X-Box Gamers: "Halo 3" - Out Soon

**chua_riwap** · September 25th, 2007 03:47 AM

Kasama kaya Pinas du'n sa 37 countries? $60 basic version, magkano kaya pag labas sa atin nito?

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Gaming World Braces for Industry 'Killer' Halo 3

WASHINGTON--The gaming world braced Monday for the highly anticipated release of "Halo 3," expected to be a blockbuster for Microsoft and its struggling XBox 360 game console.

Microsoft was to launch the game in the United States at 12:01 am Tuesday (0401 GMT) and in 37 countries by the end of the week.

The world's biggest software company compared the event to releases of "Harry Potter" and "Pirates of the Caribbean."

"With nary a pirate, a spider or a wand in sight, day-one sales of the highly anticipated video game are expected to shatter entertainment sales records and top the biggest entertainment launches of all time," Microsoft said in a statement Monday.

"By the end of the week, fans in 37 countries will be playing the game Wired magazine recently called 'a cultural touchstone, a Star Wars for the thumb-stick generation.'"

Microsoft said it has received a record 1.5 million pre-orders for the game, and will sponsor midnight launch events at 10,000 retailers across the United States featuring contests and appearances by local celebrities and professional athletes.

Many retailers were to hold special openings for the sale, and some expected customers to queue up for the first copies of the game, which sells for $60 for the basic version and $130 for a premium edition.

The game developed by Microsoft and its partner Bungie Studios is the third game in the action Halo Trilogy, a so-called "first-person shooter" game that has been a big success.

Halo 3 "has further mastered the art of marrying fantastic gameplay with the intangibles that make the experience extraordinary for gamers, evoking incredible emotion through its story and character development," said Shane Kim, vice president of Microsoft Game Studios.

"That emotion is at the heart of what makes this more than a game and why 'Halo' connects with its audience in the way other great stories like 'Star Wars' resonated with theirs."

The gaming review site MetaCritic gave the new game a 96 rating out of 100 and says it provides "the thrilling conclusion" to the events begun in the first Halo.

"The Master Chief is returning to Earth to finish the fight. The Covenant occupation of Earth has uncovered a massive and ancient object beneath the African sands -- an object whose secrets have yet to be revealed," MetaCritic said.

"Earth's forces are battered and beaten. The Master Chief's AI companion Cortana is still trapped in the clutches of the Gravemind -- a horrifying Flood intelligence, and a civil war is raging in the heart of the Covenant. This is how the world ends."

Analyst Michael Gartenberg at Jupiter Research said Halo 3 "will likely be a killer app," or application, for XBox 360, which has been struggling against the Sony Playstation 3 and Nintendo's Wii.

"I've had a chance to play with a review copy for a bit and now the embargo is lifted it's safe for me to say, this is going to be a monster hit for Microsoft and it's the type of game that will sell systems, probably a lot of them," Gartenberg said.

"Halo 3 has been one of the most anticipated titles in the history of gaming and Microsoft and Bungie delivered well. I believe they've met expectations and the result is it's likely to also become one of the best-selling titles in the history of gaming as well."

Microsoft recently cut the US price for its Xbox 360 to better compete with the Wii and PS3 and its reputation was tarnished by a design defect that Microsoft says it has fixed. Microsoft set aside a billion dollars in its most recent fiscal quarter to repair or replace flawed consoles.

Microsoft has shipped 11.6 million Xbox 360s since the consoles debuted at the end of 2005. But Nintendo is riding a wave of popularity so strong that it has been selling Wii consoles as fast as it makes them since sales began in November 2006.

Still, XBox 360 has outsold its key competitors in the US market so far this year, according to data from NPD Group.

"The buzz around Halo 3 is truly unprecedented, and while many want to take sides around the next-generation console wars, I'm more of an optimist who thinks this launch will be good for the entire industry," said David Riley at NPD.

**higher** · September 25th, 2007 03:53 AM

We've been seeing previews since last year, almost 1 year na kami naghihintay for this game. For sure patok ito sa Xbox live. Now I gotta get me another 360 for networking before Xmas.

and now its being called as the best game for 2007

**froshie1** · September 25th, 2007 05:33 AM

Originally Posted by chua_riwap

Kasama kaya Pinas du'n sa 37 countries? $60 basic version, magkano kaya pag labas sa atin nito?

We'll be getting our copies via Datablitz or PlayAsia. For me, I'll wait for used ones or probably rent it via gamehopper (www.gamehopper.com.ph)

**StraightSix** · September 25th, 2007 05:49 AM

A UK catalog retailer (Argos) made an admin error and sold Halo 3 one week ahead of the release date. They later rectified the mistake and have suspended sales until the official UK release date, which is on Wednesday - 09/26/07. Obviously, the game has been on stock in outlets as early as a week ago.

Sayang, we had ours pre-ordered long before that accidental sale, and the delivery date is also on Wednesday.

**froshie1** · September 25th, 2007 06:24 AM

btw sa price nito.. probably mag sistick sya 3800 to 4200 a piece.

**empy** · September 25th, 2007 07:09 AM

i have a pre-order from a long time ago...quite honestly i had forgotten about it before i got a call yesterday from a guy at the store saying that they would open at 12:01 am tomorrow in case i wanted to pick up my copy.

i'm going to stop by the store tomorrow, but i'm not going to be one of those gheeks waiting outside the store for it to strike midnight....for all i know there might be guys out there dressed in full Master Chief armor :bwahaha: