Hello everyone. It’s sharing time.
I was on the internet looking at random gaming articles, and I stumbled across a headline that was surely troll bait. “Bungie hates Microsoft? Let’s hate back.” I was 100 percent certain it was about Destiny. I knew nothing good would come of clicking the link, but I took the bait. Even with that headline, I was not prepared for what I would read. Let’s examine a few quotes.
“…..the bottom line is the corporate management of Microsoft turned Bungie into one of the most influential and successful studios in gaming history. If it weren’t for Microsoft, and the tireless support of Microsoft fans, Bungie would likely be the world’s most successful gaming studio … for Macs.”
“Halo fans are right to feel entitled. The “they don’t owe you anything” argument is the wrong one to make because gamers should look out for fellow gamers, not gigantic studios backed by even-more-gigantic publishers.”
“I wonder how all the PS4 supporters who think Xbox fans are overreacting would behave if Naughty Dog’s Last Of Us launched early on Xbox 360 and came with exclusive content for more than a year.”
“Like with any messy divorce, it’s the kids who suffer most.”
“Bungie could have just as easily won over Sony fans the same way they won over Microsoft fans: by making great games. Instead they chose to take the years of loyal support from Microsoft fans for granted and give exclusives to a fanbase that never gave them anything.”
Good god man. All quotes are from an article written by Mo Mozuch. That article can be found here.
So Mo Mozuch. Buddy. Let me attempt to understand. Bungie creates Halo, a franchise that rose to prominence on the back of Microsoft. They have a successful partnership over a number of years, making each other a great amount of money. At some point, for whatever reason, Bungie decides to explore making games for platforms outside of the Microsoft brand. They also decide that they will give one of those platforms exclusive content that Microsoft either will not get, or will get after a length of time has passed. And you feel like this is some sort of betrayal. I think that’s what you’re saying.
Let’s talk about a somewhat similar situation. Insomniac Games, creators of Ratchet & Clank and Resistance, made games exclusively for Sony platforms over a number of years. Possibly longer than the Halo franchise existed. Actually, it was longer. From 1996-2012, Insomniac only made games for Sony. Insomniac decided to explore making games for other platforms in 2012. They branched out to mobile first, then created Fuse for the PS3 and 360. Insomniac went one step further and followed up with Sunset Overdrive, a highly anticipated XBox One exclusive title that Sony platforms will likely never see. They didn’t make it available for both sides and throw Microsoft some exclusive content. Nah. It’s only on XBox One. So are you telling me as a PS4 owner I would be right to feel betrayed? Let’s be serious here man.
If we think about it, who started the practice of exclusive DLC anyway? I believe Microsoft did. I won’t go on record as saying that is a fact, but I don’t remember this practice prior to Microsoft securing the rights to time exclusive content for Call of Duty titles every year. Most of the time the content isn’t anything mind blowing, so I don’t even know why this practice is so frowned upon. I just find it funny that Halo fans feel shunned. If you were REALLY fans of Bungie, you would be excited to play their latest project. It seems to me you were only a fan because they made the biggest Microsoft exclusive. Now that you no longer feel their projects give Microsoft an upper hand in the “console war” you have a problem?
I’m not gonna act like this is a one sided thing. Remember when Grand Theft Auto first debuted on the XBox 360? Sony fans felt exactly the same Halo fans do now. It was just as stupid then. I mean, I wrote not too long ago about my displeasure with Bayonetta 2 being a Wii U exclusive. That was pretty stupid too. I’m not perfect. We all get used to seeing certain franchises in certain places. However, I’m not going to gripe over some armor and 1 or 2 missions that don’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. The notion that Bungie would be nothing without Microsoft is very short sighted in my opinion. That partnership was beneficial for both parties, and neither owes the other a damn thing. If you feel Destiny isn’t worth a purchase simply because it’s not centered around the XBox brand, that’s your choice. I just feel trying to justify that choice is an exercise in futility.
Mo asked how Sony fans would feel if The Last of Us was on XBox One early with exclusive content for a year. First of all, Destiny releases on both platforms the same day. So what Sony gets the alpha. So what they get the beta a few days early. Stop trying to make a point with erroneous information. Anyway, my honest answer is I would be ecstatic. I love Naughty Dog to death, and any success they have makes me feel as if I will get more games from them. If they decided to start working exclusively with Microsoft, I would follow in a heartbeat. It’s that simple. I think that highly of them. With the way Microsoft fans spoke of Bungie prior to Destiny, I assumed the reverse would be true if it came to that. Now I see it was never about their talent for some. It was simply about what Halo did for Microsoft. Bungie never gave Sony fans anything? How could they when they were partnered with Microsoft? Now they give Sony fans something and you complain about it? Backwards as fuck.
Anyway, this constant bickering is tiring. This is the gaming landscape we live in. The stakes are high, and everyone involved has to do what is best for them. Bungie probably felt they needed to take extra steps to build a relationship with their new fans. They probably expected Microsoft fans to ride out no matter what as a thanks for the Halo years. Where the fuck is YOUR loyalty you entitled pieces of shit. Calling for Bungie fans to turn their backs over some damn DLC? Grow the fuck up. If you hate Bungie for rocking with the “enemy” just be honest and say that. Stop acting like these developers have to cater to what you feel should be happening. You gonna cry if Titanfall pops up on PS4? Anyone bitching about Garden Warfare crossing over? What about the gang of XBox One games getting exclusive DLC. Rant about that yet? Was there outrage when Mass Effect and Bioshock crossed over? I don’t remember it. So kindly shut the entire fuck up with this Destiny bullshit. Thank you, come again.
