Has been an engaging and interesting look at how some of the major players in the industry are going about their business.  It is almost beyond comprehension for a lot of gamers out there.

Let's look at it though from a casual gamer perspective, yes?  What does this all mean?  Well....for one, Playstation gamers are going to get a Bungie game.  Given Bungie's latest statements regarding their thrust into a new action universe (and given their forward momentum in the delivery of universe creation from Myth to Marathon, ONI to Halo...one can only assume that what is going to come out in the near future will be something "on steroids" as one analyst puts it.  To the average gamer, it doesn't seem like anything is going to matter about this new Activision/Bungie deal.  There is only good that can come out of it from the end user perspective (at least on the long run.)

To a lot of us looking around at this...it comes as a shock, absolutely no doubt that to many of us, this a huge announcement that on the surface, does not make sense.  Some news sites, notably Destructoid, have been voicing a big concern about Bungie's motives.  One can only assume that given the incredible PR backlash inherent with this Infinity Ward fallout is heavily influencing the initial reactions.

Bungie, a powerhouse developer...one of those developers that is readily known even outside of the industry, is at one it's peaks again, Halo: Reach beta comes out on Monday, and the game is expected to be released sometime this Fall.  The viral ads are in full swing, Twitter is abuzz (Reach is a trending topic at the time of this post), the newest live action trailer came out...and soon this advertising blitz will go full swing towards the general audience.  It's almost as if Bungie thought it pertinent to post up their announcement with Activision as a means to boost the PR hype....in some hilarious and new way?

Activision...could not be hit with a worse time.  Kotick, their main man, is being touted as a devilish man who sees nothing but the profits of his company as the only reason to exist.  (I could literally go on about the morality of a market place, and I actually highly recommend this article as an alternative perspective that would agree with Kotick's viewpoint: www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/libertarians/issues/friedman-soc-resp-business.html )  It is inherently concurrent with many business practices...but it does not currently agree with the aim of the gaming industry as a whole.  This industry looks to prove itself as artists and developers of entertainment, not as developers of drop-and-forget products that seeks to keep the consumer content until the next round of slop is introduced.  Given the PR backlash with Infinity Ward, no matter who is correct on this one, Activision is clearly taking a hit in the eyes of gamers.  

So what could possibly make Bungie want to to go with Activision on publishing rights?  Well...I highly doubt this is about money as a priority for Bungie.  Breaking from Microsoft gives Bungie a chance to finally try it's hand on Playstation 3 (perhaps even Wii...?)  Bungie gets to play with better processing power with the PS3 as well, and there is a heck of a larger user base in the entire market...save for one segment.  Bungie is poising itself towards better distribution of it's properties.  Why sell 10 million, when you can sell upwards of 15 to 20 million units?  

So, Bungie is well on it's way to World Domination.  It's one of their goals, has been since they got started.  Did they sign a deal with the Devil on this one?  

No.

If anything, they retained themselves as an autonomous entity.  Though we don't know the intricacies of the deal, the shock was more news than the repercussions of what we as gamers could expect in the next couple years.  Bungie has more than enough capital to keep itself free from the "shackles" of Activision (let's assume for a moment that this train of thought is correct ...), and we are almost certain that Activision offered the best deal, given Bungie's contract terms of not talking about whom else they spoke with on publishing rights.  Bungie is going to give us some new stuff here soon, and though Activision is going to get a slice of the cake, they won't be taking it all for themselves (this Infinity Ward debacle should be warning enough from them.)

Until such time, One last hurrah with what is perhaps one of my favorite story telling developers out there.  Here comes Reach.  

 (Destructoid for Kotick's caricature and the Reach logo property of Bungie.)