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  • Subject: Dew Deadline Extended
Subject: Dew Deadline Extended
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Well, since I can't edit my previous post, let me clarify that the post was not directed at Bdabler, but rather at Rip's group.

Regarding your entries (Bdabler), nice job. Enjoy Halo 2 for the rest of us. d;-p

  • 07.23.2004 9:23 AM PDT
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We were going to go we had some tickets lined up yesterday that would have only cost us about three hundred a piece and we would have left from birmingham. However we could get no response from that guy on anything. So, as far as we knew this whole contest was a bunch of bull-blam!-. And I wasn't about to charge a-blam!- ton of money on my credit card for something I know nothing about other than a phone call saying we won. We still do not know any of the spacifics on whats going on. The guy told us this morning that he wouldnt know till he headed out there this afternoon.

  • 07.23.2004 10:12 AM PDT
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I also have a job and other resposiblites I have to take care of. I just cant pick up and leave with a couple hours notice regardless of how much I would spend on tickets. Guys I didnt even find out that the guy from DEW had called us back till this morning. COME ON!

  • 07.23.2004 10:15 AM PDT
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Yup, that sucks. Sorry, man.

  • 07.23.2004 10:18 AM PDT
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It's cool.

  • 07.23.2004 10:25 AM PDT
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I guess I'll just have to wait till Nov. 9th like everyone else.But seriously dude this has totally just ruined my whole weekend.

  • 07.23.2004 10:27 AM PDT
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This whole contest still smacks of "... just because you *can* do something doesn't mean you should", IMO. It just makes me feel kinda dirty.

Ya know, I really hope nobody quit their job cuz they couldn't get the time off, or told their girlfriend they would celebrate their anniversary *next* week, or borrowed plane fare that they are never going to be able to pay back cuz of school loans...

But, then again, we're are talking about adults who should know what's in their best interest... and can sign legally binding papers stating as much.

Boo. Hissss. I need a shower (not a Mountain Dew shower! : )

  • 07.23.2004 1:16 PM PDT
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I'm sorry to hear that so many people have had such -blam!- experiences with this Mt. Dew thing... I had a bad feeling this whole thing was going to backfire and personally I'm pretty disappointed in how this has been handled.

You are all entitled to your own opinions, but please keep in mind that I went out of my way to try and distance Bungie from this goat rodeo as much as possible. The Bungie team is responsibe for developing the game, but we usually have very little say (if any) in stuff like corporate promotional deals between Xbox/Microsoft and 3rd parties.

A Mt. Dew ad that had to do with Xbox and Halo 2 was going to happen regardless of who they brought in to "star" in it... When the concept of using "real" people from the community came up, it sounded much cooler than using a bunch of models. Why not feature real diehard fans who would really get a kick out of playing the game?

Well, then everyone had to pay their own way... and the selection criteria was a little weird.. and the shoot got re-scheduled... and everything got messy.

I feel bad for any of you that feel you got burned because of this... If you hate Dew, don't drink it and don't support them. If you feel that somehow Bungie has let you down, well, I'm sorry you feel that way. We're staying focused and doing our best to make Halo 2 as great as possible and as always, our fans are hugely important to us. Halo 2 is big business, and a huge deal for Microsoft, there will likely be plenty more things that are out of our control that many of you disagree with between now and launch.

Thanks everyone for your understanding... and I am sorry this turned into a goat rodeo. (my new favorite term)

  • 07.23.2004 3:46 PM PDT
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it's cool. thanks Sketch.

  • 07.23.2004 3:59 PM PDT
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Thanks for replying Sketchfactor. That truly means a lot to me. I still love Mt. Dew, but I wish Bungie had some say in the judging of this contest.

  • 07.23.2004 4:01 PM PDT
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Thank you Sketchfactor.

  • 07.23.2004 4:20 PM PDT
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Thanks, Sketch. I just knew that someone on your end was seeing (and feeling) what many of your fans were seeing (and feeling). I think it's safe to say that everyone has entered into some kind of agreement that they weren't 100% about and had it spin around and bite them in the posterior. We're all human -- even you overly-human types at Bungie ; )

My question now: who's gonna pay the "winner's" travel expenses (*cough* Pepsi *cough*)? I still have a picture in my head of a bunch of guys sleeping off a few hours of Halo 2 in the back of a rented van.

I think I and my friends have tossed enough cash Bungie, Microsoft and Pepsi's way to transport and, for a day house, the population of Sierra Leone. I think someone can cough-up enough cash to fly and pamper a few nerds -- even if they will be tempered and fattened with the goodness of Halo 2.

  • 07.23.2004 5:32 PM PDT
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Per the original "rules", Mt. Dew is expecting "winners" to get to Redmond, WA on their own. They haven't changed their position on this.

  • 07.23.2004 5:54 PM PDT
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we got screwed

  • 07.23.2004 6:19 PM PDT
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Posted by: raft
we got screwed


Yeah... but how would you like to be in sketch's shoes and have to report to the powers-that-be that he and his troops lost a battle for control of Earth to... Pepsi?

Ouch.

  • 07.23.2004 6:31 PM PDT
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Doh! I have to make this quick cuz I'm heading out the door as I write this to go break off a piece of life but...

... I think I have a solution (assuming this sitch really needs one):

When H2 ships, we find out who *really* is top pig by tossing all the folks who entered this contest into a suitable map and game-type on Live and let 'em rumble! Let's find out if the Brainy Crew With The Wrong Look can overcome those Hunky Hunksters With The Poor Communication Skills in a *fair fight*!

