Admit it, in '06 all that was on your mind was Halo 3 ever since seeing the ‘Starry Night’ Ad. Since that point, the hype for Halo 3 was off the charts and easily the most anticipated console game ever made.
Then came Call of Duty 4. It changed this industry forever. At this point, players began to realize that Halo was becoming slightly stale. Just a bit though.
I think it’s fair to say that Halo has lost some of its effect on fans over the last six years. It’s always had one of the largest and most passionate communities, but with the arrival of modern shooters and a new age for gaming, it certainly wasn’t the number one thing on every shooter fan’s mind anymore.
When Halo Wars launched, fans of the series smoothly transitioned to an RTS-mindset for quite some time until Halo 3: ODST’s launch later that year(2009). ODST had arguably one of the freshest and nicest campaigns in the series along with a stellar new co-op mode. But narrative-driven gameplay wasn’t on gamers’ minds at the time(Even up to this day). Since the dawn of modern shooters, their arcade-like, pick up and play, and fast paced multiplayer became the standard, and ODST certainly did not deliver that. And that was never its goal. It focused on telling stories and introducing a whole new way to play Halo with friends. While that sounded and ended up great for Halo fans, everyone else was turned off by the package. This is evident in ODST’s sales: Approximately six million units. I know what you’re saying. “What the hell is wrong with this guy? Six million is a ton of copies!” You thought that was a lot? Try twelve million. That is the current number of Halo 3 copies that have been sold since 9/25/07. ODST sold half of that and due to this, it made one thing clear: Multiplayer is what really sells games. No matter the immense quality of the story, you can’t deny it, multiplayer in modern shooters is what people have been looking for.
On to 2010. Reach, Reach, Reach… That was the word surging through your brain every day since its VGAs 2009 trailer. The reveal of a new engine, new characters, and the overall visual leap from Halo 3 to Reach was just attractive, plain and simple. Then came the beta and the incredible live-action ad campaign which consisted of ‘Birth of a Spartan’ and ‘Deliver Hope’. Players were willing to sell their loved ones for just another taste of this game at this point. 9/14/10. Showtime. It is a fact that players loved this game at its launch, no doubt about that. But if you compared Reach’s current statistics to Halo 3’s, there is clearly something going on. Players just don’t stick with Halo like they once did. Reach currently averages 100-150K players a day two years after launch while Halo 3 had a good 300+K two years after its own launch. Reach’s multiplayer had some flawed aspects that might have done the game more good if they just stayed out of the game entirely, and that is just my own opinion, I do not expect everyone to agree with that statement. Reach needed to evolve Halo gameplay and it attempted to, but for some(Including myself), it didn’t meet expectations.
Halo 4 is on track to sell well. And come on… It’s a Halo game! They will always sell, right?
For the time being, yes. But what will happen in three years? What if it received feedback that wasn’t even at the levels of Reach? More people would stop purchasing Halo games. Rinse and repeat all the way to the end of the Reclaimer Trilogy, and Halo would be in ruins.
This thread isn’t meant for just analyzing the decline of Halo’s popularity over the years to its competitors. It is also meant to make one more thing clear:
Halo’s gotta change. A lot.**
Many of you may argue that Halo 4’s changes are extreme and will ruin the franchise. You are absolutely wrong. If Halo were to learn a thing or two from its competitors that are selling 25 units copies each year with ease, interest would be sparked in Halo again. And it’s done just that. It has taken what makes its competitors great and has expanded on that for the better.
If we want Halo to continue being the enormous franchise and universe that it is, we must accept the fact that it’s evolving, and we must hold Halo’s hand every step of the way if it’s to succeed. It’s all for the better people, give 343 Industries a chance to put Halo back on top. It certainly isn’t impossible, and this game with its huge contributions to the Halo formula can make that possibility a reality.
