Shawn Franklin

Bungie and Microsoft officially split – Xbox 360 News at GameSpot

I have been wanting to write about this since I heard the news, but didn’t know how to immediately react. Since the news broke, I have had many thoughts (which I will save you) and have ultimately arrived here:

Bungie = Innovation

I respect the developers there at Bungie for the splash that they have created in the gaming industry. I went back and watched my ‘bonus disk DVD’ that came with my collector’s edition of Halo 2, then watched the ‘anatomy of a game’ documentary that came with my Legendary edition of Halo 3. What I saw was a developer that struggled immensely with Halo 2 (right after the MS acquisition), and subsequently had a much more professional approach to game development in Halo 3.

I encourage you to go back, watch the bonus disks and conduct your own comparison.

Yet, instead of thinking that the break-up would be the demise of Bungie, I think the short-lived tenure with MS is exactly what the team at Bungie needed to elevate as a one of the only top-tier game developers in the industry. (Bungie, Epic, id, Infinity Ward, Rare, Rockstar)

To me a “top-tier” game developer is one that takes a platform like Xbox Live and revolutionizes online multi player. Ask yourself, how many times has Halo 2 been played online? I think it is upwards into the billions.

A “top-tier” game developer is one that holds the nations #1 and #2 entertainment records (Halo 2 landed ~$125M in its first 24 hours, Halo 3 landed ~$170M in its first 24 hours).

Now is that resume possible because of the financial stake that MS had in Xbox? Of course! Is that resume made possible by the 100′s of millions of dollars that MS put into marketing Halo. Yes. That’s exactly why I think the team at Bungie had the fortunate son experience at MS to polish its professional game development skills. (see: Gamespot’s review on Halo 3 and pay particular attention to what Jeff says in that last minute or so)

So, in my mind, the short-lived relationship was mutually beneficial; Bungie put Xbox on the map with Halo a hell of a lot quicker than most in the industry expected to see MS rise to the top, and MS gave Bungie the time, money and skills it needed to help perfect its game design/development skills. In other words, Bungie knows by first-hand experience what it takes to develop a game that makes ~$170M in its first 24 hours.

So why does Bungie = Innovation?

Bungie will now take off as the market leader, based on its future innovative ideas, that are derived from its successful days at MS and what it takes to have a historically successful game such as Halo. I look forward to what Bungie can do with a blank palette. I look forward to midnight releases for upcoming Bungie games.

My fear is that it will be a long time before we see a “halo-class” game again. Meaning, what other hardware manufacturer is going to take a developer and put the same resources into it that MS put into Bungie and the Halo series. I just don’t think it will happen again. I think you will see more and more games that are marketed at the level that you have seen Gears of War, GTAIV, COD4: Modern Warfare, Guitar Hero II & III, Rock Band, etc.

I just don’t know how confident I am that another video game will top the entertainment charts again like Halo did.

In sum, I think Bungie has a bright future because of its experience at MS, an experience that no other developer can claim.