Diamond Rings and More

The release of Halo 3 was wildly anticipated, as the game was the third in the original trilogy of the Halo games. As a result, the Halo 3 trial download was one of the most downloaded game demos in the history of the Xbox 360. What many people don’t remember is that the Halo 3 trial download helped make another game – Crackdown.

What does the Halo 3 demo download have to do with any another video game? Well, it has a great deal to do with the sale and promotional work for a game that was originally meant for release on the Xbox system. Microsoft had become worried that Crackdown wouldn’t sell a lot.

So they used a marketing tactic, the one of bundling Crackdown with an access code for the Halo 3 trial download. And it worked because Crackdown sold 1.5 million copies within the first six months of its release. Those aren’t Halo 3 numbers, which sold 8.1 million units in slightly over a year, but for a lesser well-known game that’s terrific.

Microsoft had resorted to the Halo 3 trial download tactic because of adverse reports about the game from the play testers. They thought the nonlinear nature of the game off-putting, often leaving them wondering what they were supposed to be doing next.

As a result of this, the powers that be thought that something had to be done or the game would be a dud. It may appear shady practice at first to try to push sales of a game that’s expected to be unpopular, but in hindsight people like the game and it was a good thing that they were able to get the chance to play it.

In Crackdown, and that includes the one bundled with the Halo 3 free download, individuals play the role of an agent who is assigned to beat the kingpins or leaders of various gangs. To do this they make use of various superhuman powers such as super strength and super fitness. In order to gain these powers, players have to accumulate experience by beating enemies who then release experience orbs. The interesting idea in the system was that the kind of orbs released depended on the method in which the agent killed the enemy. For example, a firearms orb appears if the enemy was killed with a gun.

So, although at first sight this video bundled with the Halo 3 trail download appears to be nothing but a veiled marketing trick, in reality, it exposed gamers to a fascinating new gameplay experience.

If you like Halo 3 and are interested in finding out more about it, why not visit Halo 3 Info on our web site entitled Halo 3 Insider Secrets