Halo:Reach on PC

Games Other Halo
27

> Anyway, by and large, Halo has usually been snubbed by most PC gamers and that includes the original and custom edition.
> People expected a lot after all the Xbox hype and the general perception amongst PC gamers was that it didn’t actually offer them very much compared to more established PC FPS games.
> Halo fans around here will obviously have a different take, what I’m getting at is that many dedicated PC gamers are not fans of Halo.
> Halo 2 didn’t fare any better, though that certainly wasn’t helped by the extra age of the game and the marketing decision to try and use Halo 2 PC as a means of selling Windows Vista.
> At the end of the day, Xbox 360 development has its own benefits.
> Its easier and cheaper to support since it only has to work on one basic system specification which the engine is developed to make the most out of.
> Its also much less prone to piracy overall, as well as console games selling at a higher price than PC ones (a typical PC game launches at almost half the price of a console game).
> Console games will always be more profitable than PC ones.
> Even PC stalwarts like Call of Duty have adapted to consoles and these days the PC versions of CoD4 or MW2 received a worse reception than the console equivalents.
>
> This shouldn’t really turn into a Console vs PC thread, at the end of the day things are what they are.
> I really don’t see much reason to just assume that a port of Halo 3, ODST or Reach would be a massive success on the PC.

I wouldn’t say Halo 3/ODST/Reach would be a massive success, however I would say it would most likely be a success (i.e. make profit).
While it would almost certainly not sell as well as it would on a console, nevertheless it would still sell. After all doesn’t MicroSoft want to make even more money ?
The PC market still makes quite a bit of money and can compete with consoles…
Interesting article: http://kotaku.com/5677764/

I wouldn’t say Halo has been snubbed by large by PC gamers. I admit, there are quite a few (in my experience its mostly CoD and Half-Life fanboys…not to say there is anything wrong with Half-Life, its a good game), but not an excessive amount.
Dunno about the US (or anywhere else), but in the UK Halo:CE PC was somewhat praised and greeted with a warm welcome by PC gamers and Gaming Magazines…can’t say the same for Halo 2 Vista though.

Btw, there was a lot more to Halo 2 Vista’s failure than just its a port of a old game and it being Vista exclusive.

Here are just a few reasons as to why it / they would sell on PC…
Hundreds of Halo fans still playing on Halo:CE, which the majority would welcome and buy Halo 3/ODST/Reach.
Lots of Console players who much prefer to play on the PC.
Lack of good Sci-Fi shooters on the PC (especially ones with good addictive Multiplayer).
Its a good gaming series, with addictive Multiplayer, an immersive story / campaign. If ported properly Halo 3/ODST/Reach would have everything which makes a game sell.

28

> Here are just a few reasons as to why it / they would sell on PC…
> Hundreds of Halo fans still playing on Halo:CE, which the majority would welcome and buy Halo 3/ODST/Reach.
> Lots of Console players who much prefer to play on the PC.
> Lack of good Sci-Fi shooters on the PC (especially ones with good addictive Multiplayer).
> Its a good gaming series, with addictive Multiplayer, an immersive story / campaign. If ported properly Halo 3/ODST/Reach would have everything which makes a game sell.

See, it’s that hundreds thing. You know how many copies Halo 3 and Halo Reach sold on their opening days. It wasn’t just hundreds.

The problem here is that we live in this little community, and we think that this community is all there is to the world, and we fail to see the world beyond. We think ‘oh, a Reach port/CE remake/whatever will be good and lots of people would buy it.’ But that’s just in our little community. Microsoft isn’t looking at just one community. It’s trying to figure out how to get as many people as possible to buy a game. And there’s a very good reason for that. They’re a business, after all. It’s kind of the point of being a business.

A port to PC is risky nowadays. Tell me this. Can you guarantee that all of those hundreds of people would actually buy the game, and not just pirate it? That’s the problem with PC games. It’s way easier to just download the game than go out and actually buy a copy. And, like it or not, companies do actually lose money off this sort of thing. But, more importantly, they lose faith in actually making PC games, which might explain the lack of good sci-fi shooters. Also there’s the problem of a PC being able to handle running a game like Reach. Many people would want it, but not all of them who aren’t already running the right specs would take the time to upgrade their PC. I know I wouldn’t. I’m paying for college.

