Microsoft Thinks Halo: Reach Beta Will Sell ODST
Xbox boss Stephen McGill thinks that offering access to the Halo: Reach beta exclusively through Halo 3: ODST will be a tantalizing bargain, and will prove more successful than Halo 3's beta with Crackdown.
Gamers who pick up Halo 3: ODST next week will be given a special code that will eventually grant them access to the multiplayer beta of Halo: Reach, the prequel to the series set to hit shelves next year. This code will be exclusive to ODST, and Microsoft's Xbox head of entertainment Stephen McGill told MCV UK [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/35799/Halo-Reach-demo-will-sell-ODST-says-Microsoft] that he thinks that the promotion will help sell ODST to fans of the series:
[blockquote]The only way to access this beta will be through the Halo 3: ODST disc, so we feel there's another extremely compelling reason for both fans and newcomers to the franchise to experience Halo 3: ODST.
We saw the success of this mechanic with the Halo 3 multiplayer beta that came on the Crackdown game disc and the continued sales momentum and excitement generated around that title throughout its lifecycle, and we fully expect Halo 3: ODST to exceed that achievement.[/blockquote]
To be fair, McGill is probably right - beta access is a pretty sweet goody, since who doesn't like playing a game before everyone else? I have no doubt that the prospect of Reach will make more people buy ODST. I just can't imagine that it'll be as successful as the Crackdown promotion at all.
For one thing, they're games in the same series. If you're a big enough Halo fan to buy a game just to get access to the multiplayer beta, you'll probably be picking up ODST anyway, because... uh, it's a Halo game. Meanwhile, getting Halo 3 early might have gotten people to look at Crackdown who would have otherwise never given the game a second look.
For another thing, I just can't imagine that Reach's multiplayer will be significantly different from Halo 3's. With Halo 3, it was the first next-gen installment, it was changing things up from Halo 2 with a ton of new vehicles and weapons, etc. It was the final game in the main trilogy, and even if fans are looking forward to Reach, I doubt it'll be quite as hotly anticipated.
So sorry, McGill - I can buy that the beta promotion will help move ODST, but believing that it'll be more successful than what they did with Halo 3 and Crackdown is another story altogether. And it certainly won't have the draw of sexy Cap'n Tightpants Nathan Fillion, oh no.
(Via VG247 [http://www.vg247.com/2009/09/17/mcgill-odsts-halo-reach-beta-exclusivity-will-eclipse-halo-3-stunt/])
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Xbox boss Stephen McGill thinks that offering access to the Halo: Reach beta exclusively through Halo 3: ODST will be a tantalizing bargain, and will prove more successful than Halo 3's beta with Crackdown.
Gamers who pick up Halo 3: ODST next week will be given a special code that will eventually grant them access to the multiplayer beta of Halo: Reach, the prequel to the series set to hit shelves next year. This code will be exclusive to ODST, and Microsoft's Xbox head of entertainment Stephen McGill told MCV UK [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/35799/Halo-Reach-demo-will-sell-ODST-says-Microsoft] that he thinks that the promotion will help sell ODST to fans of the series:
[blockquote]The only way to access this beta will be through the Halo 3: ODST disc, so we feel there's another extremely compelling reason for both fans and newcomers to the franchise to experience Halo 3: ODST.
We saw the success of this mechanic with the Halo 3 multiplayer beta that came on the Crackdown game disc and the continued sales momentum and excitement generated around that title throughout its lifecycle, and we fully expect Halo 3: ODST to exceed that achievement.[/blockquote]
To be fair, McGill is probably right - beta access is a pretty sweet goody, since who doesn't like playing a game before everyone else? I have no doubt that the prospect of Reach will make more people buy ODST. I just can't imagine that it'll be as successful as the Crackdown promotion at all.
For one thing, they're games in the same series. If you're a big enough Halo fan to buy a game just to get access to the multiplayer beta, you'll probably be picking up ODST anyway, because... uh, it's a Halo game. Meanwhile, getting Halo 3 early might have gotten people to look at Crackdown who would have otherwise never given the game a second look.
For another thing, I just can't imagine that Reach's multiplayer will be significantly different from Halo 3's. With Halo 3, it was the first next-gen installment, it was changing things up from Halo 2 with a ton of new vehicles and weapons, etc. It was the final game in the main trilogy, and even if fans are looking forward to Reach, I doubt it'll be quite as hotly anticipated.
So sorry, McGill - I can buy that the beta promotion will help move ODST, but believing that it'll be more successful than what they did with Halo 3 and Crackdown is another story altogether. And it certainly won't have the draw of sexy Cap'n Tightpants Nathan Fillion, oh no.
(Via VG247 [http://www.vg247.com/2009/09/17/mcgill-odsts-halo-reach-beta-exclusivity-will-eclipse-halo-3-stunt/])
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