: The problem ukimalefu is, its over.
: You payed it the first time, or where not interested in MS trigger time.
*snip*
: So what did the MS "focus group" team get back to "team 3
: port" about?
Uh....have you played Halo? At all?
My friend, you need to take a deep breath and about three steps back. Microsoft is ever so slightly more far-sighted than you might want to believe, and they have approached the console market with a good degree of respect and professionalism.
What's more, most of the things you're claiming I'll have to pay for are in fact, free. Hell, I'll even address it point-by-point, which I rarely ever do.
:Making you enjoy paying for: the game,
Not difficult if you're relatively unbiased. Halo has been an excellent series.
:the upgrades,
I'm expecting all patches & such to be available on Live, for free. It's not really doable any other way.
:the network,
I don't have a Live Gold Account, but honestly, I wouldn't really resent paying for it, since it's cheaper than say....playing WoW. Besides that, if you don't want to pay to play multiplayer, you can still register for a Live Silver account, which gives you access to content updates & just invite some friends over to check out the new maps.
:the end user tools,
Halo 3 shipped with a built-in map editor called The Forge, which, while not a full fledged map builder, gives a degree of customizability never before seen in a console game
:the toys, the dolls, the soundtracks, the books, the comics,
I'm grouping all these under the "Fanboy" category. I personally have no need for a six inch master chief, or a plush grunt, nor do I particularly want to listen to the strains of Halo at a party. The books and the comics, well, I'd read them for the same reason I come here. Bungie has done what they've always done; they've made a living, breathing, believable world that makes you want to learn more, and the books/comics give an insight the games don't.
:the movies,
I'm gonna be reading the reviews first. If it sucks, everyone in the world will be saying "Damn you Bill Gates, I wasted 10 bucks on this drivel?"
:"the forming a "clan" charge, the playing a map/mod charge ect is the fun part.
This, I actually had to look up. First, Halo 3 didn't even ship with clan support, but it has been said that it will be part of the first (free) content update. As for paying for the maps, many will be available free, some will come as part of map packs which will, if the current marketplace is any indication, be under ten bucks, and if you don't want to pay that, well you can always download one of the older maps that your buddy from australia has run through the forge and made into some loopy version which plays entirely differently from the original.
To make a long story short, I keep trying to see things from your point of view, but I just can't get my head that far up my ass. :)
