Xbox360 Fanboy writes:

"After being on the market since 2004, earning an average metacritic score of 95 and selling millions upon millions of copies, Microsoft decided Halo 2 could sit among the Max Payne and Shark Tales of the world and officially become a Platinum Hit.

Woohoo! Actually, we bet it was the other way around. Halo 2 finally decided it was time to lower itself to the Platinum Hits catalog and force Microsoft to quit milking its $39 retail price tag as its retail teets have become sore and gone dry (yeah, bad mental picture)."
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"Earlier this week, Gearbox Software President and CEO, Randy Pitchford, revealed that the company is in the early stages of a new project that is the most important development they have ever worked on.

If Gearbox is indeed developing the next Halo game, could this be "Halo: Chronicles," the new chapter co-created by Peter Jackson, or are we looking at the first news of Halo 4?" writes César A. Berardini.
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These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade, full versions purchased this week. Here are the top 3 for each charts, see the source for the complete top 10 list.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles
1. Call of Duty 4
2. Halo 3
3. Guitar Hero III

Top Arcade Titles
1. Rez HD
2. Chessmaster Live
3. Metal Slug 3

Original Xbox Top Live Titles
1. Halo 2
2. Star Wars: Battlefront 2
3. Counter-Strike
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For more of our weekly HaloRadar coverage, click here. Judging by your submissions, most of you share our current obsession with Halo suicides. There's just something about Master Chief's expressionless ragdolling that turns us into giggling school girls. We can't explain why, but our therapists assure us that reveling in the grisly demise of the iconic uber-patriot "doesn't make you a bad person." Good to know, given the "epic lulz" all your videos generated around our office. And we want ... » Read More

For more of our weekly HaloRadar coverage, click here. Drugs. Gambling. Pornography. Halo. Addiction can take many forms. How do you spot the warning signs? Medical experts that we read about somewhere on the internet tell us harmful overdependence could affect over 23 million people in this country alone, with fewer than 10 percent going untreated. And while the junkies and perverts can always go to Dr. Phil or Dr. Drew for help, those with an unnatural compulsion for Master Chief have ... » Read More

If you haven't already heard about it you're either not listening or living under a rock. MLG, the nations biggest video game tournaments powered by the Xbox360 and Gamestop are home to some of the worlds best gamers and biggest video game tournament pay-outs. Amongst all the negative news and competitors attacks, Halo 3 (the worlds #1 online shooter and MLG's premier game)is alive, well and on top of the heap. And as if the MLG tourneys and millions of game owners weren't enough..Now you can watch how the pro's play with coverage from the worlds leader in sports media.

ESPN.com, the leading online sports destination, today announced it has entered a content agreement with Major League Gaming (MLG), the leading professional video game league.

ESPN will serve as a primary outlet for news about MLG, providing extensive digital coverage of MLG's 2008 Pro Circuit Competitions, including exclusive streamed matches, pro player interviews, and scores and stats. Additionally, MLG will host ESPN co-branded online video game tournaments.

This is exciting news for anyone who call's themselves a "gamer"
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Jan. 8, 2008 For more of our weekly HaloRadar coverage, click here. Halocide. If that isn't a recognized term, then we're officially coining it here and now. Sure, Forge's map editor serves up some fantastic multiplayer customization, and Theater offers more than an occasional glimpse at ragdoll amusement. But after making the video below, we can honestly say nothing shimmers quite so fine as elaborately laying out the hilariously macabre details of your own demise. The coward's way out? ... » Read More

Our complete collection of HaloRadar coverage is right here. For true Halo fans, the games are only the beginning. Master Chief's universe extends well beyond the realm of consoles and controllers, after all, into areas both surprising and bizarre. He's in books, toys, art, comics, clothing, kitschy gadgets, even soda. Some of this stuff, of course, is useless junk; quite a bit, however, is incredibly neat and worthy of both your attention and your cash. We've scoured the internet, we've ... » Read More

Oct 30, 2007 Game experience may change during online play. This innocuous disclaimer accompanies every game with Xbox Live connectivity, but what it actually means is that you're about to be subjected to a barrage of bigotry so profoundly offensive that it will shake your faith in humanity to the very core. During some recent Halo sessions, we encountered loads of vile, bilious ranting that seemed to know no restraint. Rather than using the mute button, we hit record and captured these ... » Read More

Hollywood trade journal Variety reported on October 19:

It's game over for Universal's and Fox's participation in the feature adaptation of Microsoft's Halo.

Both studios that agreed to co-finance the Halo movie have abruptly backed out of the project after Microsoft and the filmmakers (Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, etc.) refused to reduce their profit participation. The movie budget was rising above the original projected $135 million and rumored to approach $200 million. Microsoft demanded an up-front payment of $5 million for the film right to be made on October 15, a further payment of 10 percent of gross, and a screenwriter (Alex Garland) and a first-time director (Neill Blomkamp) dictated by Microsoft, Bungie and Peter Jackson.

The studios demanded a pay cut at the last minute before the October 15 deadline. Microsoft, Bungie and the filmmakers said no. So Universal and Fox pulled the plug on the Halo movie.
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Oct 8, 2007 For more Halo coverage, click here. With a team of hundreds working on it, a marketing budget of millions and a fanbase as fanatical, informed and excitable as anything the best TV shows like Lost can throw up, Halo is perhaps - in fact, definitely - the most important videogame franchise currently in existence. But it hasn't always been this way. Although commencing later than the usual bedroom development story, Bungie's rags-to-riches tale does follow similar lines, kicking ... » Read More

Bungie president Harold Ryan announced that the studio will continue to develop games exclusively for Microsoft Xbox 360 and Windows for the foreseeable future. Although Bungie will be free to make games for other platforms such as Sony PS3 at some undisclosed time in the future, Ryan said his studio has no plans to do so.

