: Correct. Halo and Halo 2 were very successful and long lasting because they
: were in an entire league of their own. Halo dominated because it was miles
: above any other console FPS games at the time. Halo 2 dominated because it
: was miles ahead any other online multiplayer console FPS at the time.
: Minecraft is similarly unique, although I don't understand the appeal (why
: not just play with AutoCAD?) People kept playing these games because
: NOTHING ELSE WAS EVEN CLOSE TO BEING AS GOOD.

: Halo 4 is not dominating because other games that owe their existence to Halo
: 4's predecessors are just as good. Halo 4 is not miles ahead of anybody
: because it is stagnant. Reach had this problem too. It doesn't help that
: when Halo is branched out to other genres, they are considerably retarded
: when compared to other games in those genres (Halo wars was a bad RTS,
: Spartan Assault was a bad top down shooter.)

: You're all asking for a lot. It's okay to play a game that's merely GOOD,
: enjoy it for a while, then move on to other games. Not everything has to
: be a massive game changer. How can any company keep up with that
: expectation? Did everybody here net NO enjoyment out of Halo 4? I haven't
: played it for at least 6 months, but that doesn't mean I didn't have fun
: with it.

: Not every movie can be a Titanic. Not every game can be doom.

: CUT THEM SOME SLACK.

This touches on what I was considering writing in response as well...

I'm not a multiplayer player. To me, Halo 4 did what it was supposed to do - I bought it for campaign and very much enjoyed it. I'll occasionally come back to it, as I do with many of my favourite games, to play through again in the future. Multiplayer to me is an addon, something that extends the life of the game, not determines its success or quality in my eyes.

I paid the full price of the game for the game I enjoyed, and it was worth it.

If I start getting into comparing to other games - whether predecessors, other single player campaign games, or especially other multiplayer games, I get into very VERY subjective ground, due either to people who focus on sales numbers, or ongoing player population, or relative chart positions, or just general social vs competitive fun with other people... it's chaotic.

Halo 4, really, was a success.

Halo 4 online multiplayer life being a continued success in the spotlight compared to other games and previous Halos is a different issue altogether.

Which does 343 care more about?
If the latter, then I have low hopes for future Halo games.
If the former, then I'll be as fanatical about Halo as I've ever been, if not more (provided they can whip up quality storytelling - that is, what is quality by my own preferences, mostly; realizing that it still needs significant community appeal to at least be a financial success for 343)