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[bananafactory]

To all the people still having issues, get a refund or sell it. It seems like there is a thread every hour complaining about the issues, do something about.

I'm all for people complaining about problems. Developers get too much of a pass these days and the only way things will change is for people to make their voices heard. GAF is a very influential forum and read by hundreds of thousands of people, threads made here help increase awareness of the issues.

 

[Foolishfellow]

To all the people still having issues, get a refund or sell it. It seems like there is a thread every hour complaining about the issues, do something about.

The only reason I haven't is the Halo 5 beta. Ultimately the game is just a keypass for the beta, which I'm still keeping an open mind about until I've played it.

If there was a way to get the beta, but get a refund for Halo MCC I would do it right now.

 

[Pathfinder]

Didn't know that. :/

Yeah he/she kind of screwed the pooch in the most recent NPD thread.

Totally derailed the whole thing for a couple hours.

 

[REMEMBER CITADEL]

Meanwhile, the press' ugly duckling console Wii U has free online and people playing Smash Brothers online with little to no issues. Why there aren't more journalists screaming to the heavens about that sort of disparity is ridiculous. Call a spade a spade. Praise people/things for doing things well, and criticise what deserves to be criticized.

(I do think Game Trailers in general provides great commentary/coverage for what its worth, however).

Yeah, I just don't understand why there have already been so many issues with Live (and PSN, I suppose) this gen, when last gen it mostly just worked.

 

[Jomjom]

But I am still enjoying the campaign? What if I don't want it to be recalled?

Um... then you keep it and ignore the recall and carry on with your life?

 

[vesvci]

Very interesting analysis. That being said, I traded in two copies of MCC because it ran so bad for me. My launch week copy and my free MS copy. Such a shame too.

For all intents and purposes 343 is Microsoft. They are one in the same, in everything but name. Microsoft created 343 to handle Halo post-Bungie. Halo is one of Microsoft's flagship titles.

Another interesting tidbit to me.

 

[Papacheeks]

Not to bring a game up that has nothing to do with Halo:MCC. But would drive club fall in the same category as a game that should have been recalled?

I mean I'm on the Drive Club threads alot admiring how amazing the game looks with the weather and all that. But the game outside of single player was not playable and the hook for that game was the online challenges and constant Notoriety updating.


I mean now it seems like it's an entirely new game all together now. But should we like this thread is doing with Halo:MCC be brought to light as well and be recalled?

 

[HTupolev]

also correct me if I'm wrong but Halo: CEA & Halo 4 both worked pretty well at launch with no significant issues.

They were astronomically better-off, and things that were included were generally usable.

Although, there were still obvious development limitations. Halo 4 never got campaign theatre even though it almost works, file share showed up after launch, some of the new forge features had little quirks. CEA's replacement for CE MP was a Reach mod with fairly sloppy execution in multiple ways, and the campaign itself was a very rushed job where a lot of stuff was made hastily and/or unfinished (i.e. cutscene animations).

 

[TheYanger]

Why would I want it to be recalled? Don't get me wrong, I want online to be fixed, I'm a busy guy and every time I've tried to play multi it hasn't worked, but I also have played through 3 of the 4 campaigns (co op split screen, 0 issues) and have enjoyed that. I'd prefer it be patched and fixed.

 

[justsomeguy]

Bought digitally. Got a refund from MS without any hassles.

I doubt we'll ever get the full inside story but it's almost unbelievable that it's still not working reliably a month after release.

I was going to rebuy once they fixed the save game issue, but tbh I have moved on now.

Halo 5 needs to be the greatest Halo game ever made, otherwise the series' reputation and legacy will be forgotten IMO.

 

[Foolishfellow]

The grounds of the EA suit are completely different from what you are proposing. The class action suit was for insider trading, stock manipulation, and fraud, not for product defect. The plaintiffs didn't necessarily own the game and their claim survives irrespective of whether the game functioned. What they sued on were inherent misrepresentations by executives in the bargaining process, inducing the plaintiffs to purchase stock on knowingly fraudulent grounds.

