Microsoft is about to blow you away. As expected, starting at E3 09, and finishing off at TGS 09, Microsoft will be showcasing their full arsenal of titles for the entire year. Their 2009 lineup, that will be gradually unveiled in the coming months, will be so overwhelming, that it would stun even the mighty Sony!

The only reason that Microsoft decided to avoid announcing any titles at GDC 09, was that they preferred  announcing all their titles at a conference for gamers rather than one for developers. In fact, why burn some of your cards when you can wait a little longer, reveal them all at once to the right audience, and blow everyone away?

On a side note, I would like to clarify that this article will be composed of eight chapters posted on a daily basis. It will lead up to an exciting conclusion that you would not want to miss.

Back to the topic at hand, in order to tackle this argument in the best way possible, I would like to start by mentioning all the 2009 exclusives for both Sony and Microsoft that will be released worldwide; I will comment on each title and then begin my epic quest to prove to you why 2009 will be the year of the Xbox 360. To initiate my argument, I will start with Sony; their exclusive titles for 2009 are as follow:

1 ) Killzone 2: is the best looking game of this generation
2 ) Uncharted 2 Among Thieves: is the sequel to one of the best games of this generation
3 ) Ratchet & Clank F. A Crack In Time: is the sequel to one of the most creative adventures of this generation
4 ) Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2: is a remake of the best action game of all time
5 ) Heavy Rain: is one of the most innovative titles in gaming history
6 ) White Knight Chronicles: is the best selling JRPG title in Japan for the PS3 so far
7 ) Infamous: is an epic super-hero sandbox experience that has the potential to be a smash hit
8 ) Quantum Theory: is a Gears of War inspired third-person shooter with a lot of potential
9 ) Free Realms: is an MMORPG with a unique variety of gameplay mechanics
10 ) Katamari Forever: is the sequel to one of the most creative games of the last generation
11 ) MAG: is the biggest online multiplayer FPS ever created
12 ) MLB 09 The Show: is the most realistic Baseball title in gaming history
13 ) Cross Edge: is a JRPG title developed by Capcom, Namco Bandai, Nippon Ichi, Gust, and Idea Factory
14 ) The Last Rebellion: is an action RPG title published by Nippon Ichi Software
15 ) Trinity Universe: is a JRPG title developed by Idea Factory

As we can see, that is quite an impressive line-up for Sony in 2009. However, it would be important to note that only two of these titles are currently available in stores. Furthermore, I know that some readers would complain about the absence of certain titles. To clarify, Yakuza 3 is a title that has already been released in Japan. However, in January of 2009, a Sega spokesperson told videogaming247 that there were no plans to bring Yakuza 3 to the West. In fact, if we take a look at the track record of this franchise, we will find that the US version of the first Yakuza title was released nine months after the debut of the Japanese version, and that the US version of Yakuza 2 was released 21 months after the release of the Japanese version! Thus, it would be fair to expect the US version of Yakuza 3 to hit stores sometime in 2010. As for Atelier Rorona, the JRPG from Gust, it has only been announced for Japan.

Moreover, despite selling well on the first week of its release in Japan, Demon Soul had failed in both raising the PS3 hardware sales, and remaining on the top 20 chart for more than a week. If we also add the fact that it is an Oblivion inspired RPG created by a Japanese developer that is not known outside of Japan, it would be quite clear that a US version of this title would be highly unlikely.

As for the other highly anticipated titles, according to Joystiq, at GDC 09, John Smedley, president of SOE, revealed in his keynote, “An industry perspective on how new online games will reach the masses”, that both The Agency and DC Universe Online will arrive in 2010. More importantly, for anyone that still believes that both God of War 3 and Gran Turismo 5 are actually coming out in 2009, all I ask is that you read my article titled “Will Kratos Finally Unleash His Wrath In 2009?”; only then will you be able to put this argument to rest. The link is as follows:

http://www.hiphopgamershow.com/?p=4303

On the other hand, there are a few titles that are on the list that might be delayed until 2010. However, they will remain on the list until an announcement comes along to confirm a delay.

