XBox 360 game releases to keep an eye on this year
The Xbox 360's dominance over its historic rival, Sony's Playstation 3, is under serious attack. The PS3's sales are increasing, and though the Xbox 360 manages to hold the lion's share of the console purchases, industry experts predict that it's just a matter of time now before the PS3 finally regains its throne as the no. 1 video game machine for homes all over the world.
But not if the 5 Xbox 360 games we will discuss below can help the console's sales. These Xbox 360 games will be released towards the latter half of 2009. Whether or not the PS3 will be able to narrow down the Microsoft's lead will greatly depend on how well these Xbox 360 games will fare in the market and how well they will convince people to buy an Xbox 360 console.
What are these 5 games?
1. Alan Wake. In a year where there is a dearth of exclusive Xbox 360 games, Alan Wake is indeed a breath of fresh air. Anticipation for this game has been building up for more than 2 years now. This action/adventure title is a small town thriller with Hollywood-like special effects. The quality is apparent and it has the word 'hit' written all over it. This is the second biggest release for the Xbox 360 in 2009. What's the first biggest release?
2. Halo 3: ODST. Halo is to Microsoft what Mario is to Nintendo. Halo 3: ODST is a Halo game that is designed by Bungie, the team responsible for the first 3 Halo games and the team that fans thought will never create another Xbox 360 title again. Halo 3: ODST will not feature Master Chief. Instead, it will follow the adventures of 2 characters: an Orbital Drop Ship Trooper who is out to rescue a squad mate; and the said squad mate in cleverly integrated flashback scenes.
3. Bioshock 2. Bioshock 2 is one of the most anticipated Xbox 360 games. However, it is not an exclusive title, whereas its predecessor was a timed exclusive for the Xbox 360. The sales chart for Bioshock 2 will be very interesting as we will know which gaming system will garner more sales for the same title.
4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. If Halo 3: ODST is the biggest exclusive title for the Xbox 360, then Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the biggest release of 2009 for all existing consoles, period. The publication of an Infinity Ward-created Call of Duty game is always an event, and for this year, the Xbox 360 and the PS3 will compete for people's gaming dollars with this title serving as the bone of contention.
5. Final Fantasy XIII. Getting this highly anticipated Square-Enix release is a coup for the Xbox 360. Now we'll be able to see if the Xbox 360 can steal a market that has always associated the franchise with Sony's system.
Will these Xbox 360 games catapult the system to a higher level of success? Or will these Xbox 360 games sink console sales to a depth it has never experienced before?