343i’s release of info and the fan response seems like a sensationalist publicity stunt with a deserved reaction. I read a post about how this is just overreaction and we’ll release more info and clarify soon and such foolishness. Really? Why post that hidden away on a forum, instead of just saying that when releasing the info? The “overreaction” is deliberate and generate by none other than 343i.
Why would you mention all these changes like untimed spawns, which are a great deviation from Halo and other FPS games, and not put them into context? Why not say they have plans for it being only in such-and-such playlists, or explaining more about joining games in progress and Forerunner vision? Are we expected to assume they will be balanced properly?
Releasing such info which they perfectly well know will generate a strong response without reassurances is sensationalism, pure and simple. It would be easy, very easy, to post a bulletin or direct reporters in the direction that these changes will not affect all playlists or game situations, instead of giving vague hints that they have competition in mind. It would be very, very simple to say “we are aware this is different and we have plans for ranked playlists that don’t use it.” Very simple. This is not a situation where competitors would somehow steal their idea, or stock would go down, or interest would dwindle from not releasing adequate and clear information how things would work.