: ...
: you haven't really read up on the Halo section here at the Marathon Story
: Page, have you? If you had, you would know that nearly all of the Halo
: backstory originated BEFORE Microsoft bought Bungie. In fact, if you
: remember, Halo [1] didn't really have that huge of a marketing campaign.
: Hell, I saw more marketing for Jet Set Radio Future than I saw for Halo
: [1]. I write all this to simply defend the current Bungie. I believe that
: Bungie is still the brains behind EVERYTHING that they do, and Microsoft
: doesn't have a say in it one way or the other (as far as game content is
: concerned). Sure, Microsoft may advertise the game more than I'd prefer,
: and sure, the Halo novels wouldn't exist if it weren't for Microsoft's
: will (granted, Bungie still oversaw the entire process, but they were
: powerless to stop their writing), but I still like Bungie as much as I
: ever have.
: Keep in mind that I am as much a Marathon fan as I am a Halo fan. And just
: for reference, I'll let you know that I prefer the single player
: experience of Marathon, but I prefer the multiplayer experience of Halo.
: Oh, and just for your information, my favorite Bungie game is Myth 2. Not
: Marathon, not Halo. Myth 2.
Paolo has a point...Halo definitely had a substantial boost from marketing that gave its fanbase such a big springboard. Marathon never had a Microsoft corporate springboard when it started, so you have to realize just how much raw intellect fueled its growth as opposed to Halo's standardized explosion of commerce.