I know this probably sounds obvious at this point, but Xbox I can't keep asking Halo and Gears of War to solve problems that these franchises never created. Don't get me wrong, I love them both almost equally and understand how important they are to Xbox. I'm not even remotely suggesting that Microsoft should just shove them in a museum and pretend that Master Chief and Marcus Fenix are ancient artifacts that don't matter anymore. Xbox would be stupid to have these franchises and not use them, even today. The problem is that using them is not the same as building a future around them.
Here's the part that Xbox seems to understand internally, even if its public strategy keeps reverting to the same familiar names. According to The Game Business, one Xbox studio head described the company as “chasing a declining market” with franchises “past their prime,” while another executive said Xbox is “stretched across too many projects, platforms, and business models.” Of course, both ideas can be true at the same time. Xbox probably needs more focus, but if focus means pouring more money into it Halo and Gears of War because those are brands that everyone knows, then Xbox is confusing memory with forward motion.
Halo: Campaign Evolved's most controversial change is basically genius
Halo: Campaign Evolved's most controversial change could help the remake appeal to new players without losing what made the original campaign important.
Halo and Gears of War were the right games at the right time
Before I get into that argument, let me be clear that I understand why Xbox is looking at this Halo: Campaign Evolved and Gears of War: E-Day as two of his safest options right now. Halo needed a real course correction for a while and went back The fight developed is about as pure as a course correction can be. Gears of War: E-Day is appealing for a similar reason, as it returns the franchise to the scariest day in its history while also returning Gears of Wariconic horror feel before it had decades of baggage attached to it.
Place the consoles in the correct order.
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So yes, I understand. If Halo: Campaign Evolved it ended up great – and I'm sure it will one way or another – it might remind players why Halo was once a game that people bought an Xbox to play. If Gears of War: E-Day he's great – and I'll play him and love him whether he is or not – he might remind players why Gears of War once upon a time, the Xbox felt like the console everyone needed to have in order not to miss out on one of the loudest, roughest, and most action-packed games ever made.
The problem, however, is that both games reach backwards, even if they do so for understandable reasons. Halo: Campaign Evolved is a complete remake of the very first one Halo game a Gears of War: E-Dayeven though it's not a remake, it's still going round and round Gears of War's past rather than its future, both tonally and story-wise. Both projects focus on the exact versions of these franchises that people miss the most, and frankly, that might be the smartest thing for Xbox to do with them right now.
Xbox probably needs more focus, but if focus means pouring more money into it Halo and Gears of War because those are brands that everyone knows, then Xbox is confusing memory with forward motion.
Even so, there is a limit to how far society can take it. The main reason Halo it was so special that it made the Xbox feel necessary at a time when the Xbox still had to prove it deserved to exist. Microsoft was an outsider back then and Halo gave players a reason to take it seriously almost overnight. Of course, Gears of War did a very similar thing for the Xbox 360. Ultimately, it made that console feel like the best box on the market and almost effortlessly convinced a number of gamers that it was the box they needed to sit on their home entertainment centers. in a way Gears of War it felt like an Xbox 360 demo, and that was perfect at the time.
But that's also the part that Xbox has to be careful about now. Halo: Campaign Evolved it can make people nostalgic and potentially introduce a whole new audience of gamers Halo franchise for the first time because of that nostalgia. Gears of War: E-Day can make people nostalgic for what Gears of War it also previously felt like while doing its own piece on board thanks to its prequel status. But nostalgia isn't the same as discovery, because nostalgia looks back while discovery looks forward — and Xbox desperately needs players to rediscover something new.
I hope both games are great. really yes There is no version where the Xbox is better with the bad Halo remake or disappointment Gears of War prequel. Strong reception Halo: Campaign Evolved and strong acceptance Gears of War: E-Day would certainly help a lot, especially after so many years of Xbox trying to give players a reason to be sure where it's headed. Still, these games might just remind people of what Xbox used to do well. They can't be themselves the thing that Xbox does next.
Xbox needs something new that is impossible to ignore
What did he do Halo and Gears of War It wasn't that important to Xbox that they eventually became massive video game franchises. Halo almost single-handedly gave the original Xbox a reason to exist Gears of War making the Xbox 360 seem like the primary example of next-generation hardware. Now Xbox has to figure out what kind of game could make players look at it in this way again, and I don't think the answer is to try to make another Halo by committee. Lessons learned from Halo and Gear wheels it's not “let's make another massive shooter.” The lesson is “let's make something players can't get out of their head if they tried,” even if it starts smaller than the company might prefer.
Nostalgia isn't the same as discovery, because nostalgia looks back, while discovery looks forward — and Xbox desperately needs players to rediscover something new.
The Game Business report has one line from a development expert that gets to the heart of the issue. If Xbox thinks it can move the money Halo and turning it into a “95 Metacritic smash,” the man called the idea “delusional.” As harsh as that sounds, the point is fair. Money can help a game, sure, but it can't make an old franchise feel young again, which is why the studio's reported situation is so frustrating.
The Game Business mentioned Compulsion, Ninja Theory, Double Fine, Undead Labs and others in talks to avoid closure, and those are exactly the kinds of studios Xbox should be wary of. No, not everyone is going to make the next billion dollar franchise. But they also shouldn't be judged solely on whether they can. Halo: Campaign Evolved and Gears of War: E-Day they could still be major wins for Xbox and I hope they are because, frankly, Xbox needs those wins. After that, however, he needs something that the players no longer have old memories for. Halo and Gear wheels They've carried the Xbox once before, and building the future around them again would only prove how badly Xbox needs something new.
