I for one, will not be buying into the hype by preordering a game to get an early demo. That’s back asswards if you ask me.

I’ll wait and see what happens when everyone buys the game and is online with it. If it passes muster, I’ll be getting it… not a moment sooner.

When you look at all those used SOCOM Confrontation games sitting on the shelf at Gamestop, you have to wonder what the hell went wrong.

Simple economics teaches us that competition is not only healthy and beneficial, but it is necessary for efficiency and quality.

Without it, we have the Windows scenario – where effectively the same operating system was released year after year with upgraded skins (See: Windows 95-98-ME). Windows Vista is the product of a lack of competition. Nothing can compete with the installer base Windows XP has racked up.

Imagine if Xbox fanboys get their wish of Xbox 360 dominance. Suddenly, since it’s the only console on earth, there is no need for Microsoft to invest in research and development for an Xbox 720 or an Xbox 1080. And yes, Microsoft are exactly the kind of power hungry company that this precise scenario appeals to.

Ultimately, it is us, the consumer who will benefit from competition. It means that consoles will be sold at a loss to the company selling it, if necessary, in order that the install base is established – without the PS3, what incentive does Microsoft have to reducing prices? If it’s the only console in the market, it can be priced at a £1000 a pop and we could do nothing about it. Console gaming would be destroyed.

Competition improves the quality of our gaming lifestyle. Embrace your fanboy opposite and let’s stop this crazy banter that many, unfortunately, take oh so seriously.

And who are you sir, to say that he’s an idiot for having an opinion?

Some might say you are in fact the idiot for ridiculing someone’s right to an opinion.

You also said, “Halo is just another game that falls into the spectrum of bore games after you play it a lot.”

My friend, please examine what you have just said. Doesn’t doing anything repetitively eventually lead to the entertainment value extracted from it to be reduced? How many grapes can you eat before you get bored of the taste? Obviously, the longevity of any recreational activity will vary greatly from person to person – we are all unique. So your justification for being anti-Halo is inherently flawed.

It’s crucial to understand that hype is an inevitability when we’re dealing with major development landmarks within games – like exceptionally good graphics or a new way to play a game (See: Nintendo Wii). Furthermore, the amount of time and money this game, and many others like it (See: Halo 1, 2, 3), make it an absolute necessity that publishers and development teams get as much media exposure as possible, otherwise fewer people will be aware and hence fewer will buy and play the game.

We need hype. I guess what I am saying is that it is a necessary evil, even when overhype leads to a slight disappointment. But think of this, if a game was not hyped sufficiently and it turned out to be a fantastic, genre defining experience for the masses – how gutted would you feel? In fact, who cares about you, the individual? The publisher would drop the game for lack of sales (or interest) and the development team that produced the game would go bust!

Hype = Sales = Profits = More great games from great developers.

We really do not stand to lose very much at all from this scenario.

And to Dan Landis, I feel you’ve done yourself no favors by replying to these aggressive and distasteful posts with much of the same aggression and distaste. Surely you are better than that! So what if someone wants to express their zeal for a game that you, an apparently seasoned professional, do not seem to appreciate? Let the dog have it’s bone, even if the bone’s not yet released.

Let’s all just wait patiently for this games release and then decide on whether or not it is the game that hype promised. I know that I’ll be content, nay happy, so long as it doesn’t pull a Haze.