Halo's Price Drop For Xbox, GameSpy Hookup For PC

Thanks to GamerFeed for the news that Bungie's Xbox FPS, Halo, has dropped in price to $29.99 effective immediately, but "is not a Platinum Hit", one of the many fruitless rumors which started after a fan-made 'TV commercial' and subsequent confusion had sites falsely reporting on Halo 2's early release. Meanwhile, GameSpy has announced a partnership with Microsoft to provide "online matchmaking, community, administrative and networking functionalities" for Microsoft's PC games over multiple years, including the just-released Windows version of Halo.

Comments

hey, that's great news!

[Malor]

Everyone knows partnering with Microsoft is suicide. It's great to see Gamespy getting into bed with them. I was soooo pissed when I paid for the client they were using last year, based on how much I'd liked the client several years ago... what a steaming pile of excrement that turned out to be. I don't usually say this sort of thing about companies, but Gamespy deserves everything Microsoft will give them.

BTW, if you're one of the two or three remaining people who hasn't already switched, check out the All Seeing Eye from UDPSoft. It's constantly updated with new games and is just generally excellent. It does exactly what it's supposed to do without all the bloatware useless crap that Gamespy shoves down your throat.

Re:hey, that's great news!

[superultra]

Everyone knows partnering with Microsoft is suicide.

Yeah, like that whole stupid DirectX thing! Talk about Microsoft Bob! Sheesh!

Re:hey, that's great news!

[TenaciousPimple]

Penny Arcade shares your thoughts on GameSpy's client.

Here come the gripes

[VividU]

Halo:

- It was supposed to be on my precious Apple :(
- I don't get what the big deal is :(
- The levels suck :(
- Bungie sold out :(
- It's made by M$ so it must suck, right? :(
- Could you image how cool it would have been if they released it as originally intended :(

BOO-HOO !!!

Meanwhile (in the real world)...Halo continues to remain the best console FPS to date. It's a truly awsome & artistic game. The graphics, sound, music, story, gameplay, multiplayer all excel. Its main fault? Some repetitive levels near the end of the game.

And Halo2? Check out the preview videos. Imagine it on Xbox Live. It's gonna be great.

Microsoft Game Studios is aquiring quite the reputation.

Re:Here come the gripes

[schapman]

Halo is a great game.. though mSoft was definately using it to carry xBox for far too long. AFAIK, xBox runs directx... pcs use directx... hmmm... how long did that port take... I understand that they would want to spruce it up a bit, and test for/add compadibility for other graphics cards... but that wait time was too obscene. I would have bought HALO for PC if it had come out near the time it came our for xBox. And up until recently.. HALO has been the only need to have game for xBox, so i wasnt ready to buy an xBox for it. I've just moved on to better FPSs (Call of Duty.. and soon HL2)... and left HALO behind.

Re:Here come the gripes

[gamgee5273]

Well, it is on the Mac next month (last I saw, Halo won't run on an Apple), and that has net play. Xbox? No, didn't think so. And Halo 2? When is that coming out? Steve Jobs did say Hell froze over, so maybe it will come soon...

Did Bungie sell out? Yes. Peter Tamte left, remember? Numerous employees left after Bungie sold out. It's not like everyone went smiling off to Redmond.

In the end, Halo is rather boring. Yes, I've played it. No, I'm not impressed and no, I won't get it if I eventually buy an Xbox.

One game does not make a game studio. If Halo is the only thing, other than KOTOR, for the Xbox to trumpet, then I expect to see clearence Xboxes soon.

And, of course, Halo and KOTOR are no longer exclusive to the Xbox. So that means the $179 paperweight near your TV is good for what, exactly?

Re:Here come the gripes

[daeley]

Microsoft Game Studios is aquiring quite the reputation.

I think you're more right using that verb than you intended.

Re:Here come the gripes

[bugbread]

Playing games and DVDs. You know, the same reason I bought it.

Re:Here come the gripes

[BrookHarty]

In the end, Halo is rather boring. Yes, I've played it. No, I'm not impressed and no, I won't get it if I eventually buy an Xbox.

Halo is damn good for multiplayer. Not many instant kills unless you run over someone, which is quite fun. People are burned out of CS, and Halflife 2 isnt out, the only game is Halo.

After a few Halo lan parties, the biggest problem can be how the person running the server configures the maps. Make sure you have lots and lots of vehicals and weapons. Also turn the spawn time down. We setup Ventrilo so teams could talk, and that just completed the game. CTF on halo has to be my favorite. Wonder how the mod community is doing on Halo. (Any Halo modders out there?)

