Today McFarlane Toys announced that a seventh batch of Halo action figures will be released in January 2010. They also provided details and photos of each item in this latest assortment, which features characters from Halo 2, Halo Wars, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo 3.
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Speaking to Joystiq, Microsoft's Frank O'Connor, creative director of 343 Industries, said that he worries "constantly" about the possibility of the market being oversaturated with Halo. When asked about the amount of Halo products out there (namely ODST, upcoming books, more comics, Halo Legends and the recently released encyclopedia), O'Connor said, "I worry about that constantly."

Regarding the various Halo products, O'Connor said, "All of that stuff has existed in the past, and it exists because of one simple reason, which is demand. We wouldn't make it if we weren't continually being asked for it." He added, "We obviously turn down almost infinitely more stuff than we actually produce, but when we produce it there's a good reason and a good plan and a strong demand."
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OXM UK: The server is being a tiny bit temperamental at present, probably because half the planet is trying to use it, but we've been able to have a go and bag some Avatar swag.
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To all of those selected for the dashboard update preview Halo Waypoint is now available for download on the Xbox dashboard and I must admit its cooler than I thought it would be. For the most part if you have played any of the Halo games Halo3, Halo Wars, or Halo 3 ODST you should start off with some cool stuff for your avatar. That's right included in Waypoint are avatar awards. Here's a quick list.

1) ODST Helmet - Unlocked by .....

2) ODST Shirt - Unlocked by ......

3) ODST Hoodie - Unlocked by .......

4) Secret - Unlocked by doing nothing

5) Recon Helmet - Unlocked by .......

6) ODST Armor - Unlocked by .......

So if you want all the avatar unlockables once Waypoint drops for everyone get on those acheivements and you'll start with all the gear. So what do you think good idea, or bad idea for Microsoft to include these new unlockables to kick off Halo Waypoint?
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Early this morning Microsoft finally released the beta version of Halo Waypoint, the new content and community hub for the popular series, onto Xbox LIVE for the fall 2009 system update preview program members. If that wasn't enough, you can now score unique Avatar Awards as well.
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Tor Books has released the contributor list and cover art for Halo short story collection, Halo: Evolutions.
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Microsoft's resident blogger Major Nelson confirmed today that the much anticipated Halo Waypoint, set to officially launch on November 5th, will be included in the upcoming Xbox LIVE update preview program.
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The M12 'Warthog' LRV is an A-reg 1984 Land Rover Defender 110, rescued from the GumTree 4×4 yard before its eventual scrapping due to MoT failure. Rebuilt by Props Studios, the vehicle has been fitted with an entirely new body and lifted suspension, along with as a heap of other modifications. It's thought that the vehicle will arrive in London in full working order.
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As Xbox 360's 4th reunion nears, I have decided to take a look back into this great franchises success. There have been many years of graphical improvement, multiplayer updates, and revised campaign techniques that we have all experienced together. Many companies have thrived because of the success of the Xbox 360 and many ground-breaking games have revolutionized the games industry. Below will be a Top Ten List of The Best Xbox 360 Games of all time, based upon single player and multiplayer.
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Adrian P from AnalogHype writes "If you haven't picked up a Zune HD yet, now is your chance to showoff your inner fanboy with Xbox 360 inspired Zune HD Originals. Ranging from Halo 3 ODST to Lips, you can have your Zune HD to draped up to match your favorite Xbox 360 game"
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Retailer Amazon.com this week price cut Microsoft Corp.'s Halo Wars for the Xbox 360 to under $31 in a new game sale.
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Halo is Microsoft's "centre piece" franchise. That's according to Alex Cutting, producer on Halo 3: ODST from Microsoft Game Studios.

With the looming release of Bungie's Halo 3: ODST, Halo is back in the spotlight. And Cutting told VideoGamer.com that Halo is still massively important to Microsoft.

"Halo is our bread and butter," he said.

"It is a centre piece for us. We will invest in Halo as much as we can to make sure it's a healthy, respected, fun franchise, and we will continue to do so."
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Chris Jacob of Gizmodo writes:

"Dealzmodo has a ton of great deals on audio and video gear today, along with some big discounts on big-name games. Check out the combo deal on the Bravia, and the great price on the Sennheiser headphones."

The fantastic deals today in gaming (copypasted from the article) are :

• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Game of the Year Edition (360) for $29.98 plus free shipping (normally $37).
• Bioshock (PS3) for $19.99 (normally $28).
• The Bigs 2 (360/PS3) for $39.99 plus free shipping (normally $54).
• DSi Console with Rhythm Heaven for $169.99 plus free shipping (normally $198).
• Halo Wars (360) for $30.99 plus free shipping (normally $37).
• Guitar Hero 5 plus Guitar Hero Van Halen (360) for $54.90 (normally $110).
• Fallout 3: Operation Anchorage and Pitt Expansion (360) for $14.90 (normally $20).
• Nintendo Wii Remote Controller for $27.99 plus free shipping (normally $38).
• Penny Arcade Episode 2 (360) for 800 Points (normally 1200 Points).
• Rise Of Lost Empires (iPhone/iPod Touch) for $0.99 (normally $2.99).
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While it isn't a video game, RISK: Halo Wars Collector's Edition offers fans a way to expand the Halo Wars universe and we thought it was worth checking out....
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JPS Reports: "Gamestop announced today the on-going sale for this weekend. If you still have not played Halo Wars, this might be the good time to get it as Gamestop has the game on sale for $39.99 saving you $20..."
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Ausgamers:

Microsoft Australia have announced Christmas early with an Xbox 360 Pro Bundle packaged with both Halo 3 and Halo Wars, available nation-wide from August 6th (at participating retailers).

Sounds like a pretty sweet deal if you haven't made the console jump yet, and at AU$449 (RRP), you could do a lot worse in the bundle department. For those not in the know, the Pro Bundle comes packaged with a 60GB HDD, wireless controller, HDMI in, headset and ethernet cable.
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Major Nelson writes:

"I wanted to make you aware of an unfortunate incident that has resulted in the loss of all data on the Halo Wars Xbox LIVE Leaderboards. This includes all singleplayer, multiplayer and Trueskill leaderboards, as well as all matchmaking data, resulting in the Halo Wars leaderboards being reset to original launch day status."
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A server problem with XBLIVE has wiped out all Halo Wars stats.
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Microsoft's announcement of Halo Waypoint, the Halo "destination" coming to Xbox Live this Fall, was light on details, overshadowed by the reveal of the Halo Legends anime series. Fortunately, 343 Industries' Frank O'Connor was at Comic-Con to clear things up.

Waypoint will offer Halo enthusiasts access to audio and video content in addition to community features and the option to follow your "Halo career." O'Connor explained that Waypoint will track the Halo games you play, the achievements you unlock and other aspects not directly tied to "Halo 3, Halo Wars, and Halo games ongoing."

O'Connor says that Waypoint, accessed from the Xbox 360 dashboard, and likely from the My Xbox section, will be a "really good place for you to interact with other people."

"There's a lot more to Waypoint than just watching movies and listening to podcasts," he said, saying that fans of the series are underserved on their Xboxes.
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G4tv.com's liveblog from the Comic-Con panel, Halo Franchise: What's Next? is live and in progress.
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