First, Quantum Theory; this title is a new IP on a console that is extremely difficult to develop for. Furthermore, since its announcement, they have not shown any gameplay footage. Therefore, it would be fair to assume a possible delay, especially when we add the fact that this is Tecmo’s first attempt to enter the third person shooter genre. In fact, if they do not show any gameplay footage from this title at E3 09, then be sure to look forward to this title in 2010.

Second, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2; despite the fact that Team Ninja stated that the first Ninja Gaiden Sigma would not be a port and that it would be built from the ground up for the PS3, at the end of the day, it turned out to be a port. As we journey back to the present, we will begin to notice that things seem a little too familiar. To clarify, Team Ninja claims that Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 will be built from the ground up for the PS3; they claim that it will be a complete remake and that it will not be a port. More importantly, they promise to provide new playable characters, weapons, levels, environments, and cutscenes, a new plot, and an online co-op mode in a title that has the fastest on-screen action in gaming history. On top of all that, they promise to deliver the game on the PS3 version in under 14 months!

After all, let us not forget that Itagaki announced leaving Tecmo in early June, but left in early July, which probably gave Team Ninja at least two months to reorganize and plan out this remake in the pre-production phase. Meaning, they probably started the actual development sometime in September; if they are still planning for a 2009 release, that leaves them with only 14 months to complete this project. If we also add the fact that they are perfectionists and that they usually delay their titles, a 2010 release would not be far-fetched.

Third, Heavy Rain; it is highly possible for this title to slip into 2010. The reason is that the developers are attempting to deliver a larger than life experience that has never been seen before in any game. It is a highly ambitious, innovative, and cinematic project; doesn’t that sound familiar? Does anyone remember a title called ”Metal Gear Solid 4″! How long did we have to wait for it? Four years! The reason for that is that Hideo Kojima is a perfectionist, but unfortunately, so is David Cage!

In fact, what makes you think that Cage would actually rush this title when it already has so much riding on it? After all, Sony did invest heavily in it, so it would be more than wise to take as much time as possible to perfect it. To be clear, this is a major title for the PS3 that must be handled with delicate care until it finally arrives in stores. The fact that if the main character dies, you can actually continue the game with another character in the heavy rain universe, shows how huge this game really is! How much development time do you think it would probably need with such a feature being included in it? By now, it should be quite obvious that there is a very good chance that this title might not surface in 2009.

Fourth, MAG; if there was a title on the PS3 list with the highest possible chance for a delay, it would have to be MAG. This is an MMOFPS that is supposed to allow 256 players to interact simultaneously!! It would not take a genius to notice how huge this title actually is. This brings me to a few interesting questions; how long do you think developing such a title would take? why do you think both The Agency and DC Universe Online were delayed till 2010? It is obviously the sheer size and complexity of these projects that forced the developers to do so; therefore, my question to you is this: what makes MAG any different?

As for, WarDevil, and the Team Ico title, trailers and gameplay footage for these titles would probably be shown at E3. However, when all we have, so far, is a screenshot and a mediocre video, it would be quite a challenge for gamers to remain hopeful for a 2009 release for these titles. In addition, according to Gamezine, not only will Mars be released at the end of 2010, but it will be released on the Xbox 360 as well.

On a side note, I would like to clarify that, despite being incredible titles, I chose not to include Burn Zombie Burn, Fat Princess, Flower, Noby Noby Boy, and Rag Doll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastic in the list simply because they are PSN titles that are equivalent to Xbox Live Arcade games. Thus, I believe it is only fair to not include Xbox Live Arcade games in the Xbox 360 list. Lastly, I would like to state that I am fully aware that this is not the complete line-up and that there are still a few unannounced titles for the PS3 in 2009, including the unannounced Namco titles.

