Microsoft to "break the bank" at E3
Near and far 360 games to be shown.
Microsoft Game Studios boss Phil Spencer may "break the bank" at E3 next year by talking about Xbox 360 titles further than five or six months away.
"I came out of an E3 planning meeting just about an hour ago and we were looking at some of the plans for the future and things that we might want to tease," Spencer told Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb in a podcast.
"[It's] very exciting, because there's a lot of stuff on the docket and maybe we'll break the bank a little bit and talk about things that are further out, which will hopefully get the community excited."
Spencer said there had been "some pressure" to do so, but was careful not to spoil any of the surprises.
Microsoft delivered one of the strongest platform holder conferences at E3 this year, thanks to the New Xbox Experience and the unforeseen Final Fantasy XIII for Xbox 360 announcement.
The company has so far been secretive about plans for 2009, however, although Halo Wars and Halo 3: ODST are already talking points.
Spencer had just been to see the former, and said everything was hunky dory at developer Ensemble, which is to close after Halo Wars ships. Contrary to popular belief, the real-time strategy game will apparently feature a lot of storytelling and video cut-scenes; good for those "into the Halo fiction", said Spencer.
He also looked back at the catalogue of first-party Xbox 360 success stories, which recently include Fable II and Gears of War 2. The latter, he said, is "pushing 3 million" sales. Not bad for a series that didn't exist until this generation.