[fjtorres]

Well, that's one way to build up XBOX/Halo support in Japan:

http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/...1007046p1.html


And its official, 343 Industries is the Internal Team at MS in charge of Halo.


Of note:

Quote:
Working on the project are teams like Studio 4C (The Animatrix), Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed), TOEI Animation, Bones, Casio Entertainment, and Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell, Kill Bill), including Director Mamoru Oshii who couldn't make it to the convention but who sent along a personal video to the attendees. While I.G. and Mamoru Oshii may currently be best known for Ghost in the Shell, they plan to be known in the future for their work on Halo Legends.

Quote:
Xbox 360 owners will be interested in one of the anime series' delivery methods. The episodes will be available first at Halo Waypoint, available on the Xbox 360 this fall. Halo Waypoint will allow you to track your Halo career, a one-stop shop for all-things Halo on the 360. After that, the series will be available on DVD through Warner and digital formats.


The anime episodes will be available in English and with English subtitles, and will be localized in all the languages that MGS games are usually localized in.

All but one of the episodes will be canon, none takes place after Halo 3.

 

[Ripeer]

I'm consfused is the a game or a movie???


Don't care if its a movie and barely care if its a game

 

[eatenbacktolife]

It's official, Master Chief will be raped by tentacles.

 

[tlniec]

Didn't that already happen in Halo 2 (Gravemind)?

 

[spid]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Ripeer /forum/post/16880937


I'm consfused is the a game or a movie???


Don't care if its a movie and barely care if its a game

It will be a series of shorts in the same vein as the Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knights.

 

[mikeloxlong]

I hope they don't fall on their faces

 

[randalthor]



Quote:
Originally Posted by fjtorres /forum/post/16880713


Well, that's one way to build up XBOX/Halo support in Japan:

And also trick American Halo fans into watching anime; and maybe, just maybe (crosses fingers) give other anime series a try.

(insert evil laugh)

 

[Rod#S]

As a huge Halo fan of both the games and novels this announcement bothers me. I have been waiting years to see either a live action multi million dollar budget Halo movie or a high end CGI movie (i.e Final Fantasy, 1st Annimatrix episode, Dreamworks, Pixar, etc. quality) and this is what we get. Who cares about the Japanese market, there is more than enough Halo fans in North America and Eurpoe to warrant the no holds barred movie treatment

 

[Ripeer]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Rod#S /forum/post/16886335


As a huge Halo fan of both the games and novels this announcement bothers me. I have been waiting years to see either a live action multi million dollar budget Halo movie or a high end CGI movie (i.e Final Fantasy, 1st Annimatrix episode, Dreamworks, Pixar, etc. quality) and this is what we get. Who cares about the Japanese market, there is more than enough Halo fans in North America and Eurpoe to warrant the no holds barred movie treatment

Whats going to happens, when after watching, the japense pick up a Halo game and its way differnent then the movies?

 

[fjtorres]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Ripeer /forum/post/16886651


Whats going to happens, when after watching, the japense pick up a Halo game and its way differnent then the movies?

Well, being acquainted with the genre, they just might be familiar with the idea that different media require different treatments and have different conventions. And thus, have no problem with accepting Halo for what it is; a mythic SF universe that is deep enough to encompass run-n-gun FPSes, RTSes, books, comics, and stylized animated shorts. And, maybe, at some point, even RPGs.


There is a difference between exploiting a fanchise, a la Madden, Guitar Hero, and COD, by doing the same game over and over with variations, and *extending* a franchise to offer different but related experiences.


Lucas has made an industry out of the latter, extending STAR WARS into books, comics, different types of games, toys, and even a TV series or three.


DC Comics has done that with BATMAN, going from comics to books, movies, tv shows, toys, games, and yes, anime (the above-mentioned Gotham Knight project that is a clear precursor to Halo Legends).


Nobody seems to mind that the Batman of THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD is not quite the Batman of the Nolan movies or the Batman of ARKHAM ASYLUM or even the Batman of the comics, who isn't even Bruce Wayne anymore. most seem to understand that the concept of Batman is broad enough to allow for interpretation and experimentation.


Nobody seems to mind that many (most) STAR WARS spinoffs involve characters that have little to do Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader. Most seem to understand that the mythos goes beyond one character and one era and one vision.


So, maybe, enough people will understand that HALO is more than Master Chief running and gunning and blowing things up.


Or maybe not.


