The release of Halo 3 was fervently anticipated, as the game was the third in the original three-part series of the Halo games. As a result, the Halo 3 free download was one of the most downloaded video 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 distribution and marketing work for a game that was originally meant for release on the Xbox system. Microsoft had become concerned that Crackdown wouldn’t sell well.
Therefore, they used a marketing tactic, the one of bundling Crackdown with an access code to the Halo 3 trial download. And it worked a treat because Crackdown sold 1.5 million copies within the first half year 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 absolutely fantastic.
Microsoft had resorted to the Halo 3 trial download tactic because of adverse reports about the game from the game testers. They thought the nonlinear nature of the game off-putting, often leaving them asking themselves what they were meant 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 loser. It may seem shady practice at first to attempt to force sales of a game that’s expected to be unpopular, but in retrospect people love 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 bundled with the Halo 3 trial download, people play as an agent who is assigned to beat the kingpins, or leaders, of various gangs. To do this they make use of some superhuman powers such as super strength and super agility. In order to obtain these powers, players have to accumulate experience by beating enemies who then release experience orbs. The clever part of the system was that the kind of orbs released was reliant on the method in which the agent killed the enemy. For instance, a firearms orb appears if the enemy was killed with a gun.
So, while at first sight this game bundled with the Halo 3 free download seems to be nothing but a veiled marketing gimmick, in reality it exposed gamers to an exciting gameplay world.
If you like Halo 3 and are interested in finding out more about it, why not pop over to Halo 3 Info on our website entitled Halo 3 Insider Secrets