In contrast, let us take a look at the Xbox 360 line-up; their exclusive titles for 2009 are as follow:

1 ) Halo Wars: is the best selling console RTS title in gaming history
2 ) GTA 4 The Lost And Damned: is the largest DLC in Xbox Live’s history
3 ) Ninja Blade: is a highly entertaining action adventure game
4 ) Halo 3 ODST: is the first true reinvention of the fastest selling game of all time
5 ) Star Ocean 4: is the fastest selling JRPG title in the history of Microsoft in Japan
6 ) Velvet Assassin: is a thought-provoking stealth game with a unique story presentation
7 ) Race Pro: is a highly entertaining sim racing title from the creators of the GTR series
8 ) Stoked: is a highly entertaining open-world snowboarding game
9 ) Splinter Cell Conviction: is the sequel to one of best selling franchises of all time
10 ) Forza Motorsport 3: is the sequel to one of the fastest selling sim racing titles of this generation
11 ) Magna Carta 2: is the sequel to the popular JRPG franchise

As we can see, the Xbox 360 list is not as short as many gamers might have assumed. In fact, it would be important to mention that even though it has only been three months since the start of 2009, six of these titles have already been released.

On a side note, I would like to clarify that, Ninety-Nine Nights 2 has been confirmed, at TGS 08, for a 2009 release. Interestingly enough, it will be co-developed by Feelplus, the developers of Lost Odyssey, and Q entertainment, the developers of the first Ninety-Nine Nights title. To be fair, even though the first installment was highly anticipated, it failed to meet expectations due to a few game design decisions and a lack of polish. Nevertheless, it was a fairly good game and its mentioned issues would easily be corrected by a sequel. With Feelplus being involved in this title, I believe it will surpass the quality of the first installment and propel the franchise to reach the AAA status it was initially aiming for. However, despite an inevitable US release, due to the fact that it was only announced for Japan, and that it will probably be released sometime in the Fall, it would only be fair to not include it on the Xbox 360 list.

More importantly, I would like to address a few titles that might be criticized for being on the list.

First, some readers might argue that GTA 4 The Lost And Damned and Halo 3: ODST are DLC packs, and therefore do not deserve to be placed on the list.Despite being DLC packs, gamers need to understand that these games are full blown titles; GTA 4 The Lost And Damned gameplay duration is around 12-20 hours; Halo 3: ODST gameplay duration is around 3-6 hours, which is the average duration for many First Person Shooters these days. Furthermore, their star power cannot be ignored. After all, there is not a single title on the PS3’s 2009 list of exclusive games that comes close to the sheer star power of both franchises. The only title in Sony’s library that can compete in terms of star power with Halo and GTA is the Gran Turismo franchise, which will not be coming out in 2009.

As for anyone that still has doubts about the sales of GTA4 The Lost And Damned, I can confidently state that Microsoft’s gamble has finally paid off. In an interview with Torrence Davis of TheBitBag.com, when asked about the sales of GTA 4 The Lost And Damned, Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Product Management Director, replied: ” Its first week of sales was the most successful game add-on content that we’ve ever had in the history of our business”.

Second, in case anyone was wondering, Splinter Cell: Conviction is coming to the Xbox 360 in 2009. According to an article posted on Videogamer in January of 2009, Ubisoft had confirmed that Splinter Cell: Conviction will remain an Xbox 360 exclusive. In addition, the publisher confirmed that the game is due for release in the 12-month period starting in April of 2009 and ending in march of 2010.

Interestingly enough, according to GameInformer, Ubisoft is gearing up to release a series of sequels to known franchises. Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft, revealed that, by March of 2010, all seven sequels would be available in stores. In fact, he went on to mention four of them; they were: Assassin’s Creed 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Red Steel 2, and an undisclosed Tom Clancy title, which later turned out to be Ghost Recon 4.

More importantly, according to OXM, Ubisoft’s recent financial report has confirmed that Splinter Cell: Conviction will be arriving in stores this Christmas. Sam Fisher’s fifth installment was promised by Yves Guillemot himself. “The results of these efforts will be seen as early as this Christmas with one of the industry’s most ambitious games line-ups which will include Assassin’s Creed 2, James Cameron’s Avatar, [and] Splinter Cell Conviction,” he said in a statement.

If we also add the fact that Splinter Cell is one of Ubisoft’s most important franchises and that in several interviews, the Ubisoft Montreal team had mentioned that the development on Splinter Cell: Conviction had started immediately after Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory was released, which was more than four years ago, it would be quite clear that a 2009 release for Sam Fisher will take place.

Third, Magna Carta 2, the sequel to the popular JRPG title, will be released in North America, in 2009, exclusively on the Xbox 360. In fact, according to Siliconera, at their recent Editor’s day, Namco Bandai announced that the Xbox 360 exclusive JRPG will be released in the US in “Q3 2009″.

Fourth, Forza Motorsport 3 is the kind of title that you know is coming despite the absence of an announcement to confirm it. To be fair, even if Ratchet 2 was not announced at GDC 09, I would have still included it on the PS3 list simply because we all knew that it was coming out this year. There is a pattern in game releases. If you notice it, you can easily predict release dates for certain titles. Examples would include the inevitable releases of the following in 2010: Gears of War 3, Resistance 3, and Motorstorm 3.

Moreover, turn 10 is an internal studio. Hence, it would be fair to assume that they were given the Xbox 360’s dev kit (i.e. development kit) long before any third party developer. In other words, they had more time to spend on the hardware; as a result, they have probably mastered it by now. More importantly, they have already managed to successfully release a Forza title on the Xbox 360, which means that they have already gone through the agony of creating the engine for the title.

In fact, it is well known that the average duration for developing a game on the Xbox 360 is around two years. If we also add the fact that Sakaguchi revealed that his JRPG Blue Dragon, with its enormous world, and 30 Gigs of compressed data, took only two years to actually develop for the Xbox 360, and that the duration also included building the game’s engine from scratch, how long do you think a sequel to a racing sim, that already exists on the console, would take?

Lastly, on a final note regarding the third installment of the Forza franchise, on the 30th of April 2009, Destructoid posted a video of a Microsoft meeting in Brazil that indirectly revealed the sequel. In the video, a partial image of what appeared to be the Forza 3 logo was shown; more importantly, you can clearly hear the sound of the attendees saying: “Forza! Forza!”.

Now that we have cleared the air for what is yet to come, let us begin. I believe that 2009 will be the year of the Xbox 360, and my reasons for stating that are as follow:

1 ) Number Of Sequels To Blockbuster Franchises:

The PS3 may have more titles on its list, but the Xbox 360 has more sequels to blockbuster franchises. To clarify, if you take a closer look at the PS3 list, you will discover that the majority of titles are new IPs. The problem is that the presence of fewer known franchises on the list will lower profit potential. In fact, more new IPs on the list will both lower profit potential and raise risk potential. In other words, gamers would prefer spending their money on games that they know rather than on new one’s that they don’t. After all, why risk buying a new game that does not have a successful past, when you can just buy a new game that is a sequel to a known title that you love? On the contrary, even though I disagree with such a mindset, I must emphasize that this would be the expected reaction from gamers. To put it bluntly, the console company that has more sequels to blockbuster titles, this year, has an incredible opportunity to outsell the competiton in 2009.

More importantly, the number of sequels to known franchises on the PS3 list is six. However, it is known that both Katamari and MLB have never been blockbuster franchises to begin with. To make things even more interesting, it would be important to point out that the Ninja Gaiden sequel has already been out for more than a year on the Xbox 360, which would drastically affect the sales of the game on Sony’s platform. Believe it or not, there are many hardcore gamers that actually bought the Xbox 360 only to play Ninja Gaiden 2!

Therefore, it should be clear to everyone, by now, that the blockbuster franchises for Sony in 2009 are Killzone 2, Uncharted 2, and Ratchet 2. Meaning, in 2009, Sony only has three sequels to blockbuster titles.

