http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/15 ... 24592.html

Halo 3 parrying PlayStation 3 launch

Time quotes Bill Gates saying Sony's next-gen console will "walk into" the Xbox 360 follow-up to the best-selling sci-fi shooter.
For months, the Web was rife with rumors that Microsoft would ship the sequel to Halo 2 for the Xbox 360 simultaneously with the launch of the PlayStation 3. Now, that has been confirmed--by none other than Bill Gates himself.

In next week's issue of Time Magazine--which features Gates holding the Xbox 360 on the cover--Gates mentioned plans for the release of the much-anticipated follow-up to the best-selling console shooter. In a parenthetical sidebar in the article, Time says the following:

"Note to the hard-core faithful: the next version of Halo will not, repeat not, be ready in time for the launch of Xbox 360. It will be part of the all-important second wave next spring. 'It's perfect,' Gates says, radiant with bloodlust. 'The day Sony launches [the new PlayStation], and they walk right into Halo 3.'"

While Microsoft reps were not available for comment as of press time, Gates' comments appear to confirm the theory that Microsoft will release Halo 3 either simultaneously or near the release of Sony's next-gen console. It also marks the first official confirmation that a third Halo is indeed in the works, and will be released for the Xbox 360.

Although such statements might be interpreted as grandstanding, such a maneuver definitely would have an impact. Halo 2 sold over 6.5 million copies to date, and is credited with doubling the subscriber base of Xbox Live from around 750,000 to over 1.5 million. It is also credited by industry-watchers as one of the main reasons for boosting sales of the original Xbox last holiday season.

By Tor Thorsen -- GameSpot
POSTED: 05/15/05 12:50 PM PST

Bill is an evil little bastard, and I like it.

jesus christ thats mean. ha. oh well.

That release date has been rumored for a while. Makes excellent business sense. No way PS3 has a better game available at launch than Halo 3- No way in hell.

this isn't necessarily true. plus, ps3 is going to be a lot more powerful (not sure on exact numbers right off hand).

am i the only one that doesnt think halo 2 is the best game ever? dont get me wrong, its a great game... but the single player game remains almost unchanged from halo. i just felt really underwhelmed when it came out.

this post was from a while ago... and my opinion has changed a bit. ive played both 1 and 2's campaigns on legendary, and halo 2 definitely has the edge. its not so noticeable the first time you play it. but damn, im all about this game now.

I never really understood the appeal of Halo. I'm a Bond person myself.

Halo 2 was quite comfortably owned by Halo, but Halo 3 has the potential to be something very special.

j.

I can't think of anyone who thought it was the best game ever. The best Xbox Live game maybe.

if they are actually innovative, maybe Halo 3 could be cool. But Halo 2 was very little more than Halo 1.5. Show me screenshots and the only way I can tell you it is halo 2 is because your cyborg is holding 2 guns instead of one.

halo 2 on xbox live is where it's at....that is what made halo 2 what it is...i know i have barely played single player...

So if you want to own Halo 3 you are going to have to buy Xbox 360???

Well, yeah.

Would you really want to devote the kind of resources and marketing that Halo 3 will garner if it's going to be shipped for a console that's already been replaced? And particularly in light of Gates' strategy to put the beat-down on Sony?

No, this makes sense. I was just wondering.


any news on whether we will be able to play Xbox games on Xbox 360?

We'll find out tomorrow vis a vis E3.

I have a sneaking suspicion the answer is no.

I'm not even a gamer, but I find this, if it turns out to be the case, bizarre.

Why wouldn't the XBOX 360 be backward friendly? What's the rationale?

Halo 2 was a true sequel. The graphics might not have changed much, but they did improve. I was quite dissapointed that the "feel" changed so much.

So what if it's more powerful? Being more powerful doesn't make the games great.

i doubt theres ANY WAY IN HELL that halo 3 will actually be ready in time for ps3's release.

1. halo 2 was pushed back about a million times. and there was very little innovation involved. if halo 3 is going to truly be something huge, it will take time.

2. halo2 took 3 years to make... if this release is accurate, it would give them only 2 years to work on this one.

3. bungie will be learning the 'ins and outs' of the xbox 360. learning new hardware to develop for isnt easy. this is why games that come out on the consoles these days look better than those available at launch time.

i would rather wait for halo 3 and have it kick my ass than have another so-so release


ok a few months has changed a couple of things....

now that ps3 has been pushed back a few times, its given the bungie dudes some extra time. i still dont think the release will come at the same time as ps3, but i retract my 'no way in hell' attitude from above.

i thought i heard a rumor somewhere that while they were working on Halo 2 they were also doing somethings for a potential Halo 3 release. So they could be farther ahead on development than we think.