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[radrelic]

http://www.megagames.com/news/html/console/gatestoldoffoverhalo3leak.shtml

Last week it was Bill Gates claiming that Halo 3 would be ready in Spring 2006, in time to ruin Sony's PS3 launch party; now Robbie Bach, Microsoft senior vice president and chief Xbox officer, has decided to cast some doubt over those comments.

In a cover story on Time magazine last week, Bill Gates in apparent ecstatic mood was asking readers to picture a day when "...Sony launches, and they walk right into Halo 3". That story, tying in well with the XBox 360 hype at E3, must have generated a positive buzz regarding Microsoft's future console prospects.

Now that E3 has been and gone, the waters need some muddying and the first volunteer was Robbie Bach who in no uncertain terms decided to put the Microsoft Chairman in his place, The World's throne I assume, as he stated "...with all respect to Bill, I don't run Bungie's studio, and neither does he. We'll work with the Bungie guys and let people know, when they have something to announce". So Bungie doesn't belong to the rest of the world which Mr. Gates apparently does run.

What seems a bit more surprising is that Mr. Bach also stated that "We haven't announced anything on what Bungie is doing or where we're going with the future of the 'Halo' franchise..." Such a statement could raise some doubt as to whether Bungie is planning a clear sequel to Halo or some kind of spin-off while another possibility will be a quick numerical jump straight to Halo 360.

 

[cyberheater]

I've no doubt that MS are moving heaven and earth to ensure that Halo 3 is ready for launch at the same time as PS3.

You can take that as a given.

 

[VictimOfGrief]

Bill "weak sauce" Gates.

 

[monchi-kun]

this just in, Robbie Bach has been found mysteriously murdered

 

[SantaC]

I've no doubt that MS are moving heaven and earth to ensure that Halo 3 is ready for launch at the same time as PS3.

You can take that as a given.

but how good would a rushed game be?

 

[StephaneC]

it's me or this news is really old ?

 

[Borys]

It's really a difficult situation for MS. Halo 3 at 360 launch would be THE reason to buy the next Xbox but they just can't make it (too little time, too early after Halo 2 etc.).

Missing Halo 3 at PS3 launch... wouldn't be the smartest thing to do either.

Halo is Xbox and Xbox is Halo for the casuals and the press (media).

 

[cyberheater]

but how good would a rushed game be?

Which is true but It also makes you realise that Killzone cannot be a launch title for PS3 because Halo3 has been in dev a lot longer.

 

[Firest0rm]

This thread needs a Bill Gates Darth Vader using the force to choke that commander while saying "I find your lack of faith disturbing."

 

[Suikoguy]

Which is true but It also makes you realise that Killzone cannot be a launch title for PS3 because Halo3 has been in dev a lot longer.

I'm sitting here attemping to figure out if this is damage control, but i'm still not sure.

 

[DrLazy]

but how good would a rushed game be?

It depends on what they're looking to do. I feel like the First Person Shooter genre is at a tipping point where people say, what now? I mean Halo 2 was a clear improvement over Halo 1 because of increased multiplayer features and online play. What could Halo 3 really do to really further the gameplay? The obvious answer would be more of everything: guns, graphics and vehicles. If that's the case they should have no problem.

The other and more intriguing answer would be online co-op play... not just two people going through a single player game but an entire game built for, say, an eight man army fighting the aliens. Now that would take time.

 

[Elios83]

Hurting the reputation of their most important series by releasing a rushed product in spring just to face PS3 is so.......Sega :lol :lol :lol
Who wants to buy a PS3 won't change idea because of Halo.

 

[SantaC]

if PS3 comes out in spring North America, I seriously doubt that a Halo3 will be there.

 

[galeninjapan]

Bill Gates knows that without Halo Xbox would have failed.

 

[Redbeard]

Is it possible they're using UE3 instead of their own engine? If they wanted to get it done in 2 years that would make sense.

 

[Elios83]

Is it possible they're using UE3 instead of their own engine? If they wanted to get it done in 2 years that would make sense.

And so transforming Halo3 in a GOW copy?

 

[Redbeard]

And so transforming Halo3 in a GOW copy?

You can't be serious...

 

[Elios83]

You can't be serious...

From a graphical standpoint I'm absolutely serious.

 

[Operations]

lol, Bach is saying this just to convey the illusion that Bungie are actually calling the shots while in fact they're obviously following orders. IIRC, Ballmer confirmed Halo 3 would be ready for PS3 launch even before Gates.

 

[Redbeard]

From a graphical standpoint I'm absolutely serious.

So you're saying they couldn't make it look like Halo with the UE3 engine?

 

[Desperado]

I I mean Halo 2 was a clear improvement over Halo 1 because of increased multiplayer features and online play.

Uhh, there's quite a few people who would argue the opposite...

