Microsoft wants to encourage you to “finish the fight” - against whom, Google?

Strategy. Observe these quotes:

1. “Microsoft wants video gamers to “finish the fight” when the last chapter of its Halo trilogy comes out next week, but a carefully crafted merchandising strategy will make sure the space-marine protagonist Master Chief lives on for years to come.”
2. “Halo merchandise is a logical way to earn some extra revenue, and they are trying to collect on as many fronts as they can to turn Xbox into a profitable business,” said Matt Rosoff, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft.
3. “We make money and making money is great because this is a business. But we want long-term money that satisfies the fan base, not money today,” said Steve Schrek, director of franchise development at Microsoft.
4. “We are obviously looking to broaden Halo and make it accessible…while at the same time, we want to keep feeding our core audience.”
5. “We’re very clear with them that this is not about running out and carpet-bombing everything. This is figuring out how in five years we’re hitting new customers as opposed to in five years nobody cares,” Schrek added.

Got that? The liminal take-away concepts here are:

1. Microsoft is a “fighter brand”
2. Committed to logic: which is expressed through business language as “revenue, profit”
3. “Making money is great” - embedded social norm reinforcement.
4. Franchise development… feeding… Hey, I feel like opening up a restaurant chain suddenly!
5. Customers should be “hit” and not “carpet-bombed.”

What kind of warrior lawyer micropoets do you guys have working for you? This is so flimsy! You can’t build a brand on this.