And to all of you people who keep going, “LISTEN TO US, WE’RE NOT STATUES”, get a grip. You’re just wanting a port of a game. It’s not like your political rights have been taken away. If Microsoft had announced something, then teased you with details, then acted like it never happened, your behavior would at least be somewhat justified. But what we’re talking about here is purely hypothetical at the moment. Yet you’re acting like Microsoft owes you something even for that, throwing a fit because of it.

No game company will ever make something just because a group of fans want it. They don’t owe us that much. You know how much game companies owe the fans? They owe it to us to make a game that is worth the money we pay for it. That’s it. Any fan interaction, any being involved with the community beyond that, that’s a privilege on our end. It’s nice when they do it, but they don’t have to. And with the way some fans act, like they’re entitled to have their whims met, it’s a wonder any companies still do.

Put it in perspective. This is just a potential game idea, not an infringement of your human rights. Just because you want something doesn’t mean you can automatically have it.

29

The hundreds thing is relative to Halo:CE PC players, not an assumption of the total amount of how many people would buy Halo3/ODST/Reach…

The point of this thread is to discuss a possibility of Halo:Reach PC and what we would like to see in it…It also includes reasons why we think it would make a profit / sell.

While piracy is a bit of an issue, there are some ways you can help combat it. For instance, using Games for Windows Live means that people who illegally download it, will not be able to play online or unlock achievements and armour, and theoretically should put off some people from downloading it, due to lack of features / gameplay.
Despite piracy, most PC games still make profit…Last time I checked, profit = $$$
Again, I point out this article: http://kotaku.com/5677764/
That shows that PC games still sell in large quantities. In some areas it competes with the Xbox360. Whilst it may not sell as much as consoles for some Companies, it still makes money.

We do not demand the game (though there are always a few people who unrightfully / rudely demand of it), we kindly ask 343I / Microsoft to thoroughly consider it.
And IF you (343I) choose to consider it, please do not be biased against porting it, because of Halo2 Vista’s failure.

As someone has already said “You (343I) now have the Halo IP, the ball is 100% in your court”
And, Don’t forget this:

> Console ports will remain a part of the PC strategy for Microsoft

Again, we kindly ask you (343I / MicroSoft) to very much consider porting Halo3/ODST/Reach to PC.

30

> We do not demand the game (though there are always a few people who unrightfully / rudely demand of it), we kindly ask 343I / Microsoft to thoroughly consider it.
> And IF you (343I) choose to consider it, please do not be biased against porting it, because of Halo2 Vista’s failure.
>
>
> As someone has already said “You (343I) now have the Halo IP, the ball is 100% in your court”
> And, Don’t forget this:
>
>
> > Console ports will remain a part of the PC strategy for Microsoft
>
>
> Again, we kindly ask you (343I / MicroSoft) to very much consider porting Halo3/ODST/Reach to PC.

Certainly fooled me given some of the earlier posts. =P

Thing is, it is actually not as simple as profit = $$$
The profit has to be big enough to really warrant the endeavour.
As you can see by your own link, in the majority of cases there is still more profit in the consoles.
Exceptions being the likes of WoW, but this is not surprising since it is a subscription based game.
That scews those figures.

If that list were to include Microsoft and factor in profits based on Xbox Live Gold Memberships…
Games for Windows Live are free to play online, so with this in mind it becomes clear that there isn’t just more profit for Microsoft in Xbox 360 games, there is a lot more profit to be made from them.

31

> > We do not demand the game (though there are always a few people who unrightfully / rudely demand of it), we kindly ask 343I / Microsoft to thoroughly consider it.
> > And IF you (343I) choose to consider it, please do not be biased against porting it, because of Halo2 Vista’s failure.
> >
> >
> > As someone has already said “You (343I) now have the Halo IP, the ball is 100% in your court”
> > And, Don’t forget this:
> >
> >
> > > Console ports will remain a part of the PC strategy for Microsoft
> >
> >
> > Again, we kindly ask you (343I / MicroSoft) to very much consider porting Halo3/ODST/Reach to PC.
>
> Certainly fooled me given some of the earlier posts. =P
>
> Thing is, it is actually not as simple as profit = $$
> The profit has to be big enough to really warrant the endeavour.
> As you can see by your own link, in the majority of cases there is still more profit in the consoles.
> Exceptions being the likes of WoW, but this is not surprising since it is a subscription based game.
> That scews those figures.
>
> If that list were to include Microsoft and factor in profits based on Xbox Live Gold Memberships…
> Games for Windows Live are free to play online, so with this in mind it becomes clear that there isn’t just more profit for Microsoft in Xbox 360 games, there is a lot more profit to be made from them.

