Original Post: Click at your own discretion
Summary
I have to state this for the snowflakes who get offended easily, I say this without trying to offend, but the pressed ones are going to get pressed and it’s you’s who aren’t factoring in all the variables from financial decisions, gaming decisions, marketing decisions and publishing decisions.
- This post is in response to the many people trying to defend 343 Industries and the monetization of Halo™
( Will continually update this post and credit those who contribute what I left out or overlooked. )
Now micro-transactions have been in the Halo franchise since Halo 2 in the form of Downloadable Content ( DLC’s ) With the first being the
Halo 2 / Bungie Title
- Map pack for $20.00, You got 9 new maps added to multiplayer.
Halo 3 / Bungie Title
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Heroic Map Pack For $10.00 - 4 New Maps
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Legendary Map Pack For $10.00 - 3 New Maps
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Cold Storage FREE Map / Bungie Day
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Mythic Map Pack For $10.00 - 2 New Maps
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Mythic Pack II For $10.00 - 3 New Maps
Halo Wars 1 / Bungie, Ensemble Studio and Robot Entertainment Title
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Strategic Options Pack $10.00
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Historic Battle Pack $10.00
Halo Reach / Bungie Title - Later handed over to 343 Industries after Bungie’s contract concluded.
** Noble Map Pack For $10.00 - 3 New Maps*
** Defiant Map Pack For $10.00 - 2 New maps & a New Firefight Map*
** Anniversary Map Pack For $20.00 - 7 new maps, 6 Remake maps and 1 new firefight map.*
Halo 4 / 343 Industries Title
** Crimson Map Pack For $10.00 - 3 New maps *
** Majestic Map Pack For $10.00 - 3 New maps *
** Castle Map Pack For $10.00 - 3 New Maps *
** Forge Island - Free *
** Champions Bundle For $10.00 - Two new maps, 4 new armor sets and a new Game-type*
HALO 4 WAS THE LAST HALO GAME WHERE PLAYERS WERE ABLE TO UNLOCK ITEMS THROUGH GAMEPLAY AND CAMPAIGN.
Halo 5 / 343 industries Title
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Battle of Shadow and Light, FREE Content - 4 New Forge Maps
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Cartographers Gift , FREE Content - 4 New Maps
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Infinity’s Armory, FREE Content - 2 New Maps
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Hammers Storm, FREE Content - 1 New Map
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Ghost Of Meridian, FREE Content - 2 New Maps
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Memories Of Reach, FREE Content, 1 New Arena Map
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Hog Wild, FREE Content, Contained New variant of Reqs
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WARZONE FIREFIGHT, FREE Content, War-zone was finally brought into the game - 4 New Maps
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Anvils Legacy, FREE Content, 2 New Maps
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Monitors Bounty, FREE Content, 2 New Forge Canvases, Custom Game Browser
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Overtime, FREE Content, New Commendations, Emblems and Oddball game-type and alt version of the Energy Sword ( Relic )
ALL OF HALO 5 FREE UPDATES INCLUDED MULTIPLE ARMOR SETS, WEOPON SKINS, EMBLEMS, ASSASSINATIONS, ALTERNATE VERSION OF WEAPONS AND VEHICLES.
( Credit to where credit is due for @TyroneRundaGang and @yeskezspanem to note Halo 5’s Content ; And Halo The Master Chief Collection Content to be mentioned. )
Yes, the updates rolled out overtime, but that is what kept the game alive and thriving…
Say what You want about Halo 5, but Let’s see how the Free Content Updates stands against Paid Armor sets, “ POTENTIALLY “ Paid Game modes, DLC’s from Campaign - Multiplayer. Yeah, Yeah 343 Industries stated Future Content will be free - But what content and to what extent?
Remember they also stated that when it comes to customization, they said the player would have a ton of options… But I ain’t seen that for those who didn’t buy the Season Pass.
Past DLC’s gave the player there money’s worth all while giving the developer the funds to put the next content out.
I seen somewhere that 343 Industries made $500 Million off of Halo 5 first couple of weeks, if thats the case, then Halo Infinite should be 10x better than what it is now.
