Microsoft's Halo 3 launch plans

By Robert Purchese Published 18 September, 2007

Celebrities, red carpet, bubbly.

Microsoft is hiring out London's enormous iMax cinema for the launch of Halo 3 next week, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

Celebrities like the neatly bearded Jonathan Ross (who provides voice talent for the game) and sought-after music producer Pharrell Williams will be on hand to swan about on the red carpet and add glitz to proceedings.

You're invited to join in by turning up at the iMax on London's South Bank from 6:30pm on Tuesday 25th September for a number of planned events, including a photo exhibition that will later tour key Pearl & Dean cinemas across the UK.

An invite-only aftershow party will prolong the festive atmosphere, with top DJ talent turning up to entertain the crowd.

Halo 3 goes on sale Wednesday 26th September in Europe, with many money experts expecting the title to rack-up impressive sales figures across the globe. Not so much in Japan.

Microsoft is offering three versions of the game for sale, from the Standard Edition to the Legendary Edition, which ships with extra content and a collectable Spartan helmet case. These, however, are almost all sold out - but you can still bag yourself one by entering our Legendary Edition competition that ends next Monday.

Official confirmation of the launch event is expected from Microsoft shortly.

If GamesIndustry.biz was a party, fact would be the guest of honour.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (65) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Ignatius_Cheese #1 5 years ago

    o_O

  • MoGamer2006 #2 5 years ago

    Jonathan Ross is doing voice for the game?!?!? At last, Master Chief speaks!

  • Darkedge #3 5 years ago

    Jonathan Ross who provides voice talent for Halo 3?? Err WTF?
    Wrelly we must wrun it's the flood!

  • oceanmotion #4 5 years ago

    He has a voice in the game. Hmmm. Maybe he will plug on his Friday Night show.

  • thepiedpiper #5 5 years ago

    helmet....*smirk*

  • Killerbee #6 5 years ago

    Jonathan Ross (who provides voice talent for the game)

    Surely not... really!?!?

    Is Wossy going to be revealed as the real identity of the Master Chief or something?

  • Darren #7 5 years ago

    EG - "Halo 3 goes on sale Wednesday 26th September in Europe, with many money experts expecting the title to rack-up impressive sales figures across the globe. Not so much in Japan."

    Hehehe! Made me chuckle that did.

  • Xerx3s #8 5 years ago

    Jonathan Ross != Bob Ross = Fail.

  • the_dudefather #9 5 years ago

    Jonathan ross as the voice of cortana

    make it happen!

  • killyourtv #10 5 years ago

    please stop trying to be hip MS

  • evild_edd #11 5 years ago

    "please stop trying to be hip MS"
    Says someone with the user ID of "killyourtv" - Something that would be detremental to my enjoyment of Halo 3 (i.e. not being able to see it).

  • Steroyd #12 5 years ago

    I can't imagine Jonathon Ross in any game apart from a bugs bunny one.

  • ZuluHero #13 5 years ago

    anyone seen the Halo 3 ad at the side of the main page?

    "Our most important fight - will reveal our greatest hero"

    ...well its Jonathan Ross isn't it ;)

  • jellyhead #14 5 years ago

    Is the South Bank in Westminster?
    I'd heard that the midnight launch had been canned by the meanies at Westminster Council?

  • brooza #15 5 years ago

    "At last, Master Chief speaks"

    Have you had the sound turned off whenever you've played the games?

  • miiiguel #16 5 years ago

    "please stop trying to be hip MS"
    yeah, when everybody knows, Japan = hip; Western Society = uncool.

  • dave06 #17 5 years ago

    he aint gordon freeman ya know, i reckon ross will have to be some sort of comedy sidekick, either some rookie marine or some poncy commander you have to report to.. but who knows

  • kincaide #18 5 years ago

    Soooo - what happens if you turn up? Any chance of getting the game early?

  • dsmx #19 5 years ago

    I still don't care about halo in anyway can someone please tell me why everyone is hyped about this?

  • orac1971 #20 5 years ago

    halo: an fps for gamers who never played fps games on a pc. totally overated.

