Month: November 2012

Halo 4 Passes Its First Crucial Test: Metacritic

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By Ian Sherr

Microsoft Corp. has a lot riding on its new alien shooting videogame, Halo 4, which is part of the blockbuster Halo franchise and debuts Nov 6. (read “The Big Game Battle“). But there‘s one thing over which Halo 4′s creators can breathe a sigh of relief: the game‘s review score from Metacritic.com.

Metacritic, which aggregates videogame reviews from various game publications such as GameStop GME +0.04%‘s Game Informer magazine and AOL‘s Joystiq, gives videogames an averaged score ranging from 1 to 100. The ranking that a game receives is regarded as a barometer for whether a title will sell well, with many game industry veterans and analysts saying a game needs to score in the mid-80s to be a certified hit.

“I‘d be hard pressed to buy a 60-rated game,“ said Josh Holmes, “Halo 4′s“ creative director. “Anything below 75–that‘s the kiss of death.“

Marc Doyle, Metacritic‘s co-founder and games editor, said the site‘s mission is to inform customers about the quality of games, whether or not they‘re made as part of a popular franchise such as Halo. “I run this website to service the average consumer,“ he said.

Early Thursday, shortly after “Halo 4′s“ reviews began hitting the Web, Metacritic gave its all-important score: 91 based on 37 reviews. The Halo team sent out 800 review copies of the game to media in the U.S. alone, so many more reviews are likely to be added to Metacritic‘s average. Indeed, as the hours wore on and more reviews were mixed in, Halo‘s score dropped to 90.

 

To read the rest of the story, either contact me directly or read more online at the WSJ: here. (subscription required)

 

(Published November 2, 2012, in The Wall Street Journal.)

The Big Game Battle

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By Ian Sherr

In a slick two-minute trailer from David Fincher, the director of “The Social Network” and “Fight Club,” a young boy is stolen from his home, turned into a surgically enhanced supersoldier known as “Master Chief,” then set loose to battle hordes of evil aliens.

The splashy preview isn’t for Hollywood’s latest major motion picture. It’s part of the elaborate build up to the release of “Halo 4,” the latest installment of Microsoft’s blockbuster videogame for the Xbox 360. When it debuts on Tuesday, the game, in development for four years, could easily end up bigger than most movie releases. Its predecessor, “Halo 3” sold $300 million worth of copies in the first week following its 2007 release.

Microsoft is pulling out all the stops to ensure that every male under 45 in America knows “Halo 4” is on its way. In partnership with PepsiCo, there will be Halo-themed Mountain Dew and Halo Doritos. Boys can wear Halo Axe deodorant while playing a Halo version of Risk.

All the marketing muscle is projected to help sell six million to eight million games, according to some estimates, one of the biggest videogame releases of the year. Microsoft is betting the new game will help sustain a business that has generated more than $3 billion since its debut in 2001. Over the past 11 years, more than 46 million “Halo” games have been sold at about $60 each, helping spawn a universe of products including toys, Master Chief action figures, books, comics, a hit Internet television show and seven sequel games.

“Halo 4” is far from a slam dunk. A week after its opening, Activision Blizzard will launch the ninth installment of “Call of Duty,” an annually released war simulation shooting game franchise that has sold more than $6 billion world-wide. Unlike “Halo,” which is available only on Microsoft’s Xbox console, “Call of Duty: Black Ops II” will be available on Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s coming Wii U as well. The intense competition has put pressure on the “Halo” developers to make sure the game arrives on time. Microsoft estimates a week of lost momentum could wipe out roughly a third of projected “Halo” sales.

“If we screw up, it’s the beginning of the end of the franchise,” says Bonnie Ross, who heads up Microsoft’s 343 Industries game studio in Kirkland, Wash.

 

To read the rest of the story, either contact me directly or read more online at the WSJ: here. (subscription required)

 

(Published November 2, 2012, in The Wall Street Journal.)

William Shatner Joins the App Crowd

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By Ian Sherr

Did you ever have something you wanted to say, but didn‘t know how to say it? Now William Shatner has an app for that.

The iconic actor of the Star Trek series and performer of spoken word albums is starring in a new role as the voice of a new app, called “Shatoetry.“

The app, which costs $2.99 for the iPhone and was released Thursday after more than a year of development, relies on Mr. Shatner‘s trademark larger-than-life voice and mixes one of around 400 words together into a very Shatner-esque sentence, which the developers call a “Shatism.“ The app was made by Blindlight LLC, a Los Angeles-based company that spent about $300,000 to develop and market the product.

Mr. Shatner said when he was approached to work on the app, it seemed like a lot of fun. “There‘s nothing else like it in the market,“ he said in an interview, noting that the idea of having him say any combination of words put together like a refrigerator magnet is hysterical.

The way the app works is that customers are presented with a screen of words from which to search or choose. People can drag and drop words together, tapping on them to choose their dramatic reading, until they‘ve created the ideal sentence. There‘s a way to add a pause, naturally, for Shatner‘s signature acting style.

Then comes Mr. Shatner‘s voice, for which customers tap the “Shat that!“ button. One combination of words: “This is absolutely…“ with “magical“ at a whisper.

 

To read the rest of the story, either contact me directly or read more online at the WSJ: here. (subscription required)

 

(Published November 1, 2012, in The Wall Street Journal.)