Last week, I shared the audio that the new Xbox 360 console makes. When the Xbox 360 Limited Edition Halo Reach console is available next month, it will have custom Halo inspired sounds when you press the power button or the disc eject tray. Even though not that many of you will be pressing the eject button after Sept. 14th, I wanted to give you a preview of what you can expect when you get your new console.
I’ve created two versions of each. One is the MP3 version that should work for most of your needs and the other is an iPhone friendly ring tone* version.
Xbox 360 Limited Edition Halo Reach – power (.MP3) (.M4R) [iPhone ringtone format]
Designed by Bungie, the Xbox 360 Limited Edition Halo: Reach Bundle includes all the features of the newly designed Xbox 360 console, such as a 250 GB Hard Drive and the fastest built-in Wi-fi. Additionally, you’ll receive two Limited Edition Wireless Controllers and a standard edition copy of Halo:Reach. The bundle will be available for US $399 in limited quantities and only while supplies last.
Today we announced that Halo: Reach will hit stores on Tuesday, September 14th 2010.
As a reminder, on Sept 14th Halo: Reach will be available in standard, Limited and Legendary editions. Full details on the contents of the Limited and Legendary editions are below:
In addition to the game disc and manual, the Limited edition includes:
Game disc housed in recovered ONI ”black box”
An exclusive Elite armor set for use in multiplayer modes
Artifact bag containing Dr. Halsey’s personal journal and other classified documents and effects that unravel long held secrets from the “Halo” universe
Halo: Reach Legendary Edition – $149.99 (USD) The complete “Halo: Reach” collection. In addition to the game disc, manual, and the complete contents of the Limited edition, the Legendary edition includes:
Noble Team statue expertly crafted by the artisans at McFarlane Toys. Individually molded, hand-painted and individually numbered, this statue is a must-have for any serious “Halo” fan
Halo: Reach will be available in standard, Limited and Legendary editions when the game launches this fall. Full details on the contents of the Limited and Legendary editions are below: Halo: Reach Limited Edition – $79.99 (USD) In addition to the game disc and manual, the Limited edition includes:
Game disc housed in recovered ONI ”black box”
An exclusive Elite armor set for use in multiplayer modes
Artifact bag containing Dr. Halsey’s personal journal and other classified documents and effects that unravel long held secrets from the “Halo” universe
Halo: Reach Legendary Edition – $149.99 (USD) The complete “Halo: Reach” collection. In addition to the game disc, manual, and the complete contents of the Limited edition, the Legendary edition includes:
Noble Team statue expertly crafted by the artisans at McFarlane Toys. Individually molded, hand-painted and individually numbered, this statue is a must-have for any serious “Halo” fan
In other Halo news, Bungie’s latest Halo: Reach ViDoc, titled Carnàge Carnivàle was also released today. We’re only a few short days away from the Halo : Reach multiplayer beta which starts May 3rd. As a reminder, you will need your Halo 3: ODST game disc to participate in the beta.
Content: Halo Wars Price: Check pricing for your region Availability: Asia, Canada and US Dash Text: (Online Interactions Not Rated by the ESRB) This game supports English. Download the manual for this game by locating the game on http://marketplace.xbox.com and selecting “See Game Manual". Halo Wars is a strategy game based on the legendary Halo® universe. Command entire armies of Spartans, Warthogs and more into combat as you join the crew of the “Spirit of Fire” to battle the alien Covenant. Designed from the ground up for the Xbox 360, Halo Wars let you effortlessly command powerful armies in epic battles. There are no refunds for this item. For more information, see www.xbox.com/live/accounts.
Price: Check pricing for your region Availability: Not available in Germany, Japan, Korea or India Dash Text: (Online Interactions Not Rated by the ESRB) This game supports English only. Download the manual for this game by locating the game on http://marketplace.xbox.com and selecting “See Game Manual". Unparalleled human drama unfolds in a shopping mall overrun with the undead. Welcome to hell!! There are no refunds for this item. For more information, see www.xbox.com/live/accounts.
In this special 343rd episode, posted on the 343rd day of the year, I interview some of the team members at 343 Industries who are responsible for all things Halo at Microsoft Game Studios.
Justin Korthof – Community Manager, 343 Industries
Jon Goff – Community Manager, 343 Industries
Kevin Grace – Managing Editor, 343 Industries
Eric Nylund – Author
Jeremy Patenaude – Content Creator, 343 Industries (Formerly of AscendantJustice.com) Jacob Benton – Content Creator, 343 Industries (Formerly of AscendantJustice.com)
Josh Holmes – Executive Producer, 343 Industries
Frank O’Connor – Franchise Development Director, 343 Industries
Get the show now! You know you want to. [iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3) Listen in iTunes? Submit a review [RSS] Add the Major Nelson Blogcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (MP3).
[MP3] <—– Download the show Format: 1:28:58, 34.4 MB, (MP3)
Click the player below to stream this show to your browser:
Links to some of the things mentioned in this episode:
Content: The Vision Behind Halo 3: ODST (HD) Price: Free Availability: All Xbox LIVE regions Dash Text: [ESRB: M (Mature) BLOOD,LANGUAGE,VIOLENCE] A Covenant warship dominates the sky over New Mombasa. The evacuated city burns below. You are an ODST, one of the few soldiers ready and willing to drop in and put up a fight. But before you head feet first into the city and experience Halo from a fresh perspective, get an inside look at the creative process behind Halo 3: ODST straight from the strike team at Bungie that got the job done. To complete their mission, they had to explore some dark and uncharted territory of their own. Download this VIDOC and get briefed on the vision, technology and tactics it took to bring the city of New Mombasa and Halo 3: ODST to life.
