IGN Xbox has made available a Halo PDF guide for its Insiders. No word on whether it's simply the Halo walkthrough at IGN Guides available in PDF format or if it's something entirely different. We won't know until an Insider gives us the scoop.
Remember Halo's review in the Official Xbox Magazine that we reported about a while ago? In case you missed it, HBO has added the scans of the review to its site.
Kudos to Louis Wu of HBO for scanning the Halo review from the November 2001 issue of Game Informer. They called it the Xbox essential and gave it a 9.5 out of 10 rating. The bottom line? [Halo is] one of the most impressive, if not THE most impressive, first-person shooter consoles have ever seen.
Microsoft has put out an item on PRNewsWire claiming that more Xboxes have been sold than GameCubes, and asserting that it, and not the GameCube, is the best launch ever:
The Xbox&trade video game system from Microsoft Corp. had the best-selling video game console launch on record after two weeks of sales, according to The NPD Group Inc., the definitive source for sales and market data on the video game industry.
To show this, they're quoting the same NPD data everyone else is, with a particular focus on the Xbox's higher attach rate (2.4 vs 1.9). How this meshes with Nintendo's reports, which claim exactly the same thing, is unclear as yet. The PRNewsWire story does not mention specific sales numbers for either the Xbox or the GameCube.
In addition, Robbie Bach, the Chief Xbox Officer, says that Microsoft is in fact shipping 100,000 units per week to retailers.
It's not over yet, folks, and it'll be a while before we know the full picture. And whether we know whether the Xbox is leading the Cube or not, we know for certain it's not out of the running yet.
Ferrex pointed out a couple of URLs on RampancyHL that point to silly statistics offered by IGN's GameCube and Xbox sites. Both refer to the exact same report by Credit Suisse First Boston, yet each conclude that their respective console is winning the war.
IGN Cube reports:
The firm, which based its figures on NPD TRST data, estimated that more than 469,000 GameCube units and 810,000 pieces of software were sold to retailers during the system's launch week. Luigi's Mansion was, according to the analyst, the top selling game for any console during the period, selling through an estimated 257,000 units. Star Wars Rogue Leader and Wave Race: Blue Storm also sold strongly.Xbox sales for the week were projected at 186,000 units for a total of 556,000 Microsoft consoles bought since the machine's release November 15. Halo was the system's best seller with 97,000 units shipped.
And IGN Xbox's story:
According to CSFB's interpretation of NPD TRST data, as of November 24, 2001, Nintendo had sold 469,000 GameCube consoles compared to 556,000 for Microsoft's Xbox. The Xbox had a three day head start on the GC with its November 15 launch date.Xbox had most of its sales activity confined to the Thursday, Friday and Saturday before GameCube's launch on Sunday November 18. For the week beginning on Sunday Nov. 18 and ending Saturday Nov 24, the 'Cube outsold the 'box 469,000 to 186,000. Post Thanksgiving sales figures are still forthcoming and should give a good indication as to how well each system will do throughout the remainder of the holiday shopping season. With strong titles on the way for each console, the competition will be even more fierce.
We already reported on the NPD report a short while ago, which both PlanetXbox and ie Magazine say that NPD has stated the Xbox is selling more.
Silly journalists. Let's wait until we have some solid numbers before we declare any winners. Actually, I'd be more interested in seeing accurate numbers a year from now because they would tell a more interesting tale.
Have you wondered about Microsoft's stance on the Xbox Gateway and GameSpy Arcade Tunnel software that enables online play for the Xbox? Surprisingly, they are for it. Taken from the Xbox FAQ:
Q: I've heard that utilities have been developed that allow Xbox Systemlink games to be played over the Internet. Is this true? What should I tell my customers?A: It's amazing and exciting to see the lengths that gamers will go to in order to take their Xbox games online. The GameSpy arcade efforts are a strong indication that people want online console game experiences. Additionally, these efforts showcase the superiority of Xbox because it was built from the ground up to provide people with the next generation of exciting online game play.
Of course Microsoft says that its software will be superior to these hacks, but it's nice to know they condone third party efforts in the meantime. (Thanks HBO)
Another Halo review has seen the light of day, this time at 123 Xbox. Halo got near-perfect scores in every category; in fact, its lowest score was 9.7 out of 10 in the life cycle rubric. Overall, Halo scored 9.8 out of 10. (Thanks HBO)
PlanetXbox is reporting that The NPD Group has stated the Xbox and Halo are selling tremendously well. PlanetXbox's story reads:
The Xbox video game system from Microsoft had the best-selling video game console launch on record after two weeks of sales, according to The NPD Group Inc., the definitive source for sales and market data on the video game industry.The data clearly show that Xbox is off to a torrid start, said Robbie Bach, chief Xbox officer at Microsoft. Xbox sold out as soon as we launched, and we're selling systems as fast as we can produce them. More than 100,000 units a week are being delivered to retailers, so game players are likely to find Xbox systems throughout the holiday season. With one of the best launch lineups ever, I understand why Xbox is the most sought-after gift for the holiday.