On the other hand, the Xbox 360 has the following sequels: Halo Wars, Halo 3: ODST, Forza 3, GTA 4 The Lost And Damned, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Magna Carta 2, and Star Ocean 4; if we exclude Magna Carta 2 for not being a blockbuster sequel, that will leave us with a total of six sequels to blockbuster franchises! Think about this for a second; the Xbox 360 has six sequels in 2009 that include two Halo titles, a GTA title, a popular Square-Enix JRPG title, and a title from one of Ubisoft’s best selling franchises; there is no doubt that the mentioned titles give Microsoft a major advantage over the PS3 line-up!

On a side note, I know that some readers would probably want to criticize having Halo Wars in the blockbuster-franchise category; those readers need to remember that even though it is a new IP, it has a big name in the gaming industry attached to it that gives it a free pass in becoming a blockbuster franchise and selling over a million, which it already did. Additionally, only because of the word “Halo”,  gamers are perceiving  it as a sequel to the Halo franchise. For example, when Mario Kart was first introduced, it sold well initially because of the word “Mario”, which made it an instant blockbuster franchise, and an unconsciously perceived sequel to the Mario franchise as well.

Furthermore, according to the recently released NPD Group sales report for the US, not only did Halo Wars outsell Killzone 2 in March of 2009, it even outsold the PS3 version of Resident Evil 5! To be more specific, in March, Halo Wars sold more than 639,000 copies while Killzone 2 only sold 296,000. Moreover, in order to avoid any arguments regarding the fact that a big chunk of the Killzone 2’s sales was in late February, allow me to analyze the situation even more. According to Vgchartz, the first-week sales for Killzone 2 in the US was around 359,000 copies; In contrast, the first-week sales for Halo Wars in the US was around 435,000 copies. In fact, Halo Wars has been outselling Killzone 2 in the US on a weekly basis since its release! We are talking about an RTS outselling an FPS! It is a title that is only carrying the Halo name; it was not even developed by Bungie!

Therefore, my question to you is this: if Killzone 2, Sony’s biggest title of the year, was not able to beat Halo Wars, a Halo-labeled Bungie-free RTS, in the US, do you honestly believe that when Uncharted 2 is released, it will be able to stand up against Halo 3: ODST, a title that will, in fact, be an FPS developed by Bungie? In other words, if an RTS Halo was able to beat Killzone 2, do you actually believe that an FPS Halo won’t be able to beat Uncharted 2?

2 ) Hardware Experience:

The fact that the Xbox 360 was the first next generation console to be released provides Microsoft with several advantages. First, their console would initially have no competition. Second, by the time the competing consoles arrive, the Xbox 360 would already have a large installed base to keep them in the lead. Third, having the largest installed base means that if third party publishers decide to release titles on a single console, Microsoft’s machine would be their first choice. Fourth, by releasing their console earlier than the competition, Microsoft was able to create cheaper and more efficient chips, which gave them the advantage of lowering the price of their console before their competiton ever could.

However, one of the most important advantages of releasing their console early was giving developers the chance to spend more time with the Xbox 360’s dev kits than with the competition’s, which would allow developers to create games that look better on Microsoft’s console. In fact, it is well known that most of the multiplatform titles released in the last three years of this generation look better on the Xbox 360; they have less technical issues than the PS3 version, in addition to having more detailed textures and a higher frame rate. More importantly, having the dev kits early would allow the developers to tap into the true power of Microsoft’s console. In other words, Xbox 360 exclusives will continue to amaze gamers by showing them what the console is actually capable of.

According to Gameguru, in March of 2009, when asked about Killzone 2, a Microsoft spokesperson replied: “We congratulate Sony and Guerilla Games for their efforts with Killzone 2, however this is only the beginning of a new wave. The current technology employed for certain unannounced Xbox 360 exclusives far surpasses what gamers have seen in any game so far. Gears of War was the beginning of this technological benchmark when released on the 360 and this lineage will be carried forward in the following months with exclusives that shall stand for a new definition of gaming experience and provide stiff competition for the opposition”.

Make no mistake, 2009 will be the year in which Microsoft unleashes, upon the gaming world, the true power of the Xbox 360, once and for all.

