Microsoft honestly believes that Halo: Reach will outsell Call of Duty: Black Ops this autumn.
"It's going to be a really good fight and yes I do [believe it]," Stephen McGill, Xbox UK boss, told Eurogamer at a Halo: Reach celebrity launch event last night. "We have huge expectations."
"More than 34 million people have bought [a Halo game] and those people are going to want to play Halo: Reach. We're going to do incredibly well."
"Halo was the stand-out title when we launched Xbox ten years ago," he added. "It was the title that made FPS on consoles an accessible, fun, life-changing experience."
The Halo: Reach review embargo lifts early on Sunday morning, and McGill expects "very good, very high, glowing reviews". He's seen "a few" magazine scores already and was apparently "very happy".
McGill was also confident about the future of Halo beyond Reach and beyond Bungie, claiming that the series is "in very good hands" and that there are "great plans" for it.
Last night's event featured a live Halo: Reach showdown between celebrities and gamers. The team of stars - footballer Rio Ferdinand, Gadget Show presenter Jason Bradbury, rugby player Ben Cohen, recording artist Mr Hudson and TV presenter Jameela Jamil - was, in McGill's words, "completely trounced".
Radio 1's DJ Reggie Yates hosted the match and branded Rio Ferdinand "officially rubbish at Halo".
Ordinary gamer Robert Daniel Brown was on the winning team. He told Eurogamer he'd had "the greatest night of my life", and put the victory down to "good teamwork and communication". "We totally thrashed the opposition," he said. His top tip for Halo: Reach multiplayer: "Use the Battle Rifle; it's the only gun that all of the professionals use."
Halo 3 shattered records, I'd be a bit surprised if Reach doesn't.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- I don't want a big car, particularly. I have no need for acreage, and I don't like the fuel bills. But I don't want a small one because they're all like supermarket own-brand cola: weedy imitations of the real thing - Jeremy Clarkson
I'm not exactly sure about the facts but I think Reach beat MW2 in pre-orders, and that was before a lot of people pre-ordered it later...
Also, IW is more popular than Treyarch, so Black Ops will probably sell less than MW2, I think Reach could easily beat it...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- The reward for toil is more toil, those who dig the best ditches get given a bigger shovel...
Reach outselling CoD7 lol, let me make a bet on that one. CoD7 is multiplatform do not forget this important factor and the fact that MW2 is actually one of the most if not the most played game on the planet.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Because French Is Awesome.
I wouldn't be surprised if Reach outsold black ops. CoD 7 is a Treyarch game and they don't exactly have the best reputation.
Plus I think that Modern Warfare's numbers were inflated because of people jumping on the MW bandwagon and everyone pushing their games back to spring '10 so they wouldn't have to compete with "the holiday games" (read: Modern Warfare 2).
reach will die before cod 7 beacuse cod 7 comes with mod tools and ded servers most like a halo reach mod :3 though this is all speculation until cod 7 comes out we wont know.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well gordon freemane, and just in time too.
reach will die before cod 7 beacuse cod 7 comes with mod tools and ded servers most like a halo reach mod :3 though this is all speculation until cod 7 comes out we wont know.
Eugh great more reason for all the cod noobs to mod their game. Also I think you underestimate halo, people were playing halo 2 right upto (and past) the multiplayer deactivation; APACHE N4SIR kept playing halo 2 until nearly a month after the original xbox live was deactivated.... Also black ops is made by treyarch who made the world at war monstrosity.
Also forgot to add, games set in Vietnam fail.
*cough cough*
The only thing missing from this impressive entry is a number "4" in the title, because for all intents and purposes, Reach feels like the next big thing in the Halo franchise. GamePro (5 out of 5 stars)
Halo: Reach is bar none the most developed, robust, and title in the franchise. Planet Xbox 360 (10 out of 10)
Halo: Reach is everything a Halo fan has ever dreamed for. Destructoid (10 “Flawless Victory”)
Nine years in and on its fifth and final pass Bungie has created the definitive Halo experience… IGN UK (10 out of 10 “Masterful”)
…a perfect way for Bungie to part with the series it turned into a phenomenon. Game Informer (10 out of 10)