thedrifter
10-10-08, 05:57 AM
Extension of ‘Halo’ series makes Xbox the talk of the Tokyo Game Show
By Bryce S. Dubee, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Saturday, October 11, 2008
CHIBA, Japan
Determined to maintain its recent sales momentum in Japan, Microsoft roared into the 2008 Tokyo Game Show ready to make an impact.
While the announcement of several new games, a glimpse of the new Xbox Live Experience and a demonstration of the single-player portion of the upcoming "Halo Wars" drew a good reaction, nothing compared to Microsoft’s biggest news — an expansion to the blockbuster title "Halo 3."
Presenting this year’s keynote address, Microsoft’s John Schappert kicked off his presentation with a lengthy trailer for the upcoming Xbox 360 exclusive title "The Last Remnant," made by Square Enix.
Reaching out to the Japanese gaming community, the former Super Famicom developer said he was excited to be in Japan and reflected briefly on the country’s video game heritage.
Schappert discussed Xbox 360 sales, touting the American console maker’s sales success around the world. He said the Xbox 360 has seen a fivefold increase in sales in Japan since Microsoft dropped the price of the console in September.
Showing off a series of new titles coming to the 360 produced by Japanese developers, including the futuristic role-playing game "Star Ocean," published by Square Enix, and the next iteration in Capcom’s survival horror series, "Resident Evil 5," Schappert said he believes the Xbox 360 is the "most capable platform for global developers."
He added that a sequel to the popular title "Ninety Nine Nights," along with the arcade fighting game "Tekken 6," will be coming to the 360 next year.
Switching from big-budget retail games to online content, Schappert said Xbox Live Arcade, Microsoft’s online store for downloadable games, is helping Japanese games succeed worldwide and that Microsoft will continue working with Japanese developers to bring new content online.
"Space Invaders Extreme," "Arkanoid Live" and "R-Type Dimensions" are among several new versions of classic Japanese titles that will appear soon on Xbox Live Arcade, Schappert said.
The presentation also highlighted some of the many new features in the "New Xbox Experience," a virtual reboot of how gamers will interact with both the Xbox 360 and their friends online.
Showing off avatar creation features and some of the new menu screens, Schappert said the update to the console will launch on Nov. 19 for the more than 14 million Xbox Live members worldwide.
The keynote shifted back to games with Graeme Devine, lead story writer for the upcoming "Halo Wars" real-time strategy game. Devine gave a demonstration of the title’s single-player campaign. After a group of marines and tanks were sent to destroy an enemy Covenant base, a brief clip played announcing that the other villainous race from the Halo universe, the Flood, also will be in the game.
Schappert said that wasn’t all the Halo news for the day.
The lights dimmed and a trailer showed several pods of some sort being dropped from space onto a city.
That was identical to a trailer released last month online. However, where the previous trailer ended with a series of cryptic messages, the new one continued, showing a lone human Orbital Drop Shock Trooper exiting one of the pods and taking cover from a Covenant nighttime patrol. As he headed off down a dark empty street, the words "Halo 3: Recon" appeared on the screen, followed by a burst of applause from the approving crowd.
Schappert said the new title is a stand-alone expansion for "Halo 3," and chronicles the events in the city of New Mombasa before the arrival of Master Chief, Halo’s lead character, in the previous game. The title is expected to be released in fall 2009.
Ellie
By Bryce S. Dubee, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Saturday, October 11, 2008
CHIBA, Japan
Determined to maintain its recent sales momentum in Japan, Microsoft roared into the 2008 Tokyo Game Show ready to make an impact.
While the announcement of several new games, a glimpse of the new Xbox Live Experience and a demonstration of the single-player portion of the upcoming "Halo Wars" drew a good reaction, nothing compared to Microsoft’s biggest news — an expansion to the blockbuster title "Halo 3."
Presenting this year’s keynote address, Microsoft’s John Schappert kicked off his presentation with a lengthy trailer for the upcoming Xbox 360 exclusive title "The Last Remnant," made by Square Enix.
Reaching out to the Japanese gaming community, the former Super Famicom developer said he was excited to be in Japan and reflected briefly on the country’s video game heritage.
Schappert discussed Xbox 360 sales, touting the American console maker’s sales success around the world. He said the Xbox 360 has seen a fivefold increase in sales in Japan since Microsoft dropped the price of the console in September.
Showing off a series of new titles coming to the 360 produced by Japanese developers, including the futuristic role-playing game "Star Ocean," published by Square Enix, and the next iteration in Capcom’s survival horror series, "Resident Evil 5," Schappert said he believes the Xbox 360 is the "most capable platform for global developers."
He added that a sequel to the popular title "Ninety Nine Nights," along with the arcade fighting game "Tekken 6," will be coming to the 360 next year.
Switching from big-budget retail games to online content, Schappert said Xbox Live Arcade, Microsoft’s online store for downloadable games, is helping Japanese games succeed worldwide and that Microsoft will continue working with Japanese developers to bring new content online.
"Space Invaders Extreme," "Arkanoid Live" and "R-Type Dimensions" are among several new versions of classic Japanese titles that will appear soon on Xbox Live Arcade, Schappert said.
The presentation also highlighted some of the many new features in the "New Xbox Experience," a virtual reboot of how gamers will interact with both the Xbox 360 and their friends online.
Showing off avatar creation features and some of the new menu screens, Schappert said the update to the console will launch on Nov. 19 for the more than 14 million Xbox Live members worldwide.
The keynote shifted back to games with Graeme Devine, lead story writer for the upcoming "Halo Wars" real-time strategy game. Devine gave a demonstration of the title’s single-player campaign. After a group of marines and tanks were sent to destroy an enemy Covenant base, a brief clip played announcing that the other villainous race from the Halo universe, the Flood, also will be in the game.
Schappert said that wasn’t all the Halo news for the day.
The lights dimmed and a trailer showed several pods of some sort being dropped from space onto a city.
That was identical to a trailer released last month online. However, where the previous trailer ended with a series of cryptic messages, the new one continued, showing a lone human Orbital Drop Shock Trooper exiting one of the pods and taking cover from a Covenant nighttime patrol. As he headed off down a dark empty street, the words "Halo 3: Recon" appeared on the screen, followed by a burst of applause from the approving crowd.
Schappert said the new title is a stand-alone expansion for "Halo 3," and chronicles the events in the city of New Mombasa before the arrival of Master Chief, Halo’s lead character, in the previous game. The title is expected to be released in fall 2009.
Ellie