I recently contacted Remedy to conduct an interview with them; the first part of the interview will be posted tomorrow. However, one of the answers that I received was so interesting that I had to post it today. While interviewing Oskari Hakkinen, Head of Franchise Development at Remedy Entertainment, I asked him whether or not Project Natal will be implemented, in some form, in Alan Wake. Surprisingly, his response was the following:

“We unfortunately don’t have anything to communicate concerning Natal other than it looks like a very cool piece of technology“.

Given the fact that I asked him a simple question, I was expecting him to give me a direct answer. All he needed to say was No!!!  In fact, I expected him to say No!!! The fact that he chose to avoid giving me a straight answer means that there might actually be a secret that he is intentionally declining to reveal. His response lead me to believe that Alan Wake might actually include gameplay elements that utilize Project Natal’s Technology!

We know that Microsoft has chosen to keep gamers in the dark regarding the launch date for Project Natal simply to keep their competition in the dark as well. Despite that, everyone is assuming that Fall of 2010 would be the perfect time to launch it. In fact, what would be a better title to launch a new technology for Microsoft than a new Halo game? Besides, let’s not forget that Halo is Microsoft’s flagship franchise, and its prized possession. Thus, it would make sense to expect Halo Reach to be the perfect launch title for this groundbreaking technology. On the other hand, wouldn’t it be smart to jumpstart the launch by releasing Natal earlier than expected, which would give Microsoft an advantage over the competition by beating them to the market with their new product….Again?!

After all, they have done it already with the Xbox 360; considering that it is a strategy that has already worked for Microsoft, why not repeat it with Natal in early 2010, and take Sony by surprise?

If you also consider the fact that White Night Chronicles, MAG, Mod Nation Racers, and DC Universe Online have an early 2010 estimated release date, and that God of War 3 is set to be released on March 2010, it would make sense to launch their new project earlier than expected. Despite the fact that Alan Wake is destined to be a phenomenal title, it would be unwise to assume that it could stand up against the PS3 titles that I just mentioned all by itself. However, the only way for Alan Wake to neutralize the PS3 titles, that are set to be released in early 2010, is if Microsoft decided to back it up with something huge, and what would be better than to launch Project Natal alongside it, make Alan Wake its launch title, include Natal gameplay elements in the Remedy game, and release an arsenal of casual titles, that utilize the new technology, to support Alan in his battle against the army lead by the mighty Kratos?

In case anyone was wondering whether or not Microsoft would actually be able to launch this new technology early, you need to understand that their new product is ready; they do not need to tweak it. For those of you that don’t know, according to the Los Angeles Times, Microsoft has already shipped over 1,000 Natal Dev kits to game developers, all over the world. They would not ship an unfinished product; besides, how can developers utilize a half-baked product?

Even though Don Mattrick, Microsoft’s senior vice president of interactive entertainment, said: “This is about building awareness about our technology”, and then further elaborated by saying: “We want to talk about our vision and engage third-party developers”, it would not take a genius to figure out that this is Microsoft’s way of covering up why they have shipped their product so early. In other words, they would not want the competition to be aware of the fact that their product is, in fact, ready to be utilized by developers. Therefore, it would make sense to conclude that Don Mattrick’s words were nothing more than a PR cover up.

More importantly, it has been revealed in several interviews that both Bungie and Epic Games have been playing with the Natal technology for quite some time. Moreover, after seeing Milo, we know that the Lionhead Studios team has been experimenting with it as well. This brings me to a very interesting question: wouldn’t it make sense for Microsoft to give the first and second party developers the Natal technology before everyone else? and if so, then wouldn’t it be fair to expect that Microsoft has already provided this technology for Rare, Turn 10, Ruffian Games, Mistwalker, and REMEDY?

In addition, Bungie, Epic, and Remedy are all second-party developers, which means that they are not owned by the Xbox 360 creator. Hence, why would Microsoft provide both Bungie and Epic with the Natal Dev kits, but avoid providing them for Remedy? The answer is quite simple, they wouldn’t. In fact, it is my belief that not only has Remedy already received their Natal Dev kits, but they have also been playing with it for the last four months!

