Heh cute. :P

: As 343i are so quick to remind us themselves, they're filled with people with
: years or decades of game development experience. Individuals overflowing
: with talent, plucked from dozens of AAA studios across the industry with
: many published, highly-lauded titles. What's more, they're all huge Halo
: fans too*! Who understand Halo on an intimate level and TOTALLY get where
: all you guys are coming from. Trust Us TM . It's totally the best Halo
: game ever: I mean fast early sales mean everything . Right guys?

I never once saw the benefit in having everyone at 343i be a fan of Halo. Concerning writers, fans seem to have the desire to have every little detail explained about the most niche aspects of a universe. Someone who is either only familiar with Halo or is a foreign to it completely doesn't have the tendency to just give what fans want. Rather they craft an excellent story that fans didn't know they wanted but gives them a richer and more memorable experience.