Every so often this or that website claims to know a guy that has a brother whose sister is dating a guy that works for a man that got an email from an industry insider. It is rare however, when two websites come up with such stories on the same day about the same subject but revealing the exact opposite news.
This time around Halo 3 sits in the spotlight and it appears that Kotaku has an excellent source that has revealed an inside email from GameStop that clearly states that Microsoft has stated that Halo 3 WILL NOT be released in 2006. Everyone has jumped on that news and the first stories claiming that it was obvious that Microsoft needed the delay n order to match the upcoming Halo movie with the new game, while some thinking caps have suggested that Halo 3 needs the extra time in order to mature into a stunning next-generation title for X360.
Those sharp minds that have been following the news more closely have been quick to combine the news with rumors regarding a possible PS3 delay until Q4, 2006, this news, it is claimed, clearly demonstrates how true Bill Gates was when he claimed that Halo 3 would launch against Sony's new console.
So now we have a reliable source and some interesting news but what happens when another friend whose sister etc. produces news about Halo 3 which suggests that the game is ready and awaiting the Microsoft green light to launch.
An industry source, known only to Hexus.net, claims that Halo 3 is finished and waiting in some mastering plant shelf for Microsoft to decide when the best time to launch is. The same source claims that the launch is imminent and definitely will not happen after the spring. The same source, referred to by the website as deep throat, suggests that Microsoft is waiting for strategic news of the PS3 kind (the Sony PS3 event we assume) in order to give the Go command for the game's launch.
So what will it be 2006 or 2007? Someone has to be wrong unless... Microsoft is using the Halo 3 delayed 'till 2007 story in order to lull Sony into a false sense of security and help push the PS3 into a late 2006 launch thus giving MS the chance to launch Halo 3 and secure next-gen victory. We are sure that if you put your mind to it you can also come up with at least a few similarly odd scenarios but one thing both Tequila and gaming news always need is a hefty pinch of salt.
