After a run of impressive software exclusives during 2007, Microsoft Corp. is probably keen to keep Sony and Nintendo at arm’s length by maintaining a healthy influx of top-tier titles through 2008.
The Chief set to return with Halo: Chronicles? Credit: Bungie.
And, as the Game Developers Conference (Feb 18-22) heaves into view, it’s unsurprising to see the gaming community cranking up the rumour mill’s well-used churn meter with regard to exactly how the Redmond-based behemoth is planning to continue its software drive.
Today that responsibility falls to independent videogame print magazine XboxWorld 360 - which is directly affiliated with prominent online magazine CVG .
According to online scans taken from its provocatively-titled article ‘The Secret is Out,’ 2008 will see Microsoft banking on four major gaming brands to help reinforce its positioning in the all-important exclusivity stakes.
Those titles are Gears of War 2, Dead or Alive 5, Forza Motorsport 3, and Halo: Chronicles.
XboxWorld 360 reckons that it’s prepared to “bet the house” on the upcoming unveiling of Gears of War 2 , and, given the award-winning reception of the first game, most observers and commentators would likely be in complete agreement that a sequel, or perhaps even a prequel (how did Marcus Fenix get himself incarcerated?) is an absolute no-brainer.
While conceding that “outspoken, PS3-hating developer Tomonobu Itagaki” has his work cut out to quash recent Dead or Alive disappointments, the magazine still offers that the lack of a Dead or Alive release in 2007 makes the 2008 appearance of Dead or Alive 5 a pretty safe bet.
And, as safe bets go, the article also points to Forza Motorsport 3 as being “another nailed-on cert,” which will follow previous, critically acclaimed and big-selling series iterations in pushing genre-leader Gran Turismo as Microsoft looks to remind consumers of the Xbox 360’s capabilities.
And, finally… the Master Chief’s all-action FPS saga may be over (for now), but that doesn’t mean the Halo universe has been neatly filed away under ’forgotten classics’ for gamers to reminisce about in a decade. No, far from it. With Ensemble Studios already bringing real-time strategy game Halo Wars to bear for 2008, XboxWorld 360 suggests that Halo: Chronicles, a “re-telling of the Chief’s backstory,” is also on the distant horizon.
It remains to be seen whether any of these titles are officially announced by Microsoft at GDC 2008; although, considering Microsoft’s market intent, it wouldn’t be in the least bit surprising if at least one or two of the magazine’s planted seeds sprouts forth with the fruits of confirmation.
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