Want to get your hands on Halo 3 as soon as possible? No problem…Microsoft just started accepting requests (click here to skip the splash screen) from people to test out Halo 3 Beta which will be available in the Spring of 2007. Not only do you get to play the game but you also get to be included in the development process. There are, however, some requirements that you have to meet before you register:
- You must be 17 years or older and a resident of the 50 United States (includes District of Columbia) or Canada.
- An Xbox 360 Pro console (includes hard-drive) or an Xbox 360 Core console with hard drive.
- A valid Xbox Live Gold subscription.
- A valid Microsoft. NET Passport account with a Xbox Live gamertag linked.
People who live in Europe will be able to register for the same Beta (that launches in the Spring) at a later date according to the site.
The real question is why has it taken so long to release Xbox’s “claim to fame” game? This thing should have been ready when the Xbox launched last year but somehow a closed Beta is finally popping up one and a half years later. I still only have the regular Xbox and Halo 1 and Halo 2 are definitely my favorite games, but I have not felt compelled to buy a new system as of right now. If Microsoft was really smart they would have Halo 3 ready for release when Nintendo and Sony launched their new systems, but they didn’t. All I have to say is that this game better be pretty darn amazing for taking this long to develop.
News Source: BetaNews
Bungie takes their time on their games…I still can’t see them having finished Halo 3 by next years time, to the standards of quality that gamers and bungie alike demand. For this game to be everything it is hyped up to be, I would expect no less than 4 years development time, if they did indeed begin no earlier than november 2004.
They knew they wouldn’t be able to produce a quality game in time for the 360 launch, and even for the ps3/wii launch….so that is why you are hearing HUGE amounts of Halo Franchise news now….from Halo 3 beta preview, to new Halo 2 maps, to last months EGM and 1UP Halo 3 exclusive, to Halo 3 commercial, to Halo Wars RTS game, to Halo 2 Vista, even the latest Halo book…..all of this has successfully drowned out the hype even the sales of the Wii and the PS3…on launch of those 2 systems..the MS Xbox 360 was still selling more consoles than both of the other systems were in the same timespan.
besides if they came out with halo 3 right now…it would ultimately end sales of Gears of War….which has proven to be a huge success. They don’t ever want to release halo 3 alongside another successful game, because they will only lose gross sales…especially when they make their money off of the accessories and games..and not the console itself (well until just recently when the confirmed xbox 360 price drop…because they are now making money off of each console sold).
I am a HUGE fan of the franchise…(and don’t call me some halo zealot or fanatic, because at first i really didn’t like the game…then the story hooked me and the game grew on me a lot)…but i fear that this 3 year time constriction won’t be enough to develop this game to the degree it is expected to be. Halo 2 took 3 years of development…and they basically scrapped their entire storyline they worked on for 2 years and remade the campaign from the ground up in 1 year flat. I simply can’t imagine bungie making this game in 3 years flat when it took that long to produce halo 2….even if their staff has doubled since then, which another new HQ now.
also bungie is outsourcing all of there other projects right now…so they can focus their team of over 100 solely on Halo 3 development. Outsourcing Halo 3 commercial development, Halo 2 Vista development, Halo Wars development, etc. etc.
i worry that the scope of the game will be no bigger than in halo 2..meaning the maps will be no bigger, the number of max players in a game will be no bigger, and we will not see the big epic battles that many have speculated and come to expect to be in the halo 3 multiplayer and campaign. I am willing to bet we’ll see a delay on the release date…which i have always said will be no sooner than november 2007.
Also note that when signign up…make sure your MSN Live/MSN Hotmail account is linked with your xbox live Gamertag…as that is how they plan on picking people..if it isn’t a linked gamertag account, then I’m sure they won’t include you in the selections….as they have no other way of determining one’s xbox account….hopefully (my xbox live account that im using on my original xbox..will suffice until i get my 360 in a month, when it comes to selecting beta testers) and hopefully ill be able to relink my CURTHOMPSON gamertag to my curtissthompson@hotmail.com account…and remove the current reserved gamertag that is linked to it currently…..if anyone knows how to do that, switching what gamertag is linked to a passport account…please tell me, thanks.
either way the game will be great…and im still playing halo 2..so if that’s any indication..then ill surely play halo 3 for many years following, regardless of how much they put into the game.
wow..sorry for the rant
/end rant here/
That might be a near record breaking comment for its length.
I hope that all of the development time they are spending on making Halo 3 will be well worth it. I haven’t had a chance to take on Gears of War but I have heard some great things about it. I’m not quite sure why Halo 3 is so addicting but it undoubtedly is and no matter how many times I play it I still can’t get enough.
I didn’t realize that Bungie is outsourcing their other projects but it is quite remarkable that their team only consists of 100 people. I thought it would be a lot bigger but I guess that is why they need to do some outsourcing.
Thanks for all of the info Curtiss!
Aren’t Halo and Halo 2 amazing games? Why shouldn’t we expect the same fr Halo 3?