: There are many reasons this place is infrequently trafficked. Negativity
: isn't one of them. If that were the case, then HaloWaypoint, NeoGaf, or
: TeamBeyond wouldn't be as popular as they are. The drop in traffic here is
: more likely due to,

: 1. The, uh... old school layout. I've heard many a DBOer complain about not
: being able to figure out how to sign up here.

It's interesting that you've mentioned that two or three times now and no one's said anything, but when I brought it up a few years back everyone was like "what are you talking about, it's fine".

: The confusion deters newcomers. I've always considered this a blessing in
: disguise, since it keeps out the unwanted. Mostly.

Oh so someone that actually posts, and actually posts about the games and the fiction, and tries to bring in news, is unwanted? That's great way to support a community, shunning people who share and discuss content.

: 3. Most people who used to come here aren't interested in 343's version of
: Halo. Very few Halo products in the last 5 years were any good. Can't
: blame them for leaving, just remember them fondly. #RememberReluctantChaos
: #Beckxcelsior #SlayForMazz #DMFanellaDidNothingWrong

Reach was in the last 5 years. I know, you think it wasn't that good, but a lot of people did, and I think even you would be hard-pressed to say it's as messed up as the MCC or even Halo 4.

: The reasons I see for this are 343 changing and redesigning everything for
: change's sake, apparently wanting to put their stamp on Halo without
: caring what fans think. Also taking mechanics and ideas from other games
: and crudely forcing them into Halo in an attempt to get casuals to buy it.
: Problem with that is, they're going to buy it anyway, because they saw a
: commercial for it, and they buy every game. They're going to play it for a
: week, and then buy Call of Duty 17 no matter what 343 does.

: So all that's happening is Halo is losing its identity. Looks completely
: different, and plays exactly like Titanfall, and CoD, and Destiny, and
: Blah, and Blah, and Blah.

You actually have some worthwhile things to talk about there.

I don't think Halo is losing it's identity but I think it's been watered down and "same-ified" somewhat-- some elements are worth having, some are ground pounds.

I think they have driven away a lot of the fans, but that wouldn't be as big of a problem if they brought in new fans to replace them (they'd need a really big influx to offset the people leaving but some is better than none), and it seems like the rate at which that happens has gone down in recent years, and I can't tell why. It might be a lack of people to introduce them to Halo and introduce it with enthusiasm and positivity and to play with new people. It might be that Halo has run its course as a hot title, and changes in gaming have left it behind, despite all efforts to stay current. It might be too much competition-- new properties have sprung up that are less than half the age of Halo that have fanbases that could give the Halo fanbase a run for its money in terms of size and strength. It could be a lot of things, but it's clear we could use new people, locally and all around.

I agree that Halo is too big to fail. If anything should have knocked it out or at least stopped its momentum, a game that was broken for months, on the heels of a game that wasn't received too well, itself on the heels of game that was polarizing and doubling down on some of the polarizing aspects, that should've done it, but nope, Microsoft and 343 are just chugging along like nothing happened. Halo won't end until people stop buying it or until something collapses the entire games industry and/or Microsoft.

Trying to protect it is, on some level, a fool's errand-- which means maybe they could do without adding stuff from other games as you said, but it also means they should be pretty safe changing the art style, the story, the gameplay, and whatever they want, and it seems like they have been safe in doing that. I feel like they may have come at that fact from the second approach ("this ship is unsinkable, so let's put all the neat stuff we can find on it").

It's worth remembering too that 343i and MS have a mandate not only to keep making it and keep making money but to make more money. How do you make more money than the best-selling game of all time? Fuck if I know, I don't think 343i does, but the change we see will be limited as long as they keep doing it. I think the sales of Halo 5 will have a big impact on the future of the franchise.

I'll say this: it's still fun, for me. As long as there are people that think it's fun, there are going to be some who are fans (or at the very least near enough you could call them fans).