X10: Microsoft shows its stuff

Microsoft held its X10 invitation-only press event in San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon, allowing the media to sample some of the products Xbox 360 has lined up for the year ahead.

Pic credit: Kotaku

The event didn’t muster much in the way of hard news – most particularly there was no annoucement about this Holiday’s Project Natal – but some release dates were firmed up with various DLC initiatives outlines, and a bundle announced

"This is going to be an amazing year for Xbox 360 and for gamers worldwide. It’s our biggest and most breakthrough year yet, filled with games and entertainment that you won’t find on any other console,” said Phil Spencer, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios.

* Microsoft has announced a Final Fantasy XIII Xbox 360 bundle featuring console, game and two controllers, set to release on March 9, with a price-tag in the U.S of $399.

* Downloadable content for Modern Warfare 2 has been confirmed for "spring".

* Valve was showing downoadable content for Left 4 Dead 2. A campaign called The Passing will arrive in late March.
* Crackdown II was shown, but no release date confirmed.

*Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Convictionwill release onApril 13 in the U.S. and April 16 in the UK

* A beta for the much anticipated Bungie shooterHalo: Reach will launch on May 3, with invitations going to owners of Halo 3: ODST.

* Capcom will release an Xbox Live exclusive prologue to Dead Rising 2. The downloadable game will be called Dead Rising: Case Zero. No date as yet, although it will arrive prior to Dead Rising 2’s late summer release. Unlike the original Dead Rising, its sequel is not an Xbox 360 exclusive.

* Remedy’s long awaited action-adventure Alan Wake has been given a European release date of May 21 by publisher Microsoft. The game has been in and out of the news since 2005, but has been on the slate for spring since last E3.

* Fable III has been confirmed as a 2010 release.