Crackdown Delay

[FiveOhOne]

http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=news&cid=12468



Crackdown Delay: We Know!
Posted by Frankie at 5/16/2007 5:22 AM PDT

With any luck this will be a short delay. People enetering the Beta through other methods - Friends and Family, Rule of Three and so on, are unaffected.

[KONSPIRACY]

Yep just heard about this. How many thousands of ppl are going to be very upset?! :eek:

[Azure]

Planned I think.

[FiveOhOne]

Planned I think.

Whys that then?

[FiveOhOne]

Apparently, according to the xbox.com forums, if you mail microsoft via the support link on xbox.com, and complaing about not being able to access it via crackdown they'll send you a download code.

I'll let you know how I get on ;-)

[Mazzy]

this is bollocks, if you dont get the code, apparently its going to be 3 am until its released.

[FiveOhOne]

Source please?

[Mazzy]

just someone said he phone ms and they gave him that time.

[FiveOhOne]

Yeah, i'd say thats bollocks. No chance they've managed to diagnose a fix, work out a response and have it filter down to the phone spods yet, and still not posted it on b.net (whose forums, as I sadly forgot are way worse that xbox.com).

[quickshot89]

lets see, thousands of users log onto a few servers at the same time, and you think nothing would go wrong

bad planning by xbl, but its simply nothing they can do

[FiveOhOne]

It's not that kind of issue, you can't log on to the server in the first place - if it was just a load issue *some* crackdown users would be getting it. None of them are.

[quickshot89]

well im stumped

[FiveOhOne]

well im stumped


*too.....many.....rebukes*


*head explodes*

[quickshot89]

*too.....many.....rebukes*


*head explodes*

lol so funny :rolleyes:

[sub]

Arghhhhhh!!!!

[Azure]

Look at you all hahahaha.

Planned. A veritable halo 3 bumming fest on their cards now eh?

[FiveOhOne]

Look at you all hahahaha.

Planned.

o0o0o0o hark at Captain Negative over there :p

[Renegade]

No way is this planned - what's their reasoning? Why advertise the exact time for it? Why have a countdown on their own site? Why say to everyone that friends and family would get the code 5 days before the proper beta launch - which they did?

But LOOOOL at those that are relying on Crackdown - which is sorta ironic considering it's what I would be doing if Bungie hadn't sent me a code :p (even funnier when you think I'm one of the least active b.net forum users alive)

[Azure]

Sorry Renagade but you are for too naive for your own good tbh ;)

You seem to think that because there was an official announcement it means they are physically incapable of not offering it on time. They have countless people going nuts in a frenzy all for halo 3 right now, if I were you from this viewpoint I would no doubt be saying.

"No way can they have broken this they had it set up for weeks they had the dates and everything! /innocentsmileybrightface"

They will milk this game sideways, and so they should I suppose.

Think about it ok, delaying the beta for one day doesnt hurt anyone, not really. And inside the halo circle its gone from "Can't wait to play Halo 3 tonight" to

"HALO HALO HALO ARGH ZOMFG WHY CANT I PLAY HALO HALO HALO HALO HALO HALO ARGH ZOMFG WHY CANT I PLAY HALO HALO HALO HALO HALO HALO ARGH ZOMFG WHY CANT I PLAY HALO HALO HALO HALO HALO HALO ARGH ZOMFG WHY CANT I PLAY HALO HALO HALO HALO HALO HALO ARGH ZOMFG WHY CANT I PLAY HALO HALO HALO HALO HALO HALO ARGH ZOMFG WHY CANT I PLAY HALO HALO HALO HALO HALO HALO ARGH ZOMFG WHY CANT I PLAY HALO HALO HALO HALO HALO HALO ARGH ZOMFG WHY CANT I PLAY HALO HALO HALO HALO HALO HALO ARGH ZOMFG WHY CANT I PLAY HALO HALO HALO HALO HALO HALO ARGH ZOMFG WHY CANT I PLAY HALO HALO HALOHALO HALO HALO ARGH ZOMFG WHY CANT I PLAY HALO HALO HALO"

It is like a school of Piranha fish in a tank, you just can't help but knock the glass and whip them up.

[Cormac]

I resent the ****ers either way.

I'm raking in the new achievements on Crackdown though!

[Renegade]

*ignore this post, sorry*

[KH Torrance]

From "Can't wait to play Halo 3 tonight"
to "HALO HALO HALO ARGH ZOMFG WHY CANT I PLAY". . ?

More like to "**** OFF AND DIE, BUNGIE, YOU ****ING ****S!!!".
People are seriously pissed off (and over-reacting, imo) about this.

You honestly think Bungie screwed up the big Beta launch on purpose?!
I don't believe that for one second. I guess I'm also too naive.

