Halo: Combat Evolved

The Xbox console was released by Microsoft in 2001 and became a huge success. Due in part to the games that Microsoft managed to secure as exclusives to its platform.

Bungie's Halo was the most successful of these games, and revolutionised the FPS (First Person Shooter) genre.

Today, 3 sequels to this game have been released and a fourth - Halo: Reach - is on the way later this year.

Before games are fully released, online gaming allows demonstrations (called Betas on the Xbox Live network) to be downloaded and trialed. This gives gamers a taste of what's to come and also serves to advertise and raise awareness of the release. Game developers can also see what's working and what isn't and observe the reactions to the game, allowing them to attempt to meet the needs and desires of gamers. The Halo: Reach beta emerged last week and more than a million gamers downloaded it on its first day.

http://www.thinq.co.uk/news/2010/5/7/halo-reach-beta-attracts-a-million-testers/

I download and use Betas a lot myself and I think it's a great step forward in gaming technology. I love been able to get a preview that I can interact with and use aswell as press releases and trailers. I think it also must be very useful for market research, to get a first hand look at what gamers think of their games and if they're meeting expectations. It also gives them the opportunity to work out bugs and iron out the kinks.