There is a legal claim to make with respect to the defects inherent in MCC, but it's deciding what that claim is that will make or break your cause. And even if you have an argument, you'll have to be prepared to litigate, and that's not cheap. Your best solution is to either file a complaint with the FTC or vote with your wallet by demanding a refund.

Cheer up: at least you are in a position to be able to enjoy playing videogames.

Thanks for the additional info. I'm not seriously considering this, but I think this is an interesting angle to explore in research or writing.

 

[Shpeshal Nick]

Yeah, I just don't understand why there have already been so many issues with Live (and PSN, I suppose) this gen, when last gen it mostly just worked.

I assume its the move to Azure? Hopefully they're migrating Xbox 360 Live to Azure as well so it never gets shut down like OG Live.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Reach's campaign is good though

If your definition of good is soul shredding mediocrity.

Actually, I'm not getting into this again. Shouldn't have posted a response to that Reach post, I just can't help it sometimes.

 

[Future PhaZe]

The game is a joke.. Each new patch fixes a few things for some, makes things worse for others.. While main issues like the complete lack of the very much promised DEDICATED SERVERS and campaign save issues still persist without being addressed or even acknowledged.

I have the opinion that 343i's communication about the issues have been completely sub par and actually made things worse. Official updates are few and sparse, most of the studio members stopped interacting with the customers, official forum support for problems is a joke.

I also love how the EXECUTIVE PRODUCER for the title, Dan Ayoub, completely vanished after the problems started to pile. His last post was on November 13th. It's specially great since looking through his tweets you see he was very active and always answered people's questions and comments. This guy should be putting his face on public, not hiding out.

And finally, the Franchise Community Manager seems to be completely lost. As charismatic as Bravo might be, his inexperience for the job is really showing under pressure. He seems to have a single ctrl+c, ctrl+v answer for tweets, and his insistence on promoting the Halo Championship Series on his personal Twitter feed when most people aren't even able to get into a match is absurd.

You know, after all the problems and communication issues with Halo 4 (yeah, that outright LIE about the first map pack error is still fresh), Frankie said that they learnt a lot and would improve. Can someone possibly say that they improved something? I can't.

The HCS is just...it's one of the most disrespectful things I've seen from a developer in a long while. The resources that are going into this to provide a tournament scene for a NON FUNCTIONINING GAME is the ULTIMATE good ol'e boys mentality.

It is just beyond disrespectful to me.

 

[Adam Blue]

Yeah but 343 outsourced all the work and had their name on the box.


The game is 343's product. They should absolutely be help responsible for it.

For all intents and purposes 343 is Microsoft. They are one in the same, in everything but name. Microsoft created 343 to handle Halo post-Bungie. Halo is one of Microsoft's flagship titles.

Again, I'm not defending the MCC or MS, but even if Microsoft tasked 343, they knew they'd be hiring outside developers and they knew they were working on Halo 5 along with a beta a month later. Halo 5 is huge even for a big studio.

I actually feel bad for them having to go through this. It is for sure MS execs wanted this out in time for the fall. They wanted to sell systems more than the game itself!

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Bought digitally. Got a refund from MS without any hassles.

I doubt we'll ever get the full inside story but it's almost unbelievable that it's still not working reliably a month after release.

I was going to rebuy once they fixed the save game issue, but tbh I have moved on now.

Halo 5 needs to be the greatest Halo game ever made, otherwise the series' reputation and legacy will be forgotten IMO.

Bro, you're back.

 

[.GqueB.]

Is the outrage actually large enough to warrant a refund or are you hoping they just see the error of their ways and issue one just "because". Are people yelling at MS about it or are they yelling at each other?

This is actually the first I'm hearing about this, Lol.

 

[GANGSTERKILLER]

I thought this colletion would be The Orange Box of this gen. Guess I was wrong, lol.

