Halo 2 sales $125 million

[Avid Fan]

I think what made this game a seller was the following stores having their clerks lie to customers. (Gamecrazy, EB games, Best Buy. Target, blockbuster, circuit city) all blatently lie to customers saying that they absolutely have to buy this game before it comes out, or else they wont be able to get a copy until next summer.

What a crock of shit? Not enough people even own X-boxes to even make this problem. And I know 4 fucking people that fell for this shit.

My brother did the smart thing and got it at costco, it was a tad bit cheaper, without some overweight fanboy virgin telling you "YOU MUST BUY THIS GAME"

[Foxy Cleopatra]

still overrated. just that many stupid people in the U.S.

 

Hi are you a Nintendo fanboy? Please start a thread so I can go shit in it... Thanks for stopping by.

 

Why is he a Nintendo fanboy? Only thing he said is H2 is overrated, which IT IS. Maybe you're just an Xbox fanboy?

 

Status quo. If you've been paying attention, generally Nintendo fanboys come in to XBox/MS threads and shit on them, and then get pissy as hell if someone comes into a Nintendo thread and does the same thing....

 

...and yes I am a fangirl of the Halo franchise. I never played an FPS before until I played Halo. It took me awhile to even try it because I didn't think I would do very well, but when I did it was easy. I still suck at most FPS's but Bungie did things right for me with Halo.

 

And Pudd was exactly right. The game isn't hype. Halo has been consistently in the top 20 games with regards to sales for 3 years ! That's a lot of people who have played the game, have had a blast playing it, and who wanted more. It may not be the "best" game ever in the minds of the rare hard-core gamers, but the "sheep" seem to like it.

 

Fortunately video games have evolved to reach more people and are no longer considered the nerdy past time of a few geeks with no social lives. Keep your condescending attitudes if they serve you well, but it won't make much of an impact on the way gaming is going. And fortunately for you the Internet makes sure you won't have to pout in silence.

[Punisher5.0]

Microsoft didn't even make Halo so chill out there tough guy.

Microsoft OWNS Bungie.

 

I stand by my original statement.

[liveinabin]

I don't think so.  There is so much more hype at play here than you think.  So many people who don't know a PS2 from an Xbox are buzzing about Halo 2.  They know NOTHING about vids, but they do know that they are supposed to buy Halo 2.  It's on the front page of the newspaper here today and was yesterday and the day before as well.  It's on the friggin news, every website gaming or not.  This is selling largely due to hype, which is fine, but we're not exactly talking about millions of educated, dedicated and hardcore gamers pushing these sales.  We're talking about everyday sheep being spoonfed hype.

 

I don't think this is anything new. Pacman had a ton of hype. That was a good game too.

Yeah, it's an anticipated sequel to a deservedly loved game. People want more Halo, so Halo 2 will sell. The existing Halo owners will buy it, and as for the 'everyday sheep', well why shouldn't they hear about a great game? A good game is generally a good game for everyone. No need to be elitist about it.

While we're at it, what IS a dedicated or hardcore gamer anyway? Sounds more like a personality defect than a healthy interest to me.

[kisrael]

I don't think this is anything new.  Pacman had a ton of hype.  That was a good game too.

I was pretty young, but I don't remember any arcade games getting hyped *before* they came out...you just went to the arcade regularly, and new mind-blowing games would just be there...

 

Of course the home version got a lot of hype. And maybe in the UK, if they got the arcade game after it was a big hit in the USA, there mighta been a lot of hype then...

While we're at it, what IS a dedicated or hardcore gamer anyway?  Sounds more like a personality defect than a healthy interest to me.

Oh sure, maybe for you Brits! We Americans don't do anything halfway! You fish and chip snarfling wafflers!

 

Oh, and where's my new logo design?

 

[joeybastard]

Home games always get hyped. The insanity surrounding SMB 3 was at least as big as the current hypefests.

[moycon]

Man I've really got to finish the first Halo...

