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[Goreomedy]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/22/technology/22games.html

Here's the passage of interest:

At Microsoft, the company's Xbox game division is planning a marketing juggernaut modeled after a "Star Wars" movie release for its "Halo 2" game. Selling the $54 CD is just the start. There is also a $5.99 monthly fee to play in "Halo 2" tournaments online; action figures for $14.99; a DVD with movie ads and a guide to playing the game for $19.99; and three novels based on the game. A soundtrack CD is due in November.

Huh? Am I the last to hear about this, or is it a mistake and they're referring to Live?

 

[BuddyC]

Didn't they Bungie somewhat cover this once? That being said, I wouldn't be surprised to see a premium for tournament play, assuming they get nice prizes.

 

[Ramirez]

Pay 6 bucks so someone who knows some trick about the game can win and you get nothing!

Thats how it would be in a sports game anyways,heh.

 

[TekunoRobby]

Not suprised. They might have some high profile tournaments where everyone pitches in $6 and the winner gets the purse at the end.

Halo 2 being generally pay to play will never happen.

 

[Cloudy]

As long as I can play online with folks on my buddy list, that's cool. Fuck tournies...

 

[shuri]

I wouldnt mind paying 5$ for organised tournies. Count me in.

 

[Goreomedy]

Can anyone "in the know" clarify what exactly you get for the $6 fee? I'm sure it's more than just gaining access to Tournies. Maybe there's a more detailed ranking/stats system and exclusive tournament maps?

 

[Wellington]

Would that be the XBL fee?

 

[Deg]

tournies are a great idea. Means there'll be more serious players.

 

[GhaleonEB]

For what it's worth, this is from Bungie's site after the last rumor like this broke out:

Q

Will Halo 2 support stats and clans on Xbox Live and Bungie.net? And, is it true that it will cost extra money for those features?
A

Yes, Halo 2 is going to have clan and stat functionality over Xbox Live with a tie-in to Bungie.net. We're not ready to say anything more than that at the moment so you'll have to stay tuned.

Oh, and these features are totally free. There will not be an extra cost to players who want to take advantage of the cool Bungie.net lovin.

 

[StoOgE]

it could just be a coincidence, but that is the per month cost of XBL.

 

[Wellington]

it could just be a coincidence, but that is the per month cost of XBL.

Yeah as I mentioned above, I think it's just the XBL fee. I wouldn't want to pay any money on top of XBL for any game, not even Halo.

(Fuck off, PSO-X!)

 

[Deku Tree]

it could just be a coincidence, but that is the per month cost of XBL.

But there might be no extra fee on top of the standard XBL fee.

 

[Goreomedy]

I was suspicious after she said the game would be printed on a CD.

 

[Alex]

Xbox Live is kinda flakey. The community features are nice, but they should really be hosting up a set of servers, at least for first party games (although MGS games have net code from the gods), in exchange for the premium.

Making people pay a fee, then host shit on lagged as hell 128k up connections is really not cool. Nor would charing extra for features like that in Halo 2.

That said, I can tolorate it, but I hope Sega burns in hell for attempting to charge an overlapping fee.

It was nonsensical enough charging a fee for PSOv.2 and PSO GC, the game is entirely peer to peer hosting, is never updated worth wasting breath about, and they don't even fucking maintain the game, causing every version to turn into a total wasteland mere weeks after release.

Sonic Team attempting to make an MMORPG makes me laugh.

 

[TheGreenGiant]

sunday? I'm surprised the gaf isn't all over this? It sounds about right - if there's any title for ms to captialise on. This is it.

 

[otheranthony-ns]

Xbox Live is kinda flakey. The community features are nice, but they should really be hosting up a set of servers, at least for first party games (although MGS games have net code from the gods), in exchange for the premium.

Making people pay a fee, then host shit on lagged as hell 128k up connections is really not cool. Nor would charing extra for features like that in Halo 2.

That said, I can tolorate it, but I hope Sega burns in hell for attempting to charge an overlapping fee.

It was nonsensical enough charging a fee for PSOv.2 and PSO GC, the game is entirely peer to peer hosting, is never updated worth wasting breath about, and they don't even fucking maintain the game, causing every version to turn into a total wasteland mere weeks after release.

Sonic Team attempting to make an MMORPG makes me laugh.

You obviously have never played on Live, because most games that need it have dedicated servers. Great post though!

 

[Mooreberg]

WHY ISN'T GAMESPOT REPORTING THIS ON THEIR FRONT PAGE?!?!?!?!

 

[Dram]

It's obvious MS paid Gamespot off. Why else aren't they reporting on this. OMG MS BIAS!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mejilan]

PSO isn't a MMORPG.

 

[Wario64]

$6 a month? wtf? At least it's just for tounaments only

 

[Alex]

Of the probably, 7 or 8 live games I've owned, not a single one had developer/publisher dedicated servers. Espically the Ubi Soft train wrecks that vastly needed it. And no, dedicated server mode for end users does NOT fucking count unless you're a goddamn twit, sounds like you probably are though.

"PSO isn't a MMORPG."

Never said it was, refering to PSU.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

I believe that this is just the XBL monthly fee. I'm fairly certain that most people just go for the one-time $50 a year thing, though.

 

[hooo]

When did $6 a month for a year equal $50 for a year? Last I multiplied that was $72 which is a lot more than the live fee.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

It's $5.99 a month for Live if you choose to pay by the month. $50 for one year if you go the one-time payment way.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/about/plans-subscriptioncard.htm

 

[segasonic]

that's an old rumor which was already denied by Bungie