Shocking to read all these reactions, 343 must fucked it up really bad.

When I will buy a Xbox One I definitely skip this one.

 

[DarthWalden]

tbh I had more problems with the original halo CEA release. The game kept crashing on me and I didn't have my copy of reach so I couldn't play the multiplayer.

 

[MrGerbils]

The multiplayer has been near completely unplayable for me. I managed to get in to 3 matches ever. Open NAT. Ports forwarded. Trying every playlist. Playing by myself, not in a party.

I took the game back, and I encourage everyone else to do the same. Don't sit on a broken game. You can buy it again used or from a bargain bin if they ever do fix it.

This game was the biggest reason I bought an Xbox over a ps4 to be an addition to my PC and Wii U and its been incredibly disappointing. I think this failed launch has really hurt the brand of 343, halo, and Xbox as a whole.

 

[RedSwirl]

Looking at how games are launched across PC and console these days, I think something is changing in the industry. I really do feel like the old retail "launch date" model is starting to go away whether publishers and gamers like it or not.

Just look at how computer software in general is released to the public these days. Google and Facebook usually start off with betas that are slowly updated over weeks and months, and then improved over the course of years. PC games, especially online-focused PC games, have basically been doing the same thing. Games like League of Legends, DOTA, DayZ, and many more have completely de-emphasized the singular "release date." They soft launch to the public like any other computer software does, and keep getting updated with the assumption that people will play the games for years.

This is starting to happen for console AAA games too, even if it's not intentional. Developers will keep working on patches as the discs are being printed and shipped to stores which is why you get big day-one patches. Features like GTA Online and Heists end up not being available until months after launch. Games are launching on consoles that feel like beta code. Yet, publishers are still emphasizing the initial street date as the "big day" for a game, likely to pump up pre-order numbers and keep retailers satisfied. Developers are increasingly seeing the disc as merely a delivery medium for the initial, rough code, since these days so many crucial parts of a game are just downloaded onto the hard drive. Games you buy at retail work less and less like static retail media.

Basically, video games are starting to more and more resemble what they always really were -- computer software.

 

[Future PhaZe]

Is the outrage actually large enough to warrant a refund or are you hoping they just see the error of their ways and issue one just "because". Are people yelling at MS about it or are they yelling at each other?

This is actually the first I'm hearing about this, Lol.

Because the vast majority of outrage has been pointed at Ubisoft--and honestly, that games issues don't even compare to the shit stank that is MCC.

 

[Diablohead]

I feel like a fool because I sold my 360 copies of Halo CE anniversary, 3 and 4 thinking that this xbox one version would be just as good but in 1080 60, boy oh boy was I wrong about that.

I was planning to sell it but every update I gave the game another go to see how it's been fixed up, most changes either bought in another bug or the changes were minor, so I still have the game sat on my shelf collecting dust.

I can understand a game having a patch to fix some errors this gen because nearly every game has done so but the MCC has gone beyond that, 343i has been working non stop and throwing patches out weekly trying to fix these issues, this screams to me that the game was really unprepared to go retail but did anyway and for that I also blame microsoft for their allowing of this game to go gold.

I love the halo games but I just don't feel like playing them any more, I wanted to go over the campaigns again but even there I am losing save files or having online desyncs in co-op with my cousin only 50 miles away, the entire package is sloppy and loosely tied together with one of the most buggy menu systems I have seen for a high profile game.

To add, I did try to get a refund from shopto but they said that to do so I had to get a return number from microsoft to do so... what? the game was sold with a false description and non working online, I should have been valid for a refund.

 

[Shpeshal Nick]

The compensation is going to be interesting after Ubi set the bar.

MCC is in far worse shape than Unity. 50% off Halo 5 for digital owners of MCC would be a bare minimum at this point.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

The compensation is going to be interesting after Ubi set the bar.

MCC is in far worse shape than Unity. 50% off Halo 5 for digital owners of MCC would be a bare minimum at this point.

