Microsoft memo reveals multiple unannounced exclusives coming in 2008 @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on January 07, 2008

News: And a release date for Resident Evil 5...

Don Mattrick, the head of Microsoft's Xbox division, has some rather large shoes to fill. The shadow of Peter Moore and his crazy tattoos still looms large over all things Xbox.

But the best way to step out of the shadows is to step into the spotlight and that's just what Don Mattrick has done in an email to video game guru Dean Takahashi. The email is actually an internal memo meant for Microsoft employees, but there is a very interesting section concerning the Xbox 360 in 2008.

From the email:

In 2008 the hits will continue to come with exclusives including УHalo Wars,Ф УToo Human,Ф УFable 2,Ф Alan Wake,Ф УSplinter Cell: Conviction,Ф and several exciting yet-to-be-announced titles. Xbox 360 will be home to the next versions of great franchises like Grand Theft Auto and Resident Evil, and we will continue to be the leading choice for sports fans, with the next editions of Madden and FIFA looking and playing better on our platform.

This little paragraph does a lot of interesting things:

It reconfirms 2008 release dates for Halo Wars, Too Human, Fable 2, Alan Wake, Splinter Cell: Conviction and Grand Theft Auto IV.

It reveals Microsoft has several "several exciting yet-to-be-announced titles."

It confirms Resident Evil 5 as a 2008 release, the first time any concrete release date has been discussed for the game sincethe game's producer, Jun Takeuchi, said he didn't believe the game would be ready before 2009 in a July 2007 issue of Famitsu.

It boasts that Madden NFL 09 and FIFA 09 will look and play better on the Xbox 360.

This little paragraph also reveals a few interesting things by their exclusion:

Banjo-Kazooie 3 and Ninja Gaiden 2 are not mentioned in the list of exclusives. That could be nothing, or it could point to delays for these two (previously assumed to release in 2008) titles.

Yes, Don Mattrick certainly has some large shoes to fill. But he's definitely coming out swinging.

source: Dean Takahashi's Tech Talk Blog