What does Infinite need to be succesful? I think the lack of marketing is why h4 and 5 suffered in sales. Infinite should flood our TV’s with commercials (pun intended). Also, everything available on launch unlike in h5. Multiplayer ranked, social, forge, customs browser, and campaign need to all be present. I think movement mechanics should stay the same as h5 just polish up the engine so shots register and what not. Maps need to be more appealing visually like the ones from older halos (good examples being Sanctuary and High Ground). What do yall think?
Lack of marketing? For Halo 5?
Halo 5 had a whole ad campaign. It got multiple commercials made for it starting 6 months before release, as well as 2 audio dramas, a collaboration with Robot Chicken, and more. I don’t think lack of advertising was an issue. That goes for Halo 4, too. Opening sales for Halo 4 were record breaking for the franchise. Halo 5’s opening sales went on to beat Halo 4’s. So the hype for both games was major. The marketing for both games was successful. Whether a game remains successful is not going to be dependent on the quality of the marketing.
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> Lack of marketing? For Halo 5?
>
> Halo 5 had a whole ad campaign. It got multiple commercials made for it starting 6 months before release, as well as 2 audio dramas, a collaboration with Robot Chicken, and more. I don’t think lack of advertising was an issue. That goes for Halo 4, too. Opening sales for Halo 4 were record breaking for the franchise. Halo 5’s opening sales went on to beat Halo 4’s. So the hype for both games was major. The marketing for both games was successful. Whether a game remains successful is not going to be dependent on the quality of the marketing.
Yeah, lack of marketing wasn’t a problem. If anything, at least in H5’s case, it was people feelings the marketing marketed a completely different game. But that’s been debated for years now, so whatever.
As the posts above me say, I too don’t think the marketing was the issue. Instead the quality and accuracy of the marketing is what needs to be addressed.
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> As the posts above me say, I too don’t think the marketing was the issue. Instead the quality and accuracy of the marketing is what needs to be addressed.
Or, here’s a novel idea: how about address the quality of the game.
Quality-wise, H5’s advertising was good. And we can talk shop about how H5’s advertisements lied or whatnot all day, but in the end, it’s more than just the lack of Locke vs Chief elements that led to H5 being a divisive game. A good marketing campaign helps get you a good amount of opening sales and day 1 buyers, but as we’ve seen from H4 and H5, great opening sales don’t necessarily mean great game.
I’ll agree with the content at launch bit. Seems many games these days are unfinished and that always causes backlash. They also need to do microtransactions right. I think those two things hurt H5 more than the gameplay and maps, or at least equally. Good reputation = good sales.
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> What does Infinite need to be succesful? I think the lack of marketing is why h4 and 5 suffered in sales. Infinite should flood our TV’s with commercials (pun intended). Also, everything available on launch unlike in h5. Multiplayer ranked, social, forge, customs browser, and campaign need to all be present. I think movement mechanics should stay the same as h5 just polish up the engine so shots register and what not. Maps need to be more appealing visually like the ones from older halos (good examples being Sanctuary and High Ground). What do yall think?
I don’t recommend having EVERYTHING in the launch, because that means you’ll finish up everything way too quickly. Destiny had literally just about everything in their beta, making everyone believe it was just a TASTE of what was to come. No, Destiny’s beta ended up being pretty much the full game, save for raids and the other planets. It is never a good idea to drop everything in at the start, it honestly ruins your enjoyment.
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> I don’t recommend having EVERYTHING in the launch, because that means you’ll finish up everything way too quickly. Destiny had literally just about everything in their beta, making everyone believe it was just a TASTE of what was to come. No, Destiny’s beta ended up being pretty much the full game, save for raids and the other planets. It is never a good idea to drop everything in at the start, it honestly ruins your enjoyment.
The fact that Destiny 1’s beta ended up feeling like the whole vanilla Destiny experience isn’t a reason to hold things back at launch. That was a problem with Destiny as a game, and the fact that it launched with so little and needed multiple DLCs to make it feel like a fully-realized game. Games at their launch should feel complete; you can still add to them after launch (and I hope they do), but what you get at launch should feel like a whole, worthwhile experience. Don’t chop a game into pieces and hold stuff back to dripfeed players as a system of retention.
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> > 2533274879757912;7:
> > I don’t recommend having EVERYTHING in the launch, because that means you’ll finish up everything way too quickly. Destiny had literally just about everything in their beta, making everyone believe it was just a TASTE of what was to come. No, Destiny’s beta ended up being pretty much the full game, save for raids and the other planets. It is never a good idea to drop everything in at the start, it honestly ruins your enjoyment.
>
> The fact that Destiny 1’s beta ended up feeling like the whole vanilla Destiny experience isn’t a reason to hold things back at launch. That was a problem with Destiny as a game, and the fact that it launched with so little and needed multiple DLCs to make it feel like a fully-realized game. Games at their launch should feel complete; you can still add to them after launch (and I hope they do), but what you get at launch should feel like a whole, worthwhile experience. Don’t chop a game into pieces and hold stuff back to dripfeed players as a system of retention.
Oh I’m not saying that things should be separated, but to straight up add everything, leaving no room for new material (perhaps I misread the original post, apologies) would leave you wanting more with nothing to follow.
I still think there couldve been more commercials tho. I remember when certain cod games were coming out id see a commercial on almost every commercial break the times i watched TV. Also agentmaryland having everything at launch, especially forge and customs browser, will prevent people from writing the game off too soon. There can still be map packs or campaign add ons later
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> Oh I’m not saying that things should be separated, but to straight up add everything, leaving no room for new material (perhaps I misread the original post, apologies) would leave you wanting more with nothing to follow.
As someone who grew up in an age where video games were always entirely contained on a physical cartridge and never got any post-launch support, the idea of buying a video game and then being disappointed because I don’t get more than what I bought seems strange to me.
Don’t get me wrong, I like post-launch content as much as anybody, but #1 I don’t personally think the possibility of post-launch content is a good enough reason for 343 to actively avoid adding everything they can to Halo Infinite before it launches and #2 I have a hard time believing 343 wouldn’t have any room for new material if they added everything they can to Halo Infinite before it launches anyway.
I think it would be great if they went nuts and added everything under the sun before it launched, and I’m sure there could still be plenty to follow if they got creative enough afterwards. I mean, how could there ever be no room for new material?
Also, I should point out that the best time in a Halo game’s lifespan to have the most playlists is at launch, because the population declines afterwards (and declines even faster when the only things to play are Slayer, Warzone, and Breakout) which can make it necessary to consolidate playlists.
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> > 2533274879757912;9:
> > Oh I’m not saying that things should be separated, but to straight up add everything, leaving no room for new material (perhaps I misread the original post, apologies) would leave you wanting more with nothing to follow.
>
> As someone who grew up in an age where video games were always entirely contained on a physical cartridge and never got any post-launch support, the idea of buying a video game and then being disappointed because I don’t get more than what I bought seems strange to me.
>
> Don’t get me wrong, I like post-launch content as much as anybody, but #1 I don’t personally think the possibility of post-launch content is a good enough reason for 343 to actively avoid adding everything they can to Halo Infinite before it launches and #2 I have a hard time believing 343 wouldn’t have any room for new material if they added everything they can to Halo Infinite before it launches anyway.
>
> I think it would be great if they went nuts and added everything under the sun before it launched, and I’m sure there could still be plenty to follow if they got creative enough afterwards. I mean, how could there ever be no room for new material?
>
> Also, I should point out that the best time in a Halo game’s lifespan to have the most playlists is at launch, because the population declines afterwards (and declines even faster when the only things to play are Slayer, Warzone, and Breakout) which can make it necessary to consolidate playlists.
Fair enough. I suppose having as much content readily available day one has its pros and cons varying from person to person.
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> I still think there couldve been more commercials tho. I remember when certain cod games were coming out id see a commercial on almost every commercial break the times i watched TV. Also agentmaryland having everything at launch, especially forge and customs browser, will prevent people from writing the game off too soon. There can still be map packs or campaign add ons later
Dude, throwing more commercials into the airwaves wouldn’t have fixed the trainwreak that was Halo 5’s campaign. Multiplayer got lucky in that it did fill out over time (and hopefully 343 learned the way they handled Halo 5’s multiplayer is something they keep with them don’t they dont make the same mistakes again).
