brainslurper said:
It seems like bungie intended for halo to end at reach, but microsoft wouldn't give up their sweet money that easily.
I second this. My feeling playing the Halo trilogy was that Bungie always meant for it to end (chronologically) with three, and Reach was basically Halo Zero, designed to give more context to the trilogy (particularly 1 and 2, as "Reach" is a major talking point during the exposition of those games).
When I saw the announcement for Halo 4, my first thought was, "...really?"
The story just felt FINISHED after 3 and Reach. But of course, a valuable IP isn't something a company will just let go. This a major problem in the video game and comic book industries (and to a lesser extent the film industry): not allowing things to come to a natural end, but continuing to drag them out so that money can continue to be made.