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[Primethius]

No, nor does it account for exchange rates & different pricing ranges across different territories.

But I do think it's a lot better than just random guesswork of "XX% digital!" based off friend anecdotes and gut feel.

And if you ask my gut feel, I think my numbers are downplaying it. I put Halo 5's NA launch shipment at a peak of 1.3 million, but I personally don't believe MS shipped anything less than 1.5 million for the US market.

This is good stuff.

 

[LifEndz]

Halo 5 pretty much is a change of protagonist though, to Locke. I know some fans of the game tried to shrug that off by pushing the notion that the entire game is about Master Chief, so the gameplay split doest matter, but that's still a misleading obfuscation of things imo, and I say this as someone who's completed the campaign. I think having most missions centred around Osiris with you playing as Locke, was a bad move. Would have much preferred MC being the key gameplay focus.

Yeah, my bad. By change protagonist I really meant get rid of Chief altogether. End that storyline. Maybe it's grown kinda stale. I think Locke could've been much more interesting if it was now his series. No more Chief, this is the guy for this game. Instead they tried to split it (not really evenly either), and what happened was most people were waiting to do the Chief parts and kinda whatever about Locke's portion of the game.

I loved Reach for its campaign, and you weren't even Master Chief in that one.

They're NEVER giving up Master Chief though. They even doubled down on Cortana by making her Microsoft's equivalent of Siri.

My man! How effing cool were the different Spartans, their armor and personalities. Didn't have any of that weird romance of Chief and Cortana, allowed for experimentation of abilities...so damn good. But you're right, they're never letting Chief not be the focus.

 

[RexNovis]

Sorry, I think I was a bit unclear.

I remember the MCC beta, but you had to buy MCC to get into that. I think they would have benefited from something like what Battlefront did where anyone could try it much closer to release.

Mentally I view the people who bought MCC as customers who were almost assured to buy Halo 5 anyway.

Ah yes ok so a true open beta then. I understand. I couldn't recall if they opened up the Halo 5 beta to all gold subscribers after the initial MCC push or not. I guess they didn't.

 

[Nirolak]

I think far more former halo fans have changed over to PS4 than people seem to think and that has been the primary driver in the decline of sales bs other entries. As such I would think heavily subsidized Halo bundles would have a bigger impact than a free weekend. Even still there would be the issue of both consoles requiring subscriptions for online play and I could see this as potentially stifling sales of a second platform.

I don't think a free weekend would be a huge driver to note, but I do think it's the sort of thing they should be considering in the lead up to eventually bundling it into the base offering.

They need some way to try and entice people who already own the system, but did not yet buy the game, to consider picking it up. Bundles only solve the issue for new console buyers or people who are buying a second console.

 

[The Mad Draklor]

No, nor does it account for exchange rates & different pricing ranges across different territories.

But I do think it's a lot better than just random guesswork of "XX% digital!" based off friend anecdotes and gut feel.

And if you ask my gut feel, I think my numbers are downplaying it. I put Halo 5's NA launch shipment at a peak of 1.3 million, but I personally don't believe MS shipped anything less than 1.5 million for the US market.

Bravo, good sir. Thanks for the table.

 

[DarthWalden]

They should just do that multiplayer free weekend on PSN.

 

[DJ Gunner]

Assuming Halo did underperform by a considerable margin, maybe it's time to change the protagonist. Or hell, do something really crazy like ODST but actually make it (feel like) a full game. And not to make every game Destiny, but maybe adding something equivalent to a raid would work. Hell, if the game they marketed (Hunt the Truth, You va Chief) was the game they made, I think there'd be a lot of renewed interest in the game. There are def things they can do to make the franchise feel fresh.

I don't think Halo's problem is the protagonist.



I'm only one voice, but as a fan from CE, I can tell you that 343's "vision" for Halo along with what they have done going all the way back to Reach's playlist management has been a tremendous turn-off.

 

[blame space]

damn we got graphs and shit

 

[RexNovis]

I don't think a free weekend would be a huge driver to note, but I do think it's the sort of thing they should be considering in the lead up to eventually bundling it into the base offering.

They need some way to try and entice people who already own the system, but did not yet buy the game, to consider picking it up. Bundles only solve the issue for new console buyers or people who are buying a second console.

Agreed but that also begs the question how much of the current Xbox userbase would consider picking it up at all? Are MCC sales an accurate gauge of the franchises pull with the platforms userbase or was it skewed by being a remaster collection or having substantial technical issues?