After all, Peter Molyneux did mention, during the E3 09 Microsoft Press Conference, that they have been experimenting with Project Natal for the last few months, and came up with Milo in the process. Thus, it would be fair to assume that February was the month in which all the first and second party developers received their Natal Dev kits, which would mean that Remedy has around 12 months to experiment with this new technology and implement it, in some form, in Alan Wake. Given the fact that all they need to do is integrate the technology in certain aspects of the game rather than in the entire experience, implementing Natal in Alan Wake before February of 2010 would not be hard to achieve.

Lastly, whenever you ask someone about something, and they respond to you by saying: “I can’t comment on that”, that means that what you are asking about is either a possibility or a certainty. In Remedy’s case, it is either a possibility that they are looking into, or a certainty that will absolutely happen. One thing is certain, we will find out very soon, but until then, I will leave you with this: If Alan Wake will not have gameplay elements that utilize Project Natal, Oskari Hakkinen would have said No! and the fact that he didn’t means that we need to get ready for one hell of a ride when the time comes for Alan to finally Wake up.

God Bless You All

Master Samo

As we near the end of our journey, our next chapter unfolds, and within it lies the reason known as The Following. Microsoft is determined to increase the Xbox 360 following by charming the casual gamer with fascinating content, captivating gamers that are not interested in Achievements with tantalizing challenges, and enticing Achievement addicts with intriguing simplicity.

Before we begin this chapter, I must urge you to read the previous articles if you have not done so already. My reason for insisting is that we are on a journey to reach a certain outcome. If you choose not to read the previous articles, you will not have a solid foundation for the main concept that will be presented later on. As a result, neither will you be able to comprehend all the important aspects of this argument, nor will you enjoy this experience at the level you truly deserve. Therefore, I will provide you with the proper tools to journey back in time, if you ever choose to do so; the links to the past are as follow:

(Chapter One: The Beginning): http://www.hiphopgamershow.com/?p=8866

(Chapter Two: The MMO): http://www.hiphopgamershow.com/?p=9583

(Chapter Three: The Newcomer): http://www.hiphopgamershow.com/?p=9642

(Chapter Four: The Ally): http://www.hiphopgamershow.com/?p=9734

(Chapter Five: The Paradigm): http://www.hiphopgamershow.com/?p=9825

Back to the topic at hand, let us begin the next chapter, in our journey, that will reveal to you yet another reason for Microsoft’s domination in 2009.

17 ) Casual Games:

With games like Kodu coming out in 2009, it would be quite hard not to see that Microsoft is determined to break through the casual gaming sector. The game is supposed to be Microsoft’s answer to Sony’s Little Big Planet. Regardless of whether or not it succeeds in its attempt to go head-to-head with such a great title, the fact is, Kodu is only the beginning.

For those of you that are not familiar with the title, Kodu is a visual programming tool designed to be accessible for children and enjoyable for anyone. Its programming model is so simple that players can actually program just by using the gaming controller.

This simplicity is achieved by placing the programming task in a complete simulation environment. The user programs the behaviors of characters in a 3d world, and programs are expressed in a high-level, sensory paradigm consisting of a rule-based language based on conditions and actions. Thus, it would be quite accurate to state that casual games will be one of Microsoft’s new directions.

In fact, according to Joystiq, Microsoft has recently announced plans to acquire BigPark, a newly-formed studio composed of a team of industry veterans that previously worked on franchises like Need For Speed, SSX, and NBA Street. The studio is specifically focused on online social play and digital distribution. Hanno Lemke,  CEO of BigPark, suggested that his company’s upcoming Xbox 360-exclusive title, which has been in development for more than a year, would be in line with what it had released before. Meaning, it will be a casual title aimed at broadening the Xbox 360’s target audience. Lemke has also stated that the title would be playable at E3 09, and has hinted at more titles being on the way by explaining Microsoft’s reason for acquiring them with one question: “It obviously goes beyond one game, right?”.

