Microsoft knows that the
Halo 3 beta sold copies of
Crackdown, and at least one company representative believes that the
Halo: Reach beta -- a thing that is packed in with every copy of
Halo: ODST -- will sell copies of the upcoming
Halo title to both potential and old fans alike.
“The only way to access this beta will be through the
Halo 3: ODST disc, so we feel there’s another extremely compelling reason for both fans and newcomers to the franchise to experience
Halo 3: ODST,” Microsoft’s head of gaming and entertainment devices UK, Stephen McGill, revealed to
MCV in
a recent interview.
“We saw the success of this mechanic with the
Halo 3 multiplayer beta that came on the
Crackdown game disc and the continued sales momentum and excitement generated around that title throughout its lifecycle, and we fully expect
Halo 3: ODST to exceed that achievement,” McGill said.
McGill added that the Reach beta is a “great way” to puff up
Halo: ODST’s shelf life, and it should give Microsoft marketers plenty of ammo to use for the title in 2010.
Of course, we’re pretty sure
ODST doesn’t need the boost -- price gouging or not, this game will sell like
hotcakes Halo. Still, McGill's comments are interesting: are any of you planning to buy
ODST just for the
Reach beta?
Contest:
11:00 PM on 09.16.2009
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Though I'm super curious as to what makes Reach's gameplay so much different then all the others. Guess I'll find out in a few days or so.
Also, Crackdown was a kickass game. A shame that it had to get piggybacked by Halo 3 in order to boost sales.
They should have said that they were doing this as a service/bonus for their loyal supporters. Would've looked classier. Seriously, I wonder about these guys running video-game companies these days. It's like they're completely out of touch with their own market and products. :/
Halo 3 helped crackdown game sales because crackdown was a new IP with no preexisting fandom... So they used halo fandom to help instead...
Halo ODST on the other hand is ALREADY riding on the halo fandom... What MCgill is essentially saying is that they are using Halo fandom to sell a Halo game... can you say redundant? Honestly if people don't care about Halo enough to get ODST, then they unlikely to care enough about Halo Reach to want the Beta
It's a nice extra treat for halo fans, but it's not gonna be boosting sales much
So...good job acknowledging that at the end.
Maybe if we knew more about Reach it'd be a bigger deal. As of right now it's like they're flailing their arms saying "Check out this thing what which has Halo name on it!"
It's an FPS. it has multiplayer. It's Halo.
It would have been funnier if they tagged it on to Crackdown 2. It looks like Halo: Reach will be the next multiplayer instalment for the series so for people just interested in the multiplayer it could be a major selling point.