Apple History: Jobs 'Raged' Over Microsoft's 2000 Acquisition of 'Halo' Developer Bungie

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Myth 2 : Soulblighter is maybe the best game of all time.

 

[macduke]

I'm a huge fan of Halo and Bungie. The xBox 360 actually doesn't suck. It has always been a point of pride for me knowing that Mac devs helped start all of this.

It is also interesting to note that Halo: Reach is Bungie's last foray into the Halo universe. They are now a completely independent game studio, and have announced partnerships with Activision. So whatever new IP that they come up with next, they are free to put onto any system they desire, and that includes Macs and iOS devices! And don't think that they won't. They are always posting photos taken with their iPhones and even format their game wallpapers for iPhone and iPad now. It's certainly possible, and I'm sure they want to make amends with those that helped them get their start.

Long live Bungie!

 

[Slim02]

Yes for a mac or for a PC...

I guess you forgot about Rainbow 6, Ghost Recom, Splinter Cell, Assassin's Creed, Far Cry (series), Beyond Good & Evil, and Prince of Persia.. Rayman is not the only game Ubisoft make.. There is a long list of games that Ubisoft makes and owns..

 

[ericinboston]

Interesting. And very surprising; Steve Jobs doesn't care about games and has done nothing to encourage them on the Mac. He had no right to rage.

There hasn't been a game on an Apple computer since The Oregon Trail. And Jobs was what, back at Apple for a whopping 3 (rehired in 1997) years after being fired in 1985 (so he was gone for 12 years).

Yeah...go ahead and rage Steve...you have every right.

 

[janstett]

Unlike Apple, all of whose most creative ideas develop organically from within the company.

Yeah, like when Apple bought SoundJam to make it the foundation for the first version of iTunes, or like that time they paid Musicmatch millions of dollars to stop developing their Mac version so iTunes could have a monopoly. Or that organicly created Coverflow which they bought from another company. Good times at the organic ranch.

 

[Ingot]

I'm praying to god for that. Would be the best thing ever.

I'm with you on that one. Not so much for the gaming units, but all the other technology that could be incorporated in to apple products.

 

[damarsh]

without halo going on the Xbox Bungie would never have made a series as great as Halo culminating in a game as great as Halo Reach. Halos success relies on Xbox Live as an affordable and simple way of playing games online. As much as its an interesting story im glad it went that way.

 

[Makosuke]

'm as "eh..." on MS as the next guy, but the 360 really is a fantastic gaming console.

It's a solid gaming console, which I wouldn't likely have bought regardless of who made it, although I have a personal vendetta against MS due to the literally hundreds of hours of my personal free time they wasted by winning the browser war with IE6 and then not so much as glancing at its glaring bugs for the next five years because they didn't care and frankly wished the web would just go away. Not to mention how much they held back the entire world for the same reason, by making IE6 the (much) lower common denominator.

There's also the fact that MS was able to blow 2 billion dollars marketing the original XBox, on top of the cost of development and selling early consoles at a loss, because the Office and Windows divisions of the company bring in obscene profits that MS then tries to leverage into new monopolies in other areas. There are few other companies with that much money laying around to blow on a new market (Apple, ironically, being one of them, although not because they're an abusive monopoly).

Of course, the gaming division didn't turn out the way they'd hoped--as an exploitable monopoly--since Nintendo and Sony (barely) are still in the game, and Apple is rapidly encroaching on all of the above.

MS's buyup of Bungie and Rare, two of my four favorite game companies, was sort of the last straw for me. That both companies immediately stopped producing much worth playing proved my fears absolutely correct.

On an unrelated note, Apple bought Musicmatch Jukebox, but of course they kept developing it and there IS a Windows version. The only thing Apple's done that was similar was with the software that became Final Cut Pro, which isn't exactly without competition and certainly isn't the kind of creative force that was Bungie.

 

[rherriman]

Just my recollections on the Bungie acquisition, speaking as someone who was obsessed with the studio. I certainly had felt heartbroken/betrayed at the time, but what can I say? I was a teenager.

When Halo was announced at MWNY, Jason Jones (who today is the last original Bungie member) finally gave fans a peek at their codenamed "Blam" project, officially announced the title as Halo, and said that it would be out "first" for the Mac, though it was implied that a simultaneous release alongside a Windows version was likely. The hybrid release was expected, as they had done the same with Myth 1 and 2 as well as Oni.

Later, after the buyout, the internet seethed with rage. Now, according to this revelation, we know that Steve Jobs raged, too. What was announced initially as "Mac first" now looked like it would not see the Mac at all, and the best game developer for the Mac was now Xbox-exclusive. If you ask me, what angered Steve was not the prospect of damaged sales. From everything that I've heard about him, it is more likely that what upset him was that by Microsoft buying Bungie, it made Steve into a "liar." It is easy to imagine him thinking of his keynotes as his "promises" to the community. In short, he probably felt humiliated.

