My ol’ friend over at IGN Matt Casamassina informs us that Halo DS was a real live boy title once upon a time before the powers that be — those being corporate suits with no grasp of fun — quashed the title for all the obvious Microsoft and Nintendo are fierce competitors reasons.
But they didn’t squash it before Matty got his hands on a working build.
“Amazingly, the ill-fated DS version of the title plays remarkably well. Think Metroid Prime Hunters but with a Halo facelift. I had the opportunity to run through the beginning beach area and noted while playing that it looked like Xbox Halo except on DS, it was running fast, and the control was responsive. The trademark Halo music even played out of the tiny speakers of Nintendo’s handheld.”
Halo on the DS. My rampant cynicism has awarded me a nice spot down here in Hell, but I have to say it’s still quite toasty down here. I think we can safely chalk this title up on the same board that has Serenity 2 on it.
UPDATE: My Spidey sense is tingling: Is this another volley from the grossly un-funny spoof archives of Matt Casamassina?
Why would Microsoft allow a Halo title to be on a Nintendo system? The line “looked like Xbox Halo except on DS” is the line that gets me. the DS is about as powerful as a Nintendo 64 correct? I call bogus on this and he just wants to mess with the Nintendo/Halo fanboys.
The thing is though, that i dont think Microsoft has anything to lose by allowing a halo title to be released on a nintendo hand-held – Microsoft has no competing product unlike sony and this move would only serve to increase halo’s popularity, increasing xbox sales as a result.
If there is anyone who would lose out it would be nintendo – while they may broaden their handheld demographic, and sell a tonne of stuff, it could induce DS owners to buy an xbox instead of a Wii, having been impressed by halo?
Just my speculative 2 cents.
I’m calling “poopsky” on this one!
Even if MicroSoft allowed its most protected franchise to go on a competitor’s handheld, there is no way you can make Halo work on a DS! The whole game would have to be redeveloped from the ground up, it would require quite a bit of resources (like a whole development team, not just two or three guys in a garage), and you wouldn’t be able to keep that secret for long…
Shout out to your Serenity 2 comment.
Now thats definitly in the same dream world as Halo on the DS.
Those were well written, thought provoking words from Matt. The arguement here is:
Is Halo a strong enough franchise in the minds of DS owners, that it would attract more “hardcore” (Xbox/Halo) gamers to the Nintendo family?
Or is the question of whether the DS needs a better FPS line up to match the already stellar, yet lonely – Metroid Prime Hunters?
Fact is, Nintendo’s ability to sell over 35.5 million DS’s is nothing short of amazing. PSP fanboys tend to argue that the DS doesn’t have “hardcore” or “mature” titles. I agree. However, much to their own demise, Sony and their developer buddies have only been able to turn over a handful of titles which are worth being a part of your collection.
Nintendo on the other hand has settled for a more expanded library. Not only for the DS, but also for the Wii. Games that people crave to pick up time after time after time. Trauma Center, NSMB, Mario Vs Donkey Kong 2, Mario Kart… All games that people can pick up, play, and have a good time with.
So what does this mean? It means, if Nintendo was smart, they’d licence or develop themselves, AAA titles with a more hardcore / violent nature to them. Maybe things are changing, where FPS’ arent that important anymore. At least not on a portable.
Ok so heres a dumb analogy. Maybe this will make sense to someone… lol:
If Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft were girls, heres how I’d see them:
Sony:
Like a dumb blond. She will make pre-pubertal boys drool. Great looking, but lacking substance. She’ll make all games look good, and great looking games even better, but thats all she can do. I know a lot of people may beg to differ, but like a prostitute that gets popular for free service, the piracy industry allowed everyone who knew the right people, to take a free ride on the last two generation of Playstations. The kid has potential, but it wont get popular till we can get free BJ’s again.
Microsoft:
Like your pretty girl who’s well rounded. Not good with kids or elderly people. Like the girl next door. A whole lotta nice, with the right ammount of naughty. She’s the kinda girl you may show your friends, but how many times can they interact with her too?
Nintendo:
Your all rounder. The darling child. The 18 year old McHottie virgin. The one everyone knows is a wholesome good girl. She’s smart, polite, and makes entire families shake their wiimotes. For once, we’d just like Nintendo to turn up the heat and make things sexy instead of plain and simple. We’re tired of white granny panties, lets see Nintendo pop that thong action more often.
To answer Matt’s question – 1) No it doesnt matter that the DS doesnt have Halo, it doesn’t need it to be successful. (2) It does matter that the DS and Wii don’t have a more hardcore library to back up their existing granny panty lineup. So titles like Halo, or of that nature could only make a sexy mama even sexier.
Period.
@Mo Kahn
I thought of a similar analogy while taking a shower early one morning.
@MacUser:
Who doesnt love a good fantasy? lol
Oh, give me a break. Everyone knows Serenity 2 is coming. Honestly, though, I do hold onto some hope for Firefly. It just boggles my mind how something so great with such broad appeal could be shit on time and time again.
I think that if word of mouth keeps spreading on Firefly, that it could eventually make a comeback in some form. I didn’t see the show until the summer of ’06, but every single person I’ve exposed to it has loved it, regardless of gender, age, or anything else.
While it hurts to think that it will (almost) certainly never come back, I am thankful for what I have now, and what I have now is a DVD set of the best damn television I could’ve ever hoped to experience.
About Halo on the DS, I don’t put that into the same category as a Serenity sequel. I would compare it to something like Snake being in Brawl… Of course, I wouldn’t see it possible at all if Microsoft had a handheld of their own. That said, while I would like to believe there could be a Halo on the DS, Matt is on vacation right now, and it wasn’t too long ago that there appeared a fake entry on his blog under that exact circumstance.