With a video game launch as large as Halo 3, you have to have scandal, controversy and broken street dates. We’ve seen Halo 3’s release date broken across the world, and rumour goes that aliens stole a copy as well. Another rumour said that Microsoft will ban people’s accounts if they play before the release date.
Pro-G said earlier that a Microsoft rep told them that Microsoft will ban accounts if they find such a thing happening. Pro-G said later that another Microsoft rep (who probably lost a deathmatch some time ago) told them that Microsoft will only ban Microsoft employees’ accounts. Whew.
And now Pro-G tells us that Microsoft has made an official statement on the matter, after considerable deliberation and beer-drinking.
We can confirm that Microsoft is not taking any action (such as banning Xbox Live accounts) against gamers who are playing Halo 3 before the official street date. Any rumours or speculation to the contrary are false.
So what is the lesson to be learnt here? Do not trust rumours, Microsoft representatives and release dates.