Halo are highly successful titles, but to me it's like Microsoft is depending on Gears and Halo to carry the Xbox brand on it's back, while Sony on the other hand doesn't really rely on one particular title because they have so many.

[REPLOID24]

that claim. Could you imagine Xbox without Halo?

[NS]

without the xbox and its fans as well MS, Bungie and Halo wouldn't be where they are at the moment.

What do you guys think?. If Halo made it to the PS2. Would it have been as popular?. For me personally i don't think so as there were too many games on the PS2 competing for gamers money and attention. Halo on xbox was the only game that really stood head and shoulders above the others which in effect caught a very big and loyal fanbase.

[mcgrawgamer]

just as much as xbox made halo.

let's for sake of argument halo would have stayed as planned as a rts for apple, would have probably sold next to nothing.

let's say the legendary halo CE was released for the ps2. probably would have sold well, but it would have gotten swallowed up by the metal gear, jak and daxter, ico, god of war, socom, and all the other giant franchises on the ps2.

halo and the xbox was just perfect timing and the "so called" match made in heaven.

[Fishy Fingers]

Halo 2 was also massive for getting people into Xbox Live.

[Raptura]

You know.. I never thought of that.

Look at all the people who must have signed up for XBL just to play Halo 2 online.

What was Xbox's second most play title online?

[NS]

Mods pls remove the alternative source as its a major spoiler.

[Omegasyde]

yea WTF. Meow you are a A-hole.

I have feeling the submission system is going to get rehauled soon.

[Raptura]

Lol. That's funny to me, but extremely stupid and N4G needs to change that.

[ArtisianDragon]

Yep Halo was one of those games that carried Xbox up in status. At least from my point of view and in my neighborhood when my neighbor and close personal friend got one, one kid always wanted to play that game and nothing else, even when though we had a PS2 and Gamecube it was Halo that we always played. Pretty nice game for it's time and would say that it was one of those games that made sure people kept their Xbox on as it was just fun to play.

[XBox RRoDed again]

HA HA HA HA!!! Halo made the first X-Box...that's so lame,....wait what?

Well at least I have Halo 3 and Gears...that's twice as much as the X-Box...wait a minute...........$hit!........ .....(RRoD)

[deno]

Love halo and halo 2. We used to hook 4 xboxs and play 16 player madness. Good old days!!!

[Spike47]

Well MS actually pushed it to the limit with having halo on mountain dew cans and halo 3 shirts and merchandise.

Notice how Halo 3 had a special appearance on the history channel about future weapns or something, then gears of war 1 popped up on Mtv. Mass Effect appeared on Scifi.

halo did generate much of it's hype, but honestly, it is given too much credit for what the game really is IMO, Gears of War actually deserves the hype of halo imo.

[user858621]

dude serious just 2 franchises that the 360 livin off atm halo and gears afta that then wats left?? its like the original xbox all ova agen :P lmao

[NaiNaiNai]

funny how the xbox 360 only has two games, >.> and yet the ps3 is still behind with its many games and choices. T_T you should facepalm your self right about now.
-nai-

[jack who]

and?

[mirroredderorrim]

I agree.

[thehitman]

IT IS XBOX

however I think gears is a way better game than halo.....

[Horny Melon]

Halo was nothing special, that type of shooter had been on PCs for years. What it did was take that gameplay type mainstream on consoles. Similiar to golden eye taking FPS multiplayer. It started out as an MMO FPS for Apple , then Microsoft picked it up and scaled it back.

[pain777pas]

Gears is this gens halo. this new one game marketing for M$ is working to their advantage we'll see if people will stick with this one mega game philosophy but their advertising is stellar not to mention that the games is pretty good too.

[DFresh]

Yeah.
Halo did pretty much make up 70% of Microsoft's success in the console business w/ the Xbox but other games have also contributed to bringing Xbox to the masses.
ex.) Ninja Gaiden, Fable, House of the Dead 3, Dead or Alive 3, etc.

[XbotTerminator]

Poor xbots, for Xbox they only had Halo and now they only have Gears. Oh well...

[slak]

halo1 best campaign bad multiplayer

halo2 bad campaign good multiplayer

halo3 good campaign best multiplayer

[CAPT IRISH]

Halo 1 had a bad multiplayer?!?!?!?!?

[CAPT IRISH]

CAPT IRISH: Bungie states the obvious

[Stryfeno2]

We have Halo...You have 33+ franchises. Then the PS3 should be killing the competition 20:1?

[Thatlalala]

So True. Can't imagine the Xbox without Halo. Although not my favortie game, it truly made the 360. Yup 2009 is year of the PS3. Wasn't that said last year at this time? "2008 is PS3's year. Wait for MGS4, LBP, and R2". I love my PS3 , or "I Want to love it" but my Game catalog is 52 360 games to 4 PS3 (Uncharted, MGS4, LBP, and R2). Halo made the Xbox but the continuation of AAA Rpg's and Action titles will keep it alive.

[NickIni]

IMO, this year, neither console has really been an outright winner. Next year though, the PS3 has a very strong chance, as the entire year is stuffed to the brim with great titles, with many more unannounced.

[Xi]

there was 3 or 4 games that made Xbox, and about 5 or 6 that helped the brand quite a bit.

major.
Halo
PGR/forza
Fable

minor
dead or alive
ninja gaiden
crimson skies
mech assault
kotor