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  • Subject: Is franchise a dirty word?
Subject: Is franchise a dirty word?
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Well is it? With the multitude of skepticism arising with Bungies announcements lately it made me stop and think. I work for a franchise. It’s the era we’re in. You see it everywhere. Movies, restaurants, shoe stores, video games etc. It’s basic business. If something works why stop.

Now without boring you all with a 10 years synopsis of my life and times devoted to help build a franchise I’ll get down to the nitty gritty.

What has bugged me is a few (and it really is only a few) people who don’t know their Halo. It could have easily been an RTS that was spawned by Bungie some 7+ years ago. Not that I would have been any less of a fan. Myth is a great game. RTS is my favorite genre. So really I probably would have loved it as much as what we originally got. It’s not my call which way Bungie went however there has been a growing call in the community (highlighted by the HaloGen project) to make it so. So let it be.

As for the HaloGen saga. Shame on you MS. Really, I mean you knew about it for over 12 months. I could go on but it’s not worth it. I understand the situation and am really only peeved that you let it go on being developed right up till the end. However what would I have done that would have been any different? Probably not much. There's method in every business decision.

Bungie has been clear and defined in their remarks about the new projects. Some here would say on regular occurrence that Bungie has been guilty of keeping their cards to close to their chest. However consider the circumstances. Marketing and Sales are my expertise so I know to well what it all means. Dates for even the smallest amount of knowledge about forthcoming projects are important. It’s a marketing ploy. People are solely employed at MS for just this. Debate, meetings, hypothetical scenarios. Research, data analysis. You get the idea.

What they have said however is just as important in reassuring your fears as what they haven’t. They aren’t making Halo Wars. Ensemble is. They are offering only a small hand in aspects such as story line etc. At the same time they have given us the assurance that Halo 3 will not be affected by this. It’s enough for me at this point and I’m a mod at Halo2sucks.com. Someone hard to convince and with no doubt a large amount of scepticism at times.

The other project sounds interesting enough. Why judge something I know little about. Again Bungie gives us assurances. They’re more then aware that a sure thing does not exist in life. Look at your own gaming history. Like me you’ve been involved as a player in many gaming franchises. Some eventually burn you and you never go back. Right when you have committed your undying loyalty to a franchise and dare not believe that it will let you down. I could reel off 10 franchises right now that went south quick. Maybe it was the 2nd installment that burned the franchise. Maybe the third. Sooner or later the developer has to stand by its product and not the franchise name.

Halo 2 took a lot out of a lot of fans. Bungie knows this. Most will be willing to give them a second chance. I will. However as they say “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me”. That’s how I see it.

So when will the franchise end? When it’s not viable. Just like the franchise I have helped build up for 10 years. Last in the Halo trilogy does not mean the end of Halo. It may only be the beginning.

  • 09.28.2006 2:27 AM PDT
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Posted by: VVV
Well is it? With the multitude of skepticism arising with Bungies announcements lately it made me stop and think. I work for a franchise. It’s the era we’re in. You see it everywhere. Movies, restaurants, shoe stores, video games etc. It’s basic business. If something works why stop.

Well VVV I appreciate your view. But it is the phrase 'if something works why stop' which raises my interest. How do we define it 'working'? Inspiring people, entertaining people, making the fans happy, gaining new fans.... making money? My question really is, when will they stop? Halo happy meals? Halo Crazy Frog?

  • 09.28.2006 5:14 AM PDT

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  • 09.28.2006 5:37 AM PDT

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Posted by: VVV
Halo 2 took a lot out of a lot of fans. Bungie knows this. Most will be willing to give them a second chance. I will. However as they say “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me”. That’s how I see it.


People are confused in regards to this topic. Halo 2 took alot out of fans? I'm afraid you have fallen victim to the vocal minority. I compare this to going to see a movie in the theatre where you have one infant/child who cries the entire movie and then you announce that the entire audience was unruly.

Halo 2 still is one of the most played games on Xbox Live almost 2 years after its release. I dont see that as "took a lot out of fans".Just my opinion, but I think your judgement on Halo2 is biasd by your own thoughts on the game.

As for the Halo franchise, HaloWars sounds sweet. I remember many 24+ hour marathons of AoE in college. I hope it lives up to that game. As for the Wingnut Interactive announcement, I dont feel anything except for curiosity. Its hard to feel anything more when the announcement consists of, "I'm Peter Jackson, I'm making a game studio, we're going to make a Halo game". It doesnt get any more vague than that.

  • 09.28.2006 7:10 AM PDT
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Is franchise a dirty word? Only if you replace R-A-N with U-C-K.

[Edited on 9/28/2006]

  • 09.28.2006 7:50 AM PDT

Gimme Dat Grip.