Lastly, according to several sources, Rare is currently working on three casual games for the Xbox 360. It is not clear whether these titles will be community games or Kodu-like titles. Regardless, one thing is clear, Microsoft is taking yet another step towards expanding its target audience, and as a result, it might even start competing with Nintendo.

18 ) Achievements:

In an interview with Gamasutra, according to Aaron Greenberg, Director of Product Management for Microsoft’s Xbox Division, Xbox 360 gamers have unlocked a grand total of 2.5 billion Achievements and earned a collective Gamerscore of 52 billion points in the process; that is almost 150 achievements per Xbox Live member!

According to Greenberg, Achievements are also driving incremental game sales on the Xbox 360. He points out that the console’s attach rate of eight games per system is the highest, ever, for any platform; Achievements are a big part of that.

Achievements are now an industry standard. When used effectively, they can teach players new skills, tempt them to explore new areas, and teach developers how to improve their games.

In fact,  Achievements have been an unexpected phenomenon in this generation. More importantly, according to Kombo, in December of 2008, a source from inside Microsoft has given Europe-Nintendo a juicy piece of information; starting at an unspecified time in 2009, Microsoft will begin patching Achievements into original Xbox titles, starting with Halo and Fable; following that, they will be aiming to update the entire back catalog by Winter 2009. According to the same source, this is to get gamers interested in original Xbox titles. Furthermore, each game will have 500 Achievement points. If this does happen, not only would it tempt new gamers to play the back catalog of the original Xbox, but it would also entice Achievement addicts to go back to the original Xbox catalog to raise their current Gamerscore.

According to Kotaku, Microsoft Game Studios sent out a survey on Achievements to its beta program invitees. There was an array of questions that included multiplayer achievements, user generated Achievements and what types of Achievements players liked. There was also a mention of displaying a player’s favorite Achievement on their Gamer card as well as Non-Gaming Achievements like “Film Buff: Watched 50 DVDs”.

Non-Gaming Achievements would be a very smart way to get Achievement addicts more involved in areas on Xbox live other than games. For example, getting an achievement for downloading four movie trailers would be a smart way to promote  movies in general. More importantly, giving gamers an incentive to download game trailers, game demos, Xbox originals, and XBLA games by giving them Achievements is a very interesting way to both promote products and augment the Achievement addiction, that gamers already have even more.

Moreover, according to several sources, Microsoft is currently working on ways to reward gamers for their achievements. Meaning, in addition to the sense of pride that gamers have regarding their Gamerscore, Microsoft will be giving them a way to utilize that score.

Lastly, based on what Microsoft is attempting to accomplish with Achievements, it would be quite interesting to see how this idea actually plays out.

Now that we have come to the end of this chapter, we can look forward to the next one. In it, two immortal knights, unleashed by the Ancient Being, are set to annihilate the Dark Army, that lies ahead, in what can only be described as……………….The Massacre.

God Bless You All

Master Samo

 

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 

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 Microsoft 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 problem is that gamers are not really seeing the big picture. Because if they do, they will be mesmerized. Make no mistake, Rare is worth every penny, and my reasons for stating that are as follow.

First, Rare is a huge development studio that can work on several major projects at the same time. They are hard workers; they are highly innovative; they are extremely creative, and they are one of the very few developers that push the boundaries of what is possible on a specific hardware. In addition, having had the privilege of working with Nintendo in the past, they are the only developer that can create titles that have the potential to rival Nintendo’s library of games, and that is exactly what Microsoft needs.

Second, they have created some of the greatest titles in gaming history; examples include GoldenEye, Conker’s Bad Fur Day, Perfect Dark, Killer Instinct, and Banjo-Kazooie. In addition, most of the AAA titles that were released on Nintendo consoles are owned by Rare; the only exceptions, as far as I remember, are GoldenEye and the Donkey Kong titles. Therefore, having popular franchises that were born on a Nintendo console can be quite an asset to Microsoft. As a result, playing future installments of these franchises will always be tempting to both Rare and Nintendo fans.

Third, gamers keep forgetting that Rare has managed to release two launch titles for the Xbox 360. Despite the fact that both games were supposed to come out on the GameCube, then they were delayed for the Xbox, and then they were finally ported to the Xbox 360, releasing two launch titles is no easy task and is definitely a big deal. Can you name a single development studio, in this generation, that can pull that off?

