If you find anything you read here disagreeable, please check out the disclaimers at the bottom in case I’ve addressed your concerns there.
The kind of verbiage that is being used among 343 and Microsoft execs is giving me indications that Halo is getting the Star Wars treatment and becoming a caricature of what it has been. I’m not talking about game mechanics and playability stuff (sprint, spartan abilities, etc.) that everyone is so butthurt about. I’m talking about the treatment of the Halo franchise as a “marketer’s dream” rather than a rich universe through which powerful stories can and deserve to be told.
Here is quote from the new GameSpot article about the latest “The Inner Circle” podcast by Xbox marketing exec Aaron Greenberg:
> “One of the biggest entertainment releases of the year [Halo 5] if we do our job right. And I think what we’ve got with Master Chief and Locke, it’s just kind of a marketer’s dream.” (emphasis added)
Halo is now seen, at least by the people now responsible for defining what it will be from here on out, as but a “marketer’s dream”, an “entertainment release”. The Halo of the past was made up of captivating stories that had a soul, a rich universe expanded by novels, and a sense of “ownership” or “fatherhood”, if you will, by the developers over their baby, Halo. Before people jump down my throat, I want to acknowledge that, IMO, Halo 4 does have all of these characteristics. I know good books continue to be written, and I thoroughly enjoyed almost every aspect of Halo 4 (but that’s not what this thread is about).
I’m worried that now, since Halo has become Microsoft’s prized heifer, they will milk it for all it’s worth until it has no soul. The following is a list of things done with Halo since 343 has been at the helm that are giving me these sort of indications:
- Massive outsourcing to other development studios during the creation of every single game they’ve “created” thus far (Halo CE Anniversary, Halo 4, MCC - even Spartan Assault). What loving sense of ownership can 343 possibly have with a game when they’re treating it like an assembly line?- The release of an unacceptably and insultingly broken game to the fans after a second-to-none marketing campaign got us all nostalgic and excited about how awesome it would be.- A complete change in the legendary demeanor of Spartans with the homoerotic bro-fest that takes place before and after Halo 5 matches. (I know 343 said they would “tone that down”, but it speaks to a fundamental misunderstanding of who the Spartans, even Spartan IV’s, are)- Halo: Nightfall, which, in my opinion, was a cheap, cliche sci-fi production with unconvincing and detached characters and an uninspired plot. If Steven Spielberg can do better, than I will absolutely change my stance on Halo TV/cinema. (I liked Forward Unto Dawn. It felt honest and unique with its storytelling, even with a low budget.)- An intentional redefinition of the Halo community’s identity from a fun, social community held together by file sharing, clans (I know, Bungie did away with it first), and custom games to a bunch of MLG gamers competing for cash prizes a la League of Legends or DOTA. Nothing against MLG gamers, but why are they shoving this down our throats? The fun-loving, community-based vibe is being traded in for something more corporate and produced.- The breakthrough of Halo entities into Microsoft’s ecosystem through Cortana, the digital assistant, and the Spartan browser. Listen, there is nothing inherently wrong with that - I think it’s kind of cool. But I’m just concerned that Microsoft will go too far – that Halo’s beloved universe will be exploited into a child-like mockery in order to generate revenue. It’ll be kind of hard to take the broken and AWOL Master Chief seriously in Halo 5 if Halo stuff starts cartoonishly appearing on my laptop.DISCLAIMERS
Listen, I’ve got no problem with people disagreeing with me. I just don’t want anyone to misunderstand me. I know marketing is a necessity, and benefits a franchise in the long run. I know I shouldn’t expect an Xbox marketing exec to see Halo as anything other than a potential avenue to market the hell out of and sell Xboxes. I know Halo can’t remain stagnant, but must continue to evolve (much to the chagrin of my nostalgic inner-child who loves playing the level “Halo” on Halo CE on Normal difficulty over and over again and trying to nail Halo 2 superjumps with long-lost Xbox Live buddies.) I just don’t want to see something I love become a faceless franchise with no soul that just makes lots of money and has big tournaments.
What do you guys think? Am I crazy? Thanks for reading.