The Settle Times has revealed new details of the circumstances that led up to the Bungie-Microsoft split:

Ryan said Bungie was "used to being able to look around the room and see Bungie people," and they "feel lost" inside of the much-bigger organization of Microsoft. "That desire to be independent is something that a significant number of the people on the team still felt lacking," said Ryan.

Tom Edwards, who worked for Microsoft on the first two "Halo" games, said the split had been inevitable since 2005. Edwards saw firsthand the friction between the two cultures. He recalled Bungie developers being resentful at Microsoft for having him assessing the studio's development.

Microsoft did not disclose the contractual terms with Bungie over the split, leaving analysts and observers to speculate. Even as they go separate ways, Microsoft will continue to invest in Bungie, collaborate on projects with Bungie, and publish games from Bungie.
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Forbes magazine reports (direct quotes):

Bungie Studios will break away from Microsoft, its parent since 2000, both companies said Friday, though Microsoft will keep an equity interest in Bungie and will continue to publish many of Bungie's games--future spin-offs from "Halo," included.

Why would Microsoft allow such a marvelous cash cow to roam free? ... "This is seen as a reward to them for 'Halo' doing so well," says Bungie writing lead Frank O'Connor. Day-to-day interactions with Microsoft will remain the same, he says.

. . .

For what O'Connor calls the "medium term," Bungie is committed to giving Microsoft first choice of any games it develops, and working on programs for the Xbox, Microsoft Game Studios and a spin-off from the "Halo" series. O'Connor says that in the future it is possible that Bungie would develop games for other platforms...

In time, Bungie developers could see their work appear on those platforms and on portable systems and computers, rather than toiling exclusively for Microsoft.

"This lets us not be tied down to the processes inherent in a big corporation," says O'Connor. "We never conformed to the typical Microsoft culture."
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Sept 28, 2007 Beowulf Beowulf: The Film will be out in November, and will be sharing a publicity budget with a Game of the same name. The film is produced by Robert Zemeckis (this isnt the last Zemeckis reference in this weeks Trailer Trash - youve been warned), and features an all star cast including Angelina Jolie, John Malkovitch, Anthony Hopkins, Crispin Glover, and others. This trailer for the game, however, stars a sword falling into a puddle over and over while some repetitive-looking ... » Read More

Exactly how well do you know your Gravemind from your Guilty Spark? What about your Forerunner and your Foehammer? Admit it - Halo is confusing as hell. That's why you need our condensed story guide. For the hardcore fans, it's a quick and dirty refresher course on who's who and what's what in Master Chief's world. For the newbies, it's the best introduction available on the web, complete with cutscene montages. ... » Read More

From the eBay auction:

"You are bidding on the best and most accurate Master Chief Costume on Ebay. This suit is my own personal suit that I am now giving up. The suit is so awesome, it has been featured on Spike TV, G4 TV, and in a Dell Commercial. This suit is FAMOUS!

Now it can be yours. The suit is made from a very hard Urethane Plastic. It isn't one of those cheaply casted vacuum formed suits. You could probably pound in a nail with your forearm if you wanted to. I'm 6"1' in the pictures, so you can figure out how well it might fit you from that.

Also included is an Assault Rifle Display. The reason I say display is because it's ONLY HALF OF A GUN - the other side is flat. See pictures for what I mean.

Included is:

The Best Halo Helmet in Creation. Perfectly accurate, and the right size. You can see perfectly out of the visor, and is very comfortable.

* Chest/Back Piece
* Shoulders
* Forearms
* Hand Plates
* Belt/Cod Piece/2 Belt Pouches
* Thighs
* Shins
* Ankles
* Toe Plates
* Boots
* Assault Rifle Display

You can have this suit in time for the halo launch! Wait until people see you walk in the door with this thing on! People will love you. Then, you can win all sorts of costume contests when Halloween comes around."
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Aug 22, 2007 Were in for one of the hottest winters on record, and not just because of global warming. The sheer quantity and quality of games coming out before January completely boggles the mind. Nothing, however, is as huge or important as the release of Halo 3 this September. The trilogy capper to one of the most successful videogaming franchises of all time is almost guaranteed commercial success. Okay, okay, it is guaranteed. But just because Halo 3 will be the biggest seller doesn't ... » Read More

And by Halo History Pack, Microsoft of Japan means a "Platinum Collection" package featuring both Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 for a paltry 2,980 yen (about $25 USD). Microsoft is readying the super-budget two-in-one Halo History Pack to get Japanese gamers-okay, Western ex-pats-hyped up for the Xbox 360 release of Halo 3.
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A Chicago area library's planned Halo 2 competition has turned into controversy.

As reported by the Daily Herald, the tournament is scheduled to take place on Sunday at the Mount Prospect Public Library. While the library is requiring parental permission slips before admitting underage players to the event, the game's M-rating is not spelled out. Some worry that parents may not realize that their kids will be playing a violent shooting game.
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Halo is a science fiction video game series created by Bungie Studios. The Halo trilogy centers around Master Chief Petty Officer SPARTAN-117, or simply "Master Chief", a human cyborg super-soldier equipped with technologically-advanced battle armor, and his Construct AI companion, Cortana. The video games, particularly Halo: Combat Evolved, have been praised as being the best, and most influential, first-person shooters on a game console, with Halo being the Microsoft Xbox's "killer app". This has led to the term "Halo killer" being used to describe console games that aspire to be better than Halo.
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