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Posted by: Marvin G4Y3
Is franchise a dirty word? Only if you replace R-A-N with U-C-K.


Haha, good one.

  • 09.28.2006 8:51 AM PDT

I wish people wouldn't make such a fuss about it. The games aren't made by Bungie and probably don't affect the story of the Master Chief, Cortana and the Ark, so if you don't want to play them, don't buy them.

  • 09.28.2006 9:10 AM PDT
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Posted by: xTr1GGeR HaPPYx
I wish people wouldn't make such a fuss about it. The games aren't made by Bungie and probably don't affect the story of the Master Chief, Cortana and the Ark, so if you don't want to play them, don't buy them.


Indeed.

Simple as.

  • 09.28.2006 9:24 AM PDT

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Posted by: xTr1GGeR HaPPYx
I wish people wouldn't make such a fuss about it. The games aren't made by Bungie and probably don't affect the story of the Master Chief, Cortana and the Ark, so if you don't want to play them, don't buy them.


Exactly... They're most likely going to just expand on the Halo universe, which is a dose of something I think we all need. Halo is bigger than "Master Chief, Cortana, The Arbiter, and The Ark". I'm loving the fact that they're letting you play through the encounters of the first Human-Covenant battles.

  • 09.28.2006 10:24 AM PDT
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Posted by: SS_Zag1
Posted by: xTr1GGeR HaPPYx
I wish people wouldn't make such a fuss about it. The games aren't made by Bungie and probably don't affect the story of the Master Chief, Cortana and the Ark, so if you don't want to play them, don't buy them.


Exactly... They're most likely going to just expand on the Halo universe, which is a dose of something I think we all need. Halo is bigger than "Master Chief, Cortana, The Arbiter, and The Ark". I'm loving the fact that they're letting you play through the encounters of the first Human-Covenant battles.

But Harvest? Why not another colony? Why Harvest? Exactly what transpired on first contact with the Covenant was one of the mysteries I wanted to stay a mystery. Knowing the exact reasons why so and so attacked so and so, particularly with a foe like the Covenant, would (and usually does) leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Explaining every big mystery in a plot is just plain poor yarn weaving. With a movie, H3, GoO, at least two more books, Halo Wars, Peter Jackson's game, a monthly comic, and whatever hasn't even yet been announced, Halo is really starting to look like a raging storyling bull, and more like a Microsoft Heifer.

Who knows. Maybe HW will rock, and I'm sure GoO will. In fact, I'll go out on a limb, and say that the Halo series will be better than without GoO, as I'm guessing it will expain what happened with the missing SPARTANs. However, with so many things bearing the Halo name, and doubtlessly more than what we have heard, I'm beginning worrying that Halo will either become Metroid or Mario-storylines more and more bizarre until they descend into stupidity and plot devices that exist solely as an excuse to add new "powers," or something like Marvel, where there is just so much stuff that something contradicits another peice of canon in every panel, and even stuff like the origins of characters being recycled and reformed, countless times, until the reader can just pick whichever one they like best as "official," which dilutes all of them.
I really hope Bungie doesn't go down this path.

"Don't draw the Queen of Diamonds, boy...she'll beat you, if she's able. You know the Queen of Hearts is always your best bet..."

[Edited on 9/28/2006]

  • 09.28.2006 12:22 PM PDT
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I wish people wouldn't make such a fuss about it. The games aren't made by Bungie and probably don't affect the story of the Master Chief, Cortana and the Ark, so if you don't want to play them, don't buy them. heh. that narrows things down.

  • 09.28.2006 12:26 PM PDT

You might want to slow down there just a little bit. If there is one thing I have noticed about Bungie, it's that they make sure their stories are not "poor yarn weaving". If you look at some of their other games like Marathon, it's just absolutely amazing how much effort, thought, and time they put into the story. When I first heard of the Cortana Letters back in '03 and went to the Marathon Story Page to check them out, I litterally could not take my eyes off of that site. The story is absolutely engrossing, and I just lapped it up.
In fact, I'd say that out of all the games bungie has done, their trademark would not be Halo, but incredible storytelling.

I really don't think that Bungie would let their Halo series become another Mega Man. Just look at the HSB (Halo Story Bible). Bungie has created an entire bible dedicated solely to Halo. They let authors see relevant parts, but other than that it is kept under tight wraps, and that shows just how much Bungie cares about the story of Halo. The same thing with the books. If Bungie didn't care about the game and it's story, do you really think there would be three (soon to be four) Halo books out with at least three more on the way?

I can guarantee you that Bungie did not let Halo Wars get made without making sure that the story would be done right, but I certainly would hope that this is all of the franchising we will see Halo do for a while. A graphic novel, an RTS game, a movie, and another unnamed project all likely within the space of one or so years? I just think that's enough for the fans. You never want to overload them with too much, and I think Bungie might just be pushing the limit here.