I'm hoping for free Reach and ODST. We'll probably just get an extended Halo 5 beta instead.

 

[Gindor]

they should at least have stores put big red stickers on the boxes with "DOES NOT WORK PROPERLY ATM" on them. I'm sure a ton of people already did their holiday shopping but that might prevent more dissatisfied and disappointed customers..

I'm hoping for free Reach and ODST. We'll probably just get an extended Halo 5 beta instead.

that would be funny because customers don't actually gain anything at all from that, while ms/343 do

 

[Tempesta di Fuoco]

People are paying 70$ for a non-functioning product.

That can be functional through patches.

While car and toy recalls happen because they are dangerous or something seriously wrong with them, and cannot be patched.

 

[Dead Man Typing]

Eh, I played through the whole Halo: CE on Legendary and encountered no issues whatsoever (except for the game restarting a level after a patch had been applied, and activating a terminal forced the patch - a really stupid oversight). I also wonder how many people complaining about save bugs just don't know that in Halo games you absolutely have to save and quit between sessions. That's not a bug, it'a (retarded) feature. Likewise for the super slow warthog escape sequence.

Nah, I made that mistake in 2002 with the original Halo, hitting eject on the OG Xbox instead of saving and quitting. I haven't done it since. Halo 2 campaign legitimately lost my level progress 3 times on my Legendary run. I had to go down sniper alley twice, defeat the Brutes in the council chamber twice and I can't remember the other level it happened in. Save and Exit every time, when I came back to it, hit Resume -> game plays level opening cinematic This was still an issue when I finished the campaign last week, playing entire missions in a single sitting to avoid the issue (not easy on Legendary).

I'm sorry but a massive amount of blame has to be placed on the consumer in this case. Paying $60+ for a game sight unseen is what is causing this to become an epidemic. You better believe if no one preordered this game and they were forced to rely on word of mouth to sell the game, especially an online focused game, this shit would not happen.

Buying a game that has an online component? Wait till the community chimes in after launch to see how it is before you hand over your money. That is it. That is the key. It's not hard.

Sight unseen? I've finished all 4 games already - I know I like Halo. The quality of the content was never in question - there was no reason not to pre-order it. Plus, wait for the community to chime in? Who do you think is complaining? We are chiming in, we're the community - if nobody buys it day one, who is there to tell us if it works or not?

Trying to place a "massive amount" of blame on the consumer for this is ridiculous. No Halo game has had problems with online at launch. This should have been the safest bet all year. 343 hid the multiplayer problems from reviewers and those reviewers chose to ignore the warning signs and print glowing reviews.

 

[Diablohead]

The sad thing about having a beta so soon is that it's going to remove a lot of players from the online pools for the MCC, making things even worse for that month.

This package is so up in the air it's terrible.

 

[buddha0991]

Im sitting on 296 matchmade games, 50 custom games, beat halo 1 and 2, almost done with 3. There were bad issues along the way but for the most part it is working great for me. It is really sad that some others are struggling so hard. I have heard reports all across the board on the patches' effectiveness. Such a wide variety of experiences and problems for many people, its far too varied to say this is actually a functioning product. It is functioning for me a large group of players, but for a lot of other people, it is non functional. I do think compensation should be given based on that.

 

[dork]

My first Xbox One game and i feel like i wasted my money, i have no desire to play this.

Not my first xbox one game, but i agree. I lost all desire to even try the game anymore. Its just sitting there collecting dust because I dont have time to keep up with every update to check if its working yet.

 

[iMax]

This would be a good time to review some of the sites that "noticed" the problems:




As well as some of the sites that "didn't notice" the problems:

Polygon amended their review and changed the score. Metacritic doesn't reflect score changes.

 

[RulkezX]

Is it even possible to get a refund for a digital copy bought at launch ?

I'd happily get mine refunded and I'll not be touching Halo 5 with a barge pole until I've read considerable hands on reports from real players ( I say this as someone who's sole reason for buying a Bone was for Halo).

