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As you may or may not know, X, or Xbox show, first started as an annual major trade event to showcase games in Europe. It was MIA in 04' and seemed to climax in 06' in Barcelona Spain. The past three, X07-X09, were greatly scaled down and took place in The Great White North (or Canada if you don't like nicknames). Now in the year 2010, X took place for the very first time on American soil in the great city of San Francisco. End history lesson.
This has been declared "the biggest year in Xbox history" by Microsoft itself, so needless to say I had the chance to play some pretty awesome titles. Starting next week I'll go into more detail on a few of them individually, but for today I'll report on the interesting and relevant news bits, lovingly condensed for you into a manageable serving size. Hit the jump to take it all in.
- -The Halo: Reach multiplayer beta kicks off on May 3.
- -Dead Rising 2 will see a North American release on August 31, Japanese release on September 2, and European release on September 3. Additionally Dead Rising: CASE ZERO is a downloadable, playable, prologue exclusive to Xbox Live. No date is set as of now, but obviously it will be prior to the game's release, and it will tie the story of Dead Rising 1 & 2 together.
- -Spring will see the first of two Modern Warfare 2 content packs released over Live.
- -Alan Wake, which from what I've seen appears to be rather brilliant, will see a May 18 release in North America and a May 21 release in Europe. A pre-order bonus called the Bright Falls Bonus Pack is being offered and contains exclusive content such as Avatar gear, an Xbox Live theme, and a "making of" video. For those of you interested, the Limited Collector's Edition will come with bonus discs of behind the scenes footage, a game soundtrack, "The Alan Wake Files" book, exclusive in-game commentary, all bound together in a hardcover "bookshelf-worthy" package.
- -An Xbox 360 Final Fantasy XIII special edition bundle will be available starting March 9 for $399, and come with a 250 gig hard drive, two wireless controllers, exclusive download content, and a standard edition copy of the game. Really? After all that you're going to give them a standard edition copy of the game? There seems to be something wrong there if you ask me.
- -Crackdown 2 doesn't have a release date yet, but is promising four exclusive suits of Agency-issue armor to those who pre-order.
- -Toy Soldiers will kick off the Xbox Live arcade party on March 3.
- -Perfect Dark, Scrap Metal, and Game Room will launch this March as part of the Xbox Live Arcade Block Party.
- -Splinter Cell: Conviction, one of my most anticipated titles of the year, will be available April 13 here in the US, April 16 in the UK, and April 28 in Japan.
- -Lost Planet 2 launches in North America and Europe on May 18.
- -Fable III is slated for a holiday 2010 release.
After writing all that I can't help but agree that 2010 is going to be one incredible year for us gamers. Start saving now my friends, because it's looking like we're going to be perpetually broke for the next 322 days.
Tags: Alan Wake, Crackdown 2, Fable III, Halo: Reach, Lost Planet 2, Microsoft, Splinter Cell: Conviction, X10, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE
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