Wasn't the whole "Show Stealing Game" bit just a reference to it being a heist game? I think that was just a tease, rather than a literal 'We think this is going to be the biggest summer game announcement' thing.
@humanity: I've been having issues with the premium videos too. The most recent Grubbsnax just immediately stalls out too. The only way I've been able to make them work is watching via the download button, which opens in a new tab, but requires you to remember your timestamp if you're not viewing it in one go. I assumed it was just me.
Controller pricing has made me feel insane. Seeing so many people accept that the solution to the awful Dualsense battery life is buying a second controller, and cycling them, feels like it overlooks just how absurd the price issue is there.
@buttonbasher: The model for TV show Cortana looks to be modeled after Natascha McElhone, who is playing Dr Halsey, which is exactly what it should be based on the lore
That was originally going to be the case, but they course corrected during production and brought Jen Taylor in to play Cortana. She originally wasn't available due to being busy providing mocap for Halo Infinite, but when schedules shifted due to covid, her schedule freed up. There's definitely been some post-production on her face, and her hair is obviously different, but it's definitely Jen Taylor. It's particularly noticeable in the eyebrows in this photo from the set of the show:
Also here's a quote from 343 producer Kiki Wolfkill:
"Wolfkill:I mean, Jen Taylor is sort of a magical being, so being able to get her for the show was incredible. I mean, frankly, when we started the show, she was knee-deep in Halo Infinite, in the game. And so, even, you know, seeing if we could get her was something we weren't sure about without disrupting the game schedule, and then with COVID schedule slips everything just fell into place. And so having her, come on board, not just because she's an amazing person on set and feels like a little piece of home for me out there."
Cortana is live action footage of the actual voice actor for the games performing the character. She's provided motion capture data in the past, but she's not the source of the face model in the games which I think is throwing people for a loop. Ultimately the performance is what matters most, and I think it's great that they have her playing the role in a live action capacity, rather than having to dub someone else, as her mocap performance in Infinite was excellent.
Buttonbasher's comments