3 ) Alan Wake:

Everyone knows that this is the title that every PS3 gamer is thinking about, and the only reason that I did not include it on the Xbox 360 list, is that a February 2010 release is a very tempting alternative for Microsoft. Despite that, I believe that this game will actually be a 2009 release; this title has been taking so long to develop for very good reasons. First, it is a psychological thriller in a sandbox world, which would require a long development cycle to nail. Second, it is developed by Remedy; for those that don’t know them, they are the developers of the Max Payne series.

More importantly, they are perfectionists, which basically means that they will not release it until it reaches the level of being flawless. Perfecting anything would normally take a long time, but would usually pay off in the end. Third, their development team is composed of only 30 members, which is a very small number of people to be working on a very big project of Alan Wake’s magnitude.

Interestingly enough, their philosophy is that a smaller group means better communication among that group which consequently translates into a high quality product. So far, they have delivered on their previous projects and I have no doubt that they will continue this trend with Alan Wake. Fourth, they have already spent more than four years on the project, which is double the duration of the development cycle of the average Xbox 360 game; meaning, they are almost done with the title. All the signs indicate that 2009 will be the year that Alan Wakes up from his nightmare and takes the stage at E3 09 to explain to gamers why his story will be a contender for game of the year.

Lastly, when Aaron Greenberg replies, when asked by Torrence Davis about whether or not Alan Wake will be released in 2009, by saying: “What I would say is that I’m very excited about Alan Wake. That’s all I can really say. I wish I could say more, but just picture like a big smile on my face”, it becomes harder to ignore the fact that this title’s unveiling might actually be Microsoft’s megaton bomb of the year!

4 ) Lost Planet 2:

The only reason for me not to include this title on the Xbox 360 list is because an official exclusivity announcement has not yet been made. The only worthy unannounced title to be included on that list was Forza 3. However, an exclusivity announcement regarding Lost Planet 2 is inevitable. As Torrence Davis from TheBitBag previously mentioned, Capcom would not announce Lost Planet 2 on Xbox Live exclusively without having an actual exclusivity deal in place; as he mentioned, it would either be a timed Xbox 360 exclusive, or a permanent one. Regardless, when this game is released, with its new 4-player co-op mode, groundbreaking graphics, and epic battles, it will be an Xbox 360 title that even Sony will revere.

5 ) The Second GTA4 DLC:

In late 2008, Take Two had announced their plans to release both exclusive DLC packs for the Xbox 360 in 2009. They had also mentioned that the first DLC pack would be available in early 2009, and the second pack would be arriving in late 2009. More importantly, according to Mirror, in the earnings announcement, in March of 2009, Take Two had announced that the second Xbox 360-exclusive episode of  GTA 4 will be released by the 31st of October 2009! Hence, this will probably be the only time in the history of Microsoft to have two Halo games and two GTA Games in a single year!

6 ) Wingnut:

Does anyone remember Peter Jackson taking the stage in X06 to announce a collaboration with both Microsoft and Bungie to create a revolutionary halo experience? The reason that I am asking is that in case you do not recall such an event happening, at E3 09, Peter Jackson will be reminding you in person! However, unlike X06, he will be explaining this project in detail and with much more than just words.

This title will be made into an episodic video game. Peter Jackson and his recently formed Wingnut Interactive will create this project, which will be set in the Halo universe, with the help of Bungie Studios.

Microsoft executives Shane Kim and Chris Satchell revealed, at GDC 07, that Halo: Chronicles would in fact be a new series (or mini-series). Xbox World 360, the British Xbox 360 magazine, speculated that the game will be more of an “interactive movie”; in a similar manner to the Metal Gear Solid series, some parts will be semi-playable, and certain parts will be almost completely playable.  They also speculated that the game could retail for less than the cost of a normal Xbox 360 title, around $25–30. However, none of this information has been confirmed by Bungie, Microsoft or Wingnut Interactive.

At GDC 07, Shane Kim confirmed that the project will be episodic, and according to Microsoft, Bungie Studios and Peter Jackson are planning two episodic series for the Xbox 360; these games appear to be in a downloadable format i.e. via the Xbox Live Marketplace. Microsoft stated that the game is currently in the development phase, and as of the 23rd of April 2008, Microsoft began greatly expanding the team working on the project.

