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Halo: CE Anniversary armed with Kinect

Video Q&A: Microsoft Studios confirms upcoming HD update of Xbox original will in some way use Xbox 360's motion-sensing add-on.

133 Comments

One of Microsoft's key announcements during its 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo media briefing was Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. Due for release on November 15, the Anniversary edition is an HD update of the Xbox original, including a remastered campaign, Xbox Live co-op support, and seven bundled multiplayer maps.

Halo's Kinect functionality has yet to be detailed.
Halo's Kinect functionality has yet to be detailed.

In addition to the previously announced features, Microsoft Studios has confirmed for GameSpot that the title will support the Xbox 360's motion-sensing add-on, Kinect.

"As a first party, we believe that Kinect will be important to all genres of games, be it racing games with Forza, combat games like Ryse. Even games like Halo Anniversary has Kinect integration," Microsoft Studios head Phil Spencer told GameSpot. Unfortunately, Spencer did not expound upon how Microsoft's games studio would be integrating Kinect into the Bungie-created Xbox classic.

"It's no surprise we're exploring ways Kinect can enhance game experiences in authentic and meaningful ways," a Microsoft representative said in a statement. "The Kinect features we're exploring with Halo: Anniversary are additive and will not affect the core gameplay experience or alter our mission of delivering a faithful re-creation of the original game. That said, we have nothing else to share just yet."

News of Kinect integration into Halo: CE Anniversary isn't entirely unexpected. As part of a separate E3 interview, Spencer told GameSpot that it is not a mandate that all first-party games integrate with Kinect but, "in the end" all Microsoft Studios titles will make use of Kinect "in some form."

See the video below for GameSpot's full interview with Spencer from this year's E3. For an idea of what to expect from Halo: CE Anniversary, check out GameSpot's review of the original.

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Avatar image for McNeelyJ39
McNeelyJ39

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anyone else confused why this isn't Halo 1 & Halo 2 incorporating multiplayer maps from both games as well?

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southernzombie

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Kinect NOT required LinkRyan

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LinkRyan

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Someone please tell me this, You dont HAVE to use the Kinect right? Cause i'm 15 and I got my last paycheck from my summer job last week and I pre ordered Halo Anniversary, but I don't have any money left, so I wouldn't be able to buy a Kinect anyway, so I just wanna know, you don't have to use the Kinect for it right?

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Malscyllis

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Only if the Kinect has a real life motion control T-Bag capability lol

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AvnKnight

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And so it begins...

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TigerRifle1

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I get Kinect being family friendly but is Halo. The last survivor of a secret program to produce the ultimate soldier is set loose to help mankind survive extinction at the hands of a alliance of alien races bent on humanity's destruction. Oh did I mention the guy is lead around by a half naked, glowing blue computer program.

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eynonz

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Why do microsoft need to put kinect in every game -.- ....

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StraferBiz

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Kinect is geared towards family and casual gamers. Well this is gonna be fun. Too bad i don't have kinect haha maybe i'll pick it up when it's cheaper

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warhawk-geeby

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Seriously? I'm intrigued as to how this is going to work.. Intrigued and baffled at the same time.. There's no need for Kinect in Halo :/

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shimya

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Kinect is very well connected. It... is.... eveeerryyywehheeerreeeee..... watching you in 3D.

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logan6666

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its crazy how poeple can complain about motion control because it could reduce the quality of hardcore gaming with time it will be perfectly integretated just let them the time to do it before complaining. but i agree for those thing like wii remote and the ps3 move that is the same thing but uglier

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buying1999

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his is going to be better than ANYTHING on ANY other system. Well maybe other than PC. With a truly innovative controller and not some HD Wii knock off like the PS3HDWII move controller that no one is buying ROFL. That thing is such a joke!!! Just like the PS3 and PSN.

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pmar27

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@Overlord 93 I disagree. I bet that microsoft actually increased their budget to allow kinect functionality. if anything i bet they used most of it to improve the game and then funneled the rest into the kinect stuff

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zombieslayingin

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Motion controls (or any other gimmicky interface for casual gamers) will eventually destroy all forms of hard core gaming if it isn't stopped soon.

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escherfied

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All I care about is destroying people with The O.H.P.( Original Halo Pistol).

