One week and what could have been.....

[GodzFire]

Ex Bungie dev: Apple got close to buying us
and the aftermath:
Steve Jobs ‘raged at Microsoft’ over game studio sale

[Melekor]

Fascinating little tidbits, good find!

[Jon God]

I thought this was old news?

I remember hearing about this many years ago.

[vinylrake]

the account was apparently published in a book published in 2002, but i'd never heard about this.

found this: first demo of Halo, running on Mac hardware using OpenGL in 1999 - TWO years before it was released for xBox. It was supposed to be released in 2000 for Mac and PC - must have taken them a while to rework it for xBox.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2RVje3MyhQ&hd=1

[Chicken Berel]

Its a good thing that apple did'nt buy Bungie. Why you ask? Because Halo would not have been on Xbox, and might have ended up being a Mac only title. Even if Halo was on Mac and PC, it still would NOT be the global HIT that it has been. Nothing can compete with consoles in terms of sales. So apple not buying Bungie helped them rocket to the top of software companys in the world.

[vinylrake]

you are being ridiculous again Ren. Halo would have been released for both Mac and Windows, just like Myth was. Bungie knew they couldn't make a lot of money with Mac only games, that's why Myth was cross-platform in the first place - it's not at all likely (or sane) to think that after experiencing the kind of sales and success they had with Myth on the PC that they were going to go back to developing Mac only games.

and Halo could very well have been just as big on the deslktop as it was on xBox (and it was originally - until MS killed the idea, supposed to be released for Macs/PCs _and_ xBox) - look at the size of the installed base of PCs and Macs vs. the installed base of xBoxes when Halo was released. That's right, there were hardly ANY xboxes. Halo MADE the xBox. You seriously think a game that was so good that it MADE the xBox the must-have console - the console people bought JUST BECAUSE HALO WAS THE ONLY PLATFORM IT WOULD RUN ON - you seriously think that after all the buzz Bungie had built up with Myth TFL and Myth 2, all the 'game of the year' awards they won, that HALO wouldn't have sold millions of copies if it had been released for Macs and PCs? That they wouldn't have sold as many games at $40 as they did at $300 (xBox + Halo)?

If so, let me know what you are smoking because I want some.

[Chicken Berel]

Mr. Rake, you have no idea what you are talking about in more ways then one. Around 80% of video game sales are now on consoles PERIOD

O yea and How long did it take for Halo to come out on Mac? 2 or 3 years?
I belive PC got Halo over a year later.

Do some research maybe, before you fly off the handle next time. Geez, I thought you were a normal happy go lucky guy until the above post.

[Khadrelt]

Yes, most games are for consoles NOW, but not then. And it took 2 or 3 years for Halo to come out on Mac because Microsoft dragged it out so they could get more xbox sales. I seriously doubt the xbox would be nearly as big now if it hadn't been for Halo. The Halo games are pretty much the only reason I ever got an xbox.

[vinylrake]

Mr. Rake, you have no idea what you are talking about in more ways then one.

oher than your post about having to look around for where someone could download the TWindA plugin, this is the funniest thing you've said in months. projecting much?

so tell me Mr. All knowing Game Developer... how do you compare videogame sales for a console that hadn't even been released yet, to those of the same game that was delayed a year or more before being released into an already saturated market for PCs/Macs? e.g. MS made sure the ONLY place you could buy Halo was on xBox for over a year. OBVIOUSLY anyone wanting the game, the hard core gamers, the core audience for halo was going to buy it on xBox during that first year (or 2 year til the mac release) - the only people left to buy the game for PCs/macs when it was released 1-2 years later were NOT the hardcore gamers, OBVIOUSLY the sales weren't going to be as high since the core audience pretty much already had the game. But go ahead and try to convince me that IF the game had been available for all 3 platforms at the same time that more people would have paid $350 to buy an xBox plus Halo than would have just picked up a copy of Halo for $40 to play on their mac/pc. Seriously, go ahead. I am waiting.

O yea and How long did it take for Halo to come out on Mac? 2 or 3 years?
I belive PC got Halo over a year later.

Is there some point you are trying to make here? Halo was developed and first demo'ed on a Mac. Bungie always said it was going to come out for the Mac at the same time as PC (and console version), and it COULD have come out at the same time if MS hadn't made Bungie switch gears and put all their resources into retooling the app for the xBox release first.

Do some research maybe, before you fly off the handle next time. Geez, I thought you were a normal happy go lucky guy until the above post.

