This comment on that blog a couple of posts below highlights how I witness customer reactions to game software:
I have to agree with the reviewers on this one, it’s very short (my completion time came in just over 4 hours), and there is no feeling of anything new there.
I’m happy with the multiplayer, but I would of liked this as a patch or a DLC to the main game.
Also, I don’t quite understand how we can blame Microsoft? According to an interview with the developers, it was obviously a scope creep on their behalf that caused a chance in marketing.
Next time they wont be so lucky with my purchase, and i’ll wait for the reviews rather than pre-order.
The complaint is entirely based on the content, not the gameplay. And by content, it is the Theater of the Mind. It isn’t how long the game is, but that is often cited by consumers since they don’t know what else to say. Games with great content invite re playability, and they never get old to the customer (doesn’t mean they don’t age, they just don’t get old within a week or two).
The commenter bought Halo ODST entirely on the reputation that is Halo. And to be fair, Halo has been very reliable experience to its customers. He expected a Halo type of experience from his Halo game (completely reasonable).
Now that the customer is disappointed, the reputation has been hit. The customer will now wait for impressions first before pre-ordering.
So if the next Halo is like Halo ODST, the customer could even go from ‘wait for impressions’ to ‘Halo sucks!!111!!!!’
This is the “Game Industry” at work. Halo fans want Halo to surpass itself, or at least meet the greatness of something like the original. But the “Game Industry” mindset has no interest in doing that. Instead, their viewpoint is how to milk Halo for as much revenue as possible and for the least amount of work for themselves as possible? This is how the “Game Industry” destroys great series and gaming in general.