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EliteNamedSteve

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Not going to use it, doesnt bother me in the slightest. I am simply confused as to what you could possibly add to Halo CE with Kinect. More info would be lovely.

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okassar

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Lol I look forward to pointing at my Kinect with a hand shaped like a gun and exclaiming "pew!pewpew!pewpewpewpewpewpew!" with recoil to kill some grunts.

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toonsim2

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There really trying to push this on to us

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Overlord93

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343 - we are making this game for the fans fans- OMG thank you, finaly something that isn't kinect 343 - Kinect support; trollface.jpg They should have spent the time giving its own unique multiplayer, and now we find out that they have blown their budget on kinect compatibility,

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Dasim64

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It's totally optional so I have no idea why so many of you have your panties in a wad. I have the Kinect and am not all that thrilled with it due to the huge input delay it has. But I would be interested in trying out whatever features they decide to add to games. Maybe some of it will work out ok. But I don't see it being highly useful in a shooter environment.

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Malscyllis

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[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

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raptures330

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@phoenix729 To sell more Kinects they need more "killer apps" but by adding optional interaction with titles they add value to the ones that already have it. Something they need to do. The lightsaber arm flailing game is coming out and that might be the game their target market is waiting for. I hope people get to use their hands to use the force and throw things as well. I know my nephews are waiting for it like drowning man wants air. Meanwhile all the dad's and mom's of the world who like halo can use jedi tricks in the forge? Not a bad idea in my opinion. The Kinect has dropped a lot in price here and comes with 2 games now as well as bundled. After initial sales have slowed (10 million is not bad, its ~20% of the user base) they also added a second game free. I will wait and see how many sales Eden makes before its exclusivity ends and Move gets it (3 months). If combined they make good sales that is good news for owners of both peripherals. A healthy industry is good for all of us. If this gamble pays off for MS and Sony we might not have to wait another 10 years for them to try something new. @Cartr1dgeBased Because you have conditioned yourself to hate it without real reason. Kind of like people who hate PS3 because they own and XBox or vice versa. I don't always hate on products, but when I do its the status quo.

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Cartr1dgeBased

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it's funny how when any game mentions kinect it makes me want to distance myself from it substantially. and i don't even own one, so im not sure why that is...

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Fury1994

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For those whining, please explain to me how an entirely OPTIONAL way to play the game is supposedly ruining it. Oh, and be specific, because chances are you're going to buy the game anyway. Along with that while I'm glad Microsoft is getting Kinect tapped into, I'm really not sure how far 343 can go with it. Just have to wait and see I guess.

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phoenix729

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@raptures330 ha ha ha That does very much seem to be the case with gaming innovation these days . Of course if you already have a kinect then i'm sure you'll enjoy the new features they implement in halo CE, everybody wins. My point is that no one is going to buy a £100 peripheral purely to experiences those new features (token arm flail etc.), and if microsoft can't get people to buy it, there's subsequently no point in developers making games for it. . 10 million is more then I thought they had granted, but look at Child of Eden, a game centered around kinect usage with good reviews but only managed fairly meager sales. To me, this implies that there are not enough kinect owners, in turn game studios won't spend the time and money games for it when the returns are so poor. . You say they aren't forcing you to use it but people won't do something UNLESS you force them too. They won't go out and buy the kinect unless your force them to by making it a core part of gameplay, by making it essential. . Personally I don't want to see the kinect die, it does have some potential but i'm not going to fork out for one until I see a game that I really like that is kinect-centric.

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Phatjam98

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This is gonna be sweet! I've said it from the start... incorporate Kinect abilities while holding too the classic controller. Adding functionality while not taking away anything from those that do not own Kinect or do not wish to use those features/controls. I'm so stoked for this ME3 and other games too see what imaginative ways they come up too use the tech. All you closed minded kids, don't bother commenting too me because I'm tired of hearing everyone that cant see past the controller to the future. Yall can keep playin with the controller only and thats cool. I will just say, when I was a kid, it was intelivision, a very strange controller, then the NES controller and on and on. They just cant add many more buttons and the controller has been perfected at this point. Its time to add some new features, new controls like voice and visual queue's, if you cant see that, we will clearly never agree.

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gideonkain

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but, I've played Halo already? Why would I buy it to see Reach gfx?