Even though Perfect Dark Zero had some issues, it was still a great game, and Kameo turned out to be one of the most polished games on the Xbox 360 so far. Thus, they both sold beyond a million copies each, and that was before a price drop ever took place.

Fourth, gamers also keep forgetting the fact that Rare has managed to release eight titles in three years; they include Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo: Elements Of Power, Viva Pinata, Diddy Kong Racing DS, Jetpac Refuelled, Viva Pinata: Trouble In Paradise, Viva Pinata DS, and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts And Bolts. Moreover, it is important to note that three of them were released in a single year; in addition to the fact that Rare was in charge of creating the Avatar system for the New Xbox Experience in that same year; that year was obviously 2008. Lastly, Rare has managed to release five exclusive titles so far for the Xbox 360 in only three years.

Fifth, they have a large library of classic titles that they can release as Xbox Live Arcade titles. All they need to do is slightly enhance them graphically and upgrade them to HD, and they will sell like hot cakes. They also have the option of creating a next generation 2D remake, utilizing the power of the Xbox 360, and releasing it as an arcade game as well. In addition, they have the option of creating a next generation 3D remake of any of the titles in their library, and then releasing it as a full blown game on the Xbox 360. All the options that I mentioned are possible paths, and I think Rare will navigate though all of them, by the end of this generation.

However, I must touch upon the expected titles for 2009. According to an article on Joystiq posted a year ago, The Fast And The Furriest is an original next generation game that will feature classic Rare characters; it will be a party game with Xbox Live Vision support, for the Xbox Live Arcade, and will feature all kinds of sports based mini-games that include a 100 meter dash, bungee run, hurdles and tip-tup curling. Rare also has plans to release DLC in order to expand the number of mini-games to include croquet, bowling, volleyball, fishing and various target games.

Additionally, in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts And Bolts, Rare teased gamers by mentioning that several titles are in development. The titles mentioned were a new Killer Insinct, Grabbed By The Ghoulies 2, Battletoads, and Jet Force Gemini. Mentioning a new Killer Instinct can mean both a next generation title and an HD port of the original to be released as an Xbox Live Arcade game. Battletoads and Jet Force Gemini will probably be HD ports of the originals as well. Grabbed By The Ghoulies 2 will probably see the light of day sometime beyond 2010 as a full blown next generation game; the first installment had untapped potential that a sequel would definitely be capable of exploring.

Furthermore, it is known that a Banjo-Tooie HD port is in the works for a 2009 release. Equally important, according to a Videogamer interview, conducted eight months ago, with Nick Burton, a Rare Senior Software Engineer, Rare already has its sights set on a Lunar Jetman remake for Xbox Live Arcade; for those of you that are unfamiliar with the title, it was developed by Chris and Tim Stamper, the founders of Rare, for the ZX Spectrum console, and it was the sequel to the original Jetpac, which was remade and released, two years ago, as an Xbox Live Arcade game titled “Jetpac Refuelled“.

To make things even more interesting, in the same interview conducted with Nick Burton, he expressed his desire to create a remake of Dinosaur planet; for those of you that know nothing about this title, it was a Nintendo 64 title that never saw the light of day. The reason for that was that Shigeru miyamoto saw that the main character in the game, Sabre, looked a lot like Fox McCloud, and that they needed a strong title for their console. Due to the fact that the title was a new IP, Miyamoto decided it would be best to utilize some of the ideas present in the title, and combine it with the addition of Fox McCloud to turn it into a Star Fox game, in order to guarantee sales for the title; the idea was a success and the game, that was later titled Star Fox Adventures, was eventually released on the GameCube instead of the Nintendo 64. However, Dinosaur Planet never did get the chance to shine.

In truth, the reason I am excited for the possibility of this title coming out is that it was Rare’s most ambitious title, till this day; they were pushing the Nintendo 64 hardware with it even more than they did with Conker’ Bad Fur Day; it was supposed to be done using a modified Ocarina Of Time engine, and its gameplay was similar to The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time! Imagine the effects of having such a title on the Xbox 360.

