Perhaps learning from Nintendo's mistakes, Microsoft is—according to Microsoft Studios corporate vice president Phil Spector, who talked to Polygon recently about the upcoming line—eager to avoid any “gaps” in terms of bringing out fresh titles to the line, with plans to make new announcements about the various titles set to emerge over the next few weeks and months beyond that. Spector engaged in something of a grand tour to check out the line, with stops at Lionhead, Rare, PressPlay and several others, leading Spector to note that “The depth of the portfolio next year is pretty incredible.”
Additionally, there are a set of titles set to make an appearance in early 2014 as well that figure into the equation, things like “Watch Dogs,” “Destiny,” and “Titanfall” are all set to put a little extra punch in what is normally a slower period. Plus, there's Spike's VGX awards show that's coming up December 7, which is usually good for some announcements, as well as the upcoming Game Developers' Expo and, as ever, E3, which is around eight months out. Spector noted, however, that not everything would be poised to wait until E3, saying “Frankly, we've got enough news that our E3 would be a little overloaded if we kept everything for that.”
That's a good sign, especially for gamers who were afraid that Microsoft might end up like Nintendo, not bringing out the games in sufficiently rapid fashion to ensure that gamers would always have something fresh to try, or at least with minimal lag. That by itself is good news, but there's even better afoot when one considers two critical points: one, there's the indie market that we haven't heard much about. Getting the smaller studios in the game is is likely to be a step up that's hard to get around.
Then, there's the issue of other studios. EA is likely hard at work on the new line, and so too are other studios like Bethesda. Much has been made in recent days of “Fallout 4” getting trademarked and a new website—thesurvivor2299.com—emerging with a countdown clock on it that is set to terminate at eight PM GMT along with a message in Morse code. This is leading some to believe that a new Fallout is in the works, and just in time for the next generation of gaming consoles.
Indeed, there's quite a bit to look forward to, and with Microsoft being mindful of getting the product out in rapid fashion, it's likely to end well for the gamers in the field as well. All Microsoft—and Sony as well—really need to do here is just keep the product moving in sufficient fashion that the users have something to do. That seems to be just what the plan is, and that should make the next generation a good one for gamers, and Microsoft and Sony—maybe even Nintendo, if it can step up the schedule—as well.
