Defines the terms killer app & launch title.
I started to see screens of an exclusive Xbox title WWF Raw (I know :P). I knew I had to get this game and would pre-order an Xbox to ensure I'd have the system when that paticular game would come out the following May. EB Games was only doing pre-orders on bundles so I pre-ordered Munch's Odyssey and was swayed into pre-ordering Halo (I was not really into FPS at the time, aside from Perfect Dark on N64).
November 15th, Xbox launches and I start playing Halo. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. How much fun I was having when I had ppl. over for some multiplayer matches. By March 2002, I pretty much forgot I owned a PS2 and Gamcube and Halo led the charge in what was a shift in my focus on video game entertainment. I became I Microsoft guy, Xbox was my favourite system.
It's very rare for me to be playing a game and while I'm playing think to myself, "this is a really great game I'm playing". I usually leave that for reflection afterwards. Halo was that good. It was good enough that I chose to recommend that system to my cousin's when they asked what to get.
Don't get me wrong, I play a lot of games, so Halo isn't the only reason I fell in love with an Xbox. But still, the story, the graphics, the gameplay, it's all there. Only one other launch title can even to compare to the quality of Halo and that would be Mario 64. And even further, no launch title has ever had the impact on the gaming community that Halo did.
If you ever need proof of Halo's impact, look at November 9th, 2004 and just see how many people HAD to get Halo 2 that day.
Halo changed the way I look at FPS and games forever and I am forever gratfeful as it opened the door to many great experiences since.