On the 25th of April 2008, Frank O’Connor of Bungie Studios wrote in their Weekly Update: “Microsoft is building a development team to work on future Halo game titles – the first one being a collaboration with Peter Jackson. Just like the upcoming Halo Wars from Ensemble, this isn’t “our” game. However, having worked with him already, we are possibly more excited than you are to see what someone of Peter Jackson’s imagination, talent and resources can bring to a Halo game experience. Bungie will, however, continue to remain very much involved in multiple aspects [of] the Halo Universe as part of our ongoing relationship with Microsoft”.

Lastly, Halo Chronicles has already been in development for more than two years. If we also add the fact that, a year ago, Microsoft greatly expanded the team working on the title, and that it will probably be short due to it being episodic, it would be quite clear that playing the first episode of this series in 2009 is inevitable.

7 ) Team Ninja:

For those of you that don’t know, in many interviews, former Head of Team Ninja, Tomonobu Itagaki, mentioned that a deal between Tecmo and Microsoft had been struck. The deal involved releasing five exclusive titles throughout the life span of the 360; all five titles were to be developed by Team Ninja.

The two remaining titles that did not yet arrive in stores are Dead Or Alive: Code Chronos and Project Progressive. Both titles would be a great addition to the Xbox 360 library. However, given the fact that Team Ninja is quite busy this year, only one of them would be destined for a 2009 release. The reason why I believe that Team Ninja can pull this off is that these titles have already been in development for quite sometime. More importantly, according to several sources, when Itagaki left, Project Progressive was already over 70% complete. Most of the work on this title had already been done by Itagaki himself. After all, this title was supposed to be Team Ninja’s next big franchise!

If you are curious to find out more about these titles, and about my argument regarding their exclusivity, I would like to invite you to read my article about Team Ninja. The Link is as follows:

http://www.hiphopgamershow.com/?p=4205

8 ) Rare:

Time after time, gamers have been doubting Rare for years; they have been doubting its worth, and they have been doubting its value as an investment for Microsoft. Some claim that they have lost their magic touch; others claim that they have lost their creative edge. However, this false claim of lost genius is about to be shattered into a million pieces because Rare is about to blow you away.

All sources indicate that, in 2009, Rare’s muscles are about to be flexed more than ever before. Microsoft is about to beat out content from Rare like candy from a pinata. Rare is about to flood the market with so much content, gamers will not be able to draw a single breath; they are about to explode with content in the coming years starting with 2009.

The short story is that, according to several sources, Rare has five titles that have been in development for quite sometime. More importantly, Rare is set to release two of these titles in 2009. If we also add the fact that they are planning on releasing several titles, from their classic library of games, on Xbox Live Arcade as well, it would not be too hard to figure out why Rare is shaping up to be the 1st party developer to watch in 2009.

If the idea of Rare unveiling new titles at E3 09 intrigues you, then I highly recommend reading my article about Rare; I promise you this, it will be a ride to remember. The link is as follows:

http://www.hiphopgamershow.com/?p=4931

9 ) Mistwalker:

Hironobu Sakaguchi is about to show the world once again why his studio is a force to be reckoned with. Mistwalker has several titles in the making; however, the one that will be revealed this year will be a title to keep an eye on. This title is set for a 2009 release on the Xbox 360 exclusively.

If you are interested to know more about Mistwalker’s 2009 title, then I highly recommend reading my Mistwalker article. The link is as follows:

http://www.hiphopgamershow.com/?p=8147

Only then will you finally discover the answers you seek regarding…..the Mistwalker.

10 ) Sequels:

There are several sequels coming out this year; any of them would be quite a catch for Microsoft; they are as follow:

Mass Effect 2:

Before anyone jumps to any conclusions, I would like to state that I am fully aware that this title has already been announced as an early 2010 release, and that it has only been announced for the Xbox 360 and PC. Despite that, not announcing the PS3 version does not mean that it is not on the way. Even though gamers are expecting it to be timed exclusive, it is not yet set in stone. Thus, EA needs to clearly state whether or not this title will be an Xbox 360 exclusive. The reason that I am placing emphasis on this matter is that an announcement, at E3 09, to confirm the exclusivity of the title would generate quite a buzz for Microsoft in 2009.