On why Bungie "sold out" in the first place:
As was mentioned, back then they really had to survive on a game-by-game basis. Bungie had recently expanded and created a new studio, Bungie West, to work on Oni. Bungie had finished Myth 2, and was concentrating on "Blam" (later revealed as Halo). Oni saw delays, features were cut, there were more delays, and I believe sales ended up being lackluster. This incurred a large financial hit that put them in jeopardy, and it was unlikely they would have survived to finish Halo. Then Microsoft offered them a solution, and they took it.

Halo became Xbox exclusive (though was later ported to the Mac by Gearbox Software, to appease PC and Mac gamers as hinted), and if I recall correctly the rights to the Myth and Oni franchises were sold to Take 2 (who released a subpar Myth 3 developed/rushed by Mumbo Jumbo).

At least that's the history as well as I can remember it.

 

[NinjaHERO]

Steve Jobs gets mad a lot.

 

[Number 41]

Of course, the gaming division didn't turn out the way they'd hoped--as an exploitable monopoly--since Nintendo and Sony (barely) are still in the game, and Apple is rapidly encroaching on all of the above.

MS's buyup of Bungie and Rare, two of my four favorite game companies, was sort of the last straw for me. That both companies immediately stopped producing much worth playing proved my fears absolutely correct.

MS controlls an online-empire w/ XBox Live that is an absolute cash-cow for the company. People pay $60 a month for basically nothing other than server space for games. Want DLC content? More money. Want to download full games? More money. Want a new hat for your useless Avatar? More money.

I'd say they're doing quite well.

As is Bungie. I think it's a pretty false statement to say they stopped making anything worth playing after being bought by Microsoft. You can say they turned into a "Halo factory" and became devoid of any real creativity and be partially correct, but the quality of their Halo games speak for themselves.

Rare's an odd case. They really have done next to nothing since being acquired by MS.

 

[CharlesX]

I'm still enraged and it's been 10 years. Christ. Mac gaming was on the ascent and the biggest reason was Bungie. They were showing that there was a real market for Mac games, despite early 90s Apple. Then Jobs come back with a new emphasis on fun and beauty and HALO DEBUTS AT MACWORLD. It was a big frickin' deal, okay?

Thank god for Penny Arcade. I don't know how else I would have gotten through it. The hope of rebirth.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2000/6/21/
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2000/6/23/

We got some of our revenge a few months later... Doom III premiered at Macworld and the GeForce3 was a Mac exclusive for a short while. So all you guys saying Jobs didn't care about games, well that was ancient history.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2001/2/23/

And just because I like linking to things, here's a video of Bungie in 1996.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFbrfmqOtbE

 

[bchreng]

It's not that big a loss is it? OSX now has Popcap, Steam and Blizzard games to keep gamers happy. Oh and best of all, Starcraft 1 still runs on the current version of OSX, unlike Win7.

 

[Quadra610]

Frog blast the vent core!!!

-- Bob

 

[Dooger]

Unlike Apple, all of whose most creative ideas develop organically from within the company.

Yeah, like when Apple bought SoundJam to make it the foundation for the first version of iTunes, or like that time they paid Musicmatch millions of dollars to stop developing their Mac version so iTunes could have a monopoly. Or that organicly created Coverflow which they bought from another company. Good times at the organic ranch.

Just to clarify (because my quote could be interpreted as the work of an exquisitely slavering fanboy), I'm with you on this one. They steal like all the rest of the big corps.

 

[swagi]

MS controlls an online-empire w/ XBox Live that is an absolute cash-cow for the company. People pay $60 a month for basically nothing other than server space for games. Want DLC content? More money. Want to download full games? More money. Want a new hat for your useless Avatar? More money.

I'd say they're doing quite well.

As is Bungie. I think it's a pretty false statement to say they stopped making anything worth playing after being bought by Microsoft. You can say they turned into a "Halo factory" and became devoid of any real creativity and be partially correct, but the quality of their Halo games speak for themselves.

Rare's an odd case. They really have done next to nothing since being acquired by MS.

First of all it's 60$ a year. And second - most important if you are really into it - XBox Live really offers a great multiplayer online experience.

And that's why some people here should rather just shut up. Halo is epic and Bungie has served tons of creativity. Their matchmaking algorithms are easily one of the best out there - the camera tool is doing a really great job. And the FORGE - google that if you don't know it - well, it has seen quite an evolution since Halo3.

So just give Bungie the credit they diserve (though Halos resolution still is not that groundbreaking) and use that Feedback Button on the Apple page to tell your beloved company to

a) get decent graphic drivers
b) offer decent graphic cards
c) spend some resources on OpenGL - they are desperately needed

 

[miles01110]

No wonder...Marathon II was the best game EVER released on the Mac.