Could have fooled me too, BrySkye. I mean, there were gems like “Too long Bungie, too long,” and “Hello Bungie, we’re real people here.” And this isn’t even a Bungie board. And there’s the whole ‘the ball’s now 100% in your court’ comment you just cited from somewhere. You can’t tell me that’s not implying something on your end, as though you’re insinuating that 343i has to prove something. The only thing they have to prove is that they can be profitable.

And, to go back to the main point, if those hundreds of people are the people who play CE, then Microsoft can pretty much bet on them buying the game, if we’re going to say we’re all upstanding people and won’t pirate it. They’re not the ones the company has to worry about. They have to get more people than just the Halo PC fanbase in order for this to really be profitable.

To elaborate on BrySkye’s earlier point of the profit being big enough, this is why movie studios used to get kind of nervous when James Cameron made a movie. His stuff costs a buttload to make, and they would wonder if the net profit would justify the money spent. Sure, there might be a profit, and in Cameron’s case it turned out to be quite a few big profits. But would it be big enough to incur the investment risk? And that’s an even bigger issue in this economy. And I don’t think that a sizable net profit on a PC port of Halo3/ODST/Reach is a sure enough thing, not after the last attempt at porting.

And that’s why pirating is hurting the industry, even if you claim it isn’t. Because people won’t buy the game if they can just download it. No buying, no net profit. If companies think there won’t be a net profit due to piracy, then they’ll look to projects that can give them net profit.

So, in a nutshell, you have to provide a good argument that there is a large net profit to be had in this, and then try to think of an actual good reason why Microsoft wouldn’t do it in spite of that net profit, if you really want to convince me that Reach or any other recent Halo game is worth porting. And the reason can’t be, ‘they simply don’t want to.’ It has to use actual logic.

32

> > Certainly fooled me given some of the earlier posts. =P
>
> Could have fooled me too, BrySkye. I mean, there were gems like “Too long Bungie, too long,” and “Hello Bungie, we’re real people here.” And this isn’t even a Bungie board. And there’s the whole ‘the ball’s now 100% in your court’ comment you just cited from somewhere. You can’t tell me that’s not implying something on your end, as though you’re insinuating that 343i has to prove something. The only thing they have to prove is that they can be profitable.

As I said "…there are always a few people who unrightfully / rudely demand of it…".

343I has little-to-nothing to prove (except, maybe in a year or 2, they can prove if they can make Halo games as good as bungie =P ). That ‘ball is now 100% in your court’ comment says 343I can do as they see fit with the Halo IP, and that they are capable of doing things Bungie couldn’t / wouldn’t. Comprehend that as you wish.

The hundreds of dedicated Halo:CE PC players are just one of the many different audiences (I don’t mean to be rude, but you seem to keep focusing on the Halo:CE PC player being the only ones who will buy it, I made a point that there are hundreds of dedicated players who would be interested in a successor, not that they were the only ones interested).
And, its a relatively safe assumption that you can bet that out of those Hundreds the majority would buy Halo3/ODST/Reach, due to them being Halo fans…IF it was a good port.

I did not say piracy didn’t hurt the industry, I said despite piracy most companies still make profit. And, they continue to make games for the PC…which means that obviously there is a large enough net profit to be made.
If there wasn’t profit to be made, then they would be continuously putting their companies at risk / losing money for little reason…which if you are right about marketing, then they wouldn’t do that.

