It was the game that brought XBox into commercial life and it the one title which has consistantly kept the number 1 position in sales. It is no wonder then that the anticipation for the sequel was similar to that created for part 2 of a blockbuster movie.
Fans of the upcoming, XBox Live enabled, game may be slightly disappointed however, since the game's developers, Bungie, announced that there will be no Christmas 2003 release, as had been initially thought but that the game will ship in Q1, 2004.
It is true that a release timed with the holiday season would have greatly helped Microsoft's console sales as well as those of XBox Live. The possibility of a delay announcement later on though, is too risky an option for Microsoft to consider.
We don't want to let a Holiday 2003 release date dictate what we are and what we are not going to do with this game, said Ed Fries, Microsoft Game Studios Chief. We're committed to delivering the great gaming experience that Xbox fans are expecting from Halo 2.
The full Bungie announcement reads as follows:
There has been much speculation regarding Halo 2's release date since we announced the game last year. The fact is we don't like announcing release dates unless we're certain we'll meet the deadline.
We're still not ready to pick a specific release date, but we do want to state for the record that Halo 2 will not ship in 2003. This game is a vast undertaking, considerably more complex than any of our previous efforts, and there is just no way to squeeze all of the necessary work into this calendar year. We know many of you were hoping to get your hands on Halo 2 during the holiday season, and we're sorry to disappoint you - but making this game as good as we possibly can is our paramount concern. Microsoft understands and supports our decision, and we hope you will too. Our ultimate goal is to make Halo 2 a great game; when the game comes out next year, we think you'll agree we made the right choice.
Of course, you'll be able to get a small taste of the glories we have in store when we show Halo 2 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in May. And there is Halo for Mac and PC, still on track for a 2003 release with several new features and content. There is lots of exciting stuff on the way for Halo fans.
