Funny thing, this generation of hardware is certainly the most unclear and uncertain. With Natal and Move making their way from R&D to retail after many years of development and research costs, alongside a marketing push to rival the launch of any new hardware platform, when exactly does this generation end?
There are no certainties. Professional industry spectators and analysts such as Mickey Patcher can't seem to agree on any sort of end point for this generation. Predictions are flung around often enough but have the accuracy of a plausibility of a random GAFer's guess.
Will the next Xbox and PS4 be announced next year? 2013? 2015? It's clear that both Microsoft and Sony want to extend this generation past the historically accepted average lifespans, money is being tossed around and work is being invested in this generation. No one is in a hurry to move on, but we know both Microsoft and Sony will want to be first to hit the market with their next generation hardware whenever the time comes. We're sitting at a standoff now as each console manufacturer refocuses it's efforts and attention on this generation. Nobody wants to blink first and both want to be first to fire the winning shot.
So where does this leave Reach and the next proper Halo game? Reach will be sailing smoothly regardless of where the industry takes us. Whether Reach serves as this generation's Halo 2 - leading the 360 platform into the evening sunset whilst serving as the popular online title that bridges the gap between hardware generation transitions, or if Reach continues the strong legacy of Halo 3 pushing the console into the hearts and minds of players worldwide and serving as yet another milestone for the 360 platform and Halo franchise, it remains to be seen.
If there are many years left in this generation, another Halo title, a proper FPS, could appear on the horizon at some point. Halo 2 bridged the gap between the original Xbox and the 360 very well as the players carried over their play time from one console to the other thanks to backwards comparability and Live online infrastructure. From several indications it looks like a similar transition would be possible in future.
I just don't think it's likely. I think Reach will be the final main Halo FPS on the 360. It's not even out yet, but it will have years of success ahead and hopefully it will at least match, if not surpass, Halo 3 in terms of DLC and post release support.
If any future Halo title is destined to appear on new hardware, Microsoft won't even talk about until it's ready to talk about the new hardware. It makes no sense to tease a game that's going to appear on a platform no one even knows about. It would confuse consumer expectations.
I'll be busy playing Reach DLC years from now regardless of where the console manufactures take the platforms. If Reach is the definitive Halo title, then I don't want to think about another Halo FPS for some considerable time. I would however be interested in companion titles. Games that would flesh out and add to the Halo universe without trying to take over. Halo Wars was a great example of this and I want more. It doesn't have to be Halo Wars 2, but it does have to be good.