I played it as far as getting down to some planet.

Am I almost done?

 

My problem is, too many games not enough time to play the ones I got.

I suppose it's a good thing, By the time I get around to playing Halo 2 it'll be $9.99

 

I do love FPS tho. I think my favorite was Deus Ex

In regards to the cash H2 made...It seems to have surpassed expectations. I saw on CNN where they were predicting 100+ million in sales the first day..

 

25 million is alot of +

[Mock]

Microsoft didn't even make Halo so chill out there tough guy.

Microsoft OWNS Bungie.

 

I stand by my original statement.

 

First screen that comes on in Halo 2 says "Microsoft Games"

[joeybastard]

First screen that comes on in Halo 2 says "Microsoft Games"  

 

Yeah but every game Rare did for Nintendo says Nintendo first. I don' t think the order necessarily matters.

[liveinabin]

Home games always get hyped.  The insanity surrounding SMB 3 was at least as big as the current hypefests.

 

Hell yes! Great example! That even had a freaking FILM appearance!

[NE146]

Saw this on irc.. just thought it was funny

 

(not necessarily indicitive of my own opinion however)

[xenomorpher]

The EB clerks are weird. This 40 something year old woman was talking about Halo 2 with a 20 something year old saying how its so going to be awesome and she is going to get it the first day when it comes out and all this. I do wonder if she actually like Halo

[eldunko]

For the people who are saying Halo's overrated, i'd really like to hear some of the reasons why one would think this.

 

In the meantime, i'll be having alot of fun fragging my friends, and partaking in the stellar singleplayer experience.

[MegaManFan]

Status quo. If you've been paying attention, generally Nintendo fanboys come in to XBox/MS threads and shit on them, and then get pissy as hell if someone comes into a Nintendo thread and does the same thing....

 

As arguably the site's LEADING Nintendo fanboy (600+ NES games, 150+ SNES and GameCube games each, about the same amount of GB, GBC and GBA games combined) I can't think of one single time I've ever bashed the X-Box in an X-Box thread. In fact I love my X-Box and I love playing Halo 2, so.... sorry Foxy love, but I don't see the merit in your point. I think there are some people who love to start shit (and some who have been kicked OFF of AA for doing it) but I'd argue most Nitendo fans are reasonable and not complete sods. Sure there was a certain user on here who I found annoying when he spouted off about X-Box in EVERY SINGLE THREAD (with anything do with the Box or not) but I'd have felt the same way about the sorry SOB if he was talking about GameCube or PS2.

[Foxy Cleopatra]

Status quo. If you've been paying attention, generally Nintendo fanboys come in to XBox/MS threads and shit on them, and then get pissy as hell if someone comes into a Nintendo thread and does the same thing....

 

As arguably the site's LEADING Nintendo fanboy (600+ NES games, 150+ SNES and GameCube games each, about the same amount of GB, GBC and GBA games combined) I can't think of one single time I've ever bashed the X-Box in an X-Box thread. In fact I love my X-Box and I love playing Halo 2, so.... sorry Foxy love, but I don't see the merit in your point. I think there are some people who love to start shit (and some who have been kicked OFF of AA for doing it) but I'd argue most Nitendo fans are reasonable and not complete sods. Sure there was a certain user on here who I found annoying when he spouted off about X-Box in EVERY SINGLE THREAD (with anything do with the Box or not) but I'd have felt the same way about the sorry SOB if he was talking about GameCube or PS2.

 

Sorry, then you haven't been paying attention, because if you want I can list about 10 people right off the top of my head who habitually whine about.... everything I said. You may not be a problem child but they are here, and I'm not the only person who recognizes that fact, I just happen to be the most vocal about it....

 

I didn't start this thread as a 'Wow, look Halo 2 must be the best game EVAR, because it sold so much!" I started it as "Holy shit!! Did you ever think a video game could do something like this?!?" Its awesome! Not because its XBox, not because its MS, not because its Halo, but just because it happened.

