Halo 3 launch festivities announced [update]

by Richard Mitchell { Sep 11th 2007 at 2:15PM }

[Update: A few people were asking for a larger version of the image above. Slaves of our readers that we are, we have complied. Click the image above for a giganto-version. Don't say we never did anything for ya.]

Microsoft has officially unveiled the cavalcade of festivities it has planned for the launch week of Halo 3. Officially dubbed "Unite to Fight," the launch week of Halo 3 is set to feature a ton of special activities and promotions including 3 days of free Xbox Live Gold for everyone, a chance to win a custom Pontiac G6 GXP Street Edition, Play & Win contests, special Marketplace goodies, and gaming sessions with Bungie and celebrities. Halo 3 will even be getting its own car in NASCAR. On top of all this, special midnight sales events will be happening all over the U.S., with events planned in Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, and Miami (Florida, not Oklahoma). The special events will play host to Halo 3 Game with Fame sessions and chances to win free swag. The events take place at the following locations:

New York City – Best Buy, 529 5th Ave, New York, NY, 10017
Seattle – Best Buy, 457 120th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98005
Los Angeles – Gamestop, 1000 Universal Studios Blvd, Universal City, CA 91608
Miami – Circuit City, 8575 Northwest 13th Terrace, Miami, FL 33126

Head over to the official Unite to Fight website for details on all the launch week events, and start marking your calendars. It's close, fanboys, very close.

Tags: bungie-studios, bungiestudios, halo-3, halo3, mgs, microsoft-game-studios, microsoftgamestudios

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

nerdron @ Sep 11th 2007 2:20PM

May I please have a bigger version of the party picture?
Thanks!

Project Ekim @ Sep 11th 2007 2:21PM

thats sounds very cool i think im going to the new your one inless its the night of the 24th if its in the week then maby ill check it out.

Tony @ Sep 11th 2007 2:24PM

How are they doing absolutely nothing in the midwest? Not even Chicago?

TORO @ Sep 11th 2007 2:25PM

Dang what happened to Chicago, Bungie don't forget your roots! Ahh well.

Xanto @ Sep 11th 2007 2:25PM

Sounds great, btw if you want to get into the CoD4 beta don't forget Gamespot is giving them away

Intentless @ Sep 11th 2007 2:26PM

Hey... The three days for everyone or just event attendees.

xenocidic @ Sep 11th 2007 2:38PM

just to remind you guys,

Bioshock=GOTY

/ducks

TORO @ Sep 11th 2007 2:40PM

Shaken, not stirred ;)

Richard Mitchell @ Sep 11th 2007 2:42PM

"May I please have a bigger version of the party picture?
Thanks!"

I actually made it at that resolution. Sorry :(

erivera3 @ Sep 11th 2007 2:45PM

lol, if Bioshock gets game of the year then something is terribly wrong with the people that choose. There are so many better games, Halo 3 being one of them. How many times can you play Bioshock? Once.....maybe twice? No multiplayer? I didn't even find the game that enticing to begin with, lost interest killing the same infected people over and over again.

I'd take Halo 3 anyday, not even a question.

xenocidic @ Sep 11th 2007 2:53PM

Replayability does not a game of the year make

Kryptinite @ Sep 11th 2007 3:03PM

I'm in Orlando but I'm not driving to Miami sadly.

Louis @ Sep 11th 2007 3:03PM

I have to reiterate, uhm, Chicago?

Homer 918 @ Sep 11th 2007 3:15PM

That picture is awesome!

ZenGaijin @ Sep 11th 2007 3:26PM

I fully agree with Homer

Anticrawl @ Sep 11th 2007 3:26PM

I found Bioshock to only be "ok" and that's about it. Playing through the game and even shooting the guns seemed like to much of a chore than real fun. Doubtful it will get game of the year unless there is some conspiracy about Take Two having it's turn to shine in the developer community via false press/reviews.

TORO @ Sep 11th 2007 3:28PM

Petition for Richard to make the pic at it's original resoulution! We know you love working on Photoshop :)

Anticrawl @ Sep 11th 2007 3:28PM

But anyway, I wish they'd bring an event to New Orleans or Baton Rouge out here in Louisiana. One of our 50 different gamestops in Baton Rouge has over 3000 preorders, insane. The weird thing is they keep taking them until Microsoft says to stop.

Eric G @ Sep 11th 2007 3:30PM

We get no love here in Chicago...

MrKniceGuy @ Sep 11th 2007 3:30PM

Sweet! ...only if you don't mind waiting months for your "prizes" for the Play & Win..

http://mrkniceguy.wordpress.com/2007/09/10/sour-taste/

DjDATZ @ Sep 11th 2007 3:38PM

I say either Halo 3, COD4 or Mass Effect will pick up game of the year. Bioshock WILL get overlooked as it was released before these 3 juggernauts.

I'm telling you, Halo 3 is going to be MASTER-CHIEF-HUGE!

TORO @ Sep 11th 2007 4:04PM

I agree Dj, which one's are you purchasing?