This package should have been God Tier.

 

[ebullientprism]

The compensation is going to be interesting after Ubi set the bar.

MCC is in far worse shape than Unity. 50% off Halo 5 for digital owners of MCC would be a bare minimum at this point.

Watch it be a gamerpic or avatar or a name plate in the MCC.

 

[.GqueB.]

Because the vast majority of outrage has been pointed at Ubisoft--and honestly, that games issues don't even compare to the shit stank that is MCC.

That's so bizarre. Why Ubi and not MS? Easier target? Unless the OP is exaggerating, this sounds like a complete shit show that's still going on a good month after release. Doesn't seem like something the gaming world would sleep on.

I'm a bit confused, tbh.

 

[Mooreberg]

I hope at least the final week of the Halo 5 beta is made widely available to Gold subscribers. Hitching the entire thing to this manure wagon is not going to be good for anybody.

 

[Petrae]

To all the people still having issues, get a refund or sell it. It seems like there is a thread every hour complaining about the issues, do something about.

Since refund policy is inconsistent at best and selling the game in most cases leaves the consumer short of what was paid for a game that has failed to deliver what was advertised, I think people should be able to complain all they want to until Microsoft rolls out a general compensation/refund strategy.

 

[2San]

I'm surprised they haven't fixed it by now. Titanfall is such a smooth experience. I thought the azure servers would ensure a smooth experience at launch let alone after a month.

 

[Gindor]

That's so bizarre. Why Ubi and not MS? Easier target? Unless the OP is exaggerating, this sounds like a complete shit show that's still going on a good month after release. Doesn't seem like something the gaming world would sleep on.

I'm a bit confused, tbh.

AC:Unity is basically industry wide, this MCC is confined to a small part of the small XBONE userbase. Plus I guess those MS fans arent that likely to shit on MS...

 

[REMEMBER CITADEL]

Nah, I made that mistake in 2002 with the original Halo, hitting eject on the OG Xbox instead of saving and quitting. I haven't done it since. Halo 2 campaign legitimately lost my level progress 3 times on my Legendary run. I had to go down sniper alley twice, defeat the Brutes in the council chamber twice and I can't remember the other level it happened in. Save and Exit every time, when I came back to it, hit Resume -> game plays level opening cinematic This was still an issue when I finished the campaign last week, playing entire missions in a single sitting to avoid the issue (not easy on Legendary).

Sorry to hear that, that's terrible. I haven't started Halo 2 yet, and with FH2 and SO expansions around the corner, it will take a while before I do. Hopefully they'll finally fix it soon.

By the way, I learned my Halo saving lesson with Halo 2 Vista - after playing it for the whole afternoon without saving and quitting, the game crashed. Ugh.

 

[joeposh]

I've played a good amount but not without issues.

I'd just say return it. A recall would cause more issues than it would help.

A recall would keep people who don't know any better from buying what is currently a broken product. How many parents are probably out their blindly buying the "new" Halo game for Christmas, assuming Little Jimmy will just be able to pop and play? I don't envy the sales clerks that will have to deal with people wanting to "exchange" their "broken disc for one that works" in the days after Christmas.

It's one thing to buy this game knowing that it's a flawed and unfinished experience, it's another to continue to market it to people as if its an acceptable product that's ready for the average consumer.

If there is another video game crash, it will in large part because of the sloppy, incomplete and, at times, downright deceptive game launches that have become more and more common since the advent of connected consoles -- especially now that it's seeping into the AAA franchises that typically pay the bills.

Something needs to be done to restore the QA to console releases, and fast.

 

[iJudged]

Lol @ recall. Smdh
If it didn't happen with other AAA titles, what makes you think this is worthy?

