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Doom on Xbox Live, Jackson Making Halo Game

Posted by Zonk on Wed Sep 27, 2006 01:26 PM
from the holy-xboxen-batman dept.
Microsoft is pulling out all the stops in its X06 Keynote today in Barcelona. The announcements are flying fast and furious: Ensemble studios is making a Halo RTS, and Peter Jackson is making a new Halo game (unrelated to Halo 3 or the RTS). The HD-DVD will be $200 in the U.S. with a release aimed at November of this year. They've got a good deal of 360 exclusive content including the next Splinter Cell and GTA IV Episodes, and (initially) Bioshock. Bioshock will also be on Windows, of course. Windows is also the platform on which Microsoft is announcing a new Massively Multiplayer game from Cryptic Studios, a new super-hero MMOG based on Marvel Comics' IP: Marvel Universe Online.
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[+] Peter Jackson Talks the Halo Movie 90 comments
Via Kotaku, an interview on Ain't It Cool News with Peter Jackson talking about the in-conception Halo Movie. From the article: "QUINT: Now, there's no reason on Earth shouldn't easily and faithfully be adapted into a PG-13 movie. However, do you anticipate there being a harder cut considering how gruesome the Flood aspect of the story is? PETER JACKSON: That's interesting... It's something, I must admit, that's not a conversation I've had with anybody yet. It's a conversation that I'm sure will happen. Look, the reality of the budget is that I would imagine the studio are going to be pretty insistent on a PG-13, which, as you say, is certainly not an impossible thing pull off."
[+] Peter Jackson on the Future of Storytelling 42 comments
Via VoodooExtreme, an article on Team Xbox covering a panel at X06 on the future of storytelling in games. Along with Mr. Jackson, industry veterans Peter Molyneux and Greg Zeschuck weigh in on this issue. The meat of the article is a video of the presentation, which is regrettably in .wmv format. The Escapist has some highlights of the conversation up in their news section. "'I've got to the stage now where I just end up catching something on DVD and I'm more excited about games coming out in the next 2-3 months than films,' said Peter Jackson, director of Lord of The Rings and founder of Wingnut Interactive, an offshoot of his movie studio. 'That created an awareness in me of the shift in entertainment options out there, and if I'm feeling that others are too.'"
[+] Halo Film Still On Track 70 comments
Eurogamer reports that, despite the decision by Fox and Universal to back out of the movie's production, the film version of Halo will move forward. From the article: "Now Microsoft has released an official statement via the Bungie website which reads: 'We are disappointed that Universal and Fox wanted to significantly renegotiate the financial points of the deal. But the Halo franchise is hugely popular and our goal remains the same - to find a partner that shares our passion and will creatively collaborate with us to best represent the story and spirit of the Halo franchise ... Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and the rest of the creative team are dedicated to ensuring the Halo movie becomes a reality,' the statement continues.
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  • Thank God (Score:3, Funny)

    by Mateo_LeFou (859634) on Wednesday September 27 2006, @01:28PM (#16218001) Homepage
    I was wondering what I'm going to do with my Windows machine...
      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        "So, a Halo exclusive license will only limit Xbox sales. People buy the Xbox to play Halo, get it?"

        Erm...you contradict yourself from one sentence to the next.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        Microsoft has a monopoly in the personal computer space. They do not have a monopoly in the home video game console space.

        Exclusive titles did not start with Microsoft - it did not start with Sony, either - and it's nothing to get all atwitter about.
      • Re:"Leak" (Score:5, Funny)

        by Psychotext (262644) on Wednesday September 27 2006, @02:19PM (#16218983)
        People buy the Xbox to play Halo, get it? Not the other way around.

        I'm glad, "People buy the Halo to play Xbox" wouldn't have made any sense at all...
  • by LDoggg_ (659725) on Wednesday September 27 2006, @01:29PM (#16218025) Homepage
    Please don't work on the Halo thing until after The Hobbit.
    Your actors aren't getting any younger.
    • I think the LOTR movie series was proof that it does not matter the age or height of your actors. Computers and makeup can pretty much do anything you want.
      • Probably true, not to mention the characters that are need to be in the Hobbit are really old even in Hobbit anyways.
        Still I was upset PJ even spent time on king kong. If MGM & New Line did indeed get the green light [chud.com] to make The Hobbit, then it should be top priority.

