Halo Launch?

he first time I heard the name "Halo" was in November of 2001 when the game was released alongside Microsoft's rookie offering into the console market. In fact, I had the pleasure of attending the release party thrown by a local game store in my area with 5 or 6 friends accompanying me.

I can vividly remember excitement bubbling throughout the crowd that, even with more than six hours remaining until launch, was wrapping around the store, zigzagging through the back parking lot, and stretching hundreds of feet down an adjoining sidewalk. The funniest thing about it all wasn't the enormous size of the crowd or even the puzzled looks on the faces of those who passed by wondering what the heck all these kids were doing lined up along a street on a late afternoon. No, the most amusing part of it all was that nearly every person there was exponentially more excited about Halo: Combat Evolved than they were about the brand new Xbox system on which they'd be playing the game.

Sales, yes; fanfare, no.Rightfully so I would say. I mean, Halo was a game that redefined the first-person shooter genre, not only with its gripping single-player campaign but also with its groundbreaking multiplayer offering . It is seen by many as the sole reason for the success of the original Xbox. I would agree, given the game's astounding attachment rate to the console of more than 55%. Halo was king, and the king would reign for another three years until, in one of the most anticipated launches in the history of video games, Halo 2 ascended to the throne.

Again, I attended the launch party. It was bigger for Halo 2. Much bigger. The event was covered one of the local news channels and even Red Bull sent one of those little Red-Bull-can-looking trucks to give out free drinks to the thirsty. Everyone there seemed absolutely happy; giddy, even, in the fact that they were about to satisfy their voracious Halo appetites. That event was nuts. Just nuts. For the next couple of years, Halo 2 took up much of my and many other's time. School, work, Halo, sleep. Does that sound familiar?

That was then though and this is now. Halo 3 was released on the Xbox 360 and for all intents and purposes was a phenomenal success. It set sales records, as had its predecessors — but something felt different with Halo 3.

The few, the proud . . . the few.The release party I attended in late 2007 was certainly a widely anticipated event, but the people who attended just weren't as excited as they had been before. It was more of a "Well, everyone else is getting it, so I'm getting it too"-type atmosphere. Perhaps Halo had become too big for its own good. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before Halo was dethroned by other, more deserving titles.

That would end up being the case as Gears of War and Call of Duty 4 arrived and diverted the fan base enough for a changing of the guard. These games offered an alternative to the Halo world. Bungie's most recent Halo entry, ODST, has released with considerably less fanfare.

I attended the release "party" earlier this week and I was surprised at how few souls were there. I arrived on the scene at about 11 PM and I was all alone. No line, no costumes, no Red Bull trucks. No one was freaking there. Something had to be wrong. Did I miss something? I hadn't missed a thing. The hard truth was evident: the Halo ship has sailed, hardcore fans left at the dock.

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