It's been a busy keynote morning for Microsoft. In addition to all the XNA news (look for that in a moment), Microsoft's presentation at the GDC unveiled some other juicy tidbits Xbox 360 owners are going to love.
The biggest news came at the end, with Cliffy B revealing that Gears of War 2 will hit the stores in November, "exclusively" for the Xbox 360. (I wouldn't be too surprised if we saw another PC port a year or so after.) Gears of War was -- at one point -- the biggest and best offering on the Xbox 360, but the last year or so its title has been taken away by games such as Halo 3, Bioshock, and Call of Duty 4. We'll have to see how the further adventures of Marcus Fenix turn out, but I for one can't wait.
Peter Molyneux was also on-hand, and other than making comments about PC gaming, he revealed that Fable 2 will feature a dynamic co-op mode. (In other words, drop-in, drop-out.) Along with the co-op play, they're also bringing Fable 2 to gamers before the game is released via Xbox Live Arcade titles, which will let you earn money in Fable 2 before you can even buy the game itself. There's going to be pub-based minigames, so anyone who played the first Fable should know what type of things to expect.
To complete the trifecta of Xbox 360 games I care most about this year, Tomonobu Itagaki showcased and revealed a video-sharing feature in Ninja Gaiden II, which will allow gamers to record and share their most ninja-y moments, much like gamers can currently do in Halo 3. Obviously a good move since people love to show-off, but I can't help but wonder how come more people haven't copied Bungie and allowed for game-sharing features in their 360 titles.
Microsoft also showcased other smaller games and XBLA titles such as Braid, which has been the main point of conversation for Kyle and I since last E3, when I told him about the game and we started obsessing over the preview code. Created by soft-spoken gaming genius Jonathan Blow, the game should easily become a contender for Best XBLA Game of All Time when it's released. Count on it.
The Q Big titles of Q4
Listen Up Tommy Tallarico at VGL
Eddie Inzauto Bridging the Gap
FilmPLOSION! Snow White Blu-ray
Brendon Lindsey Lazy Game Journalism
Pro Tip Pro Tip: Demon's Souls
OneWordReview OWR: Kingdom Hearts
You Win! "That Makes Sense" Award
Head 2 Head Nathan Drake vs. Indiana Jones
Jason Fanelli Live from GameX 2009 in Philadelphia!
Tyler Cameron A Bad Night for Gaming
OLD SKOOL 8-Bit RPG: Dragon Warrior
VS Node VS Node No Bounds
Revisited No More Heroes, Revisited
Phil Williams Games On Demand
Mike Murphy MMO Story Revolution
Top 5 Takedown Top 5 Zombie Games
It all sounds like good stuff to me. It doesn't look like there's going to be much of a dropoff for the 360 this year.