If you are dying to get your hands on Halo 3: ODST to try out the new Firefight multiplayer mode, then you may be in luck. Bungie, Microsoft and GameStop have teamed up to give you a chance to experience Firefight and maybe win some Halo swag. We’ve announced that the custom created Halo 3: ODST Transport vehicle that will be making stops at GameStops across the United States and offering you an up close and hands on look of this new Halo multiplayer mode. The tour kicks off this Saturday at 12 noon at the GameStop right down the street from the Xbox offices. Join me and a bunch of folks from the Xbox team as we kick off the tour that may bring the Halo 3: ODST Transport to your area.
Halo 3: ODST Transport Vehicle Stops
City
Seattle (Redmond, WA)
Portland (Hillsboro, OR)
San Francisco (Union City, CA)
San Jose (Antioch, CA)
Los Angeles (Pasadena, CA)
San Diego, CA
Las Vegas (Henderson, NV)
Phoenix (Avendale, AZ)
Dallas (Southlake, TX)
Austin (Cedar Park, TX)
Houston (Tomball, TX)
Memphis, TN
Nashville (Murfreesboro, TN)
Indianapolis, IN
Chicago, IL
Detroit (Shelby Township, MI)
Cleveland (North Olmstead, OH)
Pittsburgh, PA
Philadelphia (Fairless Hills, PA)
Washington, DC (Woodbridge, VA)
Baltimore (Owings Mills, MD)
New York (North Babylon, NY)
Location
Redmond Town Center
Tanasbourne Town Center
Union Landing
Center At Slatten Ranch
Hastings Village
Carmel Mt. Ranch
Whitney Ranch
Gateway Pavilion
Shops of Southlake
Lakeline Plaza
Spring Cypress Wal-Mart Center
Marketplace at Wolfcreek
College Central Shopping Center
Target 31 Shopping Center
The Brickyard Shopping Center
Shelby Town Center
Great Northern Plaza South
North Hills Village
Fairless Hills Towne Center
Smoketown Station
Garrison Forest Plaza Shopping Center
Sunset Plaza
Date
8/22
8/23
8/25
8/26
8/28
8/29
8/30
8/31
9/3
9/4
9/5
9/7
9/8
9/10
9/11
9/12
9/13
9/14
9/16
9/17
9/18
9/19
*For the most up to date list of tour cities, times and locations, visit GameStop.com
I wanted to make you aware of an unfortunate incident that has resulted in the loss of all data on the Halo Wars Xbox LIVE Leaderboards. This includes all singleplayer, multiplayer and Trueskill leaderboards, as well as all matchmaking data, resulting in the Halo Wars leaderboards being reset to original launch day status.
This was human error related to Xbox LIVE servers. It is not a broader service issue and will not impact other titles or Xbox LIVE experiences. The Xbox LIVE team is investigating the cause to prevent this from occurring in the future.
Thank you to Robot Entertainment for working with us through this issue and thank you to our Halo Wars community for your patience as we’ve sorted this out. On behalf of everyone at Xbox LIVE, I’d like to apologize for the incident and any frustration Halo Wars players have experienced in having their statistics disappear from the Leaderboards. You can rest assured that we’re putting processes in place to prevent this from happening in the future.
Content: Halo Wars Historical Battle Map Pack Add-on Price: 800 Microsoft Points Availability: All Xbox LIVE regions Dash Text: [ESRB: T (Teen) MILD BLOOD,MILD LANGUAGE,VIOLENCE] Expand your Halo Wars experience with the Historical Battle Map Pack Add-on. These four new maps highlight key turning points in the epic war between the UNSC and Covenant forces. The maps include: Blood River – battle a single opponent over a treacherous natural chokepoint; Barrens – engage your enemy in the midst of the Flood; Memorial Basin – two vs. two team play in one of the bloodiest battles in Halo history; and Glacial Ravine — three vs. three action as you fight to control a narrow corridor flanked by energy walls. There are no refunds for this item. For more information, see www.xbox.com/live/accounts.
It’s called Historic Battles and it will be available July 21st for 800 points and it has four new maps and four new Achievements. Here is a breakdown of what Historic Battles for Halo Wars will contain:
Barrens (1v1 Map): Difficult terrain channels units into killing zones. The side that controls the Forerunner artifacts will have the advantage.
Blood River (1v1 Map): Secure base locations on nearby cliffs overlook this naturally red-tinged river. The soldiers that fought over its two narrow crossings gave the river its name, which has since taken on a greater meaning.
Glacial Ravine (3v3 Map): A snow-topped mountain range forms a natural barrier that cuts this region in half. Control of the two energy walls at the narrow central pass often determines the outcome of the battle, though clever use of the Sentinel Factories may play a role as well.
Memorial Basin (2v2 Map): The high ground in the middle offers good cover for infantry, while the generally open terrain transforms organized battle plans into bloodbaths.
The four new Achievements worth a total of 100 points are:
Tour Coming Through: Hot drop 50 squads to your Covenant Leader in a single game on Memorial Basin (30 points)
Never Leave a Man Behind: Finish a game with 5000 net resources contributed to your teammates on Memorial Basin (15 points)
Drain Cleaner: Kill 20 enemy squads with a continuous Covenant Leader Power on Memorial Basin (30 points)
Killjoy: Disrupt 5 active Leader Powers in a single game on Blood River (25 points)
It was just announced at CES that Halo Wars will be available on February 28th (see below with world wide dates) with a demo hitting Xbox LIVE on February 5th.
Edit: There has be an update to the Halo Wars release date. In addition, I have details on specific regions:
Japan and Asia Pacific: February 26 Europe: February 27 North America: March 3
Note: The demo is still on track for a February 5th release.