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stEElyDaN909

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GOD DAMN IT

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ebonyflame

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I just hope they don't add new extra things to the gamne that were not there before. A re-mastered HD version is all I am looking for, nothing more. If that isnot what I will get then this will probablybe the first game I have ever traded in to Gamespot or sold in general.

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Avatar image for AmorDeRey1988
AmorDeRey1988

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Hmm,I'll still buy it.

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steelmouth

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This idiots at ms kinect ant very creative are they, why cant they just come up with a whole new game genre for kinect and stop trying to force kinect onto other games No stupid tedious childish body movements just hand movements to interact with the game environment , think magneto or some magic sorcery

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steelmouth

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WTF please dnt ruin CE before i ever get a chance to play it

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LOWJ000

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For those who think there's no use for integrating Kinect with Halo, Here's a simple application in Halo Reach that I'm surprised Bungie didnt' pursue: Forge with Kinect. That could be interesting if implemented right and could simplify building things. Like they said it's gonna be a purely optional thing, so u don't like motion just ignore it and use your controller. @raptures330: Absolutely accurate. Add to that Gamer will still b 1st in line to buy collector edition COD 19 despite the whining, and will buy the all the Map packs full price.

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slicedbread117

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This is to reach out to more people to play the game and play it in differnet ways. It's optional so it's ok people. I for one do not have Kinect and like my games with a controller and nothing else. STOKED FOR THIS! :D

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slicedbread117

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@raptures330 You sir, have a wonderful knowledge of what goes on in the gaming industry lol. Agree with everything you said man nice comment

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Necromantic45

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Okay, so Microsoft/Bungie are releasing this anniversary edition, whoopie, but my question is, if you are bringing back Halo MP to Xbox Live, you should be bringing back Halo 2 MP since it is by far superior to all other Halo games combined. Thanks Microsoft as always.

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decodesiste

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I agree @ckynick254. If they want innovation, then they have to think other ways to use kinect. I think that in Forza 4 and Mass Effect 3, there is a good use for it.

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Payasoplas

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At last a HALO game i give a (censored) about...

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raptures330

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@phoenix729 Over 10 million people have a Kinect. I think the user base is strong enough. Being able to use some of the functions for specific things while not being focused on it could allow many games to try new things while allowing those that do not wish to use it to not get forced. This all or nothing attitude is narrowminded. You can already play the games like you always have. It has not forced you to do anything. Do you even have a Kinect? Gamers: I want innovation! Makers: Here is a new type of controller and a new way to interact with your games! Gamers: Lol gimmick. Just give me the controller I have always used. Stupid motion controller. Makers: But I thought you wanted innovation? Gamers: I do! Makers: Ok, here is 3D! A new way to look at your games! Awesome, right? Gamers: Lol gimmick. Just let me play my games like I always have. Makers: Ok... fine. We will make these things optional. Is that good? Gamers: Lol, either use it all the way or not. Learn2develop. Makers: Screw it, just make COD 19. Gamers: OMG same thing over and over, I want innovation! Makers: FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU-

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Default_Usernam

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Don't see why people are bantering about this. For a while, people complained that there wasn't really any game that the kinect would shine with, they deemed the launch titles; gimmicks. Now that they're trying to integrate the Kinect with first party games (and even some promising third party games), people are still complaining? Oh well, besides people it's optional, so no point in complaining over anything that doesn't concern you.

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Iridescent406

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[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

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EliteNamedSteve

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1. How could you bring kinect to Halo in a MEANINGFUL way? 2. Why would you bother trying? You can use the 130$ microphone to navigate the start game menu, yay...

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xhawk27

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Killzone 3 used move so I don't see the reason that core games can't use motion controls. Also I do see any Sony games use voice recognition. Kinect has built in hardware to do voice decoding that leaves the CPU to do other things then to process voice recognition unlike other programs that only rely on the main processor.

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edargnwod

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To quote Monty Python in all it's sarcasm, "And there was much rejoicing (Yay...).".

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HaloPimp978

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At least its not required.

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holtrocks

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No Bungie, not interested.

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Frame_Dragger

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@raptures330: I'd hoped for more than a fluff piece, something to get me interested. Still, you ask a fair question.

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Flint247

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It's optional, so it's not a big deal for me.

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