  • 09.28.2006 3:32 PM PDT
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Posted by: BadJMan
Posted by: VVV
Well is it? With the multitude of skepticism arising with Bungies announcements lately it made me stop and think. I work for a franchise. It’s the era we’re in. You see it everywhere. Movies, restaurants, shoe stores, video games etc. It’s basic business. If something works why stop.

Well VVV I appreciate your view. But it is the phrase 'if something works why stop' which raises my interest. How do we define it 'working'? Inspiring people, entertaining people, making the fans happy, gaining new fans.... making money? My question really is, when will they stop? Halo happy meals? Halo Crazy Frog?


I understand your point of view. Well founded it is. I don't think you need to be concerned about Halo Happy meals. The key to operating a franchise is the name. This and the product make up what is the intellectual property. Cheapening the franchise is not a good option in many cases if not all. Take a look at the Police Academy movies. Sooner or later if you try to hard to cash in on something too often it back fires. Meh, I guess you can see this also with movies such as 'American Pie: Band camp'. Sometimes you can over step the mark without even realising your doing so.

When you franchise something keeping to a winning formula and ensuring you don't make a false move is critical. Sooner or later MS may think about stopping. However with them it's not about letting things be and contiuing to make money. Games stop selling. Movies leave the big screen and threfore the franchise if still viable can continue if and by what means they think they can.

Having said that if the latest products don't succeed they will move on and the franchise will die. This is what I mean by have faith with it all. It's their decision and as much as I think they have made some bad ones lately it's imperitive for them to get it right this time. They know that.

  • 09.29.2006 12:30 AM PDT
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Posted by: twinkiemaker
Posted by: VVV
Halo 2 took a lot out of a lot of fans. Bungie knows this. Most will be willing to give them a second chance. I will. However as they say “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me”. That’s how I see it.


People are confused in regards to this topic. Halo 2 took alot out of fans? I'm afraid you have fallen victim to the vocal minority. I compare this to going to see a movie in the theatre where you have one infant/child who cries the entire movie and then you announce that the entire audience was unruly.

Halo 2 still is one of the most played games on Xbox Live almost 2 years after its release. I dont see that as "took a lot out of fans".Just my opinion, but I think your judgement on Halo2 is biasd by your own thoughts on the game.


My judegment on Halo 2 is based on a lot of things. I'll try hard not to bring this thread into a Halo 2 good or bad thread. You and I have seen enough of that in the past 2 years. That in itself is enough to let you realise that it's not just one screaming child.

I don't have to post facts about what made Halo 2 successful. Lack of competition, market forces in successful game production and marketing to get my point across. Do I????

As for the Halo franchise, HaloWars sounds sweet. I remember many 24+ hour marathons of AoE in college. I hope it lives up to that game. As for the Wingnut Interactive announcement, I dont feel anything except for curiosity. Its hard to feel anything more when the announcement consists of, "I'm Peter Jackson, I'm making a game studio, we're going to make a Halo game". It doesnt get any more vague than that.

Slap me silly. The Twinky man and I agree on something. Quick, run back and tell the other Trolls. They won't believe it either.

  • 09.29.2006 12:36 AM PDT

Posted by: xTr1GGeR HaPPYx
I wish people wouldn't make such a fuss about it. The games aren't made by Bungie and probably don't affect the story of the Master Chief, Cortana and the Ark, so if you don't want to play them, don't buy them.

When the debate comes round to whether the individual wants to play them or not, I'm sure we will all welcome your wise advice. Until then, try to understand the issue people are actually talking about. Whether this cheapens the whole halo story and is just a cash-in or not.

  • 09.29.2006 3:00 AM PDT

It's like Lord of the Rings. The actual LORD OF THE RINGS games followed the stories of the Fellowship members, now long after the movies have finished, they're developing more games so people can see what the rest of Middle earth and all the other wars were and what they were about. Catch my drift? (Forget about the quality of the games though.)

You guys all want to see the Halo bible, yes? Am I correct? Well, you're not going to be able to, Bungie said so, but these new games (plus the movie) will give you greater insight into the Halo galaxy.

[Edited on 9/29/2006]

  • 09.29.2006 7:25 AM PDT
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Franchises are neither good nor bad. There are a lot of good Star Wars games, and a large number of bad ones. Final Fantasy is an incredible franchise that has turned out hits for over a decade. Civilization on the PC side of things has won awards with each release. DOOM 3 received quite a few rave reviews. Resident Evil 4 is the highest rated and most award winning RE game.

On the other hand, there are other franchises that churn out a long line of mediocore games. It all depends on the franchise.

  • 09.29.2006 10:07 AM PDT
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I was thinking of you when I franchised last night.

  • 09.29.2006 11:14 AM PDT