Ourcade Games 
While I’m extremely flattered you wrote a personal response to my article on your site instead of in my comments, I think you’re missing my point (which I admit could be my fault).
You also spelled my name wrong. It’s M-O-Z-U-C-H.
First, let me address the headline. At my job I’m tasked with getting traffic and 99% of what we get comes from Google. So I usually turn to Google’s predictive search when I’m looking for a way to frame an opinion piece. In this case, I was thinking of my numerous friends who have supported the Halo franchise by not just buying the games, but by buying all the merch over the years. “Bungie hates Microsoft” are the choice keywords there and I had to find a way to craft a headline using those three words first. I initially wrote “Should We Hate Back?” and regret my decision to go with a stronger headline because the tone of the article doesn’t match the tone of the headline. And, as is often the case online, people only read the headline and part of the first paragraph before forming a (usually angry) opinion and moving on to the comments.
As to the inspiration for the piece, I have friends who have spent thousands on Halo-related items. And those friends felt betrayed by Bungie. I personally didn’t see the big deal about the alpha (I said so in the article), but after talking with them I began to see the point. This isn’t just another franchise. It’s a huge, supportive community full of people who invested lots of money into Bungie’s creation over the years. And a lot of them are upset. And I felt like they needed someone to defend them online since the overwhelming majority of the criticism directed at them is similar to yours. They’re “whiny” and “entitled” and “don’t understand gaming.”
Although you cherry picked a few of my quotes to support your point I would like to point out that I also expressed in the article that I was not upset by the decision and that Destiny looks like a fantastic game. I was speaking on behalf of people I know personally who are upset and are being hammered online. Because in this instance I think their emotions are valid. I understand that “gamer entitlement” is a catchy buzzword these days and, yes, most of the time I agree that gamers can act like bitches about stuff. In this case I felt things were different solely based on the amount of financial investment Bungie fans made over the years.
People bought a lot more than just four Halo games. And I pictured my friends sitting in their game rooms with wall to wall Halo merch finding out that Bungie’s next big game was giving exclusives to the competition and I said “yeah, if that was me I’d be mad too.” I don’t think it’s right for people who’ve never owned an Xbox or a Halo title to question the loyalty of fans who have spent thousands supporting the franchise and the studio. They showed their loyalty through those purchases time and time again. And when it came time for the next big thing from Bungie, Bungie gifted exclusives to people who never gave them a dime. Was it to win new fans? Sure. Will it work? Probably. But that doesn’t mean the guy who handcrafted a Master Chief suit for cosplaying doesn’t have a right to be pissed.
I also stand by my point that gamers should look out for fellow gamers, regardless of what systems we prefer. The guy calling angry Halo fans “entitled pieces of shit” has a lot more in common with them than he does the brilliant minds at Bungie or the corporate suits at Activision.
Unfortunately, a lot of people missed my point which has more to do with my writing than anything else. But thanks a lot for reading and for writing this response. I’m always happy to see people talking about my stuff, even when they tell me to “shut the entire fuck up.”
LMAO. Sorry about the misspelling. I fixed it.
First of all, thanks for not taking anything I said personally. You could have, and you didn’t. That’s refreshing. I will admit that while I don’t think you’re completely off base in how you feel, I do think that others will use your article as a rallying cry. Most of them will do so without sharing your opinion at all.
I can completely understand why a long time supporter of Halo, and by extension Bungie, would FEEL betrayed. What I don’t understand is why those people don’t understand that Bungie’s only obligation is to themselves. Yes, it’s great when the companies we support do things to make us feel like they have our best interests at heart. But if our best interests don’t line up with theirs, what are they supposed to do?
For whatever reason, Bungie chose to show Sony some extra love. While people may not like it, I don’t feel it’s a good enough reason to stop supporting them if you are a fan of their work. If you think the game is bad, by all means skip it. I just feel not supporting a game strictly because of exclusive DLC is a little petty. Especially if you otherwise think it’s a good or great game.
Anyway, I appreciate the response. Thanks for reading my article as well.
Hello. Good articles to read through. I like the debate on this. It is definitely a hot button for the dedicated fans of Halo. I am one of the people that had 2 TV’s, 2 xbox’s and 2 copies of Halo:CE just so people could come over and play multiplayer. After the limited editions, statues, books, having 2 xbox live accounts for Halo 2 so I could play for fun on one and the countless other things I have done. My TV purchases have lined up with Halo releases. Basically it becomes more then a game and as much as Bungie wants to run from Halo it is their pedigree. We were actually happy they were able to branch out and work on something new. It was exciting because we value Bungie the same as halo. So to not have parity of content given to the faithfull that Bungie was built on is a devaluing of our worth to them. In a perfect world it is petty and I wont deny that. But the fact that they come out and say nothing about it is a slap in the face. I could easily play this game on the PS4 (yea i played the Alpha) but it plays like Halo. The controller makes a huge difference along with my friends list. Plus their is history. I sign into Bungies website and there stands my past. It is aggravating because I should be able to just say it doesnt really matter…but it does. They should at least recognize the people that have played Halo. Alright I am done ranting. Have a good one.