Halo 2 LogoI am not a user of Windows Vista. I still use my trusty copy of Windows XP, because I am a believer that it is more compatible with stuff right now (not mentioning that I had to reformat my desktop computer when I tried to install Vista on it). In the next couple of years, I think Vista will make a good operating system because of its DirectX 10 compatibility (and, you know, its GUI kills XP’s). I also think that Games for Windows is a nice try from Microsoft to make gamers happy, and a good way for game developers to get a lot of advertising. All that said, why did Microsoft make Halo 2 into a 2-year-old game port for Vista-only without PC-to-Xbox Live play, updated graphics, or even lower hard drive space requirements (it takes 15 gigs of space to install, while Unreal Tournament only takes 5gb)? From a business standpoint, I can see how making Halo 2 for Vista would a great marketing tactic, except that only 5% of PC users use Vista, and a ton of people already own it for the Xbox. The included map editor is quite literally the only reason to buy the game for PC instead of just playing it on an Xbox.

The funniest part of this whole thing is that quickly after the game’s release, people figured out how to make it work on XP before Microsoft made an offical patch for it. I mean, if it was that easy to port over to XP, why not just do it? It would have brought sales up and made plenty more people happy. At the very least, Microsoft could have made Halo 2 run with DirectX 10, for better graphics and all that other stuff it does.