 

[Johnas]

The other and more intriguing answer would be online co-op play... not just two people going through a single player game but an entire game built for, say, an eight man army fighting the aliens. Now that would take time.

For some reason, I never really thought about online co-op being for more than two people before. That would be pretty interesting. But think about how many aliens they would have to throw in to balance things out, or I guess they could just increase the difficulty of the ones already there...hmmm.

 

[Ramirez]

I'm guessin he thought the PS3 wouldn't launch until Fall 06...

 

[PhatSaqs]

Halo 3 will sell regardless. Another November/holiday launch makes the most sense IMO.

 

[ChrisReid]

Uhh, there's quite a few people who would argue the opposite...

Eh, this isn't a stupid Halo 1 vs Halo 2 debate. Halo 2 clearly expands on the scope of Halo 1, especially in the multiplayer area. There's a million high brow geeks who whine about the pistol and melee and crap like that, but that's not what he's talking about at all.

 

[bishoptl]

this just in, Robbie Bach has been found mysteriously murdered

"I find your lack of faith disturbing."

haw haw :lol

 

[maynerd]

this just in, Robbie Bach has been found mysteriously murdered

It's happened before.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/108090_fraud11.shtml?searchpagefrom=1&searchdiff=783

So long Robbie...we hardly knew you.

RIP

 

[op_ivy]

halo 3 will release.... when its done.

i'm sure MS is putting all sorts of pressure on bungie to have it ready by ps3's launch assumed to have been late next year, but that doesnt mean thats when the game would come out. now that sony is saying spring of next year, there is no doubt in my mind that halo 3 WILL NOT make sony's launch party.

bungie will not crank out a quickie sequel.

i honestly wouldnt be surprised to see bungie use the unreal 3.0 engine. it would be a great fit IMO, would save development time, and give them excellent results. in case some of you had forgotten, bungie ditched their own physics code in favor of havoc with halo 2, so they arent above using other peoples engines...

just my 2 cents anyways

 

[GhaleonEB]

halo 3 will release.... when its done.

i'm sure MS is putting all sorts of pressure on bungie to have it ready by ps3's launch assumed to have been late next year, but that doesnt mean thats when the game would come out. now that sony is saying spring of next year, there is no doubt in my mind that halo 3 WILL NOT make sony's launch party.

bungie will not crank out a quickie sequel.

i honestly wouldnt be surprised to see bungie use the unreal 3.0 engine. it would be a great fit IMO, would save development time, and give them excellent results. in case some of you had forgotten, bungie ditched their own physics code in favor of havoc with halo 2, so they arent above using other peoples engines...

just my 2 cents anyways

And beyond that, they already alluded that they were interested in Havok 2.0, "if our next game requires physics."

Havok + Unreal 3.0 + XNA = smoother, faster development time

 

[scissorfight]

Doesn't everyone remember Balmer's quote way back about them "working on Halo 2 and Halo 3"? It was later written off (predictably), but it makes you think...would he just pull that out of his ass...working on 2 sequels at once? This makes the most sense...Bungie was working on Halo 2, MS decided they needed Halo for Xenon, Bungie splits up the game and is working on Halo 3 before they technically finish Halo 2. That would explain the ending of Halo 2.

Yeah, it's all rumors...but you have to admit it sort of makes sense.

 

[Nick Laslett]

Which is true but It also makes you realise that Killzone cannot be a launch title for PS3 because Halo3 has been in dev a lot longer.

They probably started development around the same time. Sony announced Killzone 2 in Europe before KZ1 was released. They announced it for the PS2 at that time. I was expecting KZ2 to be a Christmas 2005 title. This might still be the case the E3 trailer had no number and does not mean they aren't still developing KZ2 for the PS2. They already have the game engine, character models, etc.

But perhaps due to KZ's weak performance at retail, they are now working on KZ2 for the PS3. I guess they started development on KZ2 around July 2004.

 

[Jonnyram]

but how good would a rushed game be?

About as good as Halo 2, I reckon

 

[Do The Mario]

The question should be

Will Halo 3 be ready for the revolution??

 

[Kid Chameleon]

I'm guessin he thought the PS3 wouldn't launch until Fall 06...

I think this is your answer folks. Did anyone expect Sony to go for a Spring launch with PS3? And, more importantly, will it deliver?

 

[Datrio]

I've no doubt that MS are moving heaven and earth to ensure that Halo 3 is ready for launch at the same time as PS3.

You can take that as a given.

So you say how much $$$ are they ready to spend for that?

...Moving heaven and earth, that is. Not like they can pay Bungie to work on the game 24h/day.

OR CAN THEY!?

 

[Do The Mario]

So you say how much $$$ are they ready to spend for that?

...Moving heaven and earth, that is. Not like they can pay Bungie to work on the game 24h/day.

OR CAN THEY!?

Bungie Studios moved to Columbia?