      • Oh don't worry, with the lack of originality in hollywood, I'd expect a complete remake of the LOTR trilogy within ten years.
  • What about the promises of backward-compatibility? Or did they forget about that again?

    (yes I'm aware that they didn't specify how much of the library would be backward compatible... but 75% is reasonable, right? or whatever we have now + Psychonauts)
    • They released a big BC update less than a month ago. These things don't happen automagically.
      • if the system was designed properly it would. xbox does NOT have backwards compatibility whatsoever. Backwards compatibility is me taking that windows 98 program that i've used for 10 years (to use an example) and running it on Xp or Vista without problems. Ie the exact same executable file.

        Xbox backwards compatibility is the equivalent of using a big stick to fit a square peg into a round hole.
        • In the case of the X-Box it is more like compatiblilty between 64-bit XP and 32-bit XP, or PowerPC Apple and Intel Apple. You have to remember that the 360 is a new arcutecture, so there has to be a software layer for emulation. Just like how almost every driver has to be rewritten for XP64, the software has to be tweaked for each X-Box game.
  • The MMOG sounds pretty neat. I will never play it (nothing like enough time) but it sounds like it has the potential to do quite well.
  • Halo the toilet paper, Halo the lunchbox, Halo the flamethrower! (The kids love this one).

    Good thing the game industry is such a source original thought and creativity.
  • by Lovedumplingx (245300) on Wednesday September 27 2006, @01:34PM (#16218137)
    I think I just heard Sony slit their wrists.

    Really though...these are some big announcements and I haven't heard Sony coming with anything to match them yet.
    • That's probably because X06 is a Microsoft event only, if I'm not mistaken.
    • Sony is ending it all over what exactly?

      You mean having a competitor who included HD playback as an add-on that brings up the full price of the 360 to above the cost of the base PS3?

      Or perhaps you think the expansion of the Halo empire into RTS is reason enough for hari-kari. Or perhaps Bioshock releasing on the 360 whole months before poor PS3 owners ever see it!

      Yes, I'm sure all those things send shivers down Sony spines. Or perhaps not.
  • Misread (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 27 2006, @01:37PM (#16218179)
    Did anyone else read that title and think: "Sweet. Steve Jackson [sjgames.com] is going to make a Halo game!"
    • Steve Jackson Games making the next Halo game sounds all well and good, up until the point where the Feds come in and bust him for making a murder simulator trainer...
  • Halogen (Score:5, Informative)

    by 63N1U5 (840190) on Wednesday September 27 2006, @01:40PM (#16218259)
    What we all suspected when Microsoft issued a cease and desist to the modders behind Halogen (the Halo themed Command and Conquer mod) has turned out to be a reality. You have to give props to MS for responding to all of the interest for a Halo RTS by creating their own (albeit based on the Age of Empires engine). The official site has already launched with trailers and screenshots (mostly prerendered) at http://www.halowars.com [halowars.com].
  • by kinglink (195330) on Wednesday September 27 2006, @01:44PM (#16218341)
    Doom costs 800 points.. that's 10 dollars for those of us who don't remember the conversion.

    Seriously XBLA used to be a place to get cheap legacy games, and interesting unique games, now with every game coming out at 800 points it's sad. I'm probably going to end up buying doom at some point, but while it was a impulse buy at 400 (1.25 per episode, 4 episodes) I'm going to have to consider it now.

    Any game that's older than 10 years needs to either have significantly new gameplay (not just co-op, time pilot, but you were 400 points so I love you more) for a 10 dollar investment.
  • by cubicledrone (681598) on Wednesday September 27 2006, @01:44PM (#16218353)
    Spider-man.. Spider-man.. does whatever a Spider can...

    THREE UNDEAD ROGUES APPEAR

    Cheap shot! Cheap shot! Ambush crit!

