'Halo' franchise expands its reach with iOS debut | HT Tech

'Halo' franchise expands its reach with iOS debut

The "Halo" series might be most closely associated with the three Xbox consoles, but it has a long history of dabbling with other platforms before the recent iOS debut of "Halo: Spartan Strike" and "Spartan Assault."

By:AFP
| Updated on: Apr 22 2015, 15:18 IST

The 'Halo' series might be most closely associated with the three Xbox consoles, but it has a long history of dabbling with other platforms before the recent iOS debut of 'Halo: Spartan Strike' and 'Spartan Assault.'

In fact, it wasn't until 'Halo 3' in 2007 that the franchise was locked down as an Xbox console exclusive, a status then retained for seven years on the trot.

Series opener 'Halo: Combat Evolved' was at concept a Mac and Windows game, and though it debuted on Xbox in 2001 as a hugely successful system-seller, it arrived on the two computer platforms by 2003's end.

And while Mac was dropped for 'Halo 2,' Microsoft's own Windows OS retained a slice of the pie, albeit 2.5 years after the Xbox game first arrived.

It took another 11 years to return to Apple platforms with a double release of 'Halo: Spartan Assault' and 'Halo: Spartan Strike' on iOS.

For example, 'Halo 2' viral marketing campaign 'I Love Bees' became legendary, setting up a chase to track down public payphones and receive calls at predetermined times.

More widespread were live-action shorts preceding 'Halo 3' (2007), 'Halo 3: ODST' (2009) and 'Reach' (2010) as well as the latter's anime project 'Halo Legends.'

Those built a platform for a more ambitious 'Halo 4' campaign in 2012: miniseries 'Forward Until Dawn' was a webisodic sci-fi drama, and Ridley Scott-produced 'Halo: Nightfall' helped push remastering effort 'Halo: The Master Chief Collection' in 2014.

But 2013's 'Halo: Spartan Assault' was the most radical departure, swapping first-person perspective for a very different top-down, twin-stick style far better suited to lower-powered devices, and given six months' exclusivity on Windows Phones and the Windows 8 Store before migrating to Xbox One and then the older Xbox 360.

Though follow-up 'Halo: Spartan Strike' was delayed from December 2014 to April 2015, it now looks like provident timing, ensuring a day-and-date release across the Windows Store, Windows Phone, and iOS, available separately or in a bundle together with its predecessor.

Following iOS versions of Office and Outlook, the 'Halo: Spartan' titles reinforce a different Microsoft approach that sees the tech giant look for opportunities on rival mobile platforms as well as its own.

Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

First Published Date: 22 Apr, 15:15 IST
NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS