I agree somewhat. However this generation with Fable and Gears , Halo isn't as important as it was last generation. Do I think the platform would survive without Halo? Yes absolutely look at how many consoles sold without Halo, the highest selling Halo title on 360 sold 11,340,000 copies but the console itself is over 56,700,000. That means that about 45,360,000 gamers bought 360 for other games. Then who knows how many of those Halo purchasers would have bought a 360 for other games.
However I do consider Halo to be the corner stone of Microsoft Game Studios. If Halo fell Microsoft would loose its highest selling franchise by far. Its not as bad as if Nintendo lost Mario but would still be devastating to Microsoft. That being said I wouldn't consider Halo a curse, Halo doesn't have to be available at launch 360 showed that. Microsoft has plenty of opportunities to create new franchises and bring in other developers, they aren't entirely reliant on Halo!
-JC7
"In God We Trust - In Games We Play " - Joel Reimer