Well, thanks for showing us the light, Azure... :-S

[BARR2K]

well so much for having crackdown... not halo beta..

Microsoft..... you suck

[BlueHoopedMoose]

Think about it ok, delaying the beta for one day doesnt hurt anyone, not really.

Of course it does - you can be pretty sure that there are many staff at Bungie and M$ on heightened support, both for when the beta dropped and during it's course. It will cost both parties bucks to have that staff availability - you don't want them sat on their arses whilst you go "Oh no, didn't we tell you? The date we told everyone else was a lit just to whip up a frenzy. Not that we needed it anymore..."

Bungie's most effective was of building that frenzy was to release the Beta early to the F&F group - I've lost count of how many messages I've had from people saying "OMG - how come you're playing the beta?" Look at all the posts on here discussing the beta for starters.

Yes, Bungies (and more importantly M$) are capapable of pulling a stunt like this but I don't for one second think they are stupid enough to try it. It really isn't worth the hassle.

[Azure]

I respectfully disagree, and now they just spoon fed you an extra 4 days so they are the super dudes again.

To me it is just obvious.

[Renegade]

Honestly, I just don't get how your brain can fathom that.

Just a hint: not everything in the world is out to get you.

[FiveOhOne]

Nah it's Harris. They are. ;)

[Azure]

Just look at it from my POV.

PR for the biggest game in the next 3 years at least is really going to struggle to perform from a cost perspective point of view.

You throw up a poster at a bus station at what? I dont know ?50 for a week or something? No one really gives a crap who isn't already defacating their pants at the sight of a Spartan.

Cost effectiveness of this move? 12 hours straight of a jammed phoneboard of people complaning and a gigantic ball of frenzied "halo" going through the net. Lovers, haters and anyone in between will be interested to know they ****ed you over on the BEta and will either cry with you or point and laugh.

Then they just fix it and casually add on another 4 days, instantly the broiling mess of everyoen wrapped up in it turns into a major viral PR move in a very sweet cost/benefit ratio.

[Renegade]

Everyone that already had Crackdown to play the beta... is still going to play the beta. Extra people weren't going to say 'oooh, must get Crackdown so I can see what all this has been about'.

Or we can use your laughable theory, Bungie and MS have full switchboards and complaint lines, as well as staff working around the clock (which they were) to fix the problem. Costing them a shitload.

Just stop with the conspiracy theories, nobody apart from those that actually care about Halo in the first place have any clue what has happened. The people that loved Halo were already going to play it - this hasn't added extra players, it's simply pissed off the ones they already had.

[Azure]

It isnt about necessarily adding more players directly, rather just strengthening the presence of the game in people's minds.

And please do not call my opinion laughable when it is logically credible, I am not saying 100% it went that way, I just think it did.

nobody apart from those that actually care about Halo in the first place have any clue what has happened

That however is laughable.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/you-can-stop-mailing-tips-now/halo-3-crackdown-beta-delay-260853.php

http://digg.com/xbox_360/Halo_3_Beta_delayed

http://www.gwn.com/news/story.php/id/12671/Halo_3_Beta_Delayed.html

Then we get the magical fix appearing in...

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/posttech/2007/05/halo_3_beta_delay_for_crackdow_2.html?nav=rss_blog

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6664553.stm

You're telling me everyone who reads the BBC site and the washington post all have the crackdown invite? And that MS and Bungie haven't benefited from this?

Sigh...

What is even worse is that you think something so simple and easy could not be anything but a conspiracy theory.

[Renegade]

No, what I'm saying is - for those people that don't care about Halo, why would reading it on the BBC or WP website make it any different? I.e my girlfriend hates Halo - would reading it on the BBC website make her buy Crackdown to find out? My mum has no idea what Halo even is - is she going to google it and find out?

I'm just wondering how you manage to make it through the day. You spilled your pint? Damn, ot must be Wetherspoons making unbalanced glasses so that you go back and buy more beer.

Not arguing this point anymore. I get four extra days on the beta. Thank you Bungie, nice one on fixing the problem :)

[FiveOhOne]

It's a theory that holds water, wether true or not that remains to be seen, it is possible. Think about it, if it was a planned delay, then surely the fact that the switch boards would have been jammed would have been planned for, the extra costs calculated into the equation before hand. The extra staff working round the clock would have been phantoms, since there was no actual problem etc etc...

Personally, I like to think it was a problem, rather than a PR stunt. The possibility remains however.

[Azure]

My mum has no idea what Halo even is - is she going to google it and find out?

No you silly person* the point is now all she has to do is peruse the BBC and she has a chance of coming up against the brand of halo whether she cares about it or not. The need for someone to go out of their way to find out about it has gone, that is the entire point. Jesus what do they teach you people at school these days?