The Master Chief Collection / 343 industries title
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Remnant - Free Content - Remastered Map ( Relic ) For Halo 2 Anniversary
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Halo 3 ODST - Remastered / Updated Graphics For the MCC
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Halo Reach - Remastered / Updated Graphics For the MCC
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Seasonal Content
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Noble - Free Content - Based For Halo Reach - Added Halo Reach Armor & Nameplates
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Spark - Free Content - Based For Halo Combat Evolved ( CE ) - Added Visors Colors, Weapon and Vehicle Skins.
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Recon - Free Content - Based For Halo 3 & Halo 3 ODST - Added Weapon Skins, Visor Colors, Nameplates and Reintroduced Playable Firefight characters for Halo 3 ODST
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Reclaimer - Free Content - Based For Halo 4 & Halo 3 - Cosmetic Items for Halo 3 and Halo 4, Weapon Skins, Vehicle Skins and Nameplates.
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Anvil - Based For Halo Reach & Halo 3 - Added 2 Helmets originally left out of Halo Reach DLC Defiant Map Pack, Nameplates, Vehicle Skins, Weapon Skins and 12 Halo Online Armor sets added to Halo 3.
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Raven - Based For Halo 3 - 1 New Map, ODST Armor inspired from Halo FireTeam Raven Arcade game, Animated Visors, Nameplates, Back Accessories, Plus additional Halo 3 Armor.
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Elite - Based For Halo 3 & Halo 4 - Added 1 New Map to Halo 3, Additional Elite Armor for Halo 3 Elite Customization, Halo 4 Championship Armor Bundle, Mark V Armor Set, ODST Armor Set and Prefect Armor Set, Weapon Skins, Vehicle Skins, 2 New Maps for Halo 4, Vehicle Skins, Nameplates, Graphical Update to Halo Combat Evolve ( CE ) and a New Helmet to Halo 4, KEYSTONE later to be introduced in Halo Infinite as the Mark VII Helmet.
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Mythic - Based For Halo 3 - New NON-CANNON Armor Sets, Nameplates, Weapon Skins, Vehicle Skins, New Map and Custom Game Browser for Halo Combat Evolve and Halo 3.
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Bonus Seasonal Update / Updates : New Armor added to Halo 2 Anniversary / Original Halo Combat Evolved Armor Set and Armor Customization.
Past DLC’s gave the player there money’s worth all while giving the developer the funds to put the next content out.
Say what you want about the Launch of The Master Chief Collection, but overtime, 343 industries realized there Mistakes and revived the MCC to where now It is thriving with new content and you know for a fact Bungie devs that worked on Halo CE - 3 and Reach applaud 343 Industries for keeping the franchise alive.
If you got $20.00 to spend, Then you must have $30.00+ to spend
-343 Industries
HALO INFINITE - Micro-Transactions
WHAT WENT WRONG IN GAMING DEVELOPMENT 343 INDUSTRIES?
$10.00 - $20.00 For an Armor set is not ridiculous…
If you really think that, then you are a fool.
*FOR ANYONE WILLING TO DEFEND THIS STANCE OF “ $20 for an armor set is not ridiculous "
$60.00 for Campaign, all while the Multiplayer was free.
$60.00 For Campaign
-$20.00 For ONE Armor set
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** $40.00**
$60.00 For the Campaign AND just Armor Coatings, Vehicle Coatings, Stances, Weapon Charms and Emblems. NO ARMOR UNLOCKS WHAT SO EVER FOR BUYING THE CAMPAIGN.
*** $10.00 For the Battle Pass** ( One time Purchase )
( In-game shop items that rotate WEEKLY / FOMO - FEAR OF MISSING OUT )
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$10.00 - $20.00 For an Armor Set
*** $5.00 - $10.00 For a Weapon Ornament / Coating / Armor Ornament ( Bundle )** -
$10.00 For an Halo Championship Series ( HCS ) Esports Coating / Emblem to pretend / Look like you’re an pRo pLaYeR… “Supporting you’re favorite team”
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Assassinations are probably going to be introduced again and heavily monetized, $5.00 - $20.00 per assassination or how cool it looks…
Bet thats what is going to happen.