[liveinabin]

Children, children. We're talking about a video game here. Toys, yeah?

If someone doesn't like a game, then they can just not buy it and that's as far as it need go (unless they are morally offended by its content, in which case there is room for discussion).

[Clock]

This thread is so funny.

 

People actually think Halo 2 is overated, over hyped game that idiots will buy. I bet these people have never played any Halo game.

 

This game is THE BEST GAME ON XBOX bar none. Great games derserve great sales. Super Mario 64 derserved super sales and GTA Vice City derserved super sales and Halo 2 equally deserves super sales. I just don't see the problem.

[NE146]

For the people who are saying Halo's overrated, i'd really like to hear some of the reasons why one would think this.

 

I don't mind Halo.. and like I've said I had a lot of fun playing my MS friends in multiplayer months ago during the beta.

 

However, I guess.... I just don't think I'm very good at First Person Shooter games, and what's the reason for that? I just can't play them too much. A gun pointing into the screen while you run around shooting things was really innovative and cool at one point... but to me, it's just grown real tired. Everytime I've picked up either Halo, or now Halo 2 in single player mode, I can only play for max 10-20 minutes before I'm reaching to shut the thing off and play something else.

[Artlover]

For the people who are saying Halo's overrated, i'd really like to hear some of the reasons why one would think this.

 

Taken from the other thread "I've Played Halo 2".

 

Disclaimer. I played H2 on easy & normal levels. Why, because thats how I played the original, which is what I'm comparing it to. So it makes sense to play both the same way.

 

#1: Short. Compaired to the original. Even on the TV special, Bungie said it was 20 hours of play. On Easy I finsihed in 10 hours, on Normal I finished 12 hours, and thats with killing most of the enemies, NOT making a mad dash for the exit. The original Halo lasted me 8 times longer.

 

#2: Small. I don't give a flying crap about the "virtual" scale of the levels. The vastness is BS non transversable forced perspective backgrounds. Hell, some of the maps have invisible walls that you can't go past, despite your enemies being able to come at you from behind those walls. As far as actual explorable, transversable area, Halo seems to be bigger then H2 by a long shot.

 

#3: Forced direction. Nearly every map only has two ways to go. Forward or back the way you came. A couple of maps have single rooms you can enter that don't lead anywhere and don't contain anything. Hardly a challenge, because you can see that as soon as you open the door and know there is no point going in. No long convoluted dead ends, which is unrealistic. You going to tell me if you were in a hugh space installation like Halo, you would know exactly where to go all the time? All the dead ends are always going to be locked?

 

#4: Easy. Compared to the original, I think the AI sucks and the enemies are weak. Even the Brutes are easy as hell to kill. Even on Normal, I could walk right up behind an enemy and melee them to death without them doing anything. I couldn't do that on the original even on Easy. Honestly, I think the Ultra Elite was probably the hardest enemy to kill, and even they die real easy with a plasma grenade (which there is no shortage of).

 

#5: Whats with the sudden shift to all the religious overtones. Thought Halo was a weapon for controlling the flood. Ok, the story in itself is interesting. But why do the religious references continue when you finish the game. Why exactly is the central command for all the Halo's called The Ark? I guess we'll find out in H3.

 

#6: Final battle. WTF. One of the easiest levels in the game to complete.

 

#7: Ending. What ending. Clearly an open ended story that calls for Halo3 being made. It has no definitive ending that it can stand up to on it's own like the original.

 

Does that answer your question?

[Starscream]

I can only reply to a few you mentioned because the others are more opinion than anything

 

 

4.What kind of difficulty do you expect when you aren't playing with any difficulty involved?

 

5.The 1st Halo had tons of religious overtones. Read the books and you will see why. And IIRC, Bungie has always had some sort of hidden religious undertones in their games.