I'm just wondering how you manage to make it through the day. You spilled your pint? Damn, ot must be Wetherspoons making unbalanced glasses so that you go back and buy more beer.

That is no comparison to this scenario, you obviously cannot grasp the concept or I cannot explain it well enough. But being as you managed to shoot off your own leg in the "glitching added nothing" debate I have to presume the former.

Personally, I like to think it was a problem, rather than a PR stunt.

Me too, however being skeptical is more pragmatic, or at least it opens the mind for some neurons to be used...

[Renegade]

Oh **** *** Azure you mouthy little ****. I'm sick to **** of people like you insulting other people because of a differing opinion - you've no right to call me a thick **** - I JUST DON'T AGREE WITH YOU.

[Azure]

No no, im sick of people like you saying my opinion is laughable simply because you cannot understand it.

Youre fine to disagree with me, most people on the thread do that isnt my problem.

I'm just wondering how you manage to make it through the day. You spilled your pint? Damn, ot must be Wetherspoons making unbalanced glasses so that you go back and buy more beer.

Or we can use your laughable theory

That makes it the problem. So you can say that whilst I do not agree with you but when you get a slap you are allowed to sit on the high horse of "opinion" whilst I am meant to bow my head and avert my eyes, that about the size of it?

[Razor]

Ladies for the love of god stop swearing.
Debate all you like just don't start with petty insults etc or it'll be infractions all round.

[Renegade]

The thing is, not once did I or will I resort to personal attacks against you. I think your theory is laughable. It's possible sure, but rediculous to think that a **** up of this magnitude is on purpose. But when the very first thing you think of is a conspiracy theory, ignoring everything that the makers themselves have said, it's extremely tiring. Can't you take anything at face value, or is there always a deeper meaning? I know you will think 'well thats what the makers would say, so we dont realise', but when that's the only possible thing we have to go on, that's the stuff we have to listen to.

I understand what you meant by the theory. The thing is, nobody will ever know, the only word we can go on is the people that were there - Bungie. Who have said that it was a server problem. So excuse me for actually having trusted someone that, in my opinion, had much much more to lose than to gain by ****ing over their customer base.

Like I said, from the very start of this you're trying to argue a point that you will never, ever, have any way of proving. You claim it's a conspiracy, the burden of proof is not on my shoulders - it's on yours. And by comin in and calling me a thick **** and implying that my education failed me, I'm not exactly inclined to listen when you eventually do try and prove the unprovable.

[Azure]

It isnt about necessarily adding more players directly, rather just strengthening the presence of the game in people's minds.

for those people that don't care about Halo, why would reading it on the BBC or WP website make it any different? I.e my girlfriend hates Halo - would reading it on the BBC website make her buy Crackdown to find out? My mum has no idea what Halo even is - is she going to google it and find out?

I had already stated it had nothing implicitly to do with sales, and you talk about google when obviously the need to google for it has been removed since it is on mainstream public news sources now. It really is not my fault you cannot read that and assimilate it.

My idea is as Jay put it logically sound, you do not have to agree with it but to call it laughable is not going to do you any favours, you are laughing at logic and yet you imply that it is specifically my logic that is laughable, dress it how you want to. The evidence suggests that my theory is possible and more than a little plausible, so why have so much beef about it and start quipping irrelevent crap about whetherspoons?

Respect is not a given, it is earned. The onus is indeed on my shoulders to prove it, but I really don't care about it, it was just an opinion piece for some to think about. Not an anorak preaching about conspiracies as you are so eager to portray.

[Renegade]

I'm simply saying that the ONLY source of information we can get is from Bungie. Who say there was a problem with the beta and needed fixing. So why go into the realms of them doing it on purpose, with absolutely no way of proving it or any reason whatsoever to have the feeling that it might be the case? What, about everything that happened, tips you off that it was on purpose? I would love to know that - what's the giveaway that Bungie did this on purpose to make money?

I do think that your 'theory' is possible, even plausible. The reason I find it laughable is because you felt the need to theorise in the first place, instead of going on the word of a dev that, when you think about it, is giving us a hell of a lot for free.

And I mentioned google because simply saying to people 'Halo 3' means absolutely nothing. You forget that a huge percentage of people have no idea what Halo is, what an Xbox is, and so saying 'Halo 3 beta was delayed on the Xbox 360' is like speaking dutch to them - even if you specifically tell them.

It's just funny that we live in a world so insecure about things that we feel the need to presume that everything that goes wrong has a motive. Just for once, it would be nice to see 'oh bugger, things went wrong - never mind, I get to play it tomorrow'.

So I ask again:

What, about everything that happened, tips you off that it was on purpose? I would love to know that - what's the giveaway that Bungie did this on purpose to make money? Because they had plenty of time to get it ready? Yeah, so did Nasa before Apollo 13 - sometimes, **** just happens.

