I think we’ve been asking/answering the wrong questions when it comes to Halo’s legacy and the future of Halo. The argument will never end over which games are the best due simply to schools of thought and personal preference. So before they get buried in a wall of text, here’s the two most important questions I think NEED to be answered to pave the way for Halo’s future.
1.) Why isn’t Halo anywhere near the #1 FPS anymore?
2.) If the changes to the series are so necessary, for the sake of evolution, then what needs to happen to make Halo #1 again?
Let’s be honest, BF and CoD are FAR ahead of Halo in popularity right now and have been for some time (and due to genre confusion, you may be able to include Destiny as being ahead of Halo). I am someone who prefers the original Halo trilogy to anything else that is or has been on the market for FPS (besides BF:BC2…great game).
We keep reading about “purists” (which I probably fall under) and “modernists” and we know the arguments on either side. The arguments don’t really matter so long as you’re having fun. But, for those of you who think evolution and adaptation are necessary for this series, why has it amounted to a drop in popularity? Sales are still great, but the online population has fallen off a cliff and FAST for Reach and Halo 4.
Why? Why are people saying, “New Halo is not for me”? I often see people saying that new Halo shouldn’t continually be compared to “old” Halo and that it shouldn’t be compared to CoD or BF. There seems to be this push back against comparing it to anything else and rather a desire to simply have it judged based on its content. Well, then what makes Halo 5 unique? What is setting it apart from the rest of the pack?
I think when an honest discussion can be had on these questions, we can truly start to move forward. This won’t go anywhere if we keep treating this as the Crips vs. the Bloods.
It needs to allow me to talk to the other team mid game as well as allow me to talk to them in the postgame lobby. I really miss trash talking and halo was one of the last games where I could do this. And now thanks to the kill cam they don’t even get to watch me -Yoink!- their body after I kill them. You may think I am joking but this more than anything breaks my heart.
Also stop the hand holding with all the weapon callouts…oh and the armor still looks like trash
The golden age has passed and I feel that neither bungie or 343 will be able to bring it back.
Halo didn’t have as much competition in it’s early days. The only one in the trilogy that had other popular games to compete with was Halo 3 but when that game came out, there was so much momentum and people couldn’t wait to play it so it didn’t really matter what game came out in the same year.
COD never got as huge as it is now until Modern Warfare. To be honest, I don’t see Halo ever being number 1 again, even if it was to surpass the original trilogy. We live in a time where millions of people play video games now and a lot of those people aren’t too concerned with which game is better. They will play whatever they want because it’s more realistic or it’s just more fun and catered to them. There’s nothing wrong with casual gamers playing something like COD if it’s what they want to do for fun. With gaming being so mainstream now, games are created with the thought of catering to the masses because that’s where you’ll get the most money.
Halo will always have a spot near the top but I don’t see it rising to the top of the mountain unless the other franchises fall off the mountain for some reason.
If the classic Halo games are the best, then why is MCC not that popular? Barely anyone streams it on Twitch.
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> Halo didn’t have as much competition in it’s early days. The only one in the trilogy that had other popular games to compete with was Halo 3 but when that game came out, there was so much momentum and people couldn’t wait to play it so it didn’t really matter what game came out in the same year.
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> COD never got as huge as it is now until Modern Warfare. To be honest, I don’t see Halo ever being number 1 again, even if it was to surpass the original trilogy. We live in a time where millions of people play video games now and a lot of those people aren’t too concerned with which game is better. They will play whatever they want because it’s more realistic or it’s just more fun and catered to them. There’s nothing wrong with casual gamers playing something like COD if it’s what they want to do for fun. With gaming being so mainstream now, games are created with the thought of catering to the masses because that’s where you’ll get the most money.
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> Halo will always have a spot near the top but I don’t see it rising to the top of the mountain unless the other franchises fall off the mountain for some reason.
This kind of falls in line with my style of thinking. I think GoW and MW were true competitors to Halo 3 but it wasn’t until MW2 (2 years post-Halo 3 launch) that the balance started to dramatically shift.
But, if we acknowledge that Halo won’t ever rise to the top again, then I question why the “evolution” of the series is necessary when it’s not really doing anything to “improve its rating”. Don’t get me wrong, yes, I understand the concept of implementing these changes, but why not stick with what you know brought you to glory?
It’s kinda funny, we used to make fun of CoD for releasing the same crap every single year and that Halo:CE through H3 had so much evolution, leading to its success and reign as #1. In retrospect, the series has evolved so much, that people look back on the original trilogy and treat it as basically the same game with almost no changes compared to Reach through Halo 5.
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> If the classic Halo games are the best, then why is MCC not that popular? Barely anyone streams it on Twitch.
Because it’s not new? Because there’s problems with the game itself and the pros that stream can’t play ACTUAL ranked matches?
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> If the classic Halo games are the best, then why is MCC not that popular? Barely anyone streams it on Twitch.
343 buried MCC with their crap launch.