Although we are sure that GlodenEye will never see the light of day on Xbox Live Arcade, the next best thing, that is considered by many to be even better than GoldenEye, should see it. I am obviously referring to the original Perfect Dark; an HD port is no stretch, and the game will definitely sell extremely well on Xbox Live; adding online functionality to such an incredible multiplayer experience will make gamers go crazy on Xbox Live. According to several sources, it might actually happen this year. In addition, gamers will be introduced to one of the best First Person Shooter experiences in gaming history.

Sixth, according to several sources, they are currently working on three titles targeting the casual gamers in order to broaden the appeal of the Xbox 360 and expand its audience. They have also mentioned in several interviews that they want to challenge the current mindset of gaming in 2009, and push the boundaries of what is possible on consoles in terms of interactive entertainment. Lastly, they expressed their excitement towards the future possibilities surrounding the Avatars and the growing interest that third party publishers have for them.

Over a month ago, Rare told VG247 that the Xbox community may receive features allowing them to create their own Avatar kit. “User-generated content is a huge area that would not have been done any justice if we had tried to cram it into the launch release of this project,” said Avatars Designer, Dale Murchie. He also went on to say: “There may be features coming that open up the expressive potential of the Xbox community, but we’re keeping quiet on that for now”. Head of Art Lee Musgrave added: “Creativity is going to play a big part in the development of the Avatars”. Apparently, the Avatar system is just a mere example of what Rare is capable of providing for the Xbox Live Community.

Seventh, a month ago, Microsoft confirmed to Develop that Rare was undergoing an organizational refocus. Therefore, due to the restructuring, Rare will be focusing on three new areas:

1) Expand the Xbox 360 customer base by delivering experiences that allow Microsoft’s customers to interact with their content in new and innovative ways.
2) Better support efforts to extend the appeal of Xbox LIVE as a social entertainment network to drive greater adoption across the Xbox 360 customer base.
3) Continue delivering AAA gaming experiences that excite both Their current and future customers.

By doing this, Microsoft is simplifying the burden of development for Rare by organizing it into separate divisions that focus on specific tasks in a certain direction. This would help speed up the development process and shorten the duration of the development cycles. In other words, projects will finish faster, which will make Rare the most efficient internal studio owned by Microsoft.

Lastly, it is no secret that Rare is still working on several titles for the Xbox 360. In fact, according to several sources, Rare is working on five titles, to be exact, that are scheduled to be released on the Xbox 360 in the next few years; in addition, they have all been in development for quite some time, and two of them are being geared up for a 2009 release!

Furthermore, in an article posted on Gamesindustry, a month ago, it is mentioned that Rare is working on four different projects. In fact, in several interviews, they have confirmed that they are working on multiple projects simultaneously, and they have also confirmed that none of them are for handhelds. If Rare is halting all development for handhelds and redirecting all their handheld teams to help out with those mysterious projects that they mentioned, then those projects must be something very special.

Surprisingly, in an interview with Nick Burton, conducted by Videogamer six months ago, he revealed that the currently announced Rare titles only account for half the development studio. “Look at the size and how big the Banjo team currently needs to be, how big our shared technology group and asset group are. Look at the number of games and how they’re staggered and how many teams we have. There’s about half the studio missing from the release schedule at the moment (laughs),” said Burton. He went on to suggest that there is plenty going on behind closed doors at Rare that should have gamers getting very excited. When asked about the possible date for revealing the titles, he said: “You’ll be hearing soon enough, which is what I can’t say really. It’s not going to be too long”.

Moreover, about a month ago, a V4vg article mentioned that a spokesperson from Microsoft had said: “We’ve always focused our attention in the year of operation concerned, I would safely say that our community will see at least two new games being announced exclusive to the Xbox 360 console by the end of Q1 2009″. A bit of probing also revealed that one might actually be an online fighter based on a very popular franchise, and the other might be an action adventure game from one of their internal studios.

