What if bungie still had control over the halo franchise, and that they have kept the gamplay mechanics the exact same for every halo game? Let’s pretend that we’re in an alternate universe where bungie didn’t add any new mechanics or take away any mechanics either, just kept it the exact same for each halo game. Now halo 5 is coming out, and don’t worry! The gameplay mechanics are still the same, no new mechanics added! How do you think the MAJORITY of halo fans would react?
Im not talking about the MLG players, but just regular halo fans. Would they praise bungie for making halo stay true to its gaming roots? Or would they criticize and bash bungie for rehashing the same thing and not changing the formula? We all know the call of duty franchise has been hated on and bashed because of this very reason. What makes people think this wouldn’t happen to halo? Sure, you can still change the game without changing the gameplay mechanics. You can add some new weapons, maps, and game modes, and vehicles but how long would this last? You can leave the formula the same for 2, maybe 3 games; but after a while, people are going to notice and are going to get bored. After a few games, people are gonna want something fresh added to the gameplay.
I know what you’re gonna say next. Counter strike has never changed its gameplay mechanics and it’s still going strong to this day. But how strong is the series on consoles? Counter strike GO might be loved within the PC community, but the console community forgot about it in less than a month. The PC community is very different than the console crowd. The PC community can embrace a game long after it’s release. Halos 1-3 didn’t change the formula much at all, but still did very well on consoles. The reason why is simply because halo was the first major FPS to be released on consoles at the time. When Halo CE was released, it was the only major FPS on the xbox that was famous. When halo 2 released, the fan base got even larger, but was still the only popular FPS franchise on the xbox. When halo 3 came out, the call of duty franchise just then was beginning it’s rise to fame.
Many people on these forums will always talk about how halo reach and 4’s populations fell significantly after it’s release, while halo 1,2, and 3’s remained strong for a long time after their release. The reason for this is because halo reached its peak with halo 3, at a time where halo was the only popular FPS on the xbox. A game series peak can’t last forever, and eventually, the fan base population goes down. This is happening much more on consoles than PC because more games come out for consoles, which makes it harder for people to play and stick with a single game. Modern warfare 3 was the peak of the series, selling 26.5 million copies worldwide. But now we are seeing that the call of duty fan base is starting to dwindle; call of duty ghosts sold only 14.5 million copies, which is a little more than half the sales modern warfare 3 got. We all know call of duty hasn’t changed much since call of duty 4, and has been the same rehashed crap with every new release, which is causing the series’ downfall. Call of duty 4 was very different than previous call of duties; they tried something new, and they hit the jackpot.
Am I saying that each halo game needs to be drastically different than the previous one? Of course not, I loved the original ones, and I feel like the new games should have the same feel the older games had. But halo needs to change the gameplay mechanics every now and then in order to keep the franchise fresh. You can’t keep the franchise the same forever and expect it to stay on top forever. I wouldn’t say halo’s fan base is shrinking because of change, but rather because the console crowd and gaming market are very different than they were 10 years ago. I made this topic because every time I see a thread criticizing 343 for changing halo, I think it’s silly. You can’t expect a series to stay primitive forever and still stay on top, it doesn’t work that way.