Re:Here come the gripes

[aftk2]

And, of course, Halo and KOTOR are no longer exclusive to the Xbox. So that means the $179 paperweight near your TV is good for what, exactly?

For playing Project Gotham Racing 2, Top Spin, Sudeki, BC, Halo 2, Jade Empire and Fable? (Off the top of my head).

Re:Here come the gripes

[VividU]

"And, of course, Halo and KOTOR are no longer exclusive to the Xbox. So that means the $179 paperweight near your TV is good for what, exactly?"

MechAssault, Links2004, Prince of Persia, Crimson Skies, Halo2, MotoGP, Top Spin..

Re:Here come the gripes

[Have Blue]

One game does not make a game studio.

Correct. The Marathon and Myth series had already made the studio.

Re:Here come the gripes

[DeadScreenSky]

AFAIK, xBox runs directx... pcs use directx... hmmm... how long did that port take...
Contrary to popular PC gamer opinion, the Xbox is not simply a PC. It is very very good at certain things like Pixel Shaders and various memory bandwidth, and it took a long time to get it optimized for the less adept PC.

Cannot find the quote unfortunately, but Gearbox stated basically just this recently.

Re:Here come the gripes

[rufo]

Why are you listing Prince of Persia? It's a five-system title.

Re:Here come the gripes

[Recoil_42]

once again, the uninformed speak. the xbox is NOT a PC. it simply shares much of the pc architecture and some software (directX) it is much lower level though... from shunji's (a guy from bungie) blog: -------- Why can Halo run really well on hardware that is now about 2-3 years old? There are a few reasons: 1. Extremely lightweight OS. Since the Xbox is a gaming machine first, the OS doesn't need a lot of things that are necessary for a full fledged PC that's used for things besides gaming. That means the Xbox OS can fit into about 150 kB, which leaves the rest of that to the game. It also means that the game has ultimate control over the execution of the game. Plus, the game runs at the same level as what the operating system normally operates on a consumer PC, which means less time spent transitioning between OS and application code. 2 & 3. Unified memory architecture and no drivers. Yes, there is a programmatical interface similar to DirectX. However, it's a very thin layer to communicate with the hardware. On the PC, there are many steps to render a model. Here's an extremely simplified list: 1. Allocate memory to hold the model and textures. 2. Submit the memory to the video card. 3. Tell the card to render the model. Steps 1 and 2 are the slowest, and most subject to driver quality. On the Xbox, we can take care of 1 and 2 ourselves, which is better than leaving it up to the driver in the specific case of a fixed platform. Note that due to hardware diversity, this is not really a good idea, but it's great for the Xbox. 4. Fixed hardware. We know that what we develop on at work will be the exact same platform and hardware configuration consumers will have at home. This let's us pull off some tricks that wouldn't be as easy to implement on the PC. Things like precompiling a memory image of the game that we load at a fixed address, pretty much eliminating loading times beyond that of copying the image off the hard drive. (The loading screens you see on the Xbox version of Halo come from copying data from the DVD to the harddrive, not from loading the game data from the hard drive.) We can also make saved games work much faster, by reserving a hard-coded chunk of memory to hold all the necessary data to save and restore a game. In short, Xbox development is a much less complex beast compared to PC devleopment. What you give up in raw power you make up with fixed hardware and ease of development. ----------

Re:Here come the gripes

[MMaestro]

'So that means the $179 paperweight near your TV is good for what, exactly?'

Yeah really! What were people thinking when they bought a PS2 when it first came out?! They went and frikin bought PS1 games to play on their PS2 for like 6 months!! What absolute n00bs!!! They shoulda bought Dreamcasts!!!!!

Oh, we're talking about the Xbox?

Re:Here come the gripes

[TheOnlyCoolTim]

If by optimized you mean it takes a brand new computer to run it at 1024x768, sure Gearbox optimized it.

Have they ever made a game for themselves or have they just been other companys' lackeys?

Tim

Re:Here come the gripes

[nicky_d]

And, of course, Halo and KOTOR are no longer exclusive to the Xbox. So that means the $179 paperweight near your TV is good for what, exactly?

Keeping important papers in place, silly. Oh, and playing online games without having to meet people like you ;)

Re:Here come the gripes

[Anonymous Coward]

Why are you crying? It must have do to with the fact that those gripes you listed are true.

Despite what all you rabid Halo fanboys say, it is an over rated and hyped FPS. Posts like this do a good job of proving this.

Re:Here come the gripes

[Wolfrider]

--I have just discovered Halo PC online play over DSL.

