Calling all Heroes Contest Update and One VERY Hardcore Tribes Fan

First of all, let me state that I realize that right now no one gives a crap about anything but Halo 2. That includes pretty much everyone at Irrational except me and maybe one other person. Fortunately that person is in charge of operations so the company will not be left completely unattended for the next week. I did, however, get sent out to pick it up at EB where the guy was extremely excited about being in its very presence. I will say that somehow I was spared having to go to the special midnight store opening.

Then my father calls on Tuesday and reports that the Wall Street Journal (or some other newspaper for people more mature than me) is trumpeting that Halo already grossed something like 75 million. I have to explain that no, my husband isn't blindly missing a major market opportunity but simply a guy who, although he creates some pretty amazing games, did not happen to create the killer App for the XBox. We agree that I can stay married, if Ken promises to make the killer App for the XBox 2.

And now back to Irrational!

The Freedom Force vs. The 3rd Reich Calling All Heroes Contest continues to get a great response. It closes on November 15th. That's Monday, so anyone who is still thinking about entering should do it now. We will announce the winners soon after. Concept Artist/Lead Illustrator Robb Waters is psyched to see what you guys come up with---don't disappoint him!

As for Tribes, here's a bizarre little anecdote: Ken was in California this week meeting with publishers and he wandered into an EB (he has an internal radar for finding them all over the world). He couldn't find Tribes on the shelves and got worried that somehow distribution had failed to reach the West Coast. So he asks the guy behind the counter "do you have Tribes in stock". The clerk begrudgingly replies "yeah" and Ken asks where it is. "I keep it behind the counter..." the clerk says. "I don't want just anybody buying it."

-- Meredith Levine