 

[Triggerhappytel]

It blows my mind. HaloGAF (RIP) I assume has come to terms with this and kind of expected it after the MCC. I don't know why people weren't expecting this. You can't hype and then launch a literally non-functional product that remains non-functional for months without this kind of backlash occurring.

Speaking of which, is MCC working properly yet? Last I heard quite a few months back was that their patches were causing more issues than they were fixing.

Will there ever be a time when we will start getting digital sales in NPD? I mean the figures dont really mean anything if they dont include all sales. On another note I wouldnt be surpised if Halo 5 doesnt do the numbers that the others did because back then Halo was the FPS that everyone played. Now there are a few big names to choose from.

I doubt publishers will ever reveal those numbers to NPD or equivalent companies, as it means they can't control the flow of information so much.

 

[Nirolak]

Agreed but that also begs the question how much of the current Xbox userbase would consider picking it up at all? Are MCC sales an accurate gauge of the franchises pull with the platforms userbase or was it skewed by being a remaster collection or having substantial technical issues?

In the US market at least, legs for successful products are generally pretty good, especially as sales enter the picture.

Like if we look at the sales trends for Mass Effect 2 or Tomb Raider 2013, we actually see relatively reserved releases that end up getting very significantly higher with aggressive pricing and word of mouth as people finished up the games they wanted to buy up front instead, looked at the available options, and went "Actually for $20-$40, this seems appealing."

I don't think there's too much yet suggesting that Halo 5 is suffering from being a fundamentally unappealing product to a large portion of the userbase versus being in a situation where people would currently rather spend their $60 on Black Ops 3, Fallout 4, and/or Battlefront.

Now, that certainly could be a problem, but I'm not confident in saying that like I would be if it was reviewing as a 68/100 or released in a timeframe with no real competition.

 

[RexNovis]

In the US market at least, legs for successful products are generally pretty good, especially as sales enter the picture.

Like if we look at the sales trends for Mass Effect 2 or Tomb Raider 2013, we actually see relatively reserved releases that end up getting very significantly higher with aggressive pricing and word of mouth as people finished up the games they wanted to buy up front instead, looked at the available options, and went "Actually for $20-$40, this seems appealing."

I don't think there's too much yet suggesting that Halo 5 is suffering from being a fundamentally unappealing product to a large portion of the userbase versus being in a situation where people would currently rather spend their $60 on Black Ops 3, Fallout 4, and/or Battlefront.

Now, that certainly could be a problem, but I'm not confident in saying that like I would be if it was reviewing as a 68/100 or released in a timeframe with no real competition.

All excellent points. Can't say I disagree with any of them.

I do think this would all depend on MS' pricing/bundling strategy going forward for the game more so than anything else. At first glance their decision to price the Halo bundle at $500 would indicate a concerted effort to use the franchise to push substantial profit for them. We then have to consider whether or kit the current sales of the game merit a change of strategy towards a subsidized market push in the eyes of MS. It's also possible that Microtransactions will generate enough profit that MS is in no rush to increase market share.

I'd say it's likely we will see it subsidized heavily as time goes on thanks to the inclusion of Microtransactions and their potential for profit generation after original point of sale.

MS could go either way with their sales strategy for the game in the coming months. Personally, I'd agree with your observation and bank on anything that would lead to potential increases market presence/relevance for the franchise going forward.l as I can't imagine they are terribly happy with the current state of decline for their premier franchise. So I do agree it is likely they will heavily bundle and discount the game I'm just unsure it will have the effect they would want it to when the brand appears substantially weakened in its strongest markets.

Anyway I'm rambling thanks to being exhausted so I'm off to bed for the night. I'll respond to any further comments in the morning. See you all in ~7 hours.

 

[Coulomb_Barrier]

Massively declining sales for the Halo franchise is to be expected.

One of the lessons I hope MS learns the hard way is that you can't just continue a major, highly-rated franchise without its original developers by simply handing over the reins to a mediocre developer like 343 and expect the games to still sell gangbusters. When the game/s by the new devs aren't nearly as good you will loose sales.

 

[Caja 117]

And so the denial train continues its long and arduous journey.

Silly me for actually believing that this would put the digital truthers to rest. This is embarrassing y'all. Y'all should be embarrassed.

Why You even quoted me? when all the time I have been arguing about a ~25% sales.

 

[The Mad Draklor]

Massively declining sales for the Halo franchise is to be expected.

