- Maimum FEAR
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- Elder Mythic Member
Posted by: Child0fTheMind
Thank you, Maimum FEAR. And I completely agree, the idea of canon and the halo universe is becoming more and more convoluted.
Halo: Wars, Halo: Legends, Halo: Reach, etc, each bringing in more and more inconsistencies, at first they were subtle like in Halo: Wars, but now with Legends and Reach they seem even more so.
I truly wonder if 343 has an ultimate plan for these?
Thanks for the quick reply, I'm glad some people are engaged enough in the topic to reply thoughtfully and passionately. I'm perfectly happy for people to have opinions that differ from mine, as long as they argue in a well reasoned way. So thanks for getting involved.
I think the goal of this thread is no longer realistic, which was to define exactly what is and is not canon based on the testimony of Bungie employees such as Joseph Staten, Frankie and others. There is just too much going on right now to actually classify everything. Especially when different studios are working on separate stuff at the same time.
As far as I can tell it seems that 343 Studios is now the official home and voice of Halo. As much as Bungie created and nurtured Halo, once they leave the series with Reach they'll no longer be taking an active role in the expansion and development of the Halo universe. Therefore the official word on matters such as canon will fall on 343 Studios, which is fine by me.
Hopefully 343 Studios will clarify at some point exactly what they consider canon and what they think should be dropped, or de-ranked as canon. That should make it easier for fans.
The Star Wars Expanded Universe works so well because you know exactly where you stand. The Star Wars website outlines the different levels of canon, with the films at the top, and how all the different publications like novels, comics, games etc. fit into the universe and what outranks what.
For now at least it's probably still useful to use this basic guide for understanding the different elements of the Halo universe:
- The games rank first
- Published materials (books, comics, soundtrack liner notes etc.) rank second
- Marketing and PR materials third
So rule of thumb for most situations is that games always outrank novels and marketing materials, novels always outrank marketing materials and the latest releases of those items are "the most canon". So if Reach contradicts anything in Halo: CE it would be a good idea to go with what Reach says rather than Halo: CE. Hope this helps anyone who is confused.