Xbox isn’t doing too hot right now. In fact, it hasn’t been for a while. Ever since the tragic reveal of the Xbox One 🎉and the clumsy launch that followed, Microsoft has spent most of the past two console generations clawing back ground from Sonyꦑ and Nintendo. It sells the least hardware and games, and doesn’t possess the blueprint for popular culture dominance it once did.
Halo has become a household name since its inception two decades ago, but I’d struggle to say the same about Gears of War, Forza, or any other major properties the console giant has shepherded throughout its history. Yes, it bought the temporary rights to certain exclusives in the past and now owns God knows how many massive names thanks to the acquisitions of Bethesda and Actꦦivision, but how many of these are Xbox truly responsible for? Not many.
Where Would Xbox Be Without Halo?
Speaking of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Master Chief, his franchise wasn’t exactly a Microsoft creation either. The game began life in development for Macintosh systems, having received one of its historic public showings at Macworld 1999. Back then, it had already established many of the visual and mechanical hallmarks we’d come to expect from the classic shooter, but it operated more like a 🧸third-person shooter or real-time strategy experience. That goes a long way in explaining why the original Halo has so many vast levels, because they were never meant to be explored from a fღirst-person perspective. Bungie has a history with both genres, so Halo could have been a fledgling attempt to combine them or try something new.
Microsoft would acquire Bungie in 2000, and go on to retool Halo as a major launch title for the original Xbox. It was undoubtedly the game that put the c🤪onsole on the map. Without it, I’m unsure if Xbox could have weathered the initial storm of its first generation. There aren’t any other major exclusives for the console at this time that spring to mind, and it ⛄was Halo’s rise and the release of its sequel alongside the growing popularity of Xbox Live that allowed the brand to grow beyond its infancy. Xbox 360 launched ahead of the PS3, and thanks to Sony’s hubris, was able to become a market leader before it had even left the starting line.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s impossible to overstate how much of an impact Halo had on modern video games, regardless of whether Microsoft was truly responsible for it or not. It proved to millions that first-person shooters could control well on console, introducing a loadout system and controls that woul💟d become the standard until the launch of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare six years later. And even then, it didn’t change that much, walking the road Halo helped pave in the first place. Online gaming, competitive shooters, and the way in which we interact with the genre wouldn’t be the same without Halo.
Once upon a time, Xbox also turned down an offer to ha🐈ve Grand Theft Auto 3 as an Xbox exclusive, 🦄believing GTA wouldn’t translate well to the third dimension.
Without Halo there is no Gears of War, no Forza, no Sea of Thieves, no I am already running out of big exclusives worth talking about in this sentence. You get what I mean. For an entire generation, Halo was the single game keeping Xbox afloat, and flagging sales had Microsoft leaving its debut console behind to pursue something new. The console landscape as we know🔯 it would be completely different today if Halo hadn’t ended up being the golden goose Microsoft so desperately needed, and we’ve seen its failure to foster talent outside of key franchiseꦡs again and again since the departure of Bungie.
I will always have a soft spot for Halo 4, 5, and Infinite, but for mainstream audiences, these new titles by 343 Industries were largely underwhelming and failed to live up to the legacy of their predecessors. Halo hasn’t been the same since Bu🧸ngie flew the nest, and while many have tried to fill the void 🧸left behind by Master Chief, none have quite measured up.
Where Does Halo Go From Here?
I can’t think of any exclusive that either hasn’t been ported to other platforms or become a relative failure to Mꩵicrosoft when you compare them to anything Sꦑony and Nintendo have coming out. There is just no competition, and the lack of games is ultimately poised to be Xbox’s downfall. Even after billions of dollars spent on acquisitions, the console giant is still unable to properly nurture talent or manage the studios under its umbrella, made worse by its desire to chase dying trends and to make every game as big as it can, regardless of how long these titles take to make. When you already have a lacking library, you can’t expect fans to wait around for a hit game that may never come.
A few years 🌌ago there was a foolish belief that Xbox could be the saviour of video🦹 games. It was spending billions on acquiring studios it promised to give untold creative freedom to, along with all the resources they might need to create the games we care about. But after shutting down T🍒ango Gameworks,﷽ Arkane Austin, and several other studio closures and layoffs, now it seems they were simply after another golden goose. A hard 🦩ask, doubl🐈y so when you can’t lay your own eggs in the first place.
Halo hasn’t picked▨ up a victory in years, and in its wake, nothing has come along to replace it as Xbox flounders for purpose despite owning so many studios and properties. I’m starting to dou🍒bt its relevance, and whether it would still be around if it wasn’t for a single stroke of luck.
168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Halo Infinite
- Top Critic Avg: 87/100 Critics Rec: 94%
- Released
- December 8, 2021
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Mild Language, Vio𓄧lence ๊
- Developer(s)
- 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:343 Industries
- Publisher(s)
- 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Xbox Game Studios
- Engine
- Slipspace
Bringing the series to next-gen consoles for the first time, Halo Infinite continues the story of Master Chief, a supersoldier task🐓ed with defeating the Banished. The Xbox flagship adds more open-world elements to the series, while beloved multiplayer modes make a welcome return.
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