You guys who "honestly won" can play too! : )

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Heck, I'd buy a ticket!

  • 07.23.2004 6:57 PM PDT
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The above suggested grudge match would, of course, be sponsored by Bungie and Microsoft, with the sponsors providing a wide selection of fabulous prizes to the winners.

(looks around sheepishly)

And I should get a free advanced copy of Halo 2 cuz I'm a nice guy and people like me and I try to help when I can and I'm hungover.

(Falls face-first into keyboard)

  • 07.24.2004 9:54 AM PDT
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I hope the winners post how it went!

  • 07.25.2004 1:27 PM PDT
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Posted by: raft
I hope the winners post how it went!


Me too. I really hope everything worked out for the best and they all had a blast -- and can share awesome stories of their trigger time with H2.

  • 07.25.2004 8:10 PM PDT
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Nice to finally see something from the guys at Bungie. And I guess I can forgive the amount of time it took to get here due to this (from the weekly update):Posted by: Frankie
July 23, 2004

It's been a busy, busy week. So busy in fact, and so crunchtacular, that basically nobody is really available to chat this week. Sorry. Don't yell/flame/freak out.

Sketch was out in New York being a muckety-muck all week, and I got roped into another classic Parsons travel-trap. It involves a passport, and some international shenanigans. Think sauerbraten.


It still saddens me that Bungie has lost control over a lot having to do with their games now, but I guess that shouldn't be much of a surprise as they are owned by a large corporation who, in the end, are just looking out for their own bottom line.

I think the thing that hurt the most is that we were used to the days of Bungie owned by Bungie making decisions based largely on Bungie's dedication to great games and great fans. We just have to remember now that Bungie is no longer Bungie owned by Bungie, but Bungie owned by Microsoft who is going to make decisions based on how to glean the most $ from the general populace and not worry if that steps on the feet of some of us old time / hardcore fans, whether or not "Bungie" agrees with those decisions.

We already saw some of the "compromises" forced by Microsoft with Halo ... the rushed delivery date and cutting of weapons etc that came along with that, the repetitive levels, no map editor, etc. My bet is that those "compromises" will continue and maybe even increase as Bungie becomes even more of a cash cow for Microsoft.

Sad ... yes, reality ... yes, reality forced somewhat by our own fault ... also yes. You want cheap games with quick turn-around times, you're going to have to deal with some of this corporate "stuph". And from the general clamour of "we can't wait for this game to come out NOW" and "how come games are so expensive" this seems to truly be the case.

For me, Halo was the best $350 I ever spent (had to get an XBOX to play it on) and if you factor in the amount of time I have played, it has probably been the cheapest form of enjoyment ever for me also.

So ... thanks as always to Bungie for a great game (Halo among others), thanks for trying to continue that tradition forward (Halo2 and beyond hopefully), and sorry that we all (including the guys at Bungie) have to put up with the large corporations in order to continue producing/receiving the greatness.

  • 07.26.2004 6:17 AM PDT
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Hey guys. Hope your weekend was better then mine. I walked around all weekend pissed off cause I was Supposed to be playing halo 2. Anyways just wanted to say to True me and my crew are all about some Xbox Live matches. However I'd like to address you saying we have poor comunication skills. If you have been reading our posts it was the Dew guy running the show who didnt know how to return two voice mails on his cell phone, or our return our e-mails. I still don't understand why bdair was able to get a hold of him and we were not. Anyways, It's all over with now. I know some of you guys are probably pissed cause we one the contest ( undeservingly ) and we also did not get to go. Please dont hold any animosity towards me or my team. If read our posts for the last couple of days you'll understand our situation. I think from reading some of you guys posts that you seem like cool people, and you all seem to love halo. Well regardless of how me and my team look we are hard core halo fans too and hope that you'll join us in live matches NOV 9th.

  • 07.26.2004 7:54 AM PDT
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Posted by: MANOSTL
I walked around all weekend pissed off cause I was Supposed to be playing halo 2... True me and my crew are all about some Xbox Live matches. However I'd like to address you saying we have poor communication skills.


The "poor communication skills" comment was not to be taken seriously; just a play on stereo-types for comedic effect. You know: good-looking and dumb, bright but fugly... know what I mean?

Sorry for the misunderstanding.

And I really am sorry you guys got screwed out of a Halo 2 session. That really sucks... but I can't help both think you're better off with the cash in your pockets. Think how many new Xboxes, controllers, copies of H2 and beer you can buy for what it would have cost to fly to WA. I think you and your crew were the real winners -- especially if you can "guilt" Pepsi into giving you some free shwag! : )

  • 07.26.2004 9:02 AM PDT
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I'm curious why no one has responded with the outcome on Saturday! What the hell happened out there? Why would pepsi (an other sponsors) not give details on the winners and the event.

All we wanted were details about the event before paying a ton of money! Now that the event is over, can someone give me details that we have begged for since the beginning?

  • 07.26.2004 10:55 AM PDT
Subject: We were there !!!
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Me my brother and our bud got selected and went to redmond to play a demo version of Halo 2. I'll post more info on my hands on impressions after I catch up on some rest and sleep.

  • 07.26.2004 11:24 AM PDT
Subject: Dew Deadline Extended
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Yeah it's cool True. Still wanna get some games together when Halo 2 comes out. We still might wright a letter to Pepsi just cause they own Mt Dew and let them know just how sorry the contest was run.

  • 07.26.2004 12:39 PM PDT