--I have not slept in almost 24 hours.

--The two above items are directly related. ;-)

===

--Seriously, I was almost going to return the game because it plays so crappy in 1-player mode**, but this makes it all worth it.

**Geforce4, 900MHz Duron, all tips + tricks that I could find implemented (-use11, -nojoystick, etc) and all the latest patches and drivers for Win98 -- and I'm lucky to get 10-15fps at 640x480 with almost everything turned off. PaTheTic.

Re:Here come the gripes

[gamgee5273]

Ahh... you mean like my coworker who just bought an Xbox and Mechassault but couldn't find any Mechassault players online? In the mid-evening?

Right. Online games. Right.

So, I again repeat: without halo and KOTOR exclusives, what draws someone to an Xbox?

Re:Here come the gripes

[gamgee5273]

You have Halo 2 and Fable?

Re:Here come the gripes

[gamgee5273]

You're under a major misconception if you think the Bungie of old is that same as the MS Mungie. It ain't.

Losing Peter Tamte during the merger was a major shock to Bungie. Let's not forget that there were plenty of Bungie coders who didn't leave Chicago when the studio moved to Redmond, and there are still others who chose to quit. Another shock. There goes a lot of the insight and work that went into the series you mention above.

If you're trying to say that the two Bungies are the same, I'm going to have to respectfully disagree.

Re:Here come the gripes

[gamgee5273]

Silly me. And here I thought I would play DVDs on my DVD player... and not pay MS $30 extra when they could have thrown it in to begin with.

Re:Here come the gripes

[bugbread]

So if I want to watch DVDs and play Xbox games, I should buy an XBox and a DVD player?

Besides which, your question was "And, of course, Halo and KOTOR are no longer exclusive to the Xbox. So that means the $179 paperweight near your TV is good for what, exactly?"

Well, I can still play games on it, and I can still play DVDs on it. So that's what it's good for. This isn't exactly rocket science.

Re:Here come the gripes

[bugbread]

Because it can be played on the XBox...

Re:Here come the gripes

[nicky_d]

What draws you to anything? It's just a game console, man. It's fun. I play Rainbow 6 with a bunch of regulars, we all have voice chat, we have a good time. We're not making a political statement. I have an Xbox, I have Live, and I enjoy it enough to carry on paying for it. That's all I can tell you. If you don't like it, don't worry about it. Do something you DO like and enjoy yourself.

Re:Here come the gripes

[Profane Motherfucker]

Jesus you're a rude bastard. God forbid someone spend their money in the way they see fit without asking you for approval.

fan-made 'TV commercial'

[Anonymous Coward]

anyone know where i can find this "fan-made 'TV commercial'"?

Re:fan-made 'TV commercial'

[simoniker]

It may be that it was just a fan describing an imaginary TV commercial - I'd also heard that it was available online, but that may be further misinformation, hurrah. Anyhow, there's people talking about it here.

GSI & MS

[Anonymous Coward]

Gamespy's record for fixing security holes is on par with Microsoft's. You can expect a bloated program that installs spyware, adware, and malware on your PC. Gamespy used to be about the gamming community, now its about making a buck.

Halo Price Drop!?!?!1

[Arkhain]

Well, at least this means that many of those who were intimidated by the Xbox + Halo's $230 US price tag are going to be slightly more willing to consider purchasing the most powerful game system on the open market... and the only good game on it. In other news, all 10 Xbox users who didn't buy Halo are having a ball. Thx Gamerdad.

Re:Halo Price Drop!?!?!1

[orthancstone]

Correction, I'm the 10th user...but I'll buy it soon enough :D

HALO PC

[ghostfacehallik]

The game flat out suck on the PC. It may be good on XBox but it plays horrible ont he PC.

Re:HALO PC

[Anonymous Cow herd]

Nah, it's pretty sucky on Xbox too.

Xbox Anti-Fan Club Meeting!

[Babbster]

Yet another meeting has been called to order on Slashdot where people can bash the Xbox and talk about "the only good Xbox game." The fact that most of those people don't own an Xbox and/or have never played any of the other Xbox games never stops them, and it's certainly exciting to see FUD spread by someone other than Microsoft! Woot!

Crimson Skies - Great fun.
Knights of the Old Republic - Duh.
Outlaw Volleyball - Great gameplay AND Steve Carell.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The sequel's on all three but the first was fantastic and "Only on Xbox."
Rallisport Challenge - Excellent rally racing.
Splinter Cell - First on Xbox and a true system seller at the time.
Panzer Dragoon Orta - Short but just about as sweet as it gets...great art meets great gameplay.
Steel Battalion - High-priced but immersive and the best console sim experience ever.

