- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
I wrote that kind of fast so i'm going to add to it a little more, rather than create a new thread.
Many popular gaming tournaments first chose Halo CE, and then Halo 2 as their gateway games into the industry. What allowed these two totally different games to be used by such tournaments, was both the skill needed to win, and the overal popularity and excitement these games generate.
Halo CE came out and was arguable the reason most people ended up purchasing their Xboxs, and if they didn't have one for Halo CE, then they had one in anticipation for Halo 2.
Tournaments began to evolve around Halo. Needing an accurate shot, knowlege of the game, and sufficient teamwork in team type situations. The Halo CE multiplayer was the perfect game for the tourny setting. Towards the end of Halo 1s reign, the tournaments grabbed alot of recognition. Namely MLG. And large cash prizes and media intrest was able to grab the intrest of skilled players every where.
Then Halo 2 came out. The streets were lined for hours w/ people as if waiting to see the summer's big blockbuster movie.
Halo 2 turned out to be the perfect complement to it's predecessor (though not nearly as good) especially in reguard to the tournament scene. With it's immense popularity and tournament ready gameplay. Halo 2 is what ultimatly has made competitive gaming what it is today. A far stretch from the days of Pac-Man.
The success of Halo 3 will only play a small role in how it is accepted by the competitive gaming comunity. We all know it will be successful. But the gameplay and features for the multiplayer are the qualities that if messed up, could ruin the games possibilities to enter the tournament setting.
There is no doubt that competitive gaming is the reason why a large portion of the people who still play Halo 2 and invest their time and money are still playing, and still investing their time and money. With a television spot, multi-million dollar endorsements, a large and interesting community, and events all around North America: MLG (pending Halo 3s competitive functionability), could explode onto the mainstream more-so then it already has.