343’s false advertising was massively successful including MCC. The real struggle 343 has to overcome is figuring out how to connect with the mass of Halo fans.
As they stated, 343 hired people who hated classic Halo. Therfore, they have absolutely zero idea of why the rest of us loved classic so much. How can you take over a highly successful product without any understanding of why people loved it? Your new recipes will seem great and innovative to you, but the consumer finds them bland and unfamiliar.
I agree for the most part with the above posts that say they want the game fully ready at launch. I don’t mind DLCs and adding content later, but it felt like they intentionally removed stuff and then repackaged it later. Instead, make the game with all the bells and whistles, and then start adding content that enhances the experience as opposed to adding back content that should have been there in the first place. Sorry if this is a repetitive post!
> 2533274879757912;7:
> > 2533274880825545;1:
> > What does Infinite need to be succesful? I think the lack of marketing is why h4 and 5 suffered in sales. Infinite should flood our TV’s with commercials (pun intended). Also, everything available on launch unlike in h5. Multiplayer ranked, social, forge, customs browser, and campaign need to all be present. I think movement mechanics should stay the same as h5 just polish up the engine so shots register and what not. Maps need to be more appealing visually like the ones from older halos (good examples being Sanctuary and High Ground). What do yall think?
>
> I don’t recommend having EVERYTHING in the launch, because that means you’ll finish up everything way too quickly. Destiny had literally just about everything in their beta, making everyone believe it was just a TASTE of what was to come. No, Destiny’s beta ended up being pretty much the full game, save for raids and the other planets. It is never a good idea to drop everything in at the start, it honestly ruins your enjoyment.
I’d rather have as much content as possible over holding things back, else you end up like H5 or how Destiny 1 had people calling it out for cutting content. There really is no such thing as to much content as it gives you variety, player burnout is expected as it happens, if the gameplay is fun However then you’ll have people continuously coming back regardless if they’re playing the same stuff over and over. Players can also limit their play sessions if burnout is an issue cause if you’re putting in 10 hours a day and blowing through content, that’s on the player more than the game.
@OP: the marketing has never been an issue for Halo. I saw plenty of H5 on YT and tv commercials to begin with and they showed it off at gaming conventions as well. Marketing alone doesn’t contribute to a games success, it simply gets players hooked Into buying it. It’s the stuff after marketing that needs improved, sales alone isn’t enough for a successful game, you also need a reason to keep the buyers coming back so it’s important that what ever is in the game is also of great quality which is where I see the last few games falling off at. At some point great marketing won’t mean much cause players will catch on based off their previous experiences in the older games.
If it actually feels like a unique arena shooter again I think it will be an overwhelming success. If 343 stopped trying to emulate what other companies are doing and what’s trending currently and provided something no other shooter offered I can see it blowing up again. But they haven’t shown the want or ability to do that so I’ll cross my fingers one more time. If the MP is just a continuation of H5 I think the downward trend will continue.
I haven’t purchased a Halo game since 4, and haven’t really played since 3 and Reach. Halo has always been a part of me growing up. If they don’t deliver this time I’ll just stop following Halo as it’s too disappointing and sad to deal with anymore.
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> As they stated, 343 hired people who hated classic Halo. Therfore, they have absolutely zero idea of why the rest of us loved classic so much.
No, they did not. I wish people would research this quote before they attempt to use it.
The actual quote is very different and provides context
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/191234/making_halo_4_a_story_about_.php?page=3
> “We had people who we hired who hated Halo because of ‘X,’” says O’Connor. “But what that really meant was, ‘I feel like this game could be awesome because of ‘Y input’ that I’m going to bring into it. I want to prove it, and I’m passionate about proving it.’ So we ended up with a bunch of people who were genuinely passionate about the product. That is a huge advantage, and that helped in hiring and forming our team.”