I own, and have owned, more good Xbox games than the above but I'm not going to make this a book.

In short, declaring Halo is the only reason to own an Xbox is like saying Super Smash Brothers Melee is the only reason to own a Gamecube, or SSX is the only reason to own a PS2 - it was true once but hasn't been so for a LONG time.

Re:Xbox Anti-Fan Club Meeting!

[Mirkon]

Rallisport Challenge - Excellent rally racing.

I played a store demo of Rallisport once. Frankly, when a game's physics engine allows a car to stand vertically (as in, on its front bumper), ad infinitum, unless another car rams into it... well, you can see where I'm going.

Re:Xbox Anti-Fan Club Meeting!

[Recoil_42]

way to exaggerate. i own RSC, and the physics are great.

can you stand on your bumper? yeah, but its pretty damn hard to do, even on purpose / a rare occurence.

the physics are fantastic, nuff said. that game is awesome. and RSC2 is coming out soon wiht an improve engine.

to add to the grandparent's list,

-Rainbow Six 3 (which is completely different from the PC version)
-Jet Set Radio Future
-Project Gotham Racing 2
-Topspin
-Links
-Amped 2
-KoTOR (its on pc soon, i know)

and there are much, much, more. xbox's library has recently exploded with good games.

Re:Xbox Anti-Fan Club Meeting!

[bugbread]

And to add to that, SSX Tricky, Tony Hawk Underground, Hitman 2, GTA3.

It would be pretty tough today to say with a straight face "Halo is the only fun game on XBox".

Proving once again that M$ has no clur about games

[Trolling 4 dollas]

Halo 2 is officially going to be released AFTER christmas. The game of 2004 is going to be released AFTER the biggest game buying period of the year. Not only does this affect Halo 2 game sales but obviously were talking less xbox console sales as well.

This and the lack of EA games (BTW EA your on my shit list permanently, thks ass wipes) and good titles early on has meant GameCube is BEATING THEM!!! I mean Game cube for fucks sakes come on. I admit I liked NES and SNES but I was only 12 then how can a kid's console beat xbox when it's teens and up that buy the most games? No offense to Game cube fans out there but I really do feel xbox has the most to offer as a platform. It's just too bad.

Another MS "Technology" Craters -- Quelle Surprise

[ewhac]

Assuming I'm reading the press release correctly, it looks as if Micros~1 has finally admitted that DirectPlay was a complete and utter disaster, never worked right, and never was going to work right.

...So expect GameSpy 3D to get renamed DirectPlay 2,0 and get released in Longhorn.

Schwab

Re:Proving once again that M$ has no clur about ga

[heXXXen]

maybe it's not done?

would you like an unfinished product? would you like microsoft to rush bungie?

What about zone?

[Anonymous Coward]

Microsoft is partnering with gamespy for one of their biggest titles? What does this mean for their own Zone.com then?

Re:Proving once again that M$ has no clur about ga

[Recoil_42]

Thats funny, because Half-Life 2 is coming out at the same time.. hmm, i guess gabe and the team are all complete idiots... oh, lets not forget gran turismo for (again, set for april 2004) and what about ffix for ps2? thats right, april of 2004. microsoft must have no idea what they're doing then, deciding not to release an unfinished game...

Re:Another MS "Technology" Craters -- Quelle Surpr

[PainKilleR-CE]

Since DirectPlay and GameSpy perform 2 completely different functions, I don't quite understand your link.

GameSpy would, at best, replace Zone.com, not DirectPlay, since the latter is a network API and the former is simply a matchmaking service.

Re:Proving once again that M$ has no clur about ga

[prockcore]

No offense to Game cube fans out there but I really do feel xbox has the most to offer as a platform.

The only thing the xbox seems to offer is an outlet for teenagers who are trying desperately to appear older.

Here's why the gamecube is doing better than the xbox: there are games for me, there are games for my kids.

Anyone who says the gamecube is a "kids system" is too young to know any better. You'll outgrow the xbox demographic, you'll never outgrow the gamecube's

Re:Halo == Waste of money even at $30

[bugbread]

One of the aspects of Halo that is so well known among XBox owners that it's taken for granted is: Halo is a multiplayer game. Sure, there's a single player mode, but that's just for practice and for playing when your friends are busy. Apparently, though, since everyone who plays knows this, nobody goes through to effort to say it, so it must have come as a big suprise to people who bought Halo PC.