: Why should some official numbers assigned to art/entertainment mean anything
: to the individual?

: I actually think the best thing Halo could do is to NOT play such a stupid
: popularity game, like some high school student, and instead focus on its
: own unique offerings and capitalize on that with whatever fanbase is
: interested in such things.

And I completely agree with you. But they did play a stupid popularity game. Practically every decision that they seemed to have made (or should I say not made, or made poorly) was designed for the popularity game. And it failed based on these numbers.

: And there IS a fanbase. But it might not be the BIGGEST fanbase, and who
: cares?

It's not about how large the fanbase. It's about the reason why it's not that large. That's what you got to care about. People can enjoy and like the game just fine. There are a ton of reasons why this game has no staying power.

: More players, more profit, more budget, more marketing - these things do not
: make something good.

So true. Tell 343 that, please.