    "OH NOES SPIDEY USE YOUR WEBZ!"

    "HE CAN'T! HE WAS BLINDED/KIDNEY SHOTTED/GOUGED/VANISHED/CHEAP SHOTTED FIFTEEN TIMES!!"

    "EEEEERRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHZZZZZZZZZZ!!" /laugh /spit /dance /violin /vanish /vanish /vanish

    Can't wait.
  • by elrous0 (869638) * on Wednesday September 27 2006, @01:45PM (#16218361)
    Forget about yet another Windows MMORPG (yet another "WoW Killer" no doubt), what about a Xbox 360 MMORPG?!?! Every since Live came online for the original xbox, we've been waiting fore this and so far, zilch. It's the perfect plaform for it to, the built-in speech capabilities would make raiding and teaming-up easy (and no need to find additional software or pay for a teamspeak server, either)

    And, don't give me that "FFXI" bullshit, either. That was just a poor port of the PC version ("Wait, I need a USB keyboard to talk, WTF?!?!?!"). If I wanted to return to the year 2000, I'd buy it. But I want a modern, *REAL* MMORPG.

    -Eric

    • The Slashdot summary forgot to mention that Marvel Universe Online is PC and 360 both.

      Here's a 1up article about it [1up.com].
      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        Yeah, with a "USB Keyboard and Mouse." What's the point? They already have a console with a mouse and keyboard that can play a wide selection of MMORPGS. It's called a "PC".

        Seriously, when are developers going to realize that you don't need a keyboard for chat channels when you can have ACTUAL CHAT. When you're chatting around the water cooler with your friends at work do you need a fucking keyboard?!?! The 360 has built in voice chat--USE IT!!!

        -Eric

        • by saboola (655522) on Wednesday September 27 2006, @03:05PM (#16219773)
          When you're chatting around the water cooler with your friends at work do you need a fucking keyboard?!?!

          "Yes"

          -Stephen Hawking
          • You think you have enough bandwidth for 50+ incoming voices plus the game?

            There are very simple ways to deal with that. Limit the number of voices heard (outside of one-on-one coversations and team chat) to the nearest 10 or 20 people (I know Xbox can support that, because I've been in plenty of Battlefront II battles where there were at least that many people talking at once). Combine that with private channels for one-on-one and team conversations and it would be little different than it is now, only

  • Did anyone else listen to the ilovebees story? A game featuring Janissary James and the other 1.1s could be amazing. Especially if Durga was involved.
    • Halo was originally a RTS, actually.
    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      Why do you seem so shocked about the possibility for a HALO RTS when you don't know what the game is about? It's like saying "I've got no idea what this game is about, how could they make it into an RTS??? Preposterous!"

      As for Peter Jackson, see: Petr Jackson talks the Halo Movie [slashdot.org]
    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      The original concept for Halo was an RTS along the same lines as an earlier Bungie title - Myth. It wasn't until Microsoft bought Bungie Studios that Halo became a FPS and the Xbox launch title. There is more than just a plot to Halo, there is volumes of backstory and history in the super-secret Halo bible that is locked in the Bungie Studios vault. Google the Halo Library - that site has compiled just about all that is known about the Halo universe based on the games, novels, and other information. It
      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        The original concept for Halo was an RTS along the same lines as an earlier Bungie title - Myth. It wasn't until Microsoft bought Bungie Studios that Halo became a FPS and the Xbox launch title.

        Now, it may be that Halo was originally a RTS game, but it was definitely demoed as an FPS before the Microsoft buyout. It was originally demoed at the 1999 Macworld Expo in NYC.

        It was a sad day when Microsoft bought Bungie in preparation for the Xbox release and postponed the Mac OS and Windows releases of Halo ti

    • by jchenx (267053) on Wednesday September 27 2006, @01:56PM (#16218583) Journal
      There is actually quite a bit of story in Halo and Halo 2, and certainly more than your typical FPS. There's enough in the "Halo universe" to spawn a few books as well, not to mention the Halo movie that Peter Jackson is working on.

