Comments on: NY's 'Halo 3' launch was no riot, but it was close

For the final installment of its wildly popular Xbox 360 first-person shooter trilogy, Microsoft pulls all the stops.
Video: Midnight launch in NY

[terminalblue]

scratches....

i work at a walmart near st louis mo. we had half of our halo 3 collectors editions have scratches on the because of the poor packaging. right after we started selling them people were imediately returning them. we had 30 copies of h3ce and more then half were damaged and couldnt be sold.
is this an isolated incident?

[NickH]

out of interest

Did you sell anyone a Xbox 360 along with their copy of Halo 3?

[dj-robbie-b]

re: scratches....

i just picked up my h3ce from a futureshop in toronto and it looks
like my dvd is all scratched up too. this doesn't look like an isolated
incident.

[ogman]

Outsourcing 101, Halo 3

'"I skipped one class today, and it was well worth it," he said..'

And Bill Gates wonders why he can find well-educated workers without going outside the country. Maybe because his (and others) create a hype machine that encourages consumption above production. Business wants it both way. They want smart, hard-working employees, who will work cheap; and they want customers who will enthusiastically buy into the advertising blitz, skip school or work, and buy $500 consoles to play $60 games.

As for the game, there are better out there. I'll skip my classes for BioShock and Crysis. ;o)

[Kimsh]

Better games...

Dunno, there are very personal preferences in games. I think you would go a long way to find a game that had better replay potential, particularly on line. Thats the Halo signature.

[herby67]

Production vs. Consumption

I would say it's otherwise. In the battle between PCs and other alternatives (such as browser based network computers) the PCs have always represented the production side of content, while the alternatives were more on the side of consuming content. And that's the reason why PCs won those past battles: people want to produce as much as they want to consume.
Now that the competitors are learning the lesson and focusing as much on content production as on consumption, this might change, but the fat is that PCs have always been promoters of production more than other alternatives, even in entertainment (compare a PC with a TV or even a book).

[flipsol3]

Funny

That's so funny that they mentioned the little orange ball's being thrown, that all started because of me. I didn't do it on purpose though. Still funny because it got mentioned.

[terminalblue]

kinda...

one guy bought a 360 core, but no halo...i did talk to a few people that had bought 360's over the weeks prior to launch.

[shanewalker]

About Halo 3 as a 'System Seller'...

I'm sure a number of folks who were planning on getting an
Xbox 360 upgrade from their original Xbox systems will push up
their holiday purchase to dive into Halo 3.

But, I think that as far as bona fide NEW Xbox owners, the
numbers will not be as stellar as has been hyped/hoped for by
Microsoft. I think the spike for new Xbox owners came from
Gears of War's launch et al and the traditional holiday cycle.

Halo 3 is a sequel. It relies heavily on a person having a vested
interest in completing a story arc and evolving the game play
they know from having played the first two games--those are,
by and large, people who already own Xboxs and most probably
have already upgraded to a 360 by now.

As someone who entered the Xbox world last year during the
Gears onslaught, I can attest that its exciting new franchises and
next gen experiences that will draw more 'virgin' owners to the
console (I also jumped into HD-DVD w/ the add-on at time of
purchase). I'm only now going back and playing through the
original Halo games to 'see what the fuss is all about'. Then,
down the line, I might get 3 to "finish the fight..."

[Kimsh]

new console sale

I think you are right about that. It is really going be the original XBox owners who have not upgraded that this will get to. I am one. Still, there are probably a few of them.

[cmader]

I hate GoW

Am I the only person that hates Gears of War? It sure feels like it. It like FPSs but playing GoW is just painful.

I for one bought a Halo Edition 360, Halo 3, and 3 additional controllers this week. There just haven't been any 'must have' games for the 360 this far, IMO. And no, I'm not a Halo fanboy. The multiplayer is hard to beat though.

[itgumbo]

So THAT'S why no one came to work today.

If women could only get into this game the same way men do, there'd be not a single person in the office.
http://www.itgumbo.com/mumbogumbo/2007/09/hello_halo.php#more

[mgillespie2]

Dead Quiet.

I work at GameStop in Philadelphia, we opened at midnight, and 2 people turned up. Was a total washout.

Still the Microsoft hype machine keeps moving...

[sandieman]

I recorded the event. Check it out:

Recorded Halo 3 party here: http://www.viddler.com/sandieman/videos/274/

[gigabot]

Gotta love Sarah Meyers

She is the best lifecaster ever :)

[dsmithaustin]

Great Coverage

Good story. It was also great to see the coverage of the lifecaster, Sarah Meyers, and how this is changing news and social media.

The last part of the story was really about the movement to Reeds law and it' impact.

[someguy1]

wow!

I'm glad you mentioned Sarah Meyers. She's a great lifecaster and her covering of this event was awsome.

[steelerfan64]

sarah's a zany girl

and so much fun to watch on justin.tv