I have more game knowledge in my little finger than you do in your entire deluded head Renwood, and I've probably forgotten more game knowledge than you ever even knew.

[Chicken Berel]

You are a hopeless spitefull person indeed. The rumors are true I can see now.

What have you worked on BTW, since you know soo much more then anybody else.
Also its funny your directing anger at me, because you think I am somebody else

HD stuff got me to check out myth again after being gone for years.
You seem to dislike me because I am a fan of it, and that I think its good apple did'nt buy Bungie. Your one of those mac boys that get all pissed off if anybody says something other "OMG APPLE BEST EVA!"

Now I will go play Call of duty black ops, Another great game in a huge lineup of great games that will NEVER EVER be on the mac. GG moronRake, Go make a great game since you know soo much about them.

[Jon God]

You are a hopeless spitefull person indeed. The rumors are true I can see now.

What have you worked on BTW, since you know soo much more then anybody else.
Also its funny your directing anger at me, because you think I am somebody else

HD stuff got me to check out myth again after being gone for years.
You seem to dislike me because I am a fan of it, and that I think its good apple did'nt buy Bungie. Your one of those mac boys that get all pissed off if anybody says something other "OMG APPLE BEST EVA!"

Now I will go play Call of duty black ops, Another great game in a huge lineup of great games that will NEVER EVER be on the mac. GG moronRake, Go make a great game since you know soo much about them.

Wow, everyone calm down, can we go like, a week without some drama in this community?

VR, please don't start fights, and CB, this isn't going to help anything.

[oogaBooga]

Actually VR im gonna have to agree with Berel on this one - consoles were outselling PC games before xbox 1 even came out. So yeah, it was a smart move. Not that I wouldnt rather they be Apple's bitch instead of microsoft - but reality check, man - people were lining up to buy the xbox 1 anyways. Halo just brought in more numbers.

But go ahead and try to convince me that IF the game had been available for all 3 platforms at the same time that more people would have paid $350 to buy an xBox plus Halo than would have just picked up a copy of Halo for $40 to play on their mac/pc. Seriously, go ahead. I am waiting.

Thats making the assumption that those people who paid 350 for the console and game even CARE about computers - much less own one that would run it. Console oriented people are going to prefer console versions, even if they _had_ a computer - they wouldnt just be buying Halo anyways - they would be assuming that more good games will be coming out on it that are exclusive. THey'd be wrong, for the most part, xbox 1 suffered from a diverse selection of crappy games to choose from, save for a few really good ones (a la PS3). But it wouldnt have been a sucker's bet, exactly.

[oogaBooga]

I have more game knowledge in my little finger than you do in your entire deluded head Renwood, and I've probably forgotten more game knowledge than you ever even knew.

Put up or shut up, VR. What have you made, exactly? Anything I can actually see? If youre some hotshot programmer or artist or something this is the first ive heard about it.

[vinylrake]

Put up or shut up, VR. What have you made, exactly? Anything I can actually see? If youre some hotshot programmer or artist or something this is the first ive heard about it.

Artist? Nope, never was, never claimed to be. I am a horrible artist. My feeble attempts at myth mapmaking reveal that quite clearly.

But as for programming skillz? I've been a professional software developer since probably before you were born. I've designed, developed, coded and released very complex and large applications and systems for mainframes, unix, windows, macs, vax, and a couple of home computer systems as well. The only myth related app I've released publically is a simple BattlePlan Reporter app that helps you keep your plugin folder in-sync with a list of plugins and maps.

As for game knowledge, I've probably been playing, reading about, following the game industry since before you were bornn as well. My first computer gaming experience was playing Pong on standalone arcade consoles.

ps. I find your vehemence interesting. I didn't say anything disparaging about anything you are working on or have worked on. In fact I've had nothing but positive things to say about the appearance of The Wind Age unit tagset. Is there some other beef you have with me? Or is this just you just being chivalrous and jumping in to defend the person who says he is not Renwood?

[vinylrake]

Actually VR im gonna have to agree with Berel on this one - consoles were outselling PC games before xbox 1 even came out.

yes, but there was virtually no installed base of xBoxs before Halo came out, so it's a tough sell to argue that games sales for this brand new system are higher than they would have been for an installed base of millions of people who had PCs and Macs and who had already made Bungie's previous game (Myth,MythII) into best selling cross-platform games - if the game hadn't been exclusively xbox for as long as it was.