Halo is in decline, and here is why! (MEGA)

Games Other Halo
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<mark>Here are some Halo 4 facts. Sorry it turned into a megathread, scroll down to the highlight for a shortened version.</mark>

Halo 4 was released exactly 3 months, 17 days ago, meaning it has now been out for a full 109 days, So that’s just under one third of a year.

To date Halo 4 has shipped an estimated 7.76 million copies, which technically makes it the fastest selling Halo game in history. However at this point it has not surpassed Halo 2’s 8.49 million copies or Halo: Reach’s 9.37 million copies.

As reported on the week of the 26th of January 2013 Halo 4 was only selling an average of 39,008 copies a week.

Halo 3 sold an amazing 11.73 million copies, meaning at this point Halo 4 is 3.97 million copies shy of outselling Halo 3. In other words if there was no natural decline in Halo 4’s sales it would take 99.25 weeks to just break even with Halo 3’s sales.

Take into account a natural decline in sales and it is probable that Halo 4 will not outsell it’s predecessor before another installment is launched or before Microsoft suspends production of new copies of Halo 4 due to lack of demand.

Some Xbox facts
At present Microsoft have sold a massive 74.30 million Xbox 360 consoles. With todays Halo 4 sales there is 1 copy for every 9 Xbox 360’s in the world. You could say that means 1 in 9 people with an Xbox have a copy of Halo 4 but knowing the 360’s breakdown record that would be incredibly inaccurate.

Halo 3 shipped on September 25th 2007. The Xbox 360 shipped on November 16, 2005 meaning the two shipped 1 year, 10 months, 9 days apart. When Halo 3 released the Xbox 360 had reportedly only sold 25 million copies.

Using the statistics above we can draw the following conclusion, Halo 4 had launched in a market that is over double the size of Halo 3’s launch market yet it is struggling to outsell it’s predecessor.

Review Comparison
Metacritic is the largest online entertainment review site according to internet statistic tracking websites.

Halo Combat Evolved scored a outstanding 97/100 score on Metacritic based upon 68 critics reviews, making it the best reviewed Halo game to date. It is important to note that Metacritic was non existent at the time of Halo: CE’s launch so there is the possibility of the review being higher due to a nostalgia factor.

Halo 2 was close behind with a 95/100, followed by Halo 3 with a 94/100.

Halo 4 however has the lowest score for a major Halo release title with only a 87/100 score based on the reviews of 87 critics.

It is important to note Halo 4 also received the lowest user based reviews of any major Halo title, meaning there is a direct correlation between the opinion of critics and everyday players like you and I.

Observations from around the community
It is widely know that after ten years of supporting Halo Major League Gaming the largest North American competitive League announced they were no longer supporting competitive Halo. It is widely accepted this is due to the current competitive state of Halo 4.

343’s Frank O’Connor also wrote a short blog to apologize to the fans who were not completely satisfied with Halo 4 - http://blogs.halowaypoint.com/Headlines/post/2013/01/09/The-Halo-Bulletin-1913.aspx

Since release the community has been extremely vocal upon changes via the forums, twitter and on Xbox Live.

What does all this mean? <mark>TLDR</mark>
<mark>Simply the statistics show that this game without a doubt is in a state of decline. I decided not to touch upon online activity because I felt like there was a lack of hard statistics to back either case.</mark>

Observations over time
Halo: CE originally released over ten years ago with an age rating of “M” for Mature (16+) meaning the games primary target audience was for players between the age of 16 to 26 or so.

With Halo 4 releasing over 10 years after the release of Halo: CE the original market would have substantially changed, The original players who brought Halo: CE 10 years ago are going to have simply matured and grown up, and will be expecting a game that does the same.

Also in recent years the face of gaming has evolved, with the largest games now on both console and on PC featuring dedicated support to E-Sports community’s, games with skill based engagement, and streaming.

COD:BO2 has just released featuring a massive E-Sports and competitive support. Also in recent years League of Legends has fought it’s way to the top of PC gaming due to it’s massive dedicated competitive support on the part of the developer Riot Games.

MORE TL:DR
<mark>In short the facts are there, Halo is in decline, the market has changed, developed and most likely matured. Halo’s competitors have been branching out and providing new support to their games that Halo is yet to receive.</mark>
<mark>Halo’s pedigree has changed, and it is debated weather additions like Sprint, Armor Abilities, and Loadouts to name a few have taken Halo too far away from it’s original core gameplay that brought people to this game in the first place.</mark>
<mark>343 is made up of a group of incredibly talented individuals without a doubt, but from where I am sitting it seems like they don’t understand what makes a good Halo game, and I am sure I am not the only person who feels this way.</mark>
<mark>Andy “Bravo” Dudynsky to my mind is the only person inside 343 who understand how a Halo game should play, feel, flow and the only person who understands the importance of a competitive following.</mark>
<mark>Statistically this game is in decline, meaning the direction this game is going is nothing but backwards. Something needs to change, right now to my mind, we are going to need to go back before we can go forwards. Recapture the gameplay and map design that made Halo special, then build back up.</mark>

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Good post

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This ran over slightly.

Sources:

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FINALLY statistical proof to show the fanboys that Halo 4 is declining immensely. Even Halo Charts shows how badly the population of players have decreased since release.

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> FINALLY statistical proof to show the fanboys that Halo 4 is declining immensely. Even Halo Charts shows how badly the population of players have decreased since release.

I didn’t even know about that chart, Thank you. I would have included that if I had know. More stats here

http://halocharts.com/2012/chart/totalpopulation/all

Thanks

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Halo CE Should be a 100/100 on metacritic , amazing game . Halo 4 doesnt even deserve a 85

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> > FINALLY statistical proof to show the fanboys that Halo 4 is declining immensely. Even Halo Charts shows how badly the population of players have decreased since release.
>
> I didn’t even know about that chart, Thank you. I would have included that if I had know. More stats here
>
> http://halocharts.com/2012/chart/totalpopulation/all
>
> Thanks

No worries. The chart I found here on these forums only further gives you reasoning. Frank O’connor also said something along the lines of, “We could have done a lot better,” (quoted pretty close) and that is something no developer should ever, ever say. The point is to take the time to make something to the best of your ability, and after 4 years that’s what was delivered.

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I agree completely. Bravo might keep things running smoothly for a bit, but he can’t unleash Halo 4’s true potential without the consent of 343i, who seem to know nothing of what Halo’s all about.

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Let’s not forget about speedrunning and tricking.

Speedrunning is absolutely crippled by the lack of proofs and filming provisions.

There’s not nearly as much to do in Halo 4 compared to other Halo games due to major consumption of resources and stricter level design.

If only HighImpactHalo was still around. :frowning:

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> Let’s not forget about speedrunning and tricking.
>
> Speedrunning is absolutely crippled by the lack of proofs and filming provisions.
>
> There’s not nearly as much to do in Halo 4 compared to other Halo games due to major consumption of resources and stricter level design.
>
> If only HighImpactHalo was still around. :frowning:

huh, never thought about that, I did a speed run of Floodgate back a long long time ago, definitely a small part of Halo that has sadly gone.

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More proof here:

http://halocharts.com/2012/chart/dailypeakpopulation/all

http://majornelson.com/page/2/ (Look for the XBL live charts by scrolling down. Halo 4 was No. 2 but has now fallen to No. 4)

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> > Let’s not forget about speedrunning and tricking.
> >
> > Speedrunning is absolutely crippled by the lack of proofs and filming provisions.
> >
> > There’s not nearly as much to do in Halo 4 compared to other Halo games due to major consumption of resources and stricter level design.
> >
> > If only HighImpactHalo was still around. :frowning:
>
> huh, never thought about that, I did a speed run of Floodgate back a long long time ago, definitely a small part of Halo that has sadly gone.

A small part? D:

We’re talking about people who tore levels apart.

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Even if you went backwards the decline would still progress to a dismal ending for Halo because it’s gone through an actual life cycle. It was new and innovative, Imaginative and groundbreaking, then reduced to the standard and now the good old days.

In the mean time the XBL population has been conditioned away from oriented team play. Bravo and MM team could tweak and prod playlist until the cows come home and as demonstrated competitive lobbies are passed over by the brunt for BTB and slayer because really how is a next generation Random or Casual supposed to survive or protect their perceived stats when actually facing groups who understand team play. You’ll note the various STOP QUITTING IN THROWDOWN posts that fly in from time to time. Trust me those are going to evaporate due to the easier path of lone wolfing on Ragnarok .

Randoms and Casuals will simply move to games that provide them the safety of self sustainable attributes if you go all Halo 3 on Halo 5 because it won’t click with them. The uneducated competitive will simply say good riddance and then wonder why they’re not finding matches very fast, while games like Destiny and Call Of Duty will pull vast amounts of Populations and 343 is building MMOs or Mario Kart games to keep Microsoft’s hand in clothing and toy retail markets.

Going backwards is not the answer and neither is adopting another Developer’s style. Following is not leading nor is it art or imaginative. You must go forward, you stop saying NO as a community and 343 needs to stop thinking as caretakers to a Museum and simply go AWESOME in all things while focusing on team oriented mechanics.

