Oh, Bungie. How you make your fans happy at one moment and sad at the next. Up and down. Up and down. Yes, this year's Comic-Con brought some very exciting and sad news on the Halo and Bungie front.
First, Bungie has revealed that they are going to be giving Halo the animation turn. Halo Legends will be a 7 episode anime series set to debut on Xbox Live later this year. It will be made in the same vein as the Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knight, where famous Japanese animators will make one episode each. This is awesome news, just because the animators have promised a look at the Halo universe that is different, and different is good! Toei Animation will be making an episode that will chronicle 500 years of Halo history. Wow.
Secondly, Bungie announced something called Halo Waypoint. No, this is not a new game, but it is pretty impressive. Halo Waypoint is going to be a portal of sorts on Xbox Live for Bungie and Halo related news, items, games, and videos. It will have a streaming service and plenty of other things. This allows Bungie to have even more of a connection with their community (as if they didn't already have tons) and it allows streaming content. Another awesome announcement.
And just as the excitement came, it left. Bungie continued to talk more, and some of the things were very sad. First, the project known as Halo Chronicles is in development hell. This was to be the first game Wingnut Interactive (a video game studio Peter Jackson has developed) was going to develop, but it seems things are in a bit of a limbo. It is only common sense that a game made by Peter Jackson would have some value. It only makes more sense when that game is a Halo game. Bungie also gave some very sad news. Halo Reach, a newly announced title set for release in 2010, will be their last Halo title. They will be handing over the Halo franchise to 343 Industries, and working on a new IP.
This is a double-edged sword. On one hand, Halo is the house that Bungie built. No one can make a game in the Halo universe like Bungie. They just know it to well. Fortunately, 343 Industries head is a former Bungie employee, so they will not be in the dark completely. Still, it is disappointing to see Halo and Bungie not be on the same package. It is good that Bungie is going to other things, though. Making a good and successful IP that isn't Halo and that isn't and RTS or FPS could put them even more into stardome. That is, if this new IP they are making is actually quality like Halo.
Lots of stuff coming out of SDCC...
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