  • MoGamer2006 #21 5 years ago

    @brooza

    Long time since I played Halo (didn't bother with 2) - my memory was that people talked at MC and he said nothing. Maybe I'm mistaken.

  • Killerbee #22 5 years ago

    I still don't care about halo in anyway can someone please tell me why everyone is hyped about this?

    Jonathan Ross is in it!!!!!!

    :D

  • Les #23 5 years ago

    "halo: an fps for gamers who never played fps games on a pc. totally overated."

    Don't think Bungie and MS will care as long as they sell millions...

  • miiiguel #24 5 years ago

    orac1971: it's not over rated, as it hasn't been "rated" yet. And quite frankly, those kinda comments in a Halo thread denotes some bitterness. Then again "haters" tend to speak louder...

  • menage #25 5 years ago

    ""halo: an fps for gamers who never played fps games on a pc. totally overated."

    Groan. If I had a buck for every time some PC guy came trolling in with that comment, I would be invited to that party:p. Go play FPS number 6 then, the one who doesn't sell millions

    (oh, and I never played Halo in my life so I'm not biased, just tired of trolls)
    Edited by menage at 18/09/07 @ 14:47

  • matharding #26 5 years ago

    Orac1971 I agree with you there, if you were there to see Halflife and Unreal in the 90's way before Halo 1 on X-box its a lot harder to be impressed by its generic story.

    Goldeneye 64 was more groundbreaking as FPS console game, especially since you could have two weapons at the same time.

    Still looks like Halo 3 could be the best bits of Halo 1 and 2 put together.

  • Ace_McCloud #27 5 years ago

    "dsmx
    18-Sep-07 14:34:20 I still don't care about halo in anyway can someone please tell me why everyone is hyped about this?

    orac1971
    18-Sep-07 14:37:08 halo: an fps for gamers who never played fps games on a pc. totally overated. "


    YYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWNN!

  • locus2k1 #28 5 years ago

    got to watch the halo 3 announcement on the iMax screen... good memories

  • miiiguel #29 5 years ago

    "I still don't care about halo in anyway can someone please tell me why everyone is hyped about this?"

    You don't need to be "hyped" about it, 1.5 million pre-orders is enough. You're dismissed.
    Edited by miiiguel at 18/09/07 @ 14:53

  • onyxbox #30 5 years ago

    the most impressive thing I've seen regarding halo 3 has been the amount of marketing MS have put into convincing everyone they need this game without showing anyone anything substantial about the game.

    (the beta was disappointing IMO)

    I'm much more stoked for Mass Effect.

  • Wayne #31 5 years ago

    You gays realise that the Ross thing was a joke yes?

  • hidden_asbestos #32 5 years ago

    yeah Wayne, it's really Gareth Gates instead

  • chiz #33 5 years ago

    Overhyped shit

  • Subquest #34 5 years ago

    These comments are irrelevant. Halo is very popular for a very good reason, your bias wont ever change that. Live with it.

    Don't you understand? ALL our comments are completely irrelevant. If the entire EG forum were to be suddenly deleted, the rest of the world wouldn't give two shits!

    I do understand why the Halo series is so popular, but it's not because of it's relative merits compared with other FPSs.

  • orac1971 #35 5 years ago

    menage "Groan. If I had a buck for every time some PC guy came trolling in with that comment, I would be invited to that party:p. Go play FPS number 6 then, the one who doesn't sell millions"

    haven't been a pc gamer for years...

    farticusmaximus "Orac1971 I agree with you there, if you were there to see Halflife and Unreal in the 90's way before Halo 1 on X-box its a lot harder to be impressed by its generic story."

    Totally agree - Half Life and especially Half Life 2 had miles better single player games than the Halo franchise. I am not an online gamer... Bioshock has a superb single player game to it... I hope that halo 3 greatly improves on that score, I doubt it will though... roll on The Orange Box

  • ecureuil #36 5 years ago

    He's going to be a marine.

    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/S...

  • Rirekon #37 5 years ago

    I'd rather they spent all that money on development personally...

  • Xerx3s #38 5 years ago

    orac1971: An person who thinks that it is cool to be an elitist snob by posting dumb and unproven opinions as if they where facts.