One of the lessons I hope MS learns the hard way is that you can't just continue a major, highly-rated franchise without its original developers by simply handing over the reins to a mediocre developer like 343 and expect the games to still sell gangbusters. When the game/s by the new devs aren't nearly as good you will loose sales.

Interestingly, each 343i Halo has its own issues. Halo 4's multiplayer wasn't received well and as a result, the population declined sharply. MCC had matchmaking/online issues. While fans really liked Halo 5's multiplayer, the campaign was very underwhelming.

 

[CosmicQueso]

Nightingale, would it be difficult to include a 7:3 scenario?

You're probably going to want a 7:3 scenario.

Nightengale is missing the $250 sku from his analysis. Also, 660,000 limited edition controllers is probably too high.

Add that, lower the controller units, change split to 7:3 and we'll have the $400 million

 

[Caja 117]

Interestingly, each 343i Halo has its own issues. Halo 4's multiplayer wasn't received well and as a result, the population declined sharply. MCC had matchmaking/online issues. While fans really liked Halo 5's multiplayer, the campaign was very underwhelming.

Halo 4 declined a week later when Black ops 2 was release, the same game that reported around 10 million MU a couple of months ago.

Halo decline has more to do with the competition, than with the quality of each title.

 

[Jack The Nipper]

I don't think a free weekend would be a huge driver to note, but I do think it's the sort of thing they should be considering in the lead up to eventually bundling it into the base offering.

They need some way to try and entice people who already own the system, but did not yet buy the game, to consider picking it up. Bundles only solve the issue for new console buyers or people who are buying a second console.

Honestly, it isn't even this. halo fans just played halo, they didn't go to ps4, they idn't buy xbox one. they bought an xbox for halo/halo 2. they bought a 360 for halo 3. They didn't buy a xbox one cause, well they didn't play halo in 4 or 5 years, why pick up an xone to play a game they no longer like.

Like I said, I know I am using a lot of my own experience but you'd be surprised how many halo fans honestly only played halo. they aren't really gamers.

Every single time I talked to one of my hardcore halo buddies online about other games, they have no interest I can't even talk to them about it. It's like talking to your baseball teammate about some card game, they just don't do it.

So many of my online freinds only played halo

A kid in TN, had 3 xbox's just for halo. He didn't play other games besides showing his penis on uno to whoever. I didn't join that, but there you go.

Guy in LA, just halo. I asked him him else he played wow was it. Nothing else.

i also had multiple accounts just for halo, it was just the thing most of us did

Kids also bought new xbox's just to gain host advantage (not sure if it's true) but apparently you get host on a new xbox for the first 500 or so games so MS can evaulate your xbox, who knows. So many things are made up through halo.

I had hundreds of guys on halo, most of them only playing halo for the most part, I'd say 30 percent played other games such as cod and another 10 percent that played a variety of games in general.

When I wanted to play and talk other games (as I am a very very avid gamer) I had to go completely away from halo players to do so. message boards or through the other games themselves. Halo fans are honestly just halo fans and MS and the world apparently just doesn't get it.

Since I played high rank halo, with semi pros and people that were really deep into it, I was in the halo universe pretty deeply.

IT's very true that people payed for halo 50's. It's vey true that people went through 3 months like nothing. People would honestly have 10 accounts and 50 ranks on all of them.

Various reasons why people did this. for fun, or just to sell or whatever.

I had another friend that cared about his rank and wins so much that he refused to play social. he had like 12,000 ranked games and he would not play social on it. yeah it's stupid but all of this shows one thing, how much people value the gameplay and their accounts in halo. I never saw this sort of thing going on this much in the games after halo 3 and that is where we had the big change.

i stand firmly in my belief that 343 possibly can't make a halo game that the fans want, and just maybe if we could get it maybe some of the fans would come back. How big of a portion, not a lot but more than what we are seeing now.

When COD had sprint, I never saw halo ffans saying they wanted it they only talked bout, come at me bitch, you can't our BR me. It was all about the game, the BR, the gameplay. i stand by my feeing that the game doesn't need sprint, just like Mario doesn't need a dash move or something.

 

[PanicFreak]

Nightengale is missing the $250 sku from his analysis. Also, 660,000 limited edition controllers is probably too high.

 

[The Mad Draklor]

Halo 4 declined a week later when Black ops 2 was release, the same game that reported around 10 million MU a couple of months ago.

Halo decline has more to do with the competition, than with the quality of each title.

It's more of both. You can't attribute the series's decline to just one reason.

 

[Caja 117]

It's more of both. You can't attribute the series's decline to just one reason.

