Fri, Apr 11, 2008 | 21:22 BST
Halo 3 “transcended pop culture” by making MC a hero
Speaking at MI6 in San Francisco Chris Lee, a global group product manager for Microsoft, has explained how making Master Chief a hero in the eyes of the American people was responsible for the series’ gigantic sales. From this Gamedaily piece:
Chris Lee, a global group product manager from Microsoft, talks about why putting a human face on Master Chief was so crucial. “We didn’t have an awareness problem – people knew Halo 3 was coming out. We had a perception problem.”
People thought the game was hardcore, and not mainstream. To change that perception, the team wanted people to think about Master Chief as a hero. “That’s how we transcended from video games to pop culture,” he says.
It’s well documented that comic stars such as Superman and Captain America became extremely popular in the US during times of national insecurity, so this could be the same effect, we suppose. Except that Master Chief’s green. Although that could be compared to combat fatigues. Ignore us. It’s early.
15 comments
#1
Blerk
11/04/08, 10:08 am
What in God’s name is he talking about? Pop culture my arse. The only people who know about Master Che(i)f are the very same gamers who bought or knew about the original Halo games.
Honestly, marketing bods. So far up their own arses they can bite their own noses.
#2
patlike
11/04/08, 10:32 am
I dunno. I reckon there’s definitely something in that. Halo was the biggest entertainment launch of all time, amazingly. That stuff about Superman being popular straight after the war is true. America’s in a right state at the moment (war, recession, etc) so it does make sense to a degree.
#3
Shatner
11/04/08, 10:32 am
You know, it’s been far too long since a company spokesman made a completely loony left-field claim.
Also, who gives a shit about pop-culture? I guess Microsoft do. That’s quite worrying.
#4
Blerk
11/04/08, 10:45 am
Oh, there’s no doubt it was the biggest entertainment launch in ages (if not all time). But ‘popular culture’? You only had to look at the completely baffled BBC news readers who’d been asked to give it a two minute slot at the end of the news to see that outside of gaming circles Halo is still just ‘generic violence shooter 289′.
Superman was on the telly, remember – that’s how he became pop culture. Grown men and women didn’t suddenly start reading comics after the war, they saw him on prime time idiot box along with their kids. Before he got drunk a lot and shot himself (allegedly).
Halo’s still a gazillion miles away from being the pop culture icon that (say) Mario or Pac-Man or Lara Croft are.
#5
patlike
11/04/08, 10:49 am
Oh aye, that’s true, but it’s still a very big deal. I can see where they’re coming from with it.
I was interviewed by the BBC about Halo once. They had no clue about it. None
#6
morriss
11/04/08, 10:58 am
Master Chief > Blerk.
#7
Blerk
11/04/08, 11:00 am
Pft. He can never achieve mass market acceptance because you can’t see his face. He’s just Samus Aran without knockers.
#8
morriss
11/04/08, 11:07 am
/hands over ears
lalalalalalalala
#9
Blerk
11/04/08, 11:15 am
morriss is super-gay-hot for Master Chief. In a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.
#10
grandmaster
11/04/08, 11:54 am
[chadwarden]Halo? GAY-lo!!!11[/chadwarden]
#11
patlike
11/04/08, 12:18 pm
That’s one of the best videos ever. Have you seen the follow up when he drives around in an expensive car to prove he’s rich?
#12
Tonka
11/04/08, 12:24 pm
What makes it the biggest entertainment launch in history?
#13
patlike
11/04/08, 12:36 pm
The amount of money it generated in the first week. It was over $170 million, if memory serves.
#14
Tonka
11/04/08, 12:47 pm
That is a lot of money.
#15
Whizzo
11/04/08, 1:22 pm
But not as much as the $380M Spider-Man 3′s release weekend managed.