In conclusion, according to several articles, the five Rare titles that are currently in development are as follow:

1) Perfect Dark Zero 2:

It would make sense for the Perfect Dark sequel to come out in 2009. After all, Halo 3: ODST has a lot of obstacles standing in its path to success; it is going to be an expansion pack rather than a full blown sequel; it is going to to be a new game, which is quite risky; it is going to be a stealth game, which will slow the game down in a way that might repel gamers; it will not have Halo’s run and gun gameplay; it will not have Master Chief, and it will be a short game, which means that it will be a short experience. Those obstacles raise a huge concern and pose a major threat to the title. Despite the fact that Halo 3: ODST will definitely be a smash hit, in the Fall of 2009, that still does not change the fact that it carries a great risk with it.

Therefore, it is only fair to assume that Microsoft would be clever enough to release an FPS title in order to help lift the burden that Halo 3: ODST is, seemingly, destined to carry alone. It is also fair to conclude that there is a potential gap in the Fall line-up, and I believe that the Perfect Dark sequel would be the perfect title to fill that gap.

On the other hand, Perfect Dark Zero had a few issues and it definitely was not perfect; the character models were weird, the animation was not properly done, the cutscenes were mediocre, the story was weak, and the voice acting was below average. However, gameplay wise, it was great, and that is what actually counts. Most importantly, it still has a large and strong following, till this day, that play it diligently; it has a single player campaign, a two player cooperative mode, and a multiplayer mode that is one of the smoothest experiences on Xbox Live, till this day. Therefore, all they need to do is enhance the gameplay, and correct the previous mistakes that deprived Perfect Dark Zero from being one of the best First Person Shooters ever created. After all, the original Perfect Dark was considered by many, till this day, to be the best First Person Shooters of all time.

2) Kameo 2:

Despite it being a launch title, Kameo still stands the test of time for being one of the best looking games of this generation. In fact, it is a title that showcases the power of the next genaeration better than most games released so far. From a technical standpoint, it is visually, one of the most stunning titles of this generation, but a lot of gamers just gave it the cold shoulder for its Disney-like presentation. Because of the critical acclaim and commercial success of Kameo, having hit the one million mark before a price drop ever took place, they will definitely be releasing a sequel, and there is a good chance for that sequel to be released in 2009.

Back in August 2006, Rare’s Kameo team was interviewed on the official Rareware website by the fans. The following is a quote that hints at the Kameo sequel: “we believe Kameo is a franchise with much potential that can’t be ignored”. In fact, when asked about a Kameo sequel being on the Xbox 720, Kameo Lead Artist Mark Stevenson says: “if we make a sequel it would be for Xbox 360″.

In addition, when Nick Burton, Rare’s Senior Software Engineer, was interviewed by Videogamer, eight months ago, he mentioned that he wanted to start on Kameo 2 right after Kameo’s November 2005 release; but that did not happen. Therfore, she was put on a hiatus for the time being. When asked how long would we have to wait for a sequel, Burton said: “18 months at least”.

However, in another interview with Nick Burton, conducted by Videogamer six months ago, he was asked again if Rare would be making a Kameo sequel. Burton replied: “This is where I have to be enigmatically vague. Never say never. I’ll say that I’m not working on one at the moment. I’m not working on one at the moment. Doesn’t mean nobody else is, but that doesn’t mean they are either. Sorry. For the obvious PR reasons we can’t talk about what we’re doing now.” Isn’t that interesting?

3) Conker 2:

When Conker’s Bad Fur Day was released on the Nintendo 64, unlike the previous Conker games, it was geared towards a mature audience and featured sexual content, foul language, drug and alcohol usage, and excessive violence. It was extremely interesting to see a game that is mature despite being childish in every way. It received a cult following with its unique brand of humor. It was one of greatest games on the Nintendo 64. After all, its creative gameplay, and unique boss fights were unmatched by any other title at the time. One of the most unique elements in the game was the element of surprise. Meaning, you really didn’t know where the game was going to take you next; another unique element was the multi-genre experience. Meaning, the game had Platforming, Flying, Racing, Fetch Quests, and Third Person Shooting!