I'm getting Halo 3 and Mass Effect.

Tim @ Sep 11th 2007 4:15PM

cod4 can't win because it's cod4. 5 will be out next year to contend. There wont be another Halo anytime soon.
Halo is definitely going to win Xbox Game of the year and straight up GOTY. Mass Effect RPG of the year. I can't imagine bioshock getting anything except some joke award.
I was losing interest pretty quick in Bioshock and having a pokemon snap mission didn't really help things along the way.

Multiplayer can and should make GOTY. It's more important than ever.

Not to say bioshock isn't good because it doesn't have multiplayer. Just that Halo 3 is better because it does have good multi.

Richard Mitchell @ Sep 11th 2007 4:20PM

There you go. Click the image for a huge version.

Iliad Force @ Sep 11th 2007 4:22PM

Bioshock overlooked. You kids are hilarious, high-larious, I say. I really hope Halo 3 plays like the labor of love--or of unvarnished capitalism--it obviously is. Story-wise, Bungie has a lot to make up for. Halo 2 was a mess narratively, and, hate to say it, lacks the intellectual depth of Bioshock. Bungie was getting somewhere with the intrareligious disputed in Halo 2. But they have a long way to go in order to catch up with the magisterial fusion of design, genuine ideas, and gameplay that is Bioshock.

erivera3 @ Sep 11th 2007 4:32PM

@ Iliad Force

You realize the only reason you bitch about Halo 2 is because of the "cliff-hanger ending" bullshit I hear about all the time. I found the story of Halo 2 to do its job well: it carried the story on from Halo 1 and left you some massive shit to sort out in Halo 3, just like all part 2's in a trilogy. Halo has far more depth than Bioshock can dream of having, you just have to open your eyes and use your brain a little more to see how genius Bungie is.

As for you saying Halo doesn't have the gameplay that Bioshock does.......well, that basically negates your entire post. Funny though!

Mauricio @ Sep 11th 2007 4:38PM

2 points to make.

1) Back up a minute guys and gals. lets not forget 1 important thing - HALO3 IS NOT OUT YET! You cant name a game GOTY when its not even out yet. Niether is Mass Effect for that matter. So lets cool our jets with this GOTY stuff.

and

2) Bioshock is not about Multiplayer - Bioshock is about the Narrative. Bioshock is about the Art Design. Bioshock is about the Atmosphere. Bioshock is a complete Video Game experience. Its like saying you have to have outtakes at the end of every X3F Podcast just to enjoy the Podcast. The Podcast featues XBOX 360 content not the outtakes.

erivera3 @ Sep 11th 2007 4:48PM

@27

No, it is not a "complete video game experience," clearly, as it is missing multiplayer. It is debatable if it is a complete SINGLE PLAYER video game experience, but there is no debate over whether it is a complete video game experience or not, because it is missing a vital aspect of the complete video game. Does that take away from the game itself? Not really, but it is handicapped because other games will have it and it ADDS heaps of replay value, and that is what will keep Halo 3 in the 360 while Bioshock collects dust.

Jonah Falcon @ Sep 11th 2007 5:10PM

Finish the Party:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1432/1362314478_610572a267.jpg?v=0

Jonah Falcon @ Sep 11th 2007 5:10PM

@11. "Replayability does not a game of the year make"

Basing a comparison with a game you haven't played doesn't make a good argument, either.

Fontez @ Sep 11th 2007 5:23PM

Hey guys GUESS WHAT ???

Halo 3 > Bioshock

Or should I say BioSUCK !

lol but seriously I played a few hours of BioSUCK and I must say... I had to FORCE myself to enjoy it...

I thought it would be good but in the long run it was very bland...

There are only 2 games that could possibly win Game Of The Year...

Halo 3

and

Mass Effect

It's going to be a toss up... Call of Duty 4 will lack the single player story telling that these do and BioSuck... Well it just sucks...

I think Game informer was smoking cheap mushroom laced crack when they rated it 10 out of 10...

It's ok at best... NOT anything to make a big deal over...

But what the majority of you don't understand... (and this is what I'm trying to help you see)

Is that... There is more to Halo than what Bungie shows you at face value...

All you do is play the game and don't think...

The storyline is very intricate... The Master Chief is an archetype based on MANY different hero's and saviors in past human history...

There is soo much Rehtoric, Religion, Philosophy and Metaphor in Halo that I'm still trying to figure it all out and piece it together...

All I have to say is... Believe me when I sincerely tell all of you... Not to pass off Halo as an Adrenaline junkie Sci-fi Opera... Because it's sooo much more than that...

It's more fucked up than the Matrix...

But you guys just don't get it !!

I give up... Hopefully you can see these things on your own...

If you want me to explain some of these significant references to you, then e-mail me...

Peace out

brianfontez@hotmail.com

Mauricio @ Sep 11th 2007 5:25PM

@erivera3 - i dont agree that Multiplayer is a "Vital Aspect" of a Video Game.

Mystery House doesnt suck becuase i couldnt frag people online. Zelda doesnt suck because i couldnt frag people online. Metal Gear Solid doesnt suck because i couldnt frag people online. Psychonauts doesnt suck because i couldnt frag people online. does anyone see where im going here?

Multiplay doesnt make the game.

Fontez @ Sep 11th 2007 5:27PM

WTF is Mystery house and Psychonauts?

And dude... He's speaking in relation to Game of the year... Not just "Good Games"

Iliad Force @ Sep 11th 2007 5:31PM

@ erivera3

Tell you what: I'll refrain from criticizing Halo 2's gameplay if you promise to learn how to read. Careful readers will note that I said it's the fusion of design, ideas, and gameplay that make Bioshock a standout title. I didn't mention anything about the cliffhanger ending. I actually liked it. (I presume you have the same dismissive attitude for the Bungie developers who have publicly criticized Halo 2, right?) So why don't you save your misguided assumptions for someone who's actually as dumb as you think he is. Not someone who really is as smart as you think you are, but obviously aren't.

erivera3 @ Sep 11th 2007 5:32PM

@ Mauricio

I didn't say it made a game, I said if done right it makes a game MUCH better and gives it tons of replay value that just can't exist with a single player only experience. Times have changed, multiplayer is almost demanded to be in the new great games now, to provide a completely rich experience that can last for years (as shown by Halo 2 with its popularity even now!) especially with xbox live running rampantly.

Mauricio @ Sep 11th 2007 5:38PM

im assuming you have never heard of Grim Fandango or The Monkey Island Series either.

www.wikipedia.org

Fontez @ Sep 11th 2007 5:46PM

I repeat...

Halo 3 > BioSUCK

DjDATZ @ Sep 11th 2007 5:51PM

A good solid multiplayer (like that of Halo 3) will not make a game, but it will greatly increase a game's chance of getting the GOTY.

And a title title that is extremely highly anticipated and almost NEEDED by gamers will definetly put it in the running for GOTY.

(Toro, I'm getting Halo 3, Mass Effect and Ace Combat 6 for starters, and then probably PGR4 and NFS ProStreet for the Holiday season if I've already beat the previous 3.)

I know Halo 3 isn't out yet, but it will be the biggest, most influential and most played game to come for a long time, and that alone WILL make it GOTY. No questions asked. Bioshock may be good in most people's books, but I just don't see it.

Fontez @ Sep 11th 2007 5:54PM

Well said

xenocidic @ Sep 11th 2007 6:13PM

@30 good point, i will reserve judgment for the end of the month.

Mauricio @ Sep 11th 2007 6:24PM

Weeeeeeell Slap my knee and call me Dumbshit Fontez you got me there.
Teh Haloz is teh Bestorz!!Halo3*ASTERISK>BioShit

*Halo3 not yet completed yet.

You should really think about applying for the X3F position. The XBOX community needs a blogger/commmenter giant such as yourself.

fucking ey.

Dustin i have a new outlook on you. Id rather have a discussion with you any day of the week.

Mauricio @ Sep 11th 2007 7:07PM

Hey Sense, Maybe you guys can chat about this issue on your next fancast.
Is Multiplayer needed to make a Great Game?

Jonah Falcon @ Sep 11th 2007 7:07PM

It's quite possible for Bioshock to be awesome, Halo 3 to be awesome, and Mass Effect to be awesome ALL AT ONCE, you know.

Mauricio @ Sep 11th 2007 8:01PM

Are you kidding Jonah! the world would cease to exist! the space/time continuum would Implode! The Physics of everyone loading all these good games into their Xbox Trays would make the whole world combust into a trillion pieces or maybe it could happen, i duuno.

xboxlivemonkey @ Sep 11th 2007 11:14PM

i live inmiami any one wnat to join me

call me 305 825 9975

im serious lol

Fontez @ Sep 11th 2007 11:50PM

LOL I like where this is going...

But yes you're right...

They can all be wicked games and everyone's got their own opinion...

Just don't even attempt to compare Halo to any other game...

It's in a league of it's own in more than one way...

If someone likes Bioshock then that's cool... Defend it even...

But I know almost EVERYTHING about Halo...

Even shit that Bungie never verbally told anyone about the game...

The kind of shit that you figure out and you say "Holy christ that's genius !!"

Bungie is just waiting for you to recognize the Genius that is Halo...

All I have to say is... Think about the games, the story, etc... And start piecing things together... Just from main characters even... Their names perhaps?

Do some research and you'll find crazy shit that makes the story that much more interesting and complex...

The multiplayer, Forge and all that crap... I love it but I can live without it...

The story is what I eat, sleep and breathe for...

There is noo game like this... I'm telling you...

and I guess it would be cool to be an X3F writer good idea ! As long as I get paid or something...

Although I should probably work for IGN since I have never read a review or an update that didn't have typos in the double digits lol

Peace out !

brianfontez@hotmail.com