The Bungie/Activision Deal.

[Blade]

So it's been announced that Bungie and Activision have made a deal to start working on an original project. It's going to be done over 10 years. Now, hardcore gamers who keep up with the industry will know that this is a pretty major deal, and means a few things that might just change the landscape of gaming.


1) No more Halo. This is a bittersweet thought, as it's never nice to see a decade defining franchise coming to an end, but I think this is a good time for Halo to end. Three main games and two spin offs in Halo Wars and Halo ODST, with a third in Halo Reach on the way. They've milked the series enough so that they've made a fuck load of money, but the series has still kept some dignity unlike certain other series that just don't want to piss off (I'm looking at you, Tony Hawk!).

2) Microsoft are desperately going to need a new core franchise. The success of the Xbox consoles is the house that Halo built, whether Microsoft and their fanboys are willing to admit it or not. They have some very successful exclusive franchises, but can Mass Effect or Gears of War really carry the next generation Microsoft console to success?

3) Activision are trying to pull an EA! For a good few years, EA was the most hated publisher in the world due to, well, their shit and rehashed games. From destroying the name of Goldeneye with the mediocre Rogue Agent to their yearly rehash of their sport franchises. But they bought Bioware, put out some quality games and now they're respected. With EA leaving the position of "World's most hated publisher" wide open, Activision just seemed to swoop in and fill that void. Making bucket loads of shovelware for Nintendo consoles, messing up Wolfenstein's legacy, raping the one great Tony Hawk series for all its worth, and most recently the Call of Duty DC controversy. It seems like Activision are trying to call a respected developer on board to help out their reputation. Not that they care about their reputation, they make hundreds of millions of dollars a year, but meh...


So. Thoughts?

 

[Trill Co$by]

So... we're going to get a game that combines the creativity of Halo mixed with the in game styles of Call of Duty? Man, I think that will be a definite advantage for the shooting game outlet, especially with Bad Company burying its axe of justice into the Warfare.

As for Microsoft's new pet... I honestly think that they don't have much to worry about. They've got Crackdown 2 coming out, as well as Gears 3 and Mass Effect 3. Not to mention, if they can get Rare to kick start once more then we could see some Perfect Dark spin-offs hitting the Microsoft brand.

Plus, Bungie can still help Microsoft, and they can still score exclusives... it's just now Bungie has joined the team of Activision, who is already in talks about pulling titles from PS3 anyways.

 

[Mr. Steve]

I think it was at an yahoo! article that they said that now that Bungie is with Activision, they now have freedom to put titles on PS3. And, yeah, apparently now that EA got itself out of the "shitty games, shittier sequels." now Activision's right on their tail what with the CoD mess.

Now, I'm sort of expecting something out of Bungie now that they're going to release the beta for Halo: Reach, and after the game comes out, they can work on a new IP. I'm really looking forward to what Bungie comes up with, especially with Activision's resources (Bungie/Blizzard RTS, please!)

 

[falconsault]

I wouldn't exactly count Halo out of the gaming world, from what I can remember reading, Microsoft is keeping the liscense for Halo and letting Bungie go. Now Microsoft's 343 Industries is going to be heading up any new Halo games after Reach is released.

And remember Halo Wars wasn't a Bungie game anyways, it was a game by Ensemble Studios and Robot Entertainment. Ensemble which was closed after Halo Wars was released. Which ultimately makes me sad because I loved Halo Wars and I want more of it.

So all in all, I'd say to expect Microsoft to continue to milk Halo for everything they can get out of it with 343 Industries.

As far as the Bungie/Activision deal is concerned, good for Bungie, even better for Activision. If Activision doesn't limit Bungie at all, they could make Activision a powerhouse like they used to be, they might even be able to trump EA, who seems to be buying every gaming company they can.

This should create more competition and hopefully get better games out from EA and Activision alike, ultimately this will be good for us gamers.