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<p>After Bungie's public pronouncements of a budget expansion, game now full price; game retailer's bundle to include game-themed green controller. </p><p><img src="http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/"></p><p>
Following <a class='gslink' href='http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/halo3untitledodstgame/news.html?page=1&sid=6194658'>a canceled E3 unveiling</a>, Halo 3: ODST was formally announced at the <a class='gslink' href='http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/halo3untitledodstgame/news.html?page=1&sid=6198820'>2008 Tokyo Game Show</a> by Microsoft and Bungie Studios. At the time, the game had been billed as complementing the overall Halo 3 experience. Speaking to <i>Game Informer</i> magazine <a class='gslink' href='http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/halo3untitledodstgame/news.html?page=1&sid=6201046'>last fall</a>, Bungie design lead Joe Bertone described the game as "a three-to-five-hour expansion pack," with cinematic director Joe Staten adding that "we do not view this as a $60 title."
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<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/images/0/1/?path=2009%2F162%2Fbonuscontroller546_screen.jpg&caption=What%2Ban%2Be xtra%2B%252440%2Bbuys.&blog=1&cvr=%2FqR0">
<img class="thumb" src="http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2009/162/bonuscontroller546_embed.jpg" alt="" /></a><p class="caption"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/images/0/1/?path=2009%2F162%2Fbonuscontroller546_screen.jpg&caption=What%2Ban%2Be xtra%2B%252440%2Bbuys.&blog=1&cvr=%2FqR0">What an extra $40 buys.</a></p></div>
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Apparently, Bungie's former owner Microsoft views things differently. Amidst the hubbub of the <a href="http://e3.gamespot.com/" target="new">Electronic Entertainment Expo</a> last week, the software colossus/game giant updated the fact sheet and official
<a href="http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/h/halo3odst/" target="new">Halo 3: ODST page on Xbox.com</a> with the game's price--a full $59.99.
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In a statement provided to GameSpot, Microsoft explained its pricing decision thusly: "At the time [of Bungie's comments], the overall scope of Halo 3: ODST was not yet finalized, and since then, the project has grown increasingly more ambitious. We believe this stand-alone experience is much more than just an expansion. Halo 3: ODST provides a new campaign from the point of view of an entirely new character. Combine that with three new multiplayer maps, the entirely new cooperative mode called Firefight [shown below], and the complete Halo 3 multiplayer collection on a stand-alone disc, we feel this is a good value and tremendous addition to the Halo franchise."
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Halo fans with extra cash to burn can choose an even pricier version of the game. <a href="http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=75073" target="new"> GameStop is exclusively offering a $99.99 Halo 3: ODST Collector's Pack</a>, which comes with a UNSC-green special edition Halo wireless controller (pictured).
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All editions of Halo 3: ODST, however, have two other incentives. Besides three exclusive multiplayer maps, the game disc will contain the levels from the Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack, released in April for MSP800 ($10). It will also contain an invitation to participate in <a class='gslink' href='http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/halo3untitledodstgame/news.html?page=1&sid=6211445'>the 2010 multiplayer beta of Halo: Reach</a>, Bungie's mystery-shrouded next chapter in the Halo saga.
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"<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/haloreach/news.html?sid=6211932">Halo 3: ODST to cost $60, $100 CE GameStop-exclusive</a>" was posted by Tor Thorsen on Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:11:39 -0700
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Posted on Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:11:39 -0700 at http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/haloreach/news.html?sid=6211932