The Halo: History Pack gives the series a second cycle

Microsoft has a clever idea to capitalize on the Halo hype in Japan. Two weeks before Halo 3 arrives they are going to release the Halo: History Pack a bundle of Halo 1, Halo 2, a backwards compatibility update disc and a chart that shows how the buttons are configured for the Xbox 360 controller. The price is reasonable too, 2,838 yen ($23) for two games.

The package is particularly noteworthy for another reason that doesn’t have anything to do with Master Chief. By adding a system update disc and a controller chart Microsoft has found a way to dust off their old Xbox games and get them back to the market. Since it’s easy to pick up used games in North America, I doubt we will see anything like the Halo: History Pack. However, it would be nice to see reprints of uncommon Xbox games like matriculate in stores with a similar set up.