But it seems like a worthwhile attempt; if Lucas does it, and DC does it, maybe Microsoft can do it too and bring the Halo mythos to folks who don't like FPS or maybe don't even game, just as Nolan's Dark Knight brought Batman and Joker to people who don't read comics. They just might like it.

 

[Rod#S]



Quote:
Originally Posted by fjtorres /forum/post/16887111


Well, being acquainted with the genre, they just might be familiar with the idea that different media require different treatments and have different conventions. And thus, have no problem with accepting Halo for what it is; a mythic SF universe that is deep enough to encompass run-n-gun FPSes, RTSes, books, comics, and stylized animated shorts. And, maybe, at some point, even RPGs.


There is a difference between exploiting a fanchise, a la Madden, Guitar Hero, and COD, by doing the same game over and over with variations, and *extending* a franchise to offer different but related experiences.


Lucas has made an industry out of the latter, extending STAR WARS into books, comics, different types of games, toys, and even a TV series or three.


DC Comics has done that with BATMAN, going from comics to books, movies, tv shows, toys, games, and yes, anime (the above-mentioned Gotham Knight project that is a clear precursor to Halo Legends).


Nobody seems to mind that the Batman of THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD is not quite the Batman of the Nolan movies or the Batman of ARKHAM ASYLUM or even the Batman of the comics, who isn't even Bruce Wayne anymore. most seem to understand that the concept of Batman is broad enough to allow for interpretation and experimentation.


Nobody seems to mind that many (most) STAR WARS spinoffs involve characters that have little to do Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader. Most seem to understand that the mythos goes beyond one character and one era and one vision.


So, maybe, enough people will understand that HALO is more than Master Chief running and gunning and blowing things up.


Or maybe not.


But it seems like a worthwhile attempt; if Lucas does it, and DC does it, maybe Microsoft can do it too and bring the Halo mythos to folks who don't like FPS or maybe don't even game, just as Nolan's Dark Knight brought Batman and Joker to people who don't read comics. They just might like it.

I actually have no problems with Microsoft doing this type of stuff per se, but not like this. I would have liked them to do a high quality CGI movie or mega budget live action movie first, for the fans that have loved the franchaise since the start and then start doing spin offs to broaden the fan base. I was so pumped back in 2007 when the Neill Blomkamp live action thing was shot as I hoped this would be the tease of things to come but we all know how that turned out. Personally I think it would be easier for Microsoft/Bungie/Hollywood to do a CGI movie as it could more accurately protray the Halo world in it's massive scope. It would have to be cheaper then getting a mind blowing live action movie.

 

[fjtorres]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Rod#S /forum/post/16887416


Personally I think it would be easier for Microsoft/Bungie/Hollywood to do a CGI movie as it could more accurately protray the Halo world in it's massive scope. It would have to be cheaper then getting a mind blowing live action movie.

Actually, what MS is doing here is as cheap as it gets.

A full-length CGI movie would take years to make and cost as much as Halo 4 and wouldn't deliver anywhere near as much payoff.

The MS board would never sign off on a Microsoft-financed movie because the risk is to high. The odds of ending up with a SPIRITS WITHIN scenario are a lot higher than the odds of getting even a SERENITY.


The objective here is more about bringing Halo to *new* customers than it about satisfying the existing customer base. (And maybe make a buck or two on the side.)

 

[Rod#S]

There's no question a CGI movie would be a big gamble and FF: Spirits Within is a great example of a movie which looked amazing at the time but the story, well...

Serenity was indeed a gem.


For something as popular as Halo Microsoft shouldn't have to finance the entire project themsleves, you would think that Hollywood would want in on the action as they are more than aware of the popularity of the Halo franchaise. The big problem, as was the case with the attempted but failed live action movie was that non Halo fan Hollywood execs thought they could do Halo their own way and not include Master Chief and thus the project died. We can be thankful for that. Jackson and Blomkamp really get Halo what it is about so it was heartbreaking to see that partnership dissolve when the project was canceled. We can look to District 9 to see what might have been. Technically, I guess a first in a series of movies could start well before the main Halo 1-3story lines, i.e Contact Harvest but really, the perfect start for me would be the Fall of Reach then work into the Halo 1-3 stories. Seeing the battle that occured at Reach would blow my mind if done right. Honestly I see no perfect scenario due to the cost, in my perfect world a movie for the Fall of Reach would come out first then a movie(s) (I don't think there would necessairly need to be 3 but one would constrict the story to much unless it was like 4 hours long) dealing with the main Halo 1-3. If at that point enough money was made then the story behind Contact Harvest would be a nice prequel of sorts.