-Minus the Halo Championship Series ( HCS ) Armor bundles, and just focus on the In game item store that rotates weekly, you see that these items SURPASS the total price of the Campaign $60.00 Price, factor in the Limited Edition of the Campaign Bundle, ( Which you still hardly get anything for a higher price ) Then you start to realize what the player base is really complaining about.
Stop and think about that…
Halo 5 Has a better Micro-transaction and customization system than Halo Infinite
1. With Halo 5, it was 48 colors, able to select 2 colors for your Spartan.
2. 325 Armor sets ( I believe ), Yeah, Sure you weren’t able to mix and match like past Halo titles, but the system sure beats Halo Infinites Armor Core System were you’re limited on what you can do unless you buy the Season Pass.
3. 100+ Emblem Customizations ( Again, sure not like past Halo titles, but better than Halo Infinite’s system )
*25 - 30 Assassinations
WHAT WENT WRONG 343 INDUSTRIES?
“ But… But Halo Infinite is Free To Play "
If it were free to play, Halo Infinite’s multiplayer wouldn’t be on Game-pass which charges $1.00 for 3 months (1 time purchase per year I believe.) $15.00 per month, $25.00 Per 3 months OR 100.00 Per Year. - That is not free to play, it’s paying to have access to multiple games, not just one.
Don’t get me wrong, Game-pass is a solid program, but the games part of the program surpass the value of the actual game.
Yes it is a free to play multiplayer, but AGAIN, IT IS NOT A FREE TO PLAY GAME as a whole. The campaign still cost money and two armor sets is almost equivalent to a full game set to $60.00, now factor in taxes and regional area’s not set in the United States, then you will see that the price is much higher than $20.00 - $25.00.
The Battle pass system could been done better and still can be changed / retuned.
1. Coatings should be standard across all Armor cores.
2. Challenge swaps should be removed from the battle pass and be a default mechanic for players to swap challenged if they don’t want tp do them.
3. Players shouldn’t be forced or feel forced to have to do certain game modes or Ranked matches.
- The game should detect this and hand you challenges based on what game type you play the most. From Social, Ranked or Objective based game-types.*
If you’re going to defend 343 Industries and the direction that there taking Halo.
EDUCATE YOURSELF’S. Or you’re going to come off like a hypocrite saying one thing and saying the opposite.
343 Industries isn’t the first gaming studio to go down the rabbit hole of micro-transactions, but 343 Industries is coming off really predatorial like Valorant and heading down the route of Star Citizen, by Cloud Imperium Studios, which if you don’t know, charges its player base $10.00 - $1000.00+ dollars just for ONE in-game item. Star Citizen is still in its ALPHA stage and in a kickstarter phase still.
There are SOOOO Many other Gaming studios I or anyone can list that are just as bad, but 343 Industries is on a path that WILL KILL HALO.
In that context, YES… Halo fans / Halo players are always going to play Halo for the campaign and multiplayer, but the player count is going to drop and ONLY rise when “ NEW “ content for the Campaign is released or for a cool new special event.**
It does really feel like Halo Infinite is in a Kickstarter / Go fund me phase ; The Insider Program allowed players to play the Alpha build of the multiplayer.
2 - 3 months later the multiplayer is released and there was nothing different between The Insider Program Alpha build vs the “ FULL “ release build in which 343 Industries even stated until the campaign release, the multiplayer will be consider a Beta phase…
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The UI remained the same which told me, Yeah, This game has been complete for sometime now and 343 Industries is just letting players have “early access to it to make it appear as if there is real development going on with it. - ( Halo Infinite dry content spell )
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When Starwars Battlefront 2 had it’s beta, the beta allowed players to drop money for micro-transactions, Its player base ripped apart EA Games. The backlash was SOOOO BAD that it made News headlines - to content creators / gamers talking about the predatory behavior of just 1 of many Gaming studios ; It was so bad it was brought to the attention of Congress with Micro-Transactions and gaming.
So why is 343 industries ramping this up like there won’t be backlash?
