On the eve of Halo 2's first anniversary, most of the hype isn't about what Bungie is doing, but what Microsoft is doing to get ready the vehicle for whatever Bungie does next: the Xbox 360. We've got:

• 1Up has 23 reasons why the Xbox 360 is like the Dreamcast, but 10 reasons why it will succeed where the Dreamcast failed. (Yes, the Dreamcast failed. Being the last hardware console made by Sega makes it a failure. Perhaps a brilliant failure with many good games and ahead-of-its-time features, but a failure nonetheless. Now excuse me while I go play games on my Amiga 500--Ed.)
• Ars.Technica opines that with development costs up, most future console games will be designed for a lowest common denominator specification, that will actually benefit PCs and the least-powerful consoles while at the same time making games look more and more alike. (Everyone seriously needs to read this article, now--Ed.)
• El Mayimbe at Latinoreview says he's got his hands on the Halo film script, and says it's good. He doesn't post the script itself, and nothing in his review reveals anything that a good Halo fan doesn't already know, but if you enjoy that sort of thing, go check it out.