    Before you start, I have probably forgotten more pc games than a lot of people here have played and still think that H3 has a fair chance of being the best game this year.

  • Subquest #39 5 years ago

    You don't need to be "hyped" about it, 1.5 million pre-orders is enough. You're dismissed.

    To borrow from Jorge Valdano, if 'shit on a stick' was served up in Halo 3 packaging, there'd still be 1.5 millions pre-orders.

    Edited by Subquest at 18/09/07 @ 15:31

  • Ace_McCloud #40 5 years ago

    If that Ross comment was a joke then it was the dryest (driest?), subtlest joke in the history of dry and subtle jokes!

  • MBar #41 5 years ago

    You know what makes Halo worse than all other FPSs?

    Personal preference.

    You know what makes Halo better than all other FPSs?

    Personal preference.

    Now fuck off and stop being a miserable bunch of trolls.

  • lambtron #42 5 years ago

    "if you were there to see Halflife and Unreal in the 90's way before Halo 1 on X-box its a lot harder to be impressed by its generic story. "

    Haha what an utter load of shit. I played both those games in the 90s and I would say their stories are in no way markedly better than Halo's. Besides, the story is not why Halo is a good game.

  • menage #43 5 years ago

    "haven't been a pc gamer for years... "

    Then the comment was largely unfounded.

  • Xerx3s #44 5 years ago

    matharding: That's such a non argument. Just because there where good games before doesn't mean that all other games after it are moot. I was there when HL1 and unreal where released. Hell, even long before the first fps came to be. That argument basically means that the pc gamers as well haven't had anything good since then.

    Even if they where better, they are three totally different games. It's like comparing table tennis, fifa & madden on the basis that they are all sports games.

  • Kiigan #45 5 years ago

    Jesus. Jonathan Ross did voicework for Halo 3?
    The world has gone mad.

  • Xerx3s #46 5 years ago

    chiz
    18-Sep-07 15:11:02

    Overhyped shit

    Another beacon of good posting.

  • orac1971 #47 5 years ago

    Xerx3s: "orac1971: An person who thinks that it is cool to be an elitist snob by posting dumb and unproven opinions as if they where facts. "

    Not facts, my opinion from playing Halo and Halo 2 (even Halo 3 beta) and comparing them against Bioshock, GOW, Half Life, Half Life 2, Oddworld: Strangers Wrath, Deus Ex etc.

  • miiiguel #48 5 years ago

    "To borrow from Jorge Valdano, if 'shit on a stick' was served up in Halo 3 packaging, there'd still be 1.5 millions pre-orders."

    I have no doubt about it. That's why "haters" could chill a bit on this issue, it's a lost cause, really.
    The thing to think about is, why Halo (the 1st) came out of nowhere and became so huge ?
    Are all these people nuts?, can't they see reason?, Halo is "overhyped" shit! Bring on censorship, people just shouldn't play this when they have HL2!
    Edited by miiiguel at 18/09/07 @ 15:46

  • mossychops001 #49 5 years ago

    Post deleted at 11:49:27 04-05-2012

  • sanctusmortis #50 5 years ago

    Ahem... to go Dan Le Sac on your asses:

    Half Life: just a game.
    Far Cry: Just a game.
    Unreal: just a game.
    FEAR: just a game.
    Halo: just a game.

    The difference is, Halo 3 is on the way to do better than a Hollywood blockbuster, and the PC guys wail their sorry tune. I used to game on my PC. I played all the above. Bar Halo, I found them all the same. Halo, at least, had the recharging shields, sticky grenades, balanced weapons, overheating weapons, co-op...

  • Rirekon #51 5 years ago

    "Halo, at least, had the recharging shields, sticky grenades, balanced weapons, overheating weapons, co-op"

    Yes because they are all new and original concepts... o_0

  • AlvySinger #52 5 years ago

    I was at the Halo 2 launch party in London. There was a weird drinks system where mysterious hands would replenish a bank of little boxes with random drinks, prompting a mad dash whenever a lager appeared.

    Plus, the buffet was rubbish.

    ...

    Sorry got caught up in a moment of reverie there.