But IMO, is has more to do with how many game they have to directly compete against, the change of how the game is a factor as well, but keep also in mind that Halo has been changing since Halo 2, Been Halo 3 and Halo 2 the closest in similarity, while Reach, Halo 1 and Halo 4 are very different from each other.

The learning curve I think is also a factor. The only reason I play Halo is because it what I played with my friends on LAN 7 Years ago, I dont see myself buying a Halo game to last days in trying to do decent and have fun, when the fun factor in games like CoD come as soon as you start playing it.

 

[Nightengale]

Nightingale, would it be difficult to include a 7:3 scenario?

You're probably going to want a 7:3 scenario.

No, but it's sleep time for me, so later in the day.

Nightengale is missing the $250 sku from his analysis. Also, 660,000 limited edition controllers is probably too high.

I forgot about the CE. Do we have any historical numbers of how much those kind of CEs do? I don't expect those kind of CEs to do significantly worse compared to previous Halo CEs, because those cater to the most hardcore of hardcore Halo fans.

And yeah, I can revise down the controllers. Probably to either match the LE console count or 50% higher.

 

[watdaeff4]

Nightingale, would it be difficult to include a 7:3 scenario?

You're probably going to want a 7:3 scenario.



Add that, lower the controller units, change split to 7:3 and we'll have the $400 million

Really?

Wow, kinda surprised.

 

[DarthWalden]

Interestingly, each 343i Halo has its own issues. Halo 4's multiplayer wasn't received well and as a result, the population declined sharply. MCC had matchmaking/online issues. While fans really liked Halo 5's multiplayer, the campaign was very underwhelming.

I'm going to correct you here because I think there is an important distinction ... Campaign is great, a big improvement over halo 4 in a number of ways... It's the story rubbed a lot of people the wrong way though (myself Included) it's almost upsetting to see a universe with as much lore and possibility as halo and with such a great lead up marketing campaign with #huntthetruth only to see the story be absolute player insulting garbage.

IMO
Multiplayer: best ever
campaign gameplay: top 3
Campaign story: worst ever

This is why we see such divisive opinions on this.

 

[PanicFreak]

No, but it's sleep time for me, so later in the day.



I forgot about the CE. Do we have any historical numbers of how much those kind of CEs do? I don't expect those kind of CEs to do significantly worse compared to previous Halo CEs, because those cater to the most hardcore of hardcore Halo fans.

And yeah, I can revise down the controllers. Probably to either match the LE console count or 50% higher.

If I were to pull a number out of my ass, I would probably go with 50,000.

 

[maxiell]

A Halo Telltale title? That's a new idea.

Simplying the plot and characters to appeal to a younger audience is the tact they already chose.

They honestly need to stop worrying about serving a million different masters. They did a nice job with the Halo 5 multiplayer. For the campaign, they need to reboot things and focus on a good story, solid writing and a bigger scope. Right now, they have absolutely none of that. Adding RPG features always suited the franchise, and is long overdue and expected with first person shooters like Destiny and Far Cry.

 

[jelly]

Massively declining sales for the Halo franchise is to be expected.

One of the lessons I hope MS learns the hard way is that you can't just continue a major, highly-rated franchise without its original developers by simply handing over the reins to a mediocre developer like 343 and expect the games to still sell gangbusters. When the game/s by the new devs aren't nearly as good you will loose sales.

I think there is a lot of talent at 343 but along the way it doesn't quite come together in the end. I get the feeling they develop many ideas, par the course but they don't work out and there is a scramble for getting the game done and that's were they fall short once a decision to push ahead with something is made. Average encounters, levels, enemies, boss fights but the core mechanics are pretty great. They have something good but the other pieces don't mix well. It feels like common FPS design with a Halo skin, that'll do. Could you say they've made a great level with great encounters yet that is memorable? Even a map, couldn't name one beyond Haven. The top tier studio should be matching the Reach feature set or replacing parts with better parts.

 

[PanicFreak]

A Halo Telltale title? That's a new idea.

Simplying the plot and characters to appeal to a younger audience is the tact they already chose.

They honestly need to stop worrying about serving a million different masters. They did a nice job with the Halo 5 multiplayer. For the campaign, they need to reboot things and focus on a good story, solid writing and a bigger scope. Right now, they have absolutely none of that. Adding RPG features always suited the franchise, and is long overdue and expected with first person shooters like Destiny and Far Cry.

I think that adding more titles to the Halo franchise would only dilute the brand further. They need to focus on the title as a first person shooter and, if they choose to do a telltale like game, they should create a new IP to do so.

 

[Sydle]

Massively declining sales for the Halo franchise is to be expected.

One of the lessons I hope MS learns the hard way is that you can't just continue a major, highly-rated franchise without its original developers by simply handing over the reins to a mediocre developer like 343 and expect the games to still sell gangbusters. When the game/s by the new devs aren't nearly as good you will loose sales.

I think 343 made the best playing Halo yet. It's a lot of fun, but they are fumbling on the story hard in the games and the other mediums, diluting the lore and MC's hero status. Bungie wasn't exceptional or anything in that regard either, but it's been notably less appealing under 343's direction.

When Halo had a better reputation people forgave the shortcomings. After Halo 4 and MCC had such major issues fans are agitated, detractors have ammo, and any problem will get highlighted as a reason not to like 343's Halo. 343 needs to take the criticisms and bring their A game to solving every one of them every time.

 

[jelly]

Halo 4 should have been Chief and Cortana exploring a new planet, hub world style. Surving against the odds.

 

[VincentMatts]

Massively declining sales for the Halo franchise is to be expected.

One of the lessons I hope MS learns the hard way is that you can't just continue a major, highly-rated franchise without its original developers by simply handing over the reins to a mediocre developer like 343 and expect the games to still sell gangbusters. When the game/s by the new devs aren't nearly as good you will loose sales.

343 just outdid Bungie in the MP department big time. I dunno if you played destiny, but that MP is mostly horrible an unbalanced. If the game wasnt designed for addicts, no one would touch that MP.

 

[Plague Doctor]

They should just do that multiplayer free weekend on PSN.

You joke but if Halo went multiplat.... goddam. That could blow the hinges off everything for the franchise and some of the fans of the series for very different reasons.

 

[ethomaz]

343 just outdid Bungie in the MP department big time. I dunno if you played destiny, but that MP is mostly horrible an unbalanced. If the game wasnt designed for addicts, no one would touch that MP.

While Destiny MP is unbalanced and a lag fest... it is fun... a hell of fun.
I did played IB this weekend with my Warlock and when I reached Rank 5 I was I want to play more... I have a lot of laughs playing it... so I did Rank 5 for my Hunter and yesterday I did grind a alt Titan to level 40 just to play more Iron Banner with buddies until Rank 5.

I didn't like Halo 5's warzone... to me it was a bad decision to delay the best MP modes to post release... BTB is way way way better.
The Halo 5's maps that I played are really bad designed in my opinion.
The gunplay is great and hold pretty well.

I guess I like more the casual way Destiny was with supers and others stuffs... even unbalanced you have a hell of options and play styles that make it fun to play... I find challenging to try to kills these Sunbreakers with different classes (the Nightstalker is a easy one with super that cancels the Sunbreaker's super... and Warlock Sunsinger can really makes the things fun against a Sunbreaker)

 

[KingdomHeartsFan]

So roughly ~10% then.

 

[KingdomHeartsFan]

Halo 4 had one of the worst Multiplayer modes in all the series but one of the best campaigns and now in Halo 5 its one of the best Multiplayer modes and one of the worst campaigns...they completely flipped, which I hate since I don't care about multiplayer.

 

[SwolBro]

Weren't people saying COD was doomed not too long ago? I don't see any such posts about Blop3.

By the end of the holidays the Halo 5 numbers will be just fine.

 

[Jumeira]

Interestingly, each 343i Halo has its own issues. Halo 4's multiplayer wasn't received well and as a result, the population declined sharply. MCC had matchmaking/online issues. While fans really liked Halo 5's multiplayer, the campaign was very underwhelming.

This is the best playing Halo yet, I say this from being there since 2001. There isnt any other FPS as refined and tuned as this, and it feel completley different from all the COD-like fps that you can find everywhere. It has old halo grenades, weapon management, shields and gunplay, all very halo, but with tweaks which has enhanced traditional Halo. Matchmaking os flawless too. Your wrong.

 

[The Mad Draklor]

This is the best playing Halo yet, I say this from being there since 2001. There isnt any other FPS as refined and tuned as this, and it feel completley different from all the COD-like fps that you can find everywhere. It has bade halo, grenades, weapon management, shields and gubplay, all very halo, but with tweaka which has excelled the gunplay. Matchmaking os flawless too. Your wrong.

Your opinions are not representative of everyone else's. Great that you like it, but you're not everyone.

 

[Jumeira]

Your opinions are not representative of everyone else's. Great that you like it, but you're not everyone.

Of course, but its just as invalid or valid as yours. I disagree with quality argument and explained why, you made a general statement without detailing why. Just head over to the op to see a healthy community forming for the game, doubt that would be the case if it was mediocre.

 

[The Mad Draklor]

Of course, but its just as invalid or valid as yours. I disagree with quality argument, hence my reasons.

However, the fanbase has expressed its disappointment with the campaign (namely the story). That is something you can't argue against.

I mean, when the #Huntthetruth campaign portrayed Halo 5 as a Master Chief vs. Locke showdown and the actual campaign shows something entirely different, that will rub people the wrong way.

Also, the reason for my original post was to show that 343i isn't struggling on one particular aspect. Each Halo game the developer has made had a different problem.

 

[LegendofLex]

Massively declining sales for the Halo franchise is to be expected.

One of the lessons I hope MS learns the hard way is that you can't just continue a major, highly-rated franchise without its original developers by simply handing over the reins to a mediocre developer like 343 and expect the games to still sell gangbusters. When the game/s by the new devs aren't nearly as good you will loose sales.

I don't think it has anything to do with the development chops of 343. I'd wager it has everything to do with the Xbox/Halo market being cannibalized by PS4 and Destiny respectively.

 

[etta]

It's not about "what they can do about it?", it's more "what they can do with it". Such info is critical for GS, they can plan better to counter it, or at very least adapt better in this new climate.

And they can do something about it, lower prices, more promotions for the types of games that sell more than usual in digital, more promotions for games types of games that sell less than usual in digital...etc

"If they do then Microsoft will just lower the digital price to match again": and yet no publisher does that, as the physical is usually cheaper than digital.

Sure, but promotions means customers save, and the only way customers save is for the seller to lose, so in the end it's equivalent to them just slashing prices on the games.
As for Microsoft matching the price, you're right. I would have expected them to match it, but it doesn't always seem like that. Same for Sony, I saw Bloodborne dropped in price on PSN (the same way it did in stores) before the complete version came out. But as in the other thread, Wolfenstein is still full price. So it's inconsistent.

 

[Mpl90]

All right, so for this post, I'll be starting with the premise that Halo 5 saw a notable decline.

We can continue debating whether that's true or not separately, but I wanted to discuss potential changes and opportunities for the franchise assuming that.

Assuming Halo 5's sales went down, I see the following as some possible options (ranging from mild to extreme) in an effort to get growth for the franchise again.

1.) One thing that I've seen praised repeatedly and enthusiastically about Halo 5 is the multiplayer, at least based on various posts across the forum and review excerpts on Metacritic. However, unless I missed something - and please do correct me if I did - there was never a public multiplayer beta for the game. Halo 4, on the other hand, was often maligned for its multiplayer. I feel asking people to spend either $60 on the Master Chief Collection early in its life, or $60 on Halo 5 was a lot to ask for people on the fence about whether they would want to buy Halo 5 for its multiplayer.

However, in the modern era, this is still addressable. After the holidays, many people have spare money in January, and there is basically nothing else coming out. Why not have a free multiplayer weekend for Halo 5 while putting the game on sale for $40 digitally, and then also work with stores to make sure that the week starting that Sunday has the game on sale for $40 at retail as well? Steam free weekends (in conjunction with a sale) are a successful model that keeps getting used, so take advantage of it on consoles as well.

IIRC, the game had a beta related to The Master Chief's Collection's purchase; still, the free weekend approach sounds like a good idea, especially when combined with a temporary discount to attract more Xbox One owners to give it a try. Actually, I'm rather surprised that free weekends aren't more used on consoles: its usage is increasing, but it's still much lower than what happens on PC. Hopefully, they become more frequent as years pass, it's a pretty good idea to make more people aware of how compelling the multiplayer's component of a game is and, then, make them think that it's worthy their attention. Especially if there's a deal going at the same time. The only obstacle I can think for this is that I fear the complexity (time and resources) to get retailers on board for a limited-time deal could be too high compared to how the deal can be executed if digital-only.

