Bungie speak on Halo success and future projects

In an interview with Team Xbox, Max Hoberman of development studio Bungie comments on the game’s success and future projects at Halo. Well, nearly!

Posted by Staff
“It's nice that Bungie is finally receiving such recognition,” said Hoberman. “We've been making incredible games for a decade now, but the Xbox finally gave us the opportunity to reach a huge audience. We're taking it all in stride though. Every game presents new challenges, so the last thing we want is to get so full of ourselves that we lose track of our goal—continuing to make great games.”

Talking about the success of Halo and its sales of over one million copies, Hoberman said, “Everyone at Bungie has known Halo was something special since the very first tech demos, a few years back. I was nervous about what would happen, and I knew others were too, when we moved from the PC to the Xbox. The shift in controls from mouse and keyboard to a console controller was probably my biggest concern. But the team did an incredible job moving the game to the Xbox and fine-tuning the controls, so much so that it feels just as natural to play Halo on the Xbox as similar games on the PC. Once we got the controls down my confidence was restored, and I knew Halo would be a huge hit.”

And what will the Japanese think of the game?

“In our experience Halo has almost universal appeal. It has an engrossing story and spectacular graphics. It's fun to watch, it's fun to play solo or co-op, and it's a blast multiplayer. They'll love it!”

Hmm, optimism can only go so far. The Japanese have rejected the pull of every FPS that has been put under their discerning noses. In other parts of the Orient like Korea and Malaysia, the FPS genre is the firm favourite with gamers. Just not in Japan, which is a little strange. If Halo does manage to penetrate the Japanese market, it will be one of the greatest achievements in modern gaming.

And what future Bungie titles are in the works?

“Right now we're working on two games. One has been in the works for quite some time, one has been in the works, well... not very long at all. I can't say any more about either one without The Man's blessing.”

So stay tuned for a Halo 2 announcement at E3, then!
Companies:
People:
Games:

Comments

Posting of new comments is now locked for this page.