Halo 3 Trial Download
Nathan Jones | June 17, 2010The release of Halo 3 was fervently awaited, as the game was the third in the original three-part series of the Halo videos. As a result, the Halo 3 free download was one of the most frequently downloaded game demos in the history of the Xbox 360. But what many people don’t realize is that the Halo 3 trial download helped make another game ie Crackdown.
What does the Halo 3 trial download have to do with another video game? Well, it has a great deal to do with the distribution and promotional work for a game that was originally meant for release on the Xbox system. Microsoft had become worried that Crackdown would not sell well.
And so they used a marketing tactic, the one of bundling Crackdown with an access code for the Halo 3 trial download. And it worked a treat in that Crackdown sold 1.5 million copies within the first six months of its release. Those aren’t Halo 3 figures, which sold 8.1 million units in slightly over a year, but for a lesser well-known game that’s absolutely terrific.
Microsoft had resorted to the Halo 3 trial download tactic because of adverse reports about the game from the game testers. They found the nonlinear nature of the game confusing, often leaving them wondering what they were meant to be doing next.
As a result of this, the powers that be knew that something had to be done or the game would be a loser. It may appear shady practice at first to try to push sales of a game that’s expected to be unpopular, but in retrospect people like the game and it was a good thing that they were able to get the chance to play it.
In Crackdown, and that includes the one associated with the Halo 3 free download, individuals play the role of an agent who is assigned to beat the kingpins or leaders of various gangs. To do this they use some superhuman powers such as super strength and super agility. In order to obtain these powers, players have to build up experience by defeating foes who then release experience orbs. The interesting idea in the system was that the kind of orbs released was reliant on the manner in which the agent killed the enemy. For instance, a firearms orb appears if the enemy was wiped out with a gun.
So, although at first sight this video bundled with the Halo 3 free download appears to be no more than a veiled marketing trick, in reality, it exposed gamers to an exciting new gameplay experience.
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