    I played Halo 2 all the way up until Half-Life 2 was released and surpassed it in every way. Case closed.

  • Xerx3s #53 5 years ago

    Not facts, my opinion from playing Halo and Halo 2 (even Halo 3 beta) and comparing them against Bioshock, GOW, Half Life, Half Life 2, Oddworld: Strangers Wrath, Deus Ex etc.

    Then don't make an elitist post as if it is.

  • The-Bodybuilder #54 5 years ago

    >"Both would turn up to a opening of a crisp packet if they could get something free out of it. "

    LOL.

    I'm laughing because they are both richer than you.

    As for the halo hate? I was once swept away with it, but now the hate seems to be louder than the hype (atleast in this site), I'm giving halo 3 my support.

    HALO WILL OWN YOU LIKE SYLAR CUTTING OFF YOUR HEAD.

  • miiiguel #55 5 years ago

    halo haters: repeat real loud, as many times as you can "halo is overhyped shit!", maybe the voices in your head go away.
    ...then again, maybe not :(

  • Latin #56 5 years ago

    Rirekon:

    ""Halo, at least, had the recharging shields, sticky grenades, balanced weapons, overheating weapons, co-op"

    Yes because they are all new and original concepts... o_0"

    It was one of the first games that forced you to only have two weapons at a time and this for me made a huge impact. Up until Halo, in most games you could carry every gun under the sun and all the ammo as well! It not only opened up loads of different ways to approach certain parts of the game but also made you think carefully about which combinations you needed at different times etc.

    This coupled with every thing else mentioned made it outstanding at the time, plus the AI was and still is better than 95% of the stuff out there, including the likes of HL2 (IMO).
    Edited by Latin at 18/09/07 @ 17:19

  • Rodney #57 5 years ago

    @Mossychops001

    [link url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=84947
    ]http://www.computerandvideogames.com/art...[/link]

    Ross seems to actually have a genuine interest in games. also since he happens to be in Halo3 he has a pretty good reason to be at the launch party.

    I agree its embarrassing when you have celebrities talking about games at events, such as at the BAFTA gaming awards, who know nothing about gaming.

    Do we really need recognition and acceptance from the Heat reading masses? I think not.

  • Xerx3s #58 5 years ago

    OMG, I'm shocked! A celeb that actually plays games and turns out to be a very normal bloke. The world is not lost yet after all.\0/

  • smelly #59 5 years ago

    Nintendo should learn from this after their piss poor metroid 3 launch in the states.

    They seem to have learned how to sell consoles, but are still a bit up in the air about how to sell a game.

    With the amount of pre-publicity that this game is getting, even if halo 3 was as shite as halo 2 was - it'll still sell shit loads.

  • Razorus #60 5 years ago

    Halo is very rightly regarded as a great game for many reasons. It may not be better than other FPS' in many respects, and it may just boil down to personal preferance, but in the end, Halo is an amazing series.
    It has an epic story, epic battles and scope, realistic-futuristic weapons, alien weapons, sometimes good level design, amazing multiplayer, fast-paced action, good voice acting. For me, it just has that X-Factor which makes it better than most FPS'.

  • Danoxth #61 5 years ago

    On a totally non Halo related subject...am I the only one that thinks Wossy now looks like a poor mans Jack Sparrow now he dons that silly beard of his?

  • morriss #62 5 years ago

    If GamesIndustry.biz was a party, fact would be the guest of honour.

    :D

  • dk_rare #63 5 years ago

    Apparently Woss is a big fan of Halo. Which leaves the quwestion, Bwute or Mawine? Perhaps his character served on the Twuth and Weconciliation?

    [link url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/SuperScot/jon001.jpg
    ]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/S...[/link]
    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/S...

    "Jonathan Ross, LOL, must be doing it for the money. "

    He also said that he is doing it for free, because he lubs Halo so much. So, no money.
    Edited by dk_rare at 18/09/07 @ 22:49

  • Sid-Nice #64 5 years ago

    Why didn't Jonathan Ross promote Rayman Raving Rabbids?

  • orac1971 #65 5 years ago

    "Xerx3s: Then don't make an elitist post as if it is."

    Don't read it as an elitist post.