The marketing of Halo 3 was fervently awaited, as the game was the third in the original three-part series of the Halo games. Therefore, the Halo 3 trial download was one of the most frequently downloaded game demos in the history of the Xbox 360. But what many people don’t remember is that the Halo 3 trial download helped make another game ie Crackdown.
What does the Halo 3 trial download have to do with any another video game? Well, it has a lot to do with the sale and marketing work for a game that was originally planned for release on the Xbox system. Microsoft had become worried that Crackdown wouldn’t sell a lot.
Therefore, they used a marketing gimmick, the one of bundling Crackdown with an access code for the Halo 3 trial download. And it worked a treat 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 copies in slightly over a year, but for a lesser well-known game that’s absolutely fantastic.
Microsoft had resorted to the Halo 3 trial download tactic because of poor reports about the game from the play testers. They found the nonlinear nature of the game confusing, often leaving them wondering what they were meant to be doing next.
Because of this, the powers that be knew that something had to be done or the game would be a loser. It may seem shady practice at first to attempt 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 version associated with the Halo 3 trial download, people play the role of an agent who is detailed to defeat the kingpins or leaders of different gangs. To do this they utilize various superhuman powers such as super strength and super fitness. In order to gain these powers, players have to build up experience by defeating enemies who then release experience orbs. The interesting idea in the system was that the kind of orbs released was reliant 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 game bundled with the Halo 3 trail download seems to be nothing but a veiled marketing gimmick, in fact, it exposed gamers to an exciting new gameplay world.
If you like Halo 3 and are interested in learning more about it, why not go over to Halo 3 Info on our web site called Halo 3 Insider Secrets