Microsoft affirms Halo franchise not being annualized, Halo 2 HD remake has been ?talked about?

Microsoft?s aim to release Halo titles more frequently than ?every two or three years? remains unchanged, but the publisher says that it?s not out to straight up annualize the series, despite this November?s Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary ensuring Xbox 360 will have seen a Halo title of some sort every fall for the last three years in a row.

?People shouldn?t look at Anniversary as part of an annualized franchise,? Microsoft Studios boss Phil Spencer told IGN. ?We just looked at [Halo: CE] and thought it needed to be refreshed. It wasn?t part of us trying to get into an annualized rhythm with the franchise.?

?It will be done in time for this holiday that is the 10th Anniversary for Halo. It felt like a good time to celebrate it.?

Despite that statement, the Halo franchise will have received at least one new installment each year since 2009, followed by 343 Industries? Halo 4 in fall 2012. He adds that the decision to pursue Halo: CE Anniversary, a 343 Industries/Saber Interactive/Certain Affinity collaboration, was made ?a couple years ago. We thought about what we wanted to do for the Halo anniversary. It?s important to us as a franchise and as a platform. ? We had discussions about ?will people look at this as us milking it,? but we figured with achievements, Xbox Live, and ?up-res-ing? the game, it was a project out of passion not a project out of business.?

Spencer ? a man who previously downplayed Microsoft?s need to jump on board the HD remake train ? was also asked, again, if we might expect any other Xbox 1 remake/remaster projects in the future. In short: it?s not impossible, but probably not; not as aggressively as Sony?s PS3 efforts.

?Obviously Halo 2 is one that we?ve talked about. I wouldn?t say this is a strategy for us to go back and remake Xbox 1 games. This was the 10th Anniversary of Halo so it made sense. We don?t really have a ?remasters? program that we?re kicking off with this launch. There are obviously some great Xbox 1 games that would be nice to see, but we?ve focused most of our resources on creating new things. I?m not putting it in or out of bounds right now, though.?

Halo 2 Anniversary for the series? 15th anniversary, then? Sold! I?d be lying if I said the thought of an HD Crimson Skies wasn?t exciting, too.

Also worth mentioning is the new Halo trilogy ?for Xbox 360?, per the official announcement, beginning with Halo 4. During E3 Microsoft execs were oddly cagey when confronted with the question of whether 343i?s trio of games would actually be ?on Xbox 360?, or if it may be a similar case to Bungie?s saga ? Halo 1 on Xbox; Halo 2 and 3 on the 360. Might Halo 4, hitting holiday 2012, then be followed by Halo 5 and 6 on the Xbox Next in 2014 and beyond?

Spencer said regarding this, ?No announcement on that yet.? Well, uh, hmm?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Wouldyoukindlycom/~3/mFPcv1EBHEo/

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