Ring-world rumblings

Friday 31 March 2006
Halo 3 is due for release in March 2007, according to a pair of sources close to Microsoft. Given Bungie's painstaking approach to development, and the tremendous lifespan of pre-release promotion that MS can wring out of the game, a 2006 launch date is looking nigh-on implausible, so this mooted ETA is no surprise.

Does it really matter precisely when it may come out in 2007, though? As long as Microsoft has something to reveal at E3 - even if it's simply words, not pictures - then the hype machine for one of the biggest game brands in the western world will have been kicked into action, ready to rain dampness down on Sony and Nintendo at key points throughout 2006.

Also, it'll leave Christmas open for other big-prospect 360 titles, like Epic's Gears of War and BioWare's Mass Effect, to soak up the festive profits. Microsoft will definitely have 'Halo 3' (or whatever it'll be called) at E3, we reckon, even if it's just an enormous billboard bearing the legend 'OF COURSE IT'S COMING, SILLY'.