Shane Kim Promises More New IP For The 360

So far this generation, Microsoft's lineup of exclusives has done a pretty good job! Gears of War, Project Gotham Racing 3, Halo 3, Project Gotham Racing 4, Forza 2, Ninja Gaiden 2...all big sellers, all great games. Thing is, aside from Gears, those are all sequels! And Microsoft's two biggest games in 2008 are more sequels, one for Gears, one for Fable. Perhaps sensing an impending onset of acute sequelitis, Microsoft's Shane Kim wants you to know that new stuff is on the way:

We’re just at a point in the cycle where you’re seeing more sequels. I can tell you we have other new properties that are unannounced that we feel very good and are very confident about. We will continue to have new IPs alongside the franchises in our portfolio, no question.

In 2007 we'd have made a joke about their "new" men-with-guns game, but we're now looking forward to a "new" family quiz game instead!

Part Two of Inside Xbox Live [Edge]

Shane Kim On MMOs: "We Haven't Been Able To Crack The Code"

Making an MMO can be hard. You can put years into developing not just the game, but the necessary infrastructure, only to launch it and have it die within weeks. Sure, Blizzard know how to do it, but few other developers have managed. Microsoft certainly tried, and tried twice (Marvel Universe, True Fantasy). They also failed twice, with both projects canned, something Shane Kim takes full responsibility for:

I'll admit MGS has not had success in the MMO space, and that happened under my leadership, so I take full responsibility. It's a tough and challenging space that's evolving all the time – a lot of shifting sands. We haven't been able to crack the code.

There there Shane, chin up! What do we do when we fall off the horse?

Shane Kim Talks 360 MMO Washouts [Edge]

Shane Kim Explains the 360 Menu Redesign

Phil Spencer and Shane Kim Talk Halo

Halo, Halo, Halo! What's going on with the movie? What about Halo Wars? What about Peter Jackson? How bout the Halo no show at the big press conference. No real answers from head of Microsoft Game Studios Phil Spencer or newly minted corporate vice president of Strategy and Business Development Shane Kim, but plenty of talk.

Shane Kim Wants Nintendo's Big Blue Ocean Too

Microsoft's E3. Was it fun for everyone or fun for just casual gamers? I think it was more about the casual gamer, Shane Kim? Not so much. Kim also isn't a big believer in Nintendo's big, blue ocean, it seems. Why stick to your own slice of the Pacific, when you can have it all.

Shane Kim: Japan's A "Long-Term", "Challenging" Market

It's hard to tell whether these quotes - from a recent interview Shane Kim had with GI.biz - are genuinely new, or just pulled from a stock template Microsoft's had ready since 2002. Because when asked about how Microsoft are doing in Japan, their thoughts, etc etc, he says "We've been very realistic about our near-to-mid term opportunities in Japan, specifically with respect to the current console generation. Obviously it's a challenging market with well entrenched competitors". He goes on to say how great it is to see Japanese developers making 360 games, how he hopes their fortunes there will "turn around", and "I think that's a longer-term effort, to be frank". You know what I love? Not whether he's right or wrong, but the sheer perseverance Microsoft are displaying. We could be seeing the same quotes in 2012. Actually, we probably will.

Shane Kim: Japan is a "longer-term effort" [GI.biz]

Jeff Bell Departs Microsoft, Shane Kim Gets Promotion

Microsoft Game Studio's head Shane Kim is getting bumped up to corporate vice president of Strategy and Business Development, a new position in Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, and Jeff Bell is leaving the company, Microsoft announced today.

Kim, who headed up the studio for four years, will be replaced by Phil Spencer, who formerly headed up the Microsoft Game Studios in Europe.

“We’re strategically positioning the leadership team to drive every aspect of the Xbox business to new heights,” said Don Mattrick, senior vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business. “I firmly believe that Microsoft will lead the next great innovations in games and entertainment. Today’s organizational announcements align us to accelerate this expansive growth.”

Microsoft has not yet found a replacement for Bell who is said to be leaving to "pursue other opportunities outside of Microsoft."

“The time is right for me to pursue my life’s passion of consumer brand marketing and the creative and services that drive it.” Bell said “Coming from automotive, and now technology and entertainment, I am excited to expand to new industries and categories.”

Hit the jump for the full release and more Mattrick-y quotes.

Even Final Fantasy Probably Can't Save Xbox In Japan

Okay! Make-believe time. Let's say that Microsoft had a lot of money to burn. No wait, start over. Let's say that Microsoft was able to convince Square Enix to give it Final Fantasy as an exclusive. Like, Final Fantasy XIII is only on the Xbox 360 and wouldn't be on the PS3. Would large numbers of Japanese consumers break down and buy an Xbox 360? According to Microsoft's Shane Kim:

I know we're talking about Final Fantasy here, but you really have to question, is it really enough to overcome people's reservations about Xbox 360 in Japan? I don't know. But I know that it would have to be a heck of a lot of money and it would be very risky to do that.

In short, no. Kim does make a good point, saying that success in the Western market is forcing companies to be more open about developing for the Xbox 360. Nice to have that in your back pocket when you're so fucked on their home turf.

Shane Kim Interview [Kikizo] [Pic]

We Can Imagine A World Where Turn 10 Develop PGR5

Speaking last week with Kikizo, Microsoft's Shane Kim has been asked about the future of the Project Gotham Racing series, now that creator Bizarre have up and left. His response should help out any 360 racing fans who are yet to put 2+2 together:

...you know, we have a great internal racing studio in Turn 10, the creators of Forza Motorsport. And our goal is to roll the studio so that they can do more creative execution within the racing space. So you can imagine a future where they would develop a new version of Project Gotham Racing.