 

[MysteryM]

After playing all evening with mismatched teams (inc 3v3 or people dropping out), no ranked games so people dropping out without caring about ranks if they don't get the map they wanted, terrible lag due to non dedis even though the party all has fibre me games dropping after failing to load. We came to the conclusion today that we are just not enjoying halo and instead we are in a holding pattern waiting to get things fixed. This afternoons session was just boring, we all work and our evening time is limited due to us being grown men with families. We are going back to gears (which is currently far more fun) and parking halo until we hear that ranks and dedis are sorted out which we believe is probably weeks/months away. I'm sick of the dissapointment that each patch brings and have no confidence in 343 any more. They haven't even got to starting single player fixes yet. I'm people probably not going to even bother with the halo 5 beta.

 

[Crayon]

Polygon amended their review and changed the score. Metacritic doesn't reflect score changes.

Roger that. I went back and made an edit.

 

[Ol No Bones]

Normally I avoid this kind of talk as it is typically over the top but I feel very let down by this game. I'm not even sure how they managed to release this game in such poor form. The fact that they have done nothing for people who preloaded and preordered the game is disgraceful. They made a callous business decision when they had to have known this game wasn't ready for November. This game should have been delayed. They even had a big launch event that was streamed live while they knew the game wasn't working. I don't get it. There is no way around it. They screwed Halo fans. This should have been a joyous return to beloved games but instead it has been a nightmare.

 

[Twilight Gap]

regret wasting money on this and an xbox because i really doubt i'll be picking up another halo game. 3 days with problems i can understand, but a product that was broken on launch and still broken a month later is unacceptable.
if "making it right with the fans" isn't equivalent to half or more of the cost of the game, i'll know what my next step is.

 

[HeavyMachineGun]

Yeah it is kind of an appalling practice to release the game in such a state, took me an hour to get into co-op with a friend the other day, and the fact there isn't even ranking for most playlists for when you actually manage to get into a multiplayer match is unacceptable.

That being said, the campaigns have been an absolute joy to playthrough again. Aside from the frame-rate fluctuations.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

The compensation is going to be interesting after Ubi set the bar.

MCC is in far worse shape than Unity. 50% off Halo 5 for digital owners of MCC would be a bare minimum at this point.

Why would they offer compensation? You can get a refund by calling them. If they refuse, escalate the call.

I'm hoping for free Reach and ODST. We'll probably just get an extended Halo 5 beta instead.

From Saber and Ruffian again?

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

I'm surprised they haven't fixed it by now. Titanfall is such a smooth experience. I thought the azure servers would ensure a smooth experience at launch let alone after a month.

This part worries me, dedis that work fantastically with Titanfall but are nowhere to be seen with MCC. No word from 343 about this either and no word how all these P2P issues not being resolved indicate what sort of issues we're going to have when dedis are switched on. If they are going to be switched on? It's 5 weeks in and I doubt I've had one single match on dedis at all.

Titanfall launched with Aussies playing on Singapore host and it's a far sight better than MCC P2P in over 75-90% of games, if they match and actually load that is. Within 1 week of releasing Titanfall launched Aussie servers and things went smoothly with that integration. I don't wish to throw speculation on the fire but I've seen some things in Azure that have me wondering how much of the Azure/XBL/MCC backend systems have been getting tweaked and causing issues...

Honestly I'm just left scratching my head with this title. I want it to work on dedis and a unified UI so very badly. I fear the opportunity it had pre-launch is all but sullied at this point.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

I don't have the fire the OP does, but I do agree that 343I and MS totally fucked up by not delaying this game for, primarily, its matchmaking issues. It just isn't cooked all the way and a new poster child for the terrible and now fairly longstanding patterns of big publishers announcing a release date before the product is even ready for it. If this package was meant to build confidence in the future of the franchise, they have made decisions that do the exact opposite.

Yeah, I just don't understand why there have already been so many issues with Live (and PSN, I suppose) this gen, when last gen it mostly just worked.

Yeah, this is one of the most disappointing things about the new generation for both consoles. I wish we'd all move on to a new and improved internet. Maybe a total movement over to full support for IPv6 would help?