Bioshock 2:

This title has already been announced as a multiplatform release. Despite that, a timed-exclusivity deal between Microsoft and Take Two is not a far-fetched image to visualize. To clarify, according to Mirror, in the earnings announcement, in March of 2009, the only title that Take-Two did not mention a platform for was Bioshock 2; it was labelled TBA i.e. To Be Announced. My question to you is this, why would Take-Two avoid announcing the name of the platform on which Bioshock 2 will be released?

The only answer I can think of is that an exclusivity deal is taking place behind closed doors, and which of the three console companies is well known for exclusivity deals? That’s right; Microsoft. Think about it for a second; Take-Two had signed a permanent exclusivity deal with Microsoft to release two DLC packs for GTA, its number one franchise; so apparently, they clearly have a lot of trust in Microsoft, in addition to having an extremely healthy relationship with them. More importantly, they did release the first installment exclusively on the Xbox 360 for an entire year. Would it really be that hard to get the sequel as a timed exclusive? After all, if 50 million dollars can make a GTA deal happen, then there is no Take-Two franchise that would be beyond Microsoft’s reach.

Dead Rising 2:

This is another title that has been announced as a multiplatform release. Regardless, despite the fact that, in January of 2009, Capcom had revealed to Famitsu, the popular Japanese gaming magazine, that both Dead Rising 2 and Lost Planet 2 would be released in 2009 as multiplatform titles, Lost Planet 2 is currently on its way to becoming another Xbox 360 exclusive after its Xbox Live trailer debut; therefore, it would be fair to assume that Dead Rising 2 may soon follow.

As for the Major Nelson podcast confusion, last month, in which Chris Kramer, Capcom’s US Communications Director, gave a few comments that mislead gamers to believe that both sequels will be released in 2010, it was immediately cleared by Kramer himself. Apparently, he told Joystiq that when he said: “and our big titles for next year, Lost Planet 2 and Dead Rising 2″, he was referring to the next fiscal year, which begins on the 1st of April 2009 and ends on the 31st of March 2010. Thus, a 2009 release for both sequels is still expected.

Half-Life 2 Episode 3:

It is no secret that this title has been in the making for quite some time. Ever since Episode 2 came out, which was over 17 months ago, gamers have been eagerly anticipating Episode 3. This year would be the perfect time for Valve to strike again with another Half-Life title. Furthermore, as long as we know that Valve loves developing for the Xbox 360, and hates developing for the PS3, it would be an expected outcome for Microsoft to have this title as an Xbox 360 exclusive. After all, The Orange Box PS3 port was such a disaster that EA would rather skip any future ports for any Valve titles than suffer such a devastating outcome ever again. Lastly, EA is clearly fine with Valve titles being exclusive to the Xbox 360, especially after the incredible commercial success of Left 4 Dead.

On the other hand, there is always the possibility of Valve ending their multi-year exclusivity deal with EA, and going for a bigger publisher that can market their product better than any other; a publisher like Microsoft. In fact, with Doug Lombardi, Valve’s VP of Marketing, announcing, back in september of 2008, that Valve is open for the possibility of being acquired, I would not be surprised if Microsoft decides to take them up on their offer, gift-wrap a cheque, and send it to the founder himself,……..Gabe Newell!

As tempting as it may be to press on, for the sake of all the readers that are currently exhausted from this long journey, this chapter must come to an end. However, before leaving  your presence, I would like to extend my gratitude for you patience, and my respect for your dedication and commitment to read through this entire chapter. It brings me pleasure to offer you an enjoyable experience; after all, that was my main objective for this endeavor, and I truly hope that it has been met. Let us rest; for tomorrow we will continue our journey through yet another chapter. 

God Bless You All

Master Samo