BreakmanX.com

Posted: **Sat Mar 04, 2006 12:45 pm**

I'm not sure if anyone has seen this, and since no one has posted it, I will do thy bidding and bring forth the news.

Gamespot wrote:Halo 2 on the PC contains the original Halo 2 as well as the Multiplayer Map Pack and a level editor, and it requires Windows Vista.
By: MS Game Studios, Bungie Software
Genre: Sci-Fi First-Person Shooter
Release Date: TBA
Players: 1-16; 16 Online (tech info)
Also On: XBOX

It seems odd to me that they would require you to have Vista to play, Is it to get more money? I don't think the upgrade from XP to Vista will be an instantaneos thing across the board, I'm sure people will wait a bit before buying it and using it as a new OS.

Gamespot wrote:If PC users are having trouble deciding whether to move over to Windows Vista, Microsoft's next-generation operating system, when it is released later this year, the fact that the fate of the Earth depends on it may tip the scales. Microsoft Game Studios today announced that it is developing Halo 2 for the PC.

The game will be only for Vista, and it's being developed in partnership with the franchise's original developer, Bungie Studios. The PC version will include Halo 2, the bonus maps that came in the Multiplayer Map Pack, and the ability to "build, create, and customize their own multiplayer levels." No release date or other details have been announced.

Last week, questions arose when Bungie revealed it was hiring PC programmers to help "work on the biggest franchises for Microsoft Game Studios." Many presumed that Bungie would be porting Halo 2 to the PC in-house, unlike the PC version of Halo, which was developed by Brothers in Arms creator Gearbox Studios.

Halo 2, now more than a year old, is the best-selling Xbox game of all time. Bungie has not yet announced its next project. For more information on Halo 2, read GameSpot's full review of the Xbox version. For more information on Windows Vista, check out GameSpot's feature on the operating system.

What do you think, good idea to have it Vista exclusive? or is it a bad idea that will hurt sales?

My guess is that if the consumer really wants the game, they will have no problem in upgrading to Vista and purchasing the game.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/halo2 ... id=6143976

Have a good day.

Posted: **Sat Mar 04, 2006 1:48 pm**

They're just doing it to increase sales of Vista, since they're afraid few people will bother to upgrade. Right now, it's just shaping up to be Window XP with a new skin.

They've been doing shit like this for a few years now, in blocking out Windows 2000 in newer versions of IE, Windows Media Player and etc. In reality, Halo 2 should work all the way back to Windows 2000 since Vista uses the same NT5 kernel. Since they do this stuff with arbitrary code, it shouldn't take long for a hacker to release a patch to allow it to work on older NT5 Windows OSes.