Halo 3 wont counter PS3 launch
Peter Moore says PS3 launch will be successful, nails the Halo 3 vs PS3 thing and promises key titles this year
Peter Moore, Microsoft's global head of Xbox marketing, has confirmed that Halo 3, the flagship title for Xbox 360 this year, won't be used as a counter against Sony's PlayStation 3 launch, in a joint interview with tech site Engadget and Joystiq.com.
You may have already read our earlier story on Europe's insatiable desire for 360 which is even fiercer than in the US but, speaking in a post-CES catch up interview, Moore shed further light on Microsoft's position on its key title this year saying, "The Halo Nation would string me out from some flagpole if I used Halo to be a competitive counter balance to something else, for it to be anything other than for it to be the greatest game ever on an Xbox console - or on any console."
It marks further clarification and a bit of a retreat for the company on what is its single most important franchise this year, following Bill Gates' comments in 2005 that Halo 3 might be used to deflect attention from the PS3 launch. Moore dismissed this as a strategy saying: "There's no doubt, regardless of whether I throw a title in there or an update of Live or whatever, that it's not going to affect their launch. You don't think they're not going to sell out of PlayStation 3s, do you? You think that if I could create a piece of IP so that PlayStation 3s would arrive at Best Buy and they'd sit on the shelves? Come on, it's not going to happen."
Tellingly, Moore admitted about the Sony's PS3: "They'll launch, let's face it. They'll launch and it'll be very successful."
However Moore seemed to admit that Gates' comments from last year had sown confusion adding: "I mean, people love the conspiracy theories, like that it's [Halo 3] already ready to go. That is not the case at all. There's too much invested in this franchise and the Halo Nation is too dear to us to use them as pawns in some bigger game. It doesn't work that way."
That not withstanding, Xbox 360 fans are looking for the console to cement its position with some heavy-hitting games this year, led by Bungie's epic shooter which was a massive driver of sales for the current-gen console. Moore acknowledged that too saying, "You've got Gears of War coming. You've got Crackdown coming. You've got BioWare and Silicon Knights working on exclusive titles."
Although 360 has had a reasonable launch, problems with re-supply of units has undoubtedly held it back. When gamers are able to walk into a shop and buy a 360 anytime they like, that's when the key battle will begin and as the hoary old industry cliche runs, then truly it will be all about the games.
SOURCE - CVG
