Halo's poor screens: a marketing move?

After seeing the newer, hi res screens and video and hearing EGM and GS gush over the graphics, I've developed a theory that it was just a marketing move. The initial screens looking somewhat awful created such an intense buzz here and in other game communities that I'm sure Halo is the most talked about game of the day. Do you think this was incidental, or did they plan it?

If they planned it, I think its a brilliant marketing move. Now it's on everyones lips, and the new screens seem to deliver the quality everyone expected, so the clean-up is quite minimal. Either way they wanted to build hype, and wow, mission accomplished.

Someone go ahead and post one of the new screens vs the earlier screens to bolster my point, I'm garbage at HTML (and I'm lazy). 

No, it's not a marketing move. Why generate bad hype, then turn it into good hype if you could just generate good hype the first time and sustain it?

Look at Crysis. That game looked sharp from the first screenshots.

Edit: I was just looking at the images at Xboxyde, and the game doesn't look bad. Just not quite the jump we anticipated, but much better than the low-res images posted by someone yesterday.

After seeing the newer, hi res screens and video and hearing EGM and GS gush over the graphics, I've developed a theory that it was just a marketing move. The initial screens looking somewhat awful created such an intense buzz here and in other game communities that I'm sure Halo is the most talked about game of the day. Do you think this was incidental, or did they plan it?

If they planned it, I think its a brilliant marketing move. Now it's on everyones lips, and the new screens seem to deliver the quality everyone expected, so the clean-up is quite minimal. Either way they wanted to build hype, and wow, mission accomplished.

Someone go ahead and post one of the new screens vs the earlier screens to bolster my point, I'm garbage at HTML (and I'm lazy).

D_Znuhtz

Sounds like a lemming excuse to cover up the bad graphics...I seriouslly doubt it. With previous Halo's Bungie always showed better looking footage/pics. Even tho the final HALO 2 product didn't live up to them or look as good. 

Sorry but it seems bungie is way focused on getting the gameplay right...i do recall reading awhile ago that Halo 3 graphics wasn't going to be greatly improved..which i could find that link. and that they are more focusing on huge levels and intense battles happening..etc etc.  

It's smelling like the 2900 HD XTX... doomed from the start...

New ATI cards bench are awfull and it smell failure like Halo 3. 

No, it's not a marketing move. Why generate bad hype, then turn it into good hype if you could just generate good hype the first time and sustain it?

Look at Crysis. That game looked sharp from the first screenshots. 

fuzzysquash

who cares, halo 3 will be a freaking fun and great game -- and its already killing everything on the ps3 / wii based on pre-orders alone.

my bet is it'll be much more fun than MGS -- all MGS does is focus on a weak story with linear play and weak AI that doesn't notice boxes moving across the floor or poorly camo'd agents with mismatched textures on their backs, lol. And MGS -- no multi. at least the last i heard, and even if they add it it'll be an afterthought.

halo3 looks terrible why are alll these halo fans in such denial.......even the forum moderators are halo fanboys thet lock you for talking negative about it......LoganZRun

not that i should respond to you - but i will.

maybe because games aren't always about graphics, and halo has never been beautiful - but delivers in terms of gameplay.

Well it would make much more sense to be a dehype than a hype, Halo 3 doesnt need any hype its already got way to much.  It would make much more sense for them to try to bring the average person's hype lower so they are not expecting it totally destroy any game ever in history and forever on like Halo 2 was.  Hype really killed Halo 2 imo, it was a great game but it was hyped as the second comming and when it didnt deliever on the most amazing bliss game ever it caused a problem.

Anyway the game is shaping up just fine, and whether or not it was just a marketing ploy we may never know, but I can tell you that the beta does look damn good.

halo3 looks terrible why are alll these halo fans in such denial.......even the forum moderators are halo fanboys thet lock you for talking negative about it......LoganZRun

They lock them because most of them are fanboy posts just to get an arouse out of people, now if you would start a thread and not make random stupid comments and show proof then they would have no need to close it. 

[QUOTE="fuzzysquash"]

No, it's not a marketing move. Why generate bad hype, then turn it into good hype if you could just generate good hype the first time and sustain it?

Look at Crysis. That game looked sharp from the first screenshots.

3picuri3

who cares, halo 3 will be a freaking fun and great game -- and its already killing everything on the ps3 / wii based on pre-orders alone.

my bet is it'll be much more fun than MGS -- all MGS does is focus on a weak story with linear play and weak AI that doesn't notice boxes moving across the floor or poorly camo'd agents with mismatched textures on their backs, lol. And MGS -- no multi. at least the last i heard, and even if they add it it'll be an afterthought.

that's great for you, but "fun" is subjective.

The same guys that like to watch Borat over and over again probably wouldn't like The Godfather. 

[QUOTE="3picuri3"][QUOTE="fuzzysquash"]

No, it's not a marketing move. Why generate bad hype, then turn it into good hype if you could just generate good hype the first time and sustain it?