Shane Kim Interview [Kikizo]

Shane Kim Resets Console War Winner To 100 Million

Shane Kim is ready to call the console war. Just as soon as someone sells another 90 million consoles, that is. In a recent interview with Wired's Game|Life, the Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Game Studios says that it's too early to declare a winner, despite colleague Don Mattrick chirping up recently to point out console sales precedents that say otherwise.

We're thankful that Mr. Kim has moved the goal posts, as we had resolved ourselves to the fact that the whole conflict between multi-billion dollar corporations was already over. Thankfully, we have something to look forward to. Shane's lithe dodging of Game|Life's questions about motion sensing controllers for the Xbox 360 and future Rare titles are equally rewarding. Don't miss it.

Microsoft's Shane Kim: First to 100 Million Wins [Game|Life]

Microsoft So Happy It Didn't Make a Handheld Console

I'm very happy we didn't get into it, because launching a handheld platform is like launching another Xbox 360. You have to be fully committed, as an organisation, from a resource standpoint, to doing that. Frankly we've got a lot on our plate with Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. We don't have any experience in that space. Our content assets don't naturally lend themselves to driving success in that particular market.

Shane Kim Says Xbox 360 Will Last 7 Years

Numerous times Sony has publicly stated numerous times that the PS3 will have a ten year life-span. What about the Xbox 360? How long will that last? According to Shane Kim, the Microsoft machine will last 7 years, which is twice as long as the original Xbox. According to Kim:

We said from the beginning that we expect the Xbox 360 to have a long tail. Clearly we didn't do that with the original Xbox, which was a strategic decision we made. Admittedly, we don't have any experience doing this, but we're pretty confident 360 will have a long tail.

Continuing, he says:

Shane Kim: Rare Hasn't Realized Their Potential on the 360

During my dinner with Shane Kim and Kudo Tsunoda I started talking with Kim about Rare's relatively checkered history with Microsoft.

In the late 90s Rare established themselves as a top-tier studio, producing such classics as GoldenEye and Donkey Kong Country for Nintendo. But in 2002, Microsoft bought up the company and prepared to have the studio start work on some of the marquee titles for their upcoming Xbox 360.

I told Kim that back before the Xbox 360 launched I had heard that Rare's Perfect Dark Zero was meant to be the platform's launch title, the reason gamers would take notice of the 360 and decide to buy into the new platform.

When the game finally hit, with the launch of the 360 and Rare's other title Kameo, it was met with a mixed reception, certainly not the sort that Microsoft had bet on.

Is Rare, I asked Kim, a developer that better suited to the audience and platforms of Nintendo gaming?

Gears of War 2 Getting Meat Shields, But Does it Need Romance Too?

Last night Microsoft hosted a dinner with Shane Kim and Kudo Tsunoda for myself and four other game journalists after the Electronic Arts gathering. For most of the dinner our group huddled around the table talking games and eating Hawaiian fusion food.

Tsunoda, who was unfortunate enough to be sitting right next to me, spent much of the evening trying not to answer questions about Gears of War 2 and his new role as the game's general manager. He said he felt fortunate to be working at Microsoft Game Studio and in particular to be working with Cliff Bleszinski and the folks at Epic Games.

MTV's Stephen Totilo and I tried to pin Tsunoda down on how the game would fit into the Gears universe. Was it, Totilo asked, part of a trilogy. We haven't decided yet, Tsunoda responded and then tried to change the topic, saying that the game has plenty of things to do in the way of improving on the original title.

The rumors are true. Marvel Universe Online as gone the way of True Fantasy Live Online, another Microsoft MMO project killed before ever seeing the light of day. MTV Multiplayer's Stephen Totilo spoke with Microsoft Game Studios' head Shane Kim, who confirmed the cancellation of the highly anticipated title and explained why it had to die.

When we first entered into the development and agreement of the development of 'Marvel Universe Online,' we thought we would create another subscription-based MMO. And if you really look at the data there's basically one that's successful and everything else wouldn't meet our level or definition of commercial success.

Microsoft's Shane Kim On 'Fable 2,' Why Marvel MMO Was Canceled And More [MTV Multiplayer]

Shane Kim On The Future Of The 360

Microsoft's Shane Kim Says The Console War Isn't Over

Microsoft Game Studios head Shane Kim was on the receiving end of a barrage of questions from the New York Times' Seth Schiesel today at DICE. He probed the VP on a number of topics ranging from Bungie's decision to go independent to who's winning the console war to Microsoft's potential entry into the portable gaming market.

Schiesel began his line of questioning by addressing some of the Microsoft's talent losses over the past year, specifically inquiring into the departure of star developer Bungie. "I think that was a case of a creative team really wanting to just be independent," he said, brushing off rumors that the team felt creatively stifled, saying "No studio had more creative freedom within Microsoft than Bungie."

On the rest of the departures, Kim called those acquisitions "the nature of the industry", explaining that the company doesn't dictate what other publishers do.

Next-Gen Picks Top Ten Blunders Of 2007

"Best of" awards are fun, sure, but it's the screw ups that give us the most joy during the depressing holidays, not the accolades. Watching others fail so spectacularly makes our own lack of accomplishment that much less memorable. Fortunately, Next-Gen knows what we like and have rounded up the year's biggest blunders in its latest list, which not only includes the familiar Sony blackballing incident from March, but also touches on other fun and interesting topics like the dismissal of Jeff Gerstmann and the whirlwind of confusion surrounding this year's PlayStation 3 SKU confusion. Even better are trips down memory lane with execs Shane Kim and Jack Tretton.

I won't spoil number one, but it's certainly the most expensive of the lot. Let loose the finger pointing and HAHA-ing!

TOP 10 BLUNDERS OF 2007 [Next-Gen - thanks, Duane!]