Sorry if this general knowledge - simply wanted to clarify. When 343 said they don't have the "bandwidth" for spectator mode. I'm pretty confident they're talking about internal/development resources. Not that the game couldn't handle the bandwidth.
Actually I'll go further - Here's my thinking on why we won't get a bunch of innovative MP special features.
343 MUST nail Halo4. If they don't create an outstanding Halo experience, reviewers will be quick to shit on them for falling short of Bungie's iterations. 343 knows this. Big shoes to fill - per say.
So what is Halo? It's not spectator mode. It's not clan rankings or whatever other features the wrongfully titled "vocal minority" are asking for. 343 would rather use their bandwidth (see: development resources) to spend time improving and polishing Campaign/Spartan Ops and multiplayer to ensure a good Halo game. I don't blame them.
But you better believe - Once Halo4 sells well and 343 is trusted with the Halo franchise, Halo 5 will start to branch out with some of the original requests we've made.
Why strive for meeting basic expectations and mediocrity when you can go above and beyond? 343 is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microsoft in charge of one of the biggest video game franchises in history. It's time for parts of the Halo community to stop lapping up the "we need to focus on [x], we can't do [x], we don't have enough resources for [x]" excuses.
Halo 4 should have locked 30fps at the very least, full spectator mode and competitive trappings to go with it, a real map editor not a grey lego simulation, at least as many maps as Halo 2, the OPTION to customize your control scheme and whatever else you want that doesn't impact anyone else's enjoyment of the game, the OPTION to choose what gametype you want to play instead of being wedged into specific playlists, and more.
After 3 or 4 years of dev time, getting a boner because (an outsourced) Forge has object magnetization and slightly better lighting is absurd.