2.) This one will probably be very controversial. This generation, we've seen two very strong trends. The first is that the vast majority of games have become open world. The second is that many multiplayer heavy FPS games that would have a linear shooter campaign don't even bother including a campaign anymore. I can't imagine this all happened by circumstance, but rather that someone ran the numbers and determined linear FPS campaigns aren't actually especially great at selling games at this point. For Halo, I feel strongly that having a campaign is important to its sales potential, but I think it might be time to vastly reconsider the formula. Let's look at the best selling recent FPS games that are primarily bought for their campaign mode (or maybe don't even have a PvP mode). I come up with the list of Far Cry 3/Far Cry 4 (~10+ million), Borderlands 2 (12+ million), and Destiny (it's unclear, but seemingly 10+ million). I would like to note that all of these have big open hub areas (or even straight up regular style open worlds), campaign co-op, and loot and/or crafting systems. Halo definitely has campaign co-op, but it might be time to consider turning it into an open world or large-hub based shooter. Obviously this is notably expensive, and it is a huge shift for the series, but the direction of the market seems pretty apparent. Halo itself was also almost a predecessor to this style with some of the large areas you see in the games, so I feel it's not a switch that would seem completely out of the blue.

This sounds like one of the things the franchise could need and a big risk at the same time, because it could alienate what's left of the current Halo userbase by trying to be even more different than the older titles (across the recent Halo 5 sales, I've seen many users stating that, since 343i took over, the games already changed a lot compared to the past entries, alienating those who were Halo fans, but it could be just a bit exaggerated as a factor from the fanbase), or it could attract a bigger audience, outside of the Halo fanbase, who is actually okay with the different approach. I don't know what they should do, but it's something to think about for sure.

3.) This strikes me as a lesser point, but it's clear someone at Microsoft did some market research and determined that the universe and plotline are an important part of selling Halo, as otherwise they wouldn't have invested so much in this aspect of the game and marketing this aspect of the series. Halo has always had something of a young adult literature bent to it. I think this was a fantastic fit for the Xbox era and a reasonable fit for the early Xbox 360 era when the vast majority of people buying the platform were teenagers or college students. I don't think that's actually true anymore, and that this genre is probably not helping them. I would focus on trying to pivot to either something more simple. Recently they liked comparing themselves to Star Wars, and I think a straightforward all ages plotline/setup focusing on immediately likable characters and understandable events would fit the teen friendly image they have while being more palatable across the board. There is the option of targeting older audiences explicitly, but I don't think that's as good for a fit for the brand. The writers should be able to convincingly summarize the plotline of the game in a paragraph that is easily understandable without having played any other game or seen any outside media, with maybe a mystery or two remaining to tie into the next game. When a player finishes the game who has not tried the series before, they should be able to do the same. Similarly, if they want to really sell people on the universe of the game, I feel it makes sense to keep investing in more spin-offs in genres where they can really build out the universe than going all in on transmedia. Not that many people are going to buy a Halo book, but there might be a notably sizable audience buying a Halo RPG or a Halo TellTale title.

That's interesting. Also, I didn't think about spin-offs being a way to layout in different games with also different audiences in mind, honestly.

 

[Super_Cobra]

This thread have been fun. I can only imagine the post Black Friday thread. I love neogaf.

 

[Chobel]

Sure, but promotions means customers save, and the only way customers save is for the seller to lose, so in the end it's equivalent to them just slashing prices on the games.
As for Microsoft matching the price, you're right. I would have expected them to match it, but it doesn't always seem like that. Same for Sony, I saw Bloodborne dropped in price on PSN (the same way it did in stores) before the complete version came out. But as in the other thread, Wolfenstein is still full price. So it's inconsistent.

Yeah, but you lose less money on promotions than outright cutting the price. And on the matter of slashing prices, it's better to have less profits than no profits at all.

 

[Nirolak]

This sounds like one of the things the franchise could need and a big risk at the same time, because it could alienate what's left of the current Halo userbase by trying to be even more different than the older titles (across the recent Halo 5 sales, I've seen many users stating that, since 343i took over, the games already changed a lot compared to the past entries, alienating those who were Halo fans, but it could be just a bit exaggerated as a factor from the fanbase), or it could attract a bigger audience, outside of the Halo fanbase, who is actually okay with the different approach. I don't know what they should do, but it's something to think about for sure.

This is a scenario that usually sucks for developers, especially on flagship properties, but was actually significantly exacerbated by this generation.

For how this was dealt with in previous generations, let's take Prince of Persia.

Near the end of the PS2 era, Ubisoft knew that Prince of Persia had to change to maintain relevance, but didn't know what path to take, so they started up two different projects. One was Prince of Persia 2008, and the other was Prince of Persia: Assassins, a game better known as Assassin's Creed after they decided it was so different that they might as well make it a new IP.

