Although I personally don’t find the Halo franchise worth all the hype and acclaim it gets, there’s no denying that Bungie’s FPS epic has become one of gaming’s largest phenomenons, with the first two Xbox titles drawing in a new audience that has without question played a tremendous role in the industry’s mainstream growth over this past generation. Now with the next generation coming into full force with all three next-gen consoles on the market, Halo 3‘s next-gen debut on the Xbox 360 is finally almost at hand.
In major news from Microsoft and Bungie today, Halo 3 is officially set to make its long-awaited 360 debut this fall as has been largely expected (still no specific date yet though), and when it does release it will come in three different editions. In addition to a regularly priced $59.99 Standard Edition that will include only the game, two special collector’s editions will be offered as well, including a $69.99 Limited Edition and a whopping $129.99 Legendary Edition.
For the hefty price, the Legendary Edition will be the ultimate Halo fan’s collector’s item, containing Halo 3 storyboard art from artist Lee Wilson and two bonus discs — the first disc containing behind-the-scenes footage and featurettes, a “Making of…” documentary, and an audio-visual calibration tool for maximizing the home theater experience, and the second disc featuring remastered cinematic material from the first two Halos with developer commentaries, a “day in the life at Bungie” featurette, and exclusive new content from the folks behind Machinima artists “Red vs. Blue” and “This Spartan Life” — all bundled with the game in a special Spartan helmet case. Obviously, the Legendary Edition will only be released in limited supply and will almost assuredly be in high demand (though spending 130 bucks for one game seems ridiculous to me, no matter what special content comes with it). As for the Limited Edition, it will include the same first disc of special features as the Legendary Edition and a Halo fiction and art book all housed in a metal collector’s case.
Pricing and packaging details in place, now Halo fans just need an official release date…