I cannot guess on how many people / how big a market there is for a Halo PC game. That is for 343I marketers to do…Just hope they are smarter / more sensible than MicroSoft’s game marketers who did Halo 2 Vista, and not bias because of Halo 2 Vista’s Failure (which arguably was MicroSoft’s own fault for bad marketing / decisions).
Put simply, it would be unwise to base market research on Halo 2 Vista failure (I don’t know how to quite phrase it right, what I mean is, they should learn from Halo 2 Vista’s failure, but not be prejudiced against a successor because of its failure).
Don’t forget good Marketing attracts more people…so a lot of potential buyers, will depend on 343I / MircoSoft’s marketing and development of the game.

A point: Good games sell. On the PC, FPS are popular, and somewhat lacking in the amount of good FPS.
Halo has an imersive story, and addictive multiplayer. In theory, Halo 3/ODST/Reach should be profitable, as it has everything which makes a good game…and if you combine that with good marketing tactics, it should be even more profitable.

I think its safe to sum it up with these…
There is a big enough net profit to be made on the PC, otherwise we would have a lot less PC games, and MircoSoft wouldn’t say that they wanted to ‘Double Down’ on PC gaming.
A safe assumption is good PC games do sell / make large enough profit…despite piracy. Halo 3/ODST/Reach are considered good games (some would say great). I believe with good marketing and a good port, there is little reason to why it shouldn’t sell / make large enough profit to satisfy MicroSoft.

I would like to leave it at that (you’ve made your points, I’ve made mine), and wait to see what happens in the future, but I expect someone will reply…
Personally, if this continues, I can only see this discussion going in a giant loop, until one person decides they have had enough. So can we leave it as it is…

33

That’d be awesome! Ha, I mean…really! Whenever I can’t bring my xbox on vacation, it’d be brilliant being able to play Reach on my computer at night, or whenever.

Cheers! :slight_smile:

~J.R.

34

well i did the same i love halo but i love pc and i want them both so MS make the rest of the games for pc and fix H2V make it so xp people can play it XD

35

FalseBroom, there are ways to play H2V, but they can’t be discussed here, last I knew there were no ramifications for doing it, but it’s still unauthorized.

Halo is a console game, first and foremost, and that’s where it will stay. There’s not enough money in PC games, that’s why there is only 1 Gears of War for PC, piracy. Pirating on Xbox is harder, and quite frankly not worth the time or effort. Microsoft is here to make money, to make a quality port of Reach for PC would cost alot more than they would make, simple as that.

I’d love to see it as well, but I know it won’t happen, and I understand the logic.

36

well i seee your point but think a single persion spends more money on the xbox online in a year than a persion does on a pc and sooner or later people will not be able to get the payment needed for it so sooner or later pc will come back as a console systeme for years but i will stay with it till it does iv lived playing the pc i thought the xbox was cool when it came out but then my frind got it and i saw it was anuther way to get money so i vowed there forth to never get an xbox i respect that you play it but i think MS is gone curupt for money on the xbox so i will stick whith pc till it is no more i loved when you whold get on a game and you whold get on it for fun but when i play the xbox its the oposit it is like a compotition.

so do you know wat i mean man i just whan to play a game in a comunity that i can understand so good luke whit the xbox my friend :slight_smile:

37

> well i seee your point but think a single persion spends more money on the xbox online in a year

$60 a year will out weigh a PC?

38

> well i seee your point but think a single persion spends more money on the xbox online in a year than a persion does on a pc and sooner or later people will not be able to get the payment needed for it so sooner or later pc will come back as a console systeme for years but i will stay with it till it does iv lived playing the pc i thought the xbox was cool when it came out but then my frind got it and i saw it was anuther way to get money so i vowed there forth to never get an xbox i respect that you play it but i think MS is gone curupt for money on the xbox so i will stick whith pc till it is no more i loved when you whold get on a game and you whold get on it for fun but when i play the xbox its the oposit it is like a compotition.
>
> so do you know wat i mean man i just whan to play a game in a comunity that i can understand so good luke whit the xbox my friend :slight_smile:

As a lifetime gamer who has probably played more games on more platforms than you, I can tell you the Xbox, nor the console is going anywhere. The Xbox is cheaper than PC gaming. Let’s say you buy a mid range PC for $800, you got it for a steal, monitor, mouse keyboard, speakers, the works. That already costs more than a 360. Yes you’ll save an average of $10 a pop on games, but that’s not enough. There’s upgrading a graphics card every few years, a good one will never be less than $175. Then there are failing motherboards, bad fans, bad sticks of memory, faulty hard drives, having to get more/new hard drives because you’ve used up all your storage.

