Also buried in that short Variety article is this tidbit:
Future vidgame iterations of "Halo," which has already generated more than $600 million in sales for its first two versions, are almost certain. If possible, Microsoft and U will synchronize a game and movie release to take advantage of cross-marketing.
There's a freely available streaming video interview with Tim of Wideload Games over at GameSpot. (Sorry no last name-- the screen size of the free streaming video is so small I can't accurately transcribe it, so I won't try.) He explains the basic gameplay mechanics, as seen elsewhere-- the unholy flatulence, the gut grenade, the brain-eating, and the hand-- and also the use of Stubbs' head as a kind of deadly gaseous bowling ball.
The following is excerpts from the transcript of the online chat with Microsoft's J Allard that Major Nelson posted on his blog. Some of the answers I thought bore a little extra scrutiny, so I've added some comments below.
Major Nelson is hosting on his blog a transcript of the recent online chat with Microsoft's J Allard. A lot of emphasis was placed on the recent announcement of two versions of the Xbox; a premium one with all the bells and whistles, and a "core" system $100 cheaper with no headset and no hard drive.
Couple of good strategy articles linked from HBO this weekend. Overswarm updated the Not So Common Sense Guide with new articles and movies, and LegendaryMark wrote an article on coordinating large matchmaking teams. Both are excellent reads with useful tips.
The Xbox 360 will indeed come in two bundles. $299 for the Core System gets you the Xbox, one wireless controller, Xbox Live Silver, a faceplate and a standard AV cable. The $399 bundle swaps out the standard AV cable for a component (HD) cable, and adds a portable 20Gb hard drive and a headset. Complete information is at XboxSolution.
Stosh has written at Bungie.net that Rooster Teeth will be continuing their Red vs Blue machinima series, with season 4 set to debut on August 29, 2005. (I can't find confirmation of this on the RvB website as stosh seems to indicate, but perhaps I'm not looking in the right place--Ed.)
This week's What's Update by Frankie says that matchmaking playlists will get updated in "September-ish" to include all the new maps where appropriate (since at the end of this month, they'll all be free) as well as some interesting new variations, such as games with more than two teams and oddball games with more than one ball.
Podtacular! is a Halo 2 Podcast, available at www.podtacular.com or on iTunes. A podcast is like Tivo for radio: it's an internet radio show where your computer automatically downloads new shows and you listen when you want to. You can find out more at apple.
Microsoft wants to know if you've ever heard of a little game called "Halo 2". If you have, fill out their survey.
Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb will be on the "Pitch Your Game Idea" panel at the Penny Arcade eXpo (PAX) this year.
Microsoft's Peter Moore is interviewed over at SPOnG about the Xbox and the Xbox 360 and Microsoft's digital entertainment strategy.
SketchFactor has posted at Bungie.net a writeup of Bungie's trip to the GPhoria videogame awards, which he attended with Marty O'Donnell, Jay Weinland, and Frankie. Frankie's written his own writeup on that page, titled "an Insider's Guide to Schmoozing with the Stars" and Sketch has also put up a photo gallery.
M0N3y 5H07 posted in the Bungie.net forum that he found the "Hi Ben" easter egg on Regret referred to by Frankie in the abandoned tower. Other users captured videos: RapidShare, Putfile. Frankie was expected to give the solution in this week's What's Update.
Str8 Rippin ended the tournament domination of Team 3D on the pro Halo 2 circuit by taking the MLG event in Philadelphia. Louis Wu at HBO pointed out an interview with the winners by Dyslexia at MLG.