[Azure]

Ok so I put this to you.

Do you honestly think that MS and Bungie, knowing the exact sales of crackdown perfectly [MS published the game] with months of preparation time and their experience in XBL in general let them make a genuine mistake? On their golden ticket, halo 3?

You dress it as "Conspiracy theory" it is just a bloody publicity stunt. No one begrudges one day's wait when they find out they get 4 days back, but they make enough noise about it before hand don't they?

It doesn't matter one bit that Halo3 beta means nothing to your mum, just the mere recognition that it exists is good enough from a PR point.

Why would it be "nice" to hear "Oh it went wrong never mind i get to play it tomorrow"? There is nothing innately sinister about it if they planned this, it is just business as usual for anyone dealing with 6 figure numbers...

It would take a lot more effort to hand over 4 days in recompense for a real mistake when compared to a nice little timeline for this to come along for everyone's benefit. Their publicity, and you lot get 4 days more. Where is the problem with that?

so insecure about things that we feel the need to presume that everything that goes wrong has a motive

Well **** me but international conglomerates aren't usually international conglomerates by confessing to genuine **** ups and skipping PR chances. What has being insecure got to do with the fact these people are in business?!

[Renegade]

OK. It was on purpose. They are making a shitload more money now and everybody in the Western world and several solar systems is now clambering to get a 360 to play Halo 3 and see what all the fuss is about. You're right.

[Azure]

OK. It could have been on purpose. They will make shitload more money now and everybody in the Western world and several solar systems is now clambering to get a 360 to play Halo 3 and see what all the fuss is about or being bombarded with Halo branding. You're right.

Thanks, thought you'd come round eventually.

I just think it'd be more of a stretch of the imagination for them to **** this up than play it in their hands.

[KH Torrance]

Considering their domain and reputation in the business world; if I were Microsoft, to be seen as incapable of doing something so seemingly simple as releasing a file for download on a certain date, is not the sort of publicity I'd want. Even if it does sell a few extra copies of what is already by far the biggest franchise in my games studio. Surely there are a million better ways to publicize Halo 3.
And those people sitting at the bus stop won't have seen the commotion on the forums anyway.. ;-)

But I'm not Microsoft. <--Disclaimer :-P

[Mazzy]

No publicity is bad publicity, any publicity is good publicity.

I say they scripted this entire event.

[KONSPIRACY]

I've just skim read this whole thread and I have to agree with Harris.

Why?

Well I refused to buy Crapdown just for the beta...until today. The hype n speculation created by the limited access early in the week had me twitchin to play it. The fact remains that if crackdown wasnt associated with h3 beta then in no way would it have reached the top sellin game in the charts, and today I succumbed to their marketing techniques and followed like a sheep head first into the hysteria.

I actually tracked down a copy of crackdown and drove to gamestation before it closed like a man possessed desperate to play the beta. I still refused to pay for it so took the opportunity to trade in all my old games that havent been touched for months for what is at the end of the day...a demo (pretty sad state of affairs for the 360 game lineup when the only game you want to play on your 360 is actually downloadable content!).

Anyways...was it worth it? Yes. Have I fallen for M$ marketing strategies? Yes. Have M$ boosted sales of crackdown once again? Most likely.

On a side note...perhaps the most significant and pleasing thing about today was seeing over 50 ppl on my friends list online and it was a distinct flashback to the good ole Halo2 days with everyone online jumping between lobbies and actually communicating with each other n playin a game as a community. Like minded ppl being reunited and genuinely excited because of a game! When was the last time you could say that?!

[Mazzy]

On a side note...perhaps the most significant and pleasing thing about today was seeing over 50 ppl on my friends list online and it was a distinct flashback to the good ole Halo2 days with everyone online jumping between lobbies and actually communicating with each other n playin a game as a community. Like minded ppl being reunited and genuinely excited because of a game! When was the last time you could say that?!


I agree on this, its been a long time since i stayed up till 2-3 playing a game with 8 people, just haveing a blast. Gears of war should have done it, if it had better matchmakeing but i guess we had to wait till halo3 comes out to enjoy the good old days.

[Renegade]

I fully agree that I would have been up late with Gears, the amount I was hyped for it. Until it turned out to be an absolute shed in multiplayer.

[Azure]

I think I could only describe gears as "sloppy" at best.

[Renegade]

Sloppy would be the equivalent of giving it a nobel prize. The game is a god damn joke.

[Azure]

I think it did what it *had to. Ie show some slick gfx so the PS3 camp is shut up for ten seconds.

Story, characters, online all blew though. I have to hand it to EPIC though the sound effects were awesome throughout campaign.

[Menace Red3]

i havent read this so lol i get stuck on 13% all the time and says download later i try later and still the same why is this :(