You're definitely correct about the internet and consumers, no argument there.
I disagree with the second part which may be my fault but I never said Reach was a bad game. It just made changes that didn't necessarily help the game. Halo 3 has been viewed as being superior over Reach although reach was good it wasn't what people expected. For example, let's just go ahead and scrap the scores on this for a moment. Why because sequels will usually get lower because they don't have much changes. Anyways Halo 3 was viewed as the best FPS to ever hit a console and it will most likely be argued to this day that it remains that way. Halo Reach came in and changed a few things but overall was kind of flawed. Great ideas but it changed the game for the worst. Still people loved the game just not as much as halo 3. Halo 4 comes in and appears to be the best Halo of all time. No it wont have the same wow factor as combat evolved or the scores of the previous installments but being the best halo is an achievement all on its own. It made changes but they worked with the game which is why you dont really see complaints with Halo 4.
Anyways I'm getting off track. Halo 4 will be something that I think will be hard to predict as far as sells go. Let's say Nexbox has backwards compatibility? Will it maintain legs? Will it get stunned by the announcement of the NexBox? Things are definitely going against it for 10 million but it is achievable. I'd say your prediction of 8,5m is pretty safe though and likely.
As far as Halo 5 being a launch title, not a chance. Halo 5 will likely come in 2014/2015. They will not be able to make a next gen halo in a matter of 1 year.