If you release a 2007 game on a Next Generation console you might as well be Rebellion trying to cash in on the golden age of Alien Versus Predator Gold when compared to hungry Developers pushing the boundaries of the new tech.

Gotta go Awesome people. You gotta say forward and you gotta say “Yes” we can do that, 24 players on the map , no we say 200 players on the map. Scorpion Tank, Nope we say Megatron on steroids. AAs no we say Special Grenades that make AAs look like cute neon farts. DMR or BR…we say DBR and it’s thirty friends who want you to love them.

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> More proof here:
>
> http://halocharts.com/2012/chart/dailypeakpopulation/all
>
> http://majornelson.com/page/2/ (Look for the XBL live charts by scrolling down. Halo 4 was No. 2 but has now fallen to No. 4)

I’m really surprised Halo: Reach is in the Top 20 for Top LIVE Titles for the Major Nelson link. Guess those that either haven’t gotten H4 or didn’t like it are sticking with Reach.

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At this point, I believe the only way to revive the saga is launching a Halo 2 Anniversary with an implemented matchmaking. Add more weapons, Forge, and that’s all.

Halo 4 cannot be saved, the problem is its core. The game is just DMRs and randomness everywhere. Competitve gameplay, map control, vehicle combat and custom games have died with Halo 4. The multiplayer design is terrible. And 343i don’t want to do anything to fix it. Halo 4 is their own game, born with their innovative ideas, and they want us to adapt to the new changes. We demand the opposite: the original Bungie’s Halo. So there is nothing to do.

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> > Let’s not forget about speedrunning and tricking.
> >
> > Speedrunning is absolutely crippled by the lack of proofs and filming provisions.
> >
> > There’s not nearly as much to do in Halo 4 compared to other Halo games due to major consumption of resources and stricter level design.
> >
> > If only HighImpactHalo was still around. :frowning:
>
> huh, never thought about that, I did a speed run of Floodgate back a long long time ago, definitely a small part of Halo that has sadly gone.

And scoring. I like the instant feedback, should be in campaign and Spartan Ops. Also the Score Achievements in Halo 3 campaign were a cool/fun challenge.

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Or…people aren’t feeling generic shooter w/ Halo cover on it.

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> Gotta go Awesome people. You gotta say forward and you gotta say “Yes” we can do that, 24 players on the map , no we say 200 players on the map. Scorpion Tank, Nope we say Megatron on steroids. AAs no we say Special Grenades that make AAs look like cute neon farts. DMR or BR…we say DBR and it’s thirty friends who want you to love them.

The game needs to go forward, I completely agree, at the moment we’re going backwards, the game is in a decline.

The way forward is to perfect the game not do more.

More players, weapons, abilities are going to make the problem worse.

This game was founded as 4v4 arcade shooter almost, we take it away from that core we may as well just make a new franchise entirely.

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Halo 4 is beta. I hope by next-gen, Halo will die. 343 aren’t Halo fans, they’re blind fanboys.

Cheers to the remaining 8 years of Halo.
May Halo be put out of its misery.
Let the actual fans play Destiny.

Fanboys are idiots, which are too stupid to realise that they bought a bad game; all their arguments are based of their pathetic bias, to justify the $$$ they spent on a crap game.

343 you have been corrupted. If you wern’t tied down by your contracts, you would leave and watch the fall of Halo - along with actual fans.

RIP Halo - The cancer that is Reach, still lingers in your veins :frowning:

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I’ve played Halo since CE and every title besides Reach, I’ve given my full attention and off-time to.

I’ve played tons of custom games on Halo 2 after getting my 37 in TS, 28 on THC and 30 on Snipers. I even played against some pros on online tournaments. It was a great experience.

Halo 3 I got a 50 in TS and Doubles and a 47 in Snipers and was working on other playlists, I enjoyed Halo 2 a lot more because of BxR and BxB though. Those glitches gave the game the right amount of extra wiggle room you needed other than out BRing your opponent.

Then Reach came out, and all I thought was, “**** this…”. I started looking at other games for PvP competition since then and strayed away from Halo.

Then Halo 4 brought me back, not for very long though. I played for 2 weeks in November and 1 day in December and put it down for good. The only other game I had this same behavior with was Call of Duty, except I only played for like 3 days total.

This was the title that told me that Halo was something of the past. I check back on this forum from time to time with a small hope of a TU to fix what is broken, but always the same thing. FOR ME, Halo is dead and I won’t be picking it back up. And since Halo was really the only game I’ve played online, I cancelled my 2 XBOX Live accounts with it.