Why are they remaining silent are the Micro-Transaction issue, Which in general appears to be the biggest issue when it comes to Halo Infinite.
“ bUt ItS yOuR cHoIcE tO sPeNd MoNeY oN tHe GaMe “
- What kind of argument is that when you can’t even back it up with a defense?
- If that’s your only argument or go to argument, THEN YOU WEAR THAT LEASH PROUDLY, OWN IT. Don’t get upset when you are cutoff from everyone for being simple minded.
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Its not just my choice, but my time being invested in to a $60.00 Campaign - No rewards for beating it on its highest difficulty - NOT ITS GAME JOURNALIST DIFFICULTY ALL while the multiplayer weekly rotating prices of the “ Free To Play Game “ Surpass the $60.00 base value of the game that should be $30.00.
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Multiplayer is “ Free To Play “, Re-read my post from the beginning till you get the point.
The part about Game-Pass, Taxes and Regional prices.
Micro-Transactions - First Glance at the In game shop / Prices in The Insider Program ( ALPHA BUILD )
When 343 Industries pulled the same stunt, but IN A ALPHA BUILD, its player base did the same thing calling it out, ALL WHILE HALO YOUTUBE CONTENT CREATORS were defending it, later we learned that these Halo YouTube Content creators have been playing the game since JANUARY 1st, 2021, from Campaign, multiplayer and forge…
These content creators are credited in game / in credits of Halo Infinite as “ The Forerunners “ team. Now that the game is out, and Youtube has hidden its dislikes ; These content creators ; some of them have back to back videos of them defending 343 Industries and “ speaking up " against 343 Industries on the choices being made in game that US fans are debating over on Waypoint.
- These Back to Back Videos are there to help them get clicks, views and likes. WHO EXACTLY ARE YOU FOOLING when it comes to, “ You guys are right, You change my mind on Infinite’s Campaign Unlocks and Multiplayer Shop Prices “
343 industries in only choosing to listen to the forerunner team when it comes to feedback, all while ignoring US here on the forums.
- Whenever the Halo Reddit lockdown happened a week or so ago, Ske7ch’s response spoke volumes on how 343 Industries is managing feedback, criticism - Constructively - too non constructively. It honestly felt like a slap to the face to the Halo community, if not, then to some, especially those who are really invested into 343 Industries and Halo as a whole.
Go to Twitter & see who 343 Industries is choosing to listen too.
1. Halo Youtuber Content Creators.
2. Halo Esports PRO Players, ( Not the wannabe players claiming there tournament material, but players with there own skins / coatings and emblems in game )
3. Any of The Forerunner players who were hand picked by 343 Industries to promote the game for free while claiming they got to “ HELP “ work on the game. A GAME NOW BEING CONSIDERED UNFINISHED to its investors, consumers and defenders.
Now I get it, you’re either going to defend 343 Industries or go against 343 industries cause they made a Halo game thats not Halo CE, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo ODST, Halo Reach, Halo 4, Halo 5 or any Halo title. Whatever side you’re choosing to take, GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT… Don’t just understand, but COMPREHEND what you’re defending or calling out.
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There are alot of variables that factor into creating a game, from financial choices, Gaming decisions, publishing decisions and its marketing decisions ( Looking at you Hunt the Truth and Halo 5 ) We may not know what those efforts are, but as consumers and experience with past investments, then we do know that 343 Industries, Bungie, Microsoft or WHOEVER should have the investors, the Consumers, The Defenders best interest.
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There are alot of variables when it comes to just a simple argument.
If you choose to ignore what others are arguing & only state what you claim or defend as the “ Definitive “, Then you’re a sheep who will say anything to get approval, attention or praise by what your defending.
Im not trying to offend anyone, but BE LOGICAL in your arguments, your feedback and know what exactly your defending.
^ This right there can even be used against me, just like it can be used against you. ^
@343 Industries, If you’re reading this ; This is as positive as feedback as can get ; And I am giving you credit for taking up the Mantle of Halo and keeping the franchise alive…
Without you, Microsoft and Bungie, the very concept of Halo would of died along time ago.
Don’t let the fans down.