      I'm not a Bungie cultist myself (although I have a friend that works there), but I think there is definately enough to like in the Halo universe, if you're a general sci-fi fan like I am. And if you don't, there's nothing wrong with avoiding what you don't like.

      As for people yelling at MS to be more original, and to stop milking the franchise for all it's worth, you can easily say the same for Nintendo's games. How many Zelda, Metroid, and Mario games have there been? And how many of them have been good? Plenty. Franchises != the suck.
    • I think the answer you're looking for can be found in the trailer [halowars.com]. Troops, aliens, weapons, vehicles, spacecraft, battles.. all accounted for.
      • Not for the PC? Are they insane?

        If they manage to make an RTS for a console that doesn't suck, it'll be the first time that that's happened. EVER.
        • Well, Ensemble has been researching a console control system for RTS games for a while. Apparently, with a ported version of Age of Empires, they had it to the point that console players were beating PC keyboard/mouse players regularly.
    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      heh, I will step up.

      I happen to love both WoW and CoH/V.

      My keys points on WoW?
      HUGE Community, not that hard to find good poeple to play with, though I admit I am no where near up to raid levels (level 33 priest atm).
      The game is beautiful, nuff said.
      There is high end content.
      The grind is not THAT bad if you are only going for levels. However if you want to actualy be viable you NEED to grind for gear/whatever. That is my first complaint.
      My second one is travel time, I hate WoW travel time. All classes sho
    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      If you think COH/COV is a grind fest try out a Korean designed MMO sometime. Seriously checkout Hero Online [netgame.com], it's free and holy cow is it a grind.

      COH was my first MMO, played it for about a year, got my level 50 and then moved to WoW. Played WoW for about a year then bought CoV.
      I have a love/hate relationship with CoH/CoV, I totally understand what you mean about it being a grind. The game really has almost nothing to it but combat. I think the combat is pretty entertaining but doing mission after mission c
    • by Control Group (105494) on Wednesday September 27 2006, @02:26PM (#16219127) Homepage
      Don't think of it as being about Blu-Ray, necessarily. It's not. Really, it's about the price. $600 (or $580, if you count the 20% of production that will be priced at $500) is, to many people too much money. It's really that simple.

      Blu-Ray is something that many people aren't excited about that also drives the price up and the production quantity down - this makes it the obvious target for people who don't want/aren't willing/can't afford to shell out $580 for a game console before purchasing even a single game (much less any of the usual hardware accessories).

      Had the DS been sold at $500, with the only obvious thing that might account for its far-above-the-competition price the second screen, then yes, you would have heard similar complaints about it. If the Wii was priced at $500 because of problems with the Wiimote, then you'd be hearing similar complaints about that.

      Say what you want about how great Blu-Ray is, or how it's actually for games, not for pushing Sony's pet format, or whatever else you want to say about it. But what it comes down to is that, for (seemingly) a lot of people, $580 is just too damn much money. And it doesn't matter how cool Blu-Ray is if the price is more than people are willing to pay.
    • I've been thinking the same thing ever since they announced HD-DVD as a future add-on. Also consider that the XBox360 is still really noisy. Have you read the releases about the PS3? Its quiet. Very quiet. Quiet, compact, and without a big power brick. Sweet.

      Not to mention BD movies, great games and backward compatibility.

      My PS2 DVD drive is finally giving out after 3 years of brutal use and I'm trying to convince my wife that a PS3 would be a better investment than a new DVD drive since it would play
      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        The noisy-ness and size of the XBox360 are the main things that kept me from getting it originally (along with my general happiness with the PS2 I got a few years before the XBox's launch).

        I'm thinking of biting the bullet and upgrading to HD-TV this year (between the drop in HD-TV prices and TiVo's new HD unit), and the PS3 is starting to look like the perfect option to handle the "GameConsole/DVD/NextGenMedia" portion and round out my new TV stack. Going for the PS3 is an easier choice than a stand-alone
    • Judging from sequel- and spinoff- sales, I think most of the world disagrees with you.

      And as long as the games as good, I think most gamers would disagree with you.