Video game marketing is a funny thing. Every once in a while, you get some game merchandise that plays well to a particular title, and other times… you just get utterly baffled. The latter is the case with Halo 2, a game that once went as far as to offer gamers, erm, condoms as a promotional item. Here’s everything you need to know about the Halo 2 condoms.
Are Halo Condoms Real?
I know what you’re thinking, and yes, Halo 2 condoms are indeed a real thing. So real, in fact, that in August 2021, Twitter user @GameboxUkv obtained one of these… intriguing promotional pieces new and in the box. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, one of these babies comes along (heh, get it? Babies?):
The sheer existence of such a promotional item raises a lot of important questions; how did the creation process go? What was THAT boardroom meeting like? Where were these given out, if at all? How much did they pay the person who had the wherewithal to put “Coming Soon” on the front of the package? Did people actually… use these?
Needless to say, the 2000s were a much different time when it came to video game marketing. As the industry was still in an infantile phase and uncertain of who to market to, things like this just tended to happen. The results would run the gamut from Acclaim offering to pay speeding tickets to promote Burnout 2, to EA supplying actual brass knuckles as part of The Godfather II’s leadup.
At least we can thankfully say that gaming is no longer in this world when it comes to marketing, and that developers and publishers have been more intelligent about who they sell products to. And hey, maybe it’s for the best that these only exist as a Collector’s Item now. There are probably much better ways to… ”Finish The Fight.”
That’s everything you need to know about the Halo 2 condoms. If you want some Halo content that’s a little less… contraceptive, check out Twinfinite’s look at a fan-made Halo Infinite map re-creation of Star Wars’ Duel of the Fates.