Most importantly, Xbox purchasers can't get enough of the Xbox launch games. According to The NPD Group, gamers are buying 2.4 Xbox games with every Xbox, resulting in the highest game attach rate ever recorded for a console at launch. Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. sold 1.9 games with every PlayStation 2 during the first two weeks of its launch last year, and Nintendo Company Ltd. has sold 1.9 games with every GameCube to date.
The NPD Group also claims that Halo is the Xbox's best-selling game and is even selling more than Luigi's Mansion for Nintendo's GameCube.
Gamers.com has reviewed Halo, who I gather liked the game since they called it the best first person shooter ever . Going on:
From the very start, you are drawn in like no other game, due to the well-scripted dialogue and storyline as well as the natural immersion the first-person perspective provides. Featuring as many shocking and exciting plot twists as Metal Gear Solid 2, Halo sheds the ultra-stealth focus of that title and replaces it with white-knuckle intensity Goldeneye wishes it had.
Gamers.com scored Halo 10 out of 10 themselves, while their average reader review is 8.9 out of 10. (Thanks HBO)
Halo has been reviewed by The Entertainment Depot, who found it to be an excellent title. Ryan Newman writes one of Halo's more critical reviews, but in the end he finds it to be a fantastic title:
Just short of being an epic adventure, Halo should satisfy all those craving a solid first-person shooter on a console.† While it may not be revolutionary, it certainly offers up a better experience than most others from developers whose bread and butter are milking the genre forall itТs worth.
Overall, Halo scored 8.5 out of 10. (Thanks HBO)
GameZilla has reviewed Halo. Overall another extremely positive review, GameZilla closed with this:
As someone who has been looking forward to the game for quite some time, I must say that IТm a big fan of Halo and probably wouldТve been even if it hadnТt been the game that it is. Still, even with my bias aside, Halo stands tall on its many strengths. It is far and away the greatest title of its kind ever to grace a console system and stands par, if not better, with any PC-based First Person Shooter. ItТs innovation and high quality design show that a lot of care went into its creation.
GameZilla scored Halo 97 out of 100. (Thanks HBO)
Louis Wu posted over at HBO that Edge Magazine has given Halo a perfect 10 out of 10 rating. Halo is only the fourth game ever to receive such a rating from that publication. Note: The current issue with the review in it is not yet online.
There's a Halo review up at Invisible Dream now, and like many of the other reviews, the pros and cons are the same: the graphics and sounds are great, missing netplay is a sore spot. They also weren't nuts about how weapons and vehicles were used, feeling there should have been more vehicular combat, as well as greater variety:
Unfortunately, there were some things that Bungie really could have added to make Halo so much more enjoyable. My first issue exists with the number of weapons available in halo. To be honest, I constantly found myself wondering where all the cool weapons were while I was playing. I just had this gut feeling that a larger variety of weapons would open up as the game progressed. Unfortunately, when I finally reached the end, I found out that you're limited to a selection of four human and three alien weapons. I mean, I expected much more out of Halo in the weapons category.
Overall they rated the game a 92, above 90 in all areas except replayability, where they felt the only real option-- raising the difficulty level-- wasn't enough.
Ferrex pointed out to us on RampancyHL an ie Magazine article of interest for those following the console wars. Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) has published a report with some details of the Xbox sales in the first week after launch:
The firm is projecting that Microsoft Corp. moved 370,000 Xbox units in the first two days that the console appeared at retail, and that around 810,000 software units were also sold, for a launch tie-in ratio of 2.2. Of the 21 titles available over the first two days, Halo took the top sales spot selling over 176,000 units.
††††Because of the number of Xbox bundles offered, Microsoft claimed approximately 57% of the Xbox software market, followed by Electronic Arts, Inc. (11%), Activision, Inc. (over 7%) and THQ Inc. and Take-Two Software, Inc. (under 1%). Microsoft is targeting 30% market share over the long term.
This is slightly higher than the 300,000 figure estimated earlier, but still far lower than the 700,000 figure quoted by Nintendo for their GameCube.