While (traditional) Prince of Persia ended up dying, the evolution the IP effectively went through created a major breakthrough for both the series and Ubisoft as a company.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, we can look at XCOM. Take-Two acquired the XCOM IP and started up two projects. One was a traditional XCOM game by Firaxis, the other was a completely new take on the IP by Irrational Games Boston, then later given to Irrational Games Australia when Irrational Boston moved on to BioShock Infinite, then later given to 2K Marin when Irrational Games Australia struggled with the project and was pulled on to BioShock Infinite as well.

Firaxis' game took four years to make and was a good success. The XCOM reboot took seven years and was a complete flop.

However, in 2015, you don't really have 300 people to sit around making the safe sequel and another 300 sitting around to make the risky sequel, so you end up having to choose. It's also never clear which option is the best choice, since you don't want to fade to irrelevance, but you also don't want to jump off a cliff.

 

[BokehKing]

This is a scenario that usually sucks for developers, especially on flagship properties, but was actually significantly exacerbated by this generation.

For how this was dealt with in previous generations, let's take Prince of Persia.

Near the end of the PS2 era, Ubisoft knew that Prince of Persia had to change to maintain relevance, but didn't know what path to take, so they started up two different projects. One was Prince of Persia 2008, and the other was Prince of Persia: Assassins, a game better known as Assassin's Creed after they decided it was so different that they might as well make it a new IP.

While (traditional) Prince of Persia ended up dying, the evolution the IP effectively went through created a major breakthrough for both the series and Ubisoft as a company.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, we can look at XCOM. Take-Two acquired the XCOM IP and started up two projects. One was a traditional XCOM game by Firaxis, the other was a completely new take on the IP by Irrational Games Boston, then later given to Irrational Games Australia when Irrational Boston moved on to BioShock Infinite, then later given to 2K Marin when Irrational Games Australia struggled with the project and was pulled on to BioShock Infinite as well.

Firaxis' game took four years to make and was a good success. The XCOM reboot took seven years and was a complete flop.

However, in 2015, you don't really have 300 people to sit around making the safe sequel and another 300 sitting around to make the risky sequel, so you end up having to choose. It's also never clear which option is the best choice, since you don't want to fade to irrelevance, but you also don't want to jump off a cliff.

After reading all that, I wish there an extra 300 people sitting around that could place halo in a Mass Effect type game...

That....would be wild, for the story at least, it would be an epic campaign, let me and blue team explore the Galaxy.

Let us go to strip clubs

 

[Nephtes]

I'm going to correct you here because I think there is an important distinction ... Campaign is great, a big improvement over halo 4 in a number of ways... It's the story rubbed a lot of people the wrong way though (myself Included) it's almost upsetting to see a universe with as much lore and possibility as halo and with such a great lead up marketing campaign with #huntthetruth only to see the story be absolute player insulting garbage.

IMO
Multiplayer: best ever
campaign gameplay: top 3
Campaign story: worst ever

This is why we see such divisive opinions on this.

Absolutely this.
The story was just wrong wrong wrong. 343 seriously mishandled just about every story beat possible ... And what they did with Cortana was absolutely insulting especially after how lovingly they handled her send off in Halo 4.
The actual gameplay of the campaign (minus the stupid repeat boss fights) was okay... Though the Prometheans really aren't fun enemies to fight.

I don't know how 343 fixes this.
And to the guy earlier calling them a mediocre developer... Wow, I don't know what you're smoking, but I want some. They pulled off the series best PVP with Halo 5's arena mode. A mediocre dev couldn't have done that.

 

[VincentMatts]

Absolutely this.
The story was just wrong wrong wrong. 343 seriously mishandled just about every story beat possible ... And what they did with Cortana was absolutely insulting especially after how lovingly they handled her send off in Halo 4.
The actual gameplay of the campaign (minus the stupid repeat boss fights) was okay... Though the Prometheans really aren't fun enemies to fight.

I don't know how 343 fixes this.
And to the guy earlier calling them a mediocre developer... Wow, I don't know what you're smoking, but I want some. They pulled off the series best PVP with Halo 5's arena mode. A mediocre dev couldn't have done that.

Bungie themselves couldnt even do it after 3. But yeah, mediocre...

One thing i will give Bungie is that they crammed those games full of content. Unlike 343. They seem to be removing content.

 

[hawk2025]

I need to push back a little on people saying others just having a problem with the story.

It's the campaign itself.

The bosses (all 9 of them), the pointless hubs, half or so of the levels, the baffling final Blue Team mission. There's a lot wrong with it, IMO.