 

6.Since when does the last boss, or level in a game have to be the most difficult? Did you play Ninja Gaiden? Got my ass kicked the whole game through, last boss I sneezed on and he was dead. I give credit to game makers who do not feel the need to follow set patterns that other games always follow.

 

7.Did you expect that ending? Probably not, betcha nobody did. To me, it was awesome that someone would do an ending like that. Again, normal doesn't equal best.

[kisrael]

I didn't start this thread as a 'Wow, look Halo 2 must be the best game EVAR, because it sold so much!" I started it as "Holy shit!! Did you ever think a video game could do something like this?!?"  Its awesome! Not because its XBox, not because its MS, not because its Halo, but just because it happened.

Helping to drag this thread on topic...that is a good point. It's fascinating that video games are both making as much money and having similar culture impacts to the film industry...

[Artlover]

I can only reply to a few you mentioned because the others are more opinion than anything  

Thats a matter of opinion.

 

4.What kind of difficulty do you expect when you aren't playing with any difficulty involved?

Equal difficulty that the original had on the same difficulty settings.

 

5.The 1st Halo had tons of religious overtones. Read the books and you will see why.

True, but not so in-your-face. You could play within the confines of accepting nothing more then a sci-fi game. But I'll conceed this point. |

 

6.Since when does the last boss, or level in a game have to be the most difficult?

Didn't say it had to be the most difficult. But I don't think it should be too easy either. The final mission in the original, trying to drive the Warthog to the ship in 5 minutes was much more of a challenge. Hell, you don't even have to play or fire a single shot in the final battle to win. Just wait long enough, the game will finish itself for you. What kind of game has a final boss level that can win itself without your playing?

 

7.Did you expect that ending? Probably not, betcha nobody did.

Nope, didn't expect that. I had actually expected another level of play to start.

 

To me, it was awesome that someone would do an ending like that. Again, normal doesn't equal best.

I dont think this is the first game to use an open ended ending, and Movies have been doing it for decades. So actually, you almost could call the ending "normal"

 

But whatever. Personal preference I guess. I found it anti-climatic. All I know is I'm going to have to wait atleast 2 more years and will probably have to buy an Xbox2 to find out what happens next.

 

(Note to self: Remeber to end every paragraph with a emoticon! )

[Artlover]

I didn't start this thread as a 'Wow, look Halo 2 must be the best game EVAR, because it sold so much!" I started it as "Holy shit!! Did you ever think a video game could do something like this?!?"  Its awesome! Not because its XBox, not because its MS, not because its Halo, but just because it happened.

 

Yes & No. You can look to the past for precidents. It has to do with pre-marketing and hype. People sleeping outside stores in the snow to be first in line to buy an Xbox console. Parents getting into physical fights on Christmas Eve trying to buy the last NES console. Go back to when the original Star Wars movie came out, people camping out infront of the theaters to buy tickets.

 

Consdiering H2 has been in the international news and you haven't been able to pick up any magazine in the last 4 months that didn't have some blurb about it, banners and flyers in every store, etc.. It wasn't exactly unexpected. I think the only unexpected part is the sheer dollar amount we're talking about.

 

On the other hand, I'd like to point something else out to that end. Looks like those early leaks of pirated french & english copies didn't exactly hurt them too much, now did it.

[jetset]

Parents getting into physical fights on Christmas Eve trying to buy the last NES console. Go back to when the original Star Wars movie came out, people camping out infront of the theaters to buy tickets.

 

Were those overrated as well? The NES and Star Wars ?

 

There's a reason for the hype surrounding Halo2. Despite the hatred for Microsoft in the US and the way many go out of their way NOT to give Microsoft a chance, the fact that it's done so well is a testament to what a good game the first one was, and how good the 2nd is as well.

[MattG/Snyper2099]

I just wanted to mention that there are people that bought both Halo and Halo 2 that don't give two shits about the "Campaign". It's all about the multiplayer. I'm glad the shitty "Campaign" is shorter so they could fit more levels/options into multiplayer.