With that in mind, if you are one of the fortunate gamers that have had the pleasure of playing this game, then you will be salivating at the mere possibility of a sequel. The reason is that there was one element in the Nintendo 64 Conker game that captivated everyone that played the game; gamers that played Conker’s Bad Fur Day know exactly what I am talking about. However, gamers that played the game have kept this element a secret, throughout the years, probably to prevent spoiling it for gamers that did not play the game yet; that element has never been implemented before in any game in history and has never been replicated ever again; I have no idea why, but maybe it is due to the fact that there are no developers out there that are brave enough to do it. And that element is also why the last Conker title released will remain as one of the most unique experiences in gaming history.

In fact, Nick Burton told VideoGamer, in the interview conducted eight months ago, that the developer will return to Conker at some point. “We’d be stupid if we didn’t have Conker back at some point,” said Burton. He also went on to say: “But to continually do sequel after sequel after sequel for something is hard on the team because they get locked into a sequel mentality, so they don’t do new things necessarily. And that can be bad for your staff in general. it’s better to let things have a hiatus for a while”. Therefore, since Rare has left the Conker franchise for quite a long time in order to focus on so many other projects, it would be fair to say that now is the perfect time to give Conker his turn to shine once again.

4) Killer Instinct 3:

In December of 2007, Rare sent out a christmas card; it had Viva Pinata characters, Banjo and Kazooie. they were sitting in front of the fire place and one of the socks, hanging over the fire place, had “KI3″ written on it. Moreover, in Banjo Kazooie: Nuts And Bolts, they teased gamers with the existence of a “new Killer Instinct”. Then, an image mysteriously appeared on the web; it was from a scene in Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and bolts where a merchant tries to sell Banjo a copy of “Killer Instinct 3″ for the Xbox 360. Surprisingly, they actually show you the box art for the game.

To add to the excitement, a recent article by V4vg suggests that one of the exclusive titles to be announced in Q1 2009 might be an online fighter based on a very popular franchise. Do I really need to explain where I am going with this? The hype has been snowballing for a while. However, let us not lose sight of the fact that the hype started to snowball after a slight shove from Rare. They started teasing over a year ago. Why would they do that if the game was not coming out soon? After all, Microsoft needs that kind of star power in 2009.

5) Unannounced New IP:

According to 1up, in The Nordic Game conference, held in the city of Malmö in Sweden, 10 months ago, Rare’s Senior Concept Artist Ryan Firchau showed off artwork to demonstrate the differences in design approaches and style between East and West Concept Art. But the work Firchau showed looked like it had the potential to be far more interesting than anything Rare has released in the last few years. He showed art from a seemingly dark fairytale with werewolves and a sci-fi tale that looks a bit Halo-ish, only with more dirt and grime. Then a month ago, an article by V4vg suggests that one of the exclusive titles to be announced in Q1 2009 might be an action adventure from one of Microsoft’s internal studios. Therefore, it would be fair to assume that this new IP might actually be a reality, and it might actually be coming out sooner than you ever thought possible.

To conclude, I will end this case with a quote from Shane Kim, describing the importance of Rare to Microsoft, in an interview with Shacknews, posted on Kombo, two years ago: “I think that the story on Rare is really going to be told in the next three to five years. The kind of titles we’re really asking them to focus on now are the Banjos, the Viva Pinatas, the Kameos, and so forth. Rare is going to be our internal studio–really, our primary studio for the most part–that’s going to be focused on creating those big, triple-A-level, broad appeal titles. We’re entering into the life cycle stage of the console where those kinds of titles can and should do well”.

The reason I am writing such a long article is that readers deserve to read an article that is highly informative and extremely thorough at the same time; they deserve reading an article that is worth their time. I hope that has been accomplished through this article because that was my main objective.

Finally, as you have seen throughout this article, there is so much evidence that supports Rare being extremely valuable to Microsoft. Rare has already offered so much. However, what remains for Rare to offer is so much more than gamers could ever imagine. Therefore, it is my belief that this will be the year in which the Rare hating mindset will shift in the proper direction once and for all, and Rare will finally get to taste what Redemption feels like for one last time.

God Bless You Rare; this one’s for you

Master Samo