Microsoft has responded to the growing rumblings of discontent among Halo gamers by explaining why they made the decision to snip the new Halo's announcement.
Speaking with the L.A. Times Microsoft's Don Mattrick said it was to cut the 2 1/2 hours to under 90 minutes for the benefit of reporters, presumably who can't sit still.
"We had an embarrassment of riches," Mattrick said. "We felt we could do this game more justice with a more dedicated event."
Bungie President Harold Ryan wrote a letter to fans on their official site to apologise for the lack of Bungie-Halo news at the conference. From the wording you can easily spot that the decision by their "publisher" (Microsoft) didn't play to well with the studio themselves - and much less so with the fans.
Microsoft seems keen to show that the Xbox360 console can succeed easily in a post-Halo environment, it doesn't need to rely on the franchise like it did at launch.
"Two big kahunas were left out of the show, and we were still able to deliver a strong performance," Mattrick said. Be careful not to bite the hand that feeds you guys.
Source: Joystiq