Xbox 360 Launch Lineup Announced

Today at X05 in Amsterdam, the Xbox™ brand experience for the games and entertainment industry, Microsoft Corp. unveiled an incredible line-up of games for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system as it gears up for launch Nov. 22 in North America, Dec. 2 in Europe, Dec. 10 in Japan and early 2006 in Australia.

A series of special guests, including Cliff Bleszinski, lead designer for Epic Games Inc., Todd Hollenshead, co-owner and CEO of id Software Inc., and Gerhard Florin, executive vice president and general manager of International Publishing for Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), joined Xbox executives Robbie Bach, J Allard, Peter Moore and Chris Lewis on stage to talk about their new titles for Xbox 360.

Commenting on the announcements made at X05, Peter Moore, corporate vice president of Worldwide Marketing and Publishing for Xbox at Microsoft, said:

“The biggest and the best names in publishing are committed to the success of Xbox 360, and looking at the titles we have announced tonight we are very excited.

From exclusive titles, to debuting the next instalment of some of the world’s best-loved franchises, Xbox 360 will redefine gaming and entertainment. The high-definition era of gaming starts now.”

Peter Moore reiterated today’s announcement from Universal Studios that triple Academy Award winners Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh will serve as the executive producers of “Halo,” the upcoming feature film based on Microsoft’s phenomenally popular video game. This unique alliance between Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox, Microsoft, and Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh promises a step forward in motion picture production.

“Halo” will benefit from the experience and resources of the film studios, from Microsoft’s groundbreaking vision and from Jackson’s and Walsh’s creative sensibilities and expertise in both traditional filmmaking and the world of emerging digital technologies.

Titles that will form part of the impressive Christmas holiday portfolio include these:

• “Kameo: Elements of Power™” (MGS-Rare Ltd.)
• “Perfect Dark Zero™” (MGS-Rare Ltd.)
• “Project Gotham Racing® 3” (MGS-Bizarre Creations Ltd.)

Other great games announced or shown at X05 included these:

• “Crackdown” (MGS-Real Time Worlds)
• “Gears of War” (MGS-Epic Games Inc.)
• “Too Human” (MGS-Silicon Knights)
• “Mass Effect” (MGS-BioWare Corp.)
• “FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup” (Electronic Arts)
• “Saint’s Row” (THQ Inc.)
• “Full Auto” (SEGA Corp.)
• “Condemned: Criminal Origins” (SEGA)

Franchise titles that will make their debut on Xbox 360 were also announced, including these:

• “Superman Returns: The Videogame” (Electronic Arts)
• “Call of Duty 2” (Activision Inc.)
• “Castle Wolfenstein” (id Software)
• “The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion” (Bethesda Softworks LLC)
• “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell 4” (Ubisoft Entertainment)
• “Quake 4” (Activision, id Software and Raven Software Corp.)
• “MotoGP Ultimate Racing Technology (URT) 2006” (THQ)

Source: Microsoft press release