Incorrect- Myth II!

 

[akatsuki]

So what?

If there is one place Apple has consistently screwed developers it is games. High promises, new initiatives, with nothing to show at the end.

Frankly, Apple should take some of that huge cash reserve, hire some hardcore alpha geeks, and come out with a Games API that is, at the bare minimum, better than DirectX in every single way. Maybe they just beef up existing frameworks and cut latencies everywhere for stuff like CoreAudio, but however it gets done, do it. MS takes games seriously, DirectX is just more polished than the variety of stuff out there for the Mac.

Second, hire a games evangelist and give him some authority. Someone to go wine and dine developers, pay for exclusive rights, able to assign programmers to visit and help get Mac ports up to speed.

Third, bloody well get video cards up to speed.

Then finally return the favor and buy up a studio or two to develop Mac only AAA games.

 

[CFreymarc]

Bungie would still be an unknown had it not made the switch to Microsoft. Apple and Jobs don't really know much about games.

This is news? The Microsoft Bungee deal was big news back then and Steve's rage was common knowledge at E3 that year. Was told Apple had a chance or have some other Mac friendly game developer counter the Microsoft deal. I was told three were serious counters to the Microsoft offer. From that, the Mac community didn't know how much of a good thing they had before they lost Bungee.

One Bungee project that was really compromised out of the Microsoft buyout was Oni. This was a character driven adventure shooter with a hot little number of an anime-styled young lady kicking butt all over the place. It was supposedly Bungee's answer to Laura Croft. Instead, the schedule was allegedly cut back six months, the play testing was rushed and the game did not do very well at all.

For those that know the valley, the then Bungee offices were along Bascom Avenue across the street from Del Mar High School. Steve could have easily drove his Mercedes there and tried to avoid the deal when the "big boys" of Bungee were in town form Chicago. Wonder if a meeting like that ever went down?

On that, I see the new Apple TV as a kick-butt gaming platform. While there is no hardware rendering chip, I'm sure many game engines that run on the iPhone and iPad iOS are just waiting to go to that big 1080p screen.

 

[sinsin07]

The Apple TV is the inroad Apple can use as a gaming machine. Just run the stuff through the app store. It would be interesting to play Angry Birds on a 55" LCD.

As for Bungie they need to bring back Marathon. I loved that game.

You're not a gamer. No gamer would mention Angry Birds and 55 inch in the same breath. Angry Birds on a HD 55 inch. Oh boy can't wait for that

 

[Bitjockey]

No surprise Steve was angry. Many of us saw the Beta of HALO being demo'd at Macworld as a Mac Exclusive! It was way cool! Then never happened

 

[Fanboyofnothing]

I beg to differ.

Nintendo already views Apple as a rival in the mobile gaming market, and now they'd be looking at the possibility of an Apple-controlled Sony pushing OS updates to the PS3 to grant iDevice compatability or iTunes Music Store / App Store access. That'd cause more than some worry for the Big N.

And MS? They're running slightly ahead of Sony in console install base (close to neck and neck in sales, recently), but don't think for a minute they'd be thrilled about Cupertino taking control of the PS3.

Apple cant update two platforms at once as it is. They'd fail miserably in the video game business. Nintendo claimed to fear them in handhelds, but they're not. The 3DS is going to demolish the Touch. And if Gamecenter is any indicator, Apple is in way over their head. I love their computers, but if they bought Sony I'd just point and laugh. The last thing gamers need is overpriced AND underfunctioning. Got plenty of that as it is.

 

[PeterQVenkman]

This is what I envision Jobs doing after the buyout:

You're not a gamer. No gamer would mention Angry Birds and 55 inch in the same breath. Angry Birds on a HD 55 inch. Oh boy can't wait for that

It's not an exclusive nightclub that only lets some people in. Gaming is beyond the hardcore into every nook and cranny of all demographics now. This happened years ago.

 

[PlipPlop]

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Myth 2 : Soulblighter is maybe the best game of all time.

Indeed do you still play? I have been in I think the last 9 mwcs but never done too well In the long run it was much better that Microsoft bought Bungie. Prob wouldnt have been the same with Apple controlling them. Apple Pipin lol. We got so many great Halo games. Halo Reach so awesome.

 

[ikir]

Interesting. And very surprising; Steve Jobs doesn't care about games and has done nothing to encourage them on the Mac. He had no right to rage.

Is this your opinion? It seems that Valve and Apple team up for better gfx drivers are different from "not caring". Gaming on iPhone/iPad is huge. Since some years we see game bench on apple products pages and game screenshots. Apple game page is more updated.

Sure Apple had priority, and gaming even if important was behind OS and other products.