Because Microsoft owns all the rights to Halo (They previously owned Bungie Studios, Halo’s developers, until Oct. 1, 2007 when Bungie became a privately held company. Bungie will continue, apparently, to make games for Microsoft consoles but will no longer be making any games in the Halo universe.) I guess they felt that they could do anything they pleased with it. They’ve already announced the development of Halo Wars (by Ensemble Studios), which is a war strategy based game similar to Starcraft. But now this strange non-video game comes along, calling it’s self Halo: Chronicles.
Yeah, it seems that Jackson has created something called Wingnut Interactive and plans on making video games in addition to his epic films (including as 1989’s Meet The Feebles). And not just one. Halo: Chronicles is supposed to be a whole other trilogy of games, separate from the original Halos. According to the article in XBOX 360 World, Peter Jackson himself didn’t even know exactly what the game would entail. He described it as “not a game, not a film, but a filmic game experience!” and both Jackson and Microsoft executive Peter Moore unanimously described it as “an interactive entertainment.” Which one could argue is exactly what a video game is in the first place.
This seems to me like too many hands in the cookie jar. Halo has become more successful than anyone imagined (Halo: Combat Evolved was the first game on the XBOX and the game that put that system on the map. Halo 3 made over $170 million after being released. Shattering the previous record held by Halo 2, actually). These people better know what they’re doing. I love the Chief too much to see him molested like this. I hope that, years from now, I won’t be on my knees on a lonely stretch of beach somewhere with my hands reaching up, beckoning the sky (think Willem Defoe in Platoon) and screaming: “O Bill Gates… What have you done?”
Love and Madness,
D. Bradford
p.s. – I once saw a picture that sent shivers up my spine: It was Bill Gates wearing a jacket with the UNSC (Who are essentially the Marines of the Halo universe) logo on it. I could just see the dollar signs in his eyes.
Posted by Inrideo
at 12:50 PM PST
Updated: Sunday, 25 November 2007 11:03 AM PST
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Updated: Sunday, 25 November 2007 11:03 AM PST
Post Comment | View Comments (1) | Permalink | Share This Post