Now if you’re like the average person with no grammatical capabilities and believe sentence structure is some sort of pyramid, you’re probably going to have your computer fixed by Geek Squad, so your affordability has gone out the window.

You’re currently displaying aggression towards gamers for no reason and have no valid arguments. I play on both platforms as well as on my mobile phone. I’ve used been playing since Doom was shareware, the pc is never leaving us. The console was the first real gaming machine, and it’s more affordable and accessible, so it will never go anywhere.

It’s always the younger ones that think one platform is better than the other. I’m a car guy, I don’t care if you drive an RX7, Viper, Mustang, or a Lincoln Towncar, if you’re an enthusiast we all enjoy internal combustion engines. If you enjoy playing arcade cabinets, pc’s, consoles, or on your iPhone, we’re all still playing the game.

40

> I don’t really like Halo Reach’s gameplay, however, if there was a Garry’s Mod-like game that could link Halo 3, ODST and Reach together then I would be more than pleased. ;D

Remind me how forge differs from garry’s mod

41

> > I don’t really like Halo Reach’s gameplay, however, if there was a Garry’s Mod-like game that could link Halo 3, ODST and Reach together then I would be more than pleased. ;D
>
> Remind me how forge differs from garry’s mod

Garry’s Mod is wildly different from Forge. Forge is a basic editor for predefined spaces and objects. With Garry’s Mod, you can quite literally do whatever you want.

42

Microsoft made Halo 3 and Reach come out to Xbox 360 so more players would buy it.

Let’s face it, if Microsoft publishes a game you’re going to see it on Xbox 360 only.

43

> Microsoft made Halo 3 and Reach come out to Xbox 360 so more players would buy it.
>
> Let’s face it, if Microsoft publishes a game you’re going to see it on Xbox 360 only.

Bungie actually, but Microsoft owned Bungie at the time. Halo 1 and 2 were Xbox games that came out on PC. So you’re argument doesn’t make much sense. Sorry.

45

By the way, you do realize that Halo 3 was being made for PC and Xbox360 at the same time? They never released it for PC due to other shooter competitors for PC- pretty much call of duty. But after Black Ops, call of duty is dying. If stupid old infinity ward somehow turns their crappy company around and makes modern warfare 3 it will blow -Yoink- nuggets. Then Microsoft can finally release the long awaited halo 3 and reach for PC. ITS ABOUT TIME!!!

the link to the article

http://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwaggle

Link to the Bungie Object Artist’s personal profile for proof that they were making the game cross platform

Microsoft, I hope you do step up and release Halo 3 for PC (preferably Windows 7) We have all been waiting. And its about time. If you do release it now, people will turn to that more than call of duty.

-An Enthusiastic Halo Fan- Benman18605

46

> By the way, you do realize that Halo 3 was being made for PC and Xbox360 at the same time? They never released it for PC due to other shooter competitors for PC- pretty much call of duty. But after Black Ops, call of duty is dying. If stupid old infinity ward somehow turns their crappy company around and makes modern warfare 3 it will blow Yoink! nuggets. Then Microsoft can finally release the long awaited halo 3 and reach for PC. ITS ABOUT TIME!!!
>
> http://www.gameguru.in/pc/2010/27/halo-3-pc-was-in-development-with-the-xbox-360-version/
>
> the link to the article
>
> http://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwaggle
>
> Link to the Bungie Object Artist’s personal profile for proof that they were making the game cross platform
>
> Microsoft, I hope you do step up and release Halo 3 for PC (preferably Windows 7) We have all been waiting. And its about time. If you do release it now, people will turn to that more than call of duty.
>
> -An Enthusiastic Halo Fan- Benman18605

I would rather see Halo 3 for PC, instead of the failure called Halo Reach.
I would also want them to update the “distributed model netcode” to handle many things for synchronizing, because Lockstep is cheap and lazy.

Support for a modding community is a must.

47

i know i just want halo 3 and halo reach!!!

48

for the pc!!!..not xbox360 pc!!!