Look at Crysis. That game looked sharp from the first screenshots.

fuzzysquash

who cares, halo 3 will be a freaking fun and great game -- and its already killing everything on the ps3 / wii based on pre-orders alone.

my bet is it'll be much more fun than MGS -- all MGS does is focus on a weak story with linear play and weak AI that doesn't notice boxes moving across the floor or poorly camo'd agents with mismatched textures on their backs, lol. And MGS -- no multi. at least the last i heard, and even if they add it it'll be an afterthought.

that's great for you, but "fun" is subjective.

The same guys that like to watch Borat over and over again probably wouldn't like The Godfather. 

hey, i like borat and the godfather :) Halo is fun if you're a fragfest kinda person, grew up with Doom / Quake / Duke, etc. Personally its not my cup of tea but I indulge from time to time.

my main point is Halo has never looked stellar, probably never will -- but if you like Halo, I'm sure 3 will deliver the same gameplay mechanics that made the other iterations fun.

After seeing the newer, hi res screens and video and hearing EGM and GS gush over the graphics, I've developed a theory that it was just a marketing move. The initial screens looking somewhat awful created such an intense buzz here and in other game communities that I'm sure Halo is the most talked about game of the day. Do you think this was incidental, or did they plan it?

If they planned it, I think its a brilliant marketing move. Now it's on everyones lips, and the new screens seem to deliver the quality everyone expected, so the clean-up is quite minimal. Either way they wanted to build hype, and wow, mission accomplished.

Someone go ahead and post one of the new screens vs the earlier screens to bolster my point, I'm garbage at HTML (and I'm lazy). 

D_Znuhtz

From what I saw, it was fanboys posting the worst shots they kind find, or changing the image dimensions slightly to create jaggies. (yes...  fanboys are that annoying...  just compare their posts to the original pictures)

Either way, it was silly for them to get so worked up over a beta, even if it did look mediocre...  which apparently it did not:

GAMESPOT:

Visually, the Halo 3 beta looks impressive. Yes, it looks like a higher-resolution version of Halo 2, but the textures and details are razor sharp, and there's a lush quality to the world that wasn't there before. You'll run through fields of flowers or your body will float in a tranquil pond. The high dynamic range lighting in the game also provides a realistic look to the lighting and the world. Meanwhile, there's a smoothness and fluidity to everything now that makes battles fun to watch.

[QUOTE="D_Znuhtz"]

After seeing the newer, hi res screens and video and hearing EGM and GS gush over the graphics, I've developed a theory that it was just a marketing move. The initial screens looking somewhat awful created such an intense buzz here and in other game communities that I'm sure Halo is the most talked about game of the day. Do you think this was incidental, or did they plan it?

If they planned it, I think its a brilliant marketing move. Now it's on everyones lips, and the new screens seem to deliver the quality everyone expected, so the clean-up is quite minimal. Either way they wanted to build hype, and wow, mission accomplished.

Someone go ahead and post one of the new screens vs the earlier screens to bolster my point, I'm garbage at HTML (and I'm lazy).

-Maddog-

Sounds like a lemming excuse to cover up the bad graphics...I seriouslly doubt it. With previous Halo's Bungie always showed better looking footage/pics. Even tho the final HALO 2 product didn't live up to them or look as good.

Sorry but it seems bungie is way focused on getting the gameplay right...i do recall reading awhile ago that Halo 3 graphics wasn't going to be greatly improved..which i could find that link. and that they are more focusing on huge levels and intense battles happening..etc etc.

Me? A lemming? ROFL

I don't even own a 360 bud. PS3, PS2, PSP, PS1, NES, SNES, Genesis... PC.

I just think MS, who probably has a hand in what Bungie does, is shrewd enough to do something like that. As the old saying goes, there's no such thing as negative press. 

You 360 people will find any possible excuse to make your system not look bad.... Go find another way to make 360 sound better then PS3......GloverD

Another one of you? :lol: PS3 is the only next-gen console I own bud. I don't own an XBOX 1 either. I just give credit where its due, and think this could have been a marketing move to generate some buzz on fanboy-oriented message boards like this one.  

halo3 looks terrible why are alll these halo fans in such denial.......even the forum moderators are halo fanboys thet lock you for talking negative about it......LoganZRun

Truth. 

[QUOTE="3picuri3"][QUOTE="fuzzysquash"]

No, it's not a marketing move. Why generate bad hype, then turn it into good hype if you could just generate good hype the first time and sustain it?

Look at Crysis. That game looked sharp from the first screenshots.

fuzzysquash

who cares, halo 3 will be a freaking fun and great game -- and its already killing everything on the ps3 / wii based on pre-orders alone.

my bet is it'll be much more fun than MGS -- all MGS does is focus on a weak story with linear play and weak AI that doesn't notice boxes moving across the floor or poorly camo'd agents with mismatched textures on their backs, lol. And MGS -- no multi. at least the last i heard, and even if they add it it'll be an afterthought.

that's great for you, but "fun" is subjective.

The same guys that like to watch Borat over and over again probably wouldn't like The Godfather.

Borat is one of the best comedies ever made. The humor is insanely clever, if you're missing that I feel sorry for you because you're missing out. I also love the Godfather, 25th Hour, Fear and Loathing, Citizen Kane, Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, etc etc. Borat is not a movie for dumb frat boys, it just happens to appeal to them too.