I also love Gears of War and Doom but based on how Doom turned out I'm very worried about the Gears movie.


Seeing as this will be an anime movie, a buck or two may literally be all MS makes.

 

[gameboy]

The trailer is out...

http://halo.xbox.com/videos/halolegends_sdcc09.asx

 

[fjtorres]

When they said Halo legends would be showing up on live in November, I assumed it would be for sale as downloads. Turns out not.


The preview is free to all Wapoint users:


Full episodes are streaming for free, starting today.

One day only per episode. (And making of... Video)


Go gettem!


Schedule and details on the disk releases here:

http://xcastonline.com/index.php/New...-revealed.html


"The Babysitter" -- 11/07/09

Making of "The Babysitter" -- 11/14/09

"The Duel" -- 11/21/09

Making of "The Duel" -- 11/28/09

"The Package" Part 1 -- 12/5/09

Making of "The Package" -- 12/12/09

"The Package" Part 2 -- 12/19/09

Making of 'The Package" -- 12/26/09

"Origins" Part 1 -- 1/2/10

Making of "Origins" -- 1/9/10


The streaming played out nicely for me (4Mbps connection); not sure if I was getting an HD feed or just a very high-quality SD feed but it was defnitely a cut about typical SD anime. Now I'll definitely be trying the Zune Marketplace streaming. (Though I'll likely stick with the downloads for my rentals; I'm not really into instant gratification so much as advanced planning. ;-) )


A real good move by the Halo guys; a good way to jumpstart Waypoint...

 

[Ripeer]

Did this just come out for Canadians?

I've never noticed it before and today it was on the dashboard home screen.


Can anyone comment on them?

Are they worth buying for non-anime but Halo fans?

 

[Shin CZ]

I rented it on Blu-Ray and I really enjoyed Halo Legends. The majority of the stories were very engaging, and well made. If you're a Halo fan you're gonna want to watch this, no and, ifs, or buts. I'm not a big Halo fan, but like it just enough. Halo Legends did the series justice.

 

[Insane HTPC]

i have to say, other than the 3rd episode, the rest were good enough, and the last one and about half of them were very well done.


its good enough to get me to want to read all the novels that came out and really got me into the "universe" of halo...


i say, worth it....its very nice in HD also

 

[Rod#S]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Insane HTPC /forum/post/18199119


i have to say, other than the 3rd episode, the rest were good enough, and the last one and about half of them were very well done.


its good enough to get me to want to read all the novels that came out and really got me into the "universe" of halo...


i say, worth it....its very nice in HD also

Certainly nice in HD but I was very disapointed in the audio. Dolby 2.0, I mean come on, would it have killed them to at least put it in Dolby 5.1 to hear some of Marty's wonderful Halo score. It would have course been even better in dts-HD MA or Dolby TrueHD.


The only episode I did not like and I think was an embarrasement to the franchaise was the one about Spartan 1113 or something like that, I can't remember the specific number. It was the same one with the giant enhanced Brute in it. It was basically a Saturday morning cartoon with exceptionally poor dialog and comedy elements.

 

[onlysublime]

Wow. I just saw Halo Legends in HD. It was much better than I thought it'd be. I remember seeing some of the previews via streaming and was not impressed then.


But it looked beautiful and I actually got to see more episodes this time. The Package especially got me excited. But then it made me sad to see all these elite Spartans fighting and to know that they all die eventually.


Makes it kind of sad knowing that there'll be multiple Spartans in Halo Reach but that you know in the end they're all dead.


And it was cool to see the different classes: the ODST, the Spartans, the regular grunts.


Anyway, if you guys haven't seen the Halo Legends disc, you should regardless of whether you like the Halo series. Myself, I actually like the back stories of Halo more than the games themselves. Not that I didn't like the games, but they could've been better.


I'm curious how the new gaming studio takes the material. Bungie was kind of trapped in their own success (just like Blackberry is trapped, you change it too much and you alienate your fanbase, don't change it enough and people get mad). They couldn't change the art direction because that's what people expected. With a new studio, they can make it more realistic looking (less cartoony), or they can darken the tone, or heck, they could go stylistic and do some cool cel shading like with SF4. who knows.