One of the major problems people have of Halo 3: ODST is that its campaign is incredibly short. However, apparently our perception is at fault here, not the game itself. Bethesda’s production director, Ashley Cheng, believes the game was marketed in entirely the wrong way, and that consumer backlash could have been avoided if Microsoft hadn’t “bungled” the advertising.
“Microsoft and/or Bungie totally bungled the marketing on this,” he argues. “First saying it was a standalone expansion pack, then coming out and saying wait, no, we’re charging full price because — surprise! — we put ‘more’ stuff in it and it’s called Halo ODST now, vs it’s original title, Halo Recon.”
“Like Microsoft was ever going to sell this for less than full price. It is a new Halo title, it’ll sell like hotcakes no matter what.
“Because of the waffling, reviewers are now mentioning that Halo ODST may not be worth the price point, that it should’ve been cheaper, etc … Give me a break. First off, most games — especially first person shooters — are anywhere from 5-10 hours. Tops. What makes Halo different from others? You can’t just ping Halo ODST for it. I bet if Microsoft hadn’t screwed up the marketing messaging, there would less talk about pricing.”
Harsh, harsh words. Do you agree? Should Microsoft had been more smart about its marketing, or is ODST truly not worth full price?