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> I agree for the most part with the above posts that say they want the game fully ready at launch. I don’t mind DLCs and adding content later, but it felt like they intentionally removed stuff and then repackaged it later. Instead, make the game with all the bells and whistles, and then start adding content that enhances the experience as opposed to adding back content that should have been there in the first place. Sorry if this is a repetitive post!
Eh, with some of Halo 5, maybe. To me, it felt like with some of it, they were more just scrambling to get it out.
Anyways, to contribute:
Halo 6 will need a lot of things to be truly successful.
One: good advertising. Halo 5 had this, but the game itself didn’t back this up.
Two: Content at launch. Halo Infinite will need to at the very least, be a full functioning game without crucial gamemodes and features missing at launch. I’m hoping this isn’t a problem given the time that will have been spent now on Infinite. I want to have all gamemodes, a great forge, and a _WORKING THEATER MODE._Three: Better storytelling. Halo 5 had a lot of story problems. Without getting into this too much, essentially Halo Infinite needs to have writers who don’t need writing lessons and can write good dialogue, plot structure, etc.
Four: A better ******* UI. One of my largest frustrations with Halo 5 was the UI. The organization of just about everything needs to be streamlined and well, organized. (The clutter of armor with the direction of one stripe changed relative to another is probably the biggest cause of clutter). I suggest that all armor types , weapon types, be put into their categories (Recruit, Venator, etc.) with all variants then available if you open those categories. And on weapon attachments, same idea. Also, if something like Warzone returns, I think that the way to do it should be to pick weapon, pick scope, then pick attachment. Far less clutter to scroll to the weapon you want.
Five: Microtransactions removed or system greatly improved. (don’t have time to break this one completely down in post, but simply, among other things, for 343’s own self interest, no lootboxes)
Six: A more distinctive artstyle that can draw people in and better capture the concept of Halo. Everything so far is looking good as far as this goes.
Seven: Better AI/ balancing stuff. Essentially, I think that AI have sucked in Halo for some time now, they need to be improved, and some general things need changing. Phantoms can’t be invincible, and then have hyper accurate, cross mapping plasma turrets that melt tanks and kill spartans in under 1/2 a second. As far as differences between factions that are problematic from a design standpoint (prometheans to hard, covenant to easy), 343 has already worked on that in Halo 5’s campaign, so I think we shouldn’t see such a stark contrast in difficulty between potential promethean missions and covenant ones.
That’s pretty much all I can think of right now.
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> Infinite should flood our TV’s with commercials (pun intended).
I do love an intended pun.
But Chimera30 is right marketing was def. there. Not sure I was a fan of any of it in the long run as not everything was well delivered upon but it still happened…
> 2533274817408735;5:
> > 2533274909139271;4:
> > As the posts above me say, I too don’t think the marketing was the issue. Instead the quality and accuracy of the marketing is what needs to be addressed.
>
> Or, here’s a novel idea: how about address the quality of the game.
>
> Quality-wise, H5’s advertising was good. And we can talk shop about how H5’s advertisements lied or whatnot all day, but in the end, it’s more than just the lack of Locke vs Chief elements that led to H5 being a divisive game. A good marketing campaign helps get you a good amount of opening sales and day 1 buyers, but as we’ve seen from H4 and H5, great opening sales don’t necessarily mean great game.
Once again I have to agree with Chimera30. Furthermore I think reach could have been a more divisive game as well if you look at what it “warped” cough broke cough from the old and popular book Cannon. The main differences being reach still delivered a killer story and it’s multiplayer met what most fans were looking for at the time… Your complaint that maps look too silly and we want more at launch aren’t new and they haven’t fallen on deaf ears entirely either hence the new/old art style.
Finally to actually answer the question I would say in needs to be a balanced, back to basics game with a good story that actually pays off in the ways fans want it too as opposed to pushing storylines that the devs care about. The game needs to include all major elements at launch and have the level of support and consumer feedback that the MCC has seen in review years.
I think that MCC level of attention but starting from day one will be important. It’s not that they weren’t trying from day one but they could have been in better communication with fans at times for sure.
Put simply:
balanced multiplayer
Solid Story
Finished game
Communication