NEWS - Monday, April 3, 2006
(RUMOR) - Halo 3 to Launch in March ’07
Sure, the Xbox 360 already has a number of high-profile titles and a few highly anticipated ones to look forward to, but there’s no denying that the next installment in Bungie’s Halo franchise is what everyone is waiting for—Master Chief has become to Microsoft what Mario is to Nintendo. According to a report in consumer website IGN, which cites "a Microsoft source who asked to remain anonymous and a second source close to the company," Halo 3 is currently being planned for release in March of next year. This of course would mean that Halo 3 would not be available for the holiday shopping season this year, nor would it be one of the "AAA" titles to counter Sony’s PlayStation 3 debut. That said, very few people actually expected Halo 3 to be ready for release this year. Furthermore, Microsoft reportedly is giving more third parties a chance to shine independently of Master Chief, but obviously this had little impact on scheduling for Halo 3—as the saying goes, "Halo 3 will ship when it’s ready." There’s also the question of why Microsoft isn’t saving Halo 3 to coincide with the release of the Halo movie next summer. While releasing the game alongside the movie may be a smart move from a marketing standpoint, looking strictly at the next-gen console battle, the sooner Microsoft can get Halo 3 on store shelves after the PS3 has launched, the better. For now, keep in mind that this news is unconfirmed. Hopefully MS will give us an official timeframe for Halo 3 at this year’s E3.Source: http://biz.gamedaily.com