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> > 2533274877056440;6:
> > If the classic Halo games are the best, then why is MCC not that popular? Barely anyone streams it on Twitch.
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> 343 buried MCC with their crap launch.
Just because it’s not viewed much on Twitch doesn’t mean no one plays it.
@ OP
- Halo isn’t top spot and will likely never be again because as someone else has mentioned, there are so many casual casual gamers. I dont mean casual like people who get really into the stories and play online some but don’t like esports. Casual as in “Bro! You gotta come over so we can slay some zombies for an hour then go out!” People who play video games for an hour a week or so.
These super casual people arent going to do much research about what game fits their wants, they just buy CoD cus thats all they know. Brand recognition is huge! They are the reason Halo 4 had tremendous sales but no staying power. Game was catered for them.
- Yeah halo needs to evolve but there is a difference between adding on and changing. Halo 2 and 3 added on. Halo 2 added online multiplayer and weapons. Halo 3 added forge and theatre (creating incredible communities in the process). And unfortunately Reach is where things started to change change. I granted they improved upon forge which was amazing. But bloom, armor lock, and the ranking system all changed for the worst.
The gameplay was incredible in those older games, they didnt need a huge change; add balanced guns, improve graphics, maybe add a grenade type, small gameplay tweaks, add a popular new mode like theatre, those were the only necessary changes needed to keep it fresh yet still great.
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> > > If the classic Halo games are the best, then why is MCC not that popular? Barely anyone streams it on Twitch.
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> > 343 buried MCC with their crap launch.
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> Just because it’s not viewed much on Twitch doesn’t mean no one plays it.
DHG_GoldenGirl is pretty good. Enjoyable to watch but odd hours.
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> > > If the classic Halo games are the best, then why is MCC not that popular? Barely anyone streams it on Twitch.
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> > 343 buried MCC with their crap launch.
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> Just because it’s not viewed much on Twitch doesn’t mean no one plays it.
I play a lot(+1000 games n.n), but the game is full of “issues”…
About the thread… We have two halos, because 343 want their own halo, and 343 are CoD fans…
H4 was a betray for the classic fans starting in “back to roots” and finishing in “leave or adapt”.
And looking H5 343 keeps in their own way, they want casuals and casuals are “fast food fans” perhaps you need a MP like fast food.
Well, at this point only the campaign keep Halo live, Halo MP loose his DNA and now is divided like MCC/H5Beta.
First and most important is to get TMCC working properly. Nothing else matters right now.
Be UNIQUE and INNOVATIVE.
Trying to be like every other FPS out there is not going to cut it. Not even close.
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> If the classic Halo games are the best, then why is MCC not that popular? Barely anyone streams it on Twitch.
It doesn’t work lol.
Still takes me on average 15 minutes to find a game and half of those games are filled with game breaking lag.
Halo isnt near top FPS anymore because its an exclusive. You keep comparing it to easy, accessible games for any gamer to pick up and play. If Halo is to be Halo, it will be much harder than BF and CoD by virtue of how the game works. A newcomer to Halo will only be treated to death and more death in any game, be it Halo 4 or Reach or Halo 2. They are slowly trying to make the game more accessible, but lets be real. There is a lot of Halo nowadays, Halo 2 is the peak of Halo popularity, and it is one of the greatest multiplayer games of all time. Halo 3 was the ending of the trilogy, the finishing of the fight against the Prophets and that Covenant… If Halo is to regain popularity, it needs to steal the thunder from games likes CoD and BF.
Modern Warfare 1 and Halo 3 came out in the same year. Since then, we have seen an increase in popularity of CoD and decrease in popularity of Halo. Coincidence? I think not. CoD is simply easier, with less of a learning curve, and campaign ideas can come from any situation because its a modern military game. Its also on multiple platforms.
Back when the premier shooter was Halo, you were forced to learn to play if you wanted to. If you want it to regain its crown, let it do what it is doing. The arena is semi accessible, but good, core Halo players will still be much better than someone who picked up MCC to play Halo for the first time. Sure, its not Halo 3 or Halo 2, but it is still fun to play. We need to bring people into the Halo community who have played CoD or BF before without them feeling alien and unwanted. After all, the only thing we all care about it making Halo king of shooters again.
I doubt it’ll ever regain its crown if only because there are so many other good shooters available now.
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> I doubt it’ll ever regain its crown if only because there are so many other good shooters available now.
This is precisely why it dropped in popularity, Not to say i dont think Halo is the best. but there are good substitutes for others to turn to
Accessibility, people buy Halo for the epic story campaign, they try the MP and are repelled by the archaic design. It takes too frigging long to kill someone, and even when you apply yourself and do well its super exhausting. Shooters are popular because you can play them in quick bursts, suited for the active life style. That implies highly rewarding gameplay.
CoD is accessible, Titanfall is accessible, Destiny is accessible, Battlefield is accessible, they are all different, yet successful.
Shooters need rewards and customization that matters, the carrot at the end of the stick to keep players engaged. Some people think that mechanic is demeaning, but it brings results.