UPDATE: Looks like Halo 3 will launch officially on September 25. Sah-weet!
I’m stocking up on party food and drinks for a rousing game of Halo 3 tonight. The beta releases tonight at midnight. if you haven’t bought your copy of Crackdown or either gotten into the beta in the other way, then shame on you, because I’ve told you how to do it too many times to count.
Normally I’d ask off work tomorrow since this is a thrice in a lifetime event (grin), but I’ve been at a conference all weekend and spent Monday recouping Mother’s Day with my family and Tuesday at our corporate HQ (Sunnyvale) so I’ve not been in the office all week.
I think if I miss another day this week they may flog me. Regardless, I’m sure I’ll come in tomorrow looking like warmed-over poop (my mom used to say this all the time) and will likely end up drooling-sleepy by lunch. But, it will not have been in vain, as tonight I get to control Master Chief against an army of like-minded (ie crazy) gamers as we try to break the beta.
How will I bide my time for the next 3 hours???
Several more at YouTube (username bipchizzle)
The Halo 3 Beta will be released on May 16 at 5AM. Oddly enough, this is the day my husband will turn 33. Do you think those two things will be enough to get the day off? 
This is your chance to get to try new levels, weapons, vehicles, and try out some new game types. Maps shipping with the beta include Snowbound, Hugh Ground, and Valhalla - all new to Halo 3. Try your hand at the new Mongoose ATV, and gun-up with the new and improved Assault Rifle, Brute Spiker, Spike Grenades, and the killer Spartan Laser.
You can only have access to the game if you were either part of the Rule of Three promotion or if you scored (or plan to score) a copy of the Crackdown game that is flying off store shelves. I bought Crackdown on the day it was released, hoping that the Beta would be live at that point (moron…) but since it wasn’t I’ve had an insane time playing through that killer game.
But soon my $60 purchase will be rewarded as I glimpse the sweet visor of the Master Chief in all his energy-shielded glory. So, gnash your teeth with envy or pick up your own copy of Crackdown and play with me next month. My gamertag is Duzins. Prepare for pwnage.
For those of you who weren’t chosen to receive the Halo 3 beta, you can pick up a copy of Crackdown today and download the beta via XBox Live. (That’s where I’m going right now!)
This is really smart marketing as this game is reaching a valuable segment of gamers (the Halo fanbase is legendary, and those who would want to play the beta are even more invested in the franchise). I mean, do we really think that Crackdown just went gold because people want to play it? Heck no, people are buying this game because they want the beta.
It will be played by the people who will drive valuable, and measurable, WOM and if it’s any good, they will talk about it incessantly. Of course, if it sucks, the entire world will hear about it too.
Either way, this is a sneaky, almost coercive, way to market a game (and I like it).
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Written by a friend and colleague of mine, Neils Clark.
“Games are substance-free and value-free. Most every major and minor city (in the United States, anyway) will have at least one bar and one church. Games are “open for business,” to anyone wit