South Park XBLA - Developed By: Doublesix Games:
Announced at E3 2008, this Xbox Live Arcade title hasn’t seen the light since it’s brief mentioning in the montage at least year’s Microsoft press conference. Outside of the developer, not much is known about this exclusive licensed arcade game. Rumors have it set for a fall 2009 release date, so we expect to see much more about South Park at E3 this year.
Part 2: Games That Are Logical - these are games that have not been mentioned in any way but would make perfect sense if they were announced/shown at the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).
Perfect Dark 2 - Developed By: Rare:
It has been rumored that Rare has two new full retail games to reveal and that they would both be released within the next year. After going over the catalogue of games that have been created by Rare, we decided that Perfect Dark 2 makes perfect sense for it to show up at E3 2009. With this being the year off for Gears of War – it may be awhile until we see Gears of War 3 in all actuality – and Halo 3: ODST being an expansion pack, it’s the right time for Microsoft to give this ever-popular FPS another try on the Xbox 360. Perfect Dark Zero sold close to 1.5 million units worldwide, so at least Microsoft should feel safe to know that the series still has some legs on the sales charts. If Microsoft is true to their word, and wants to promote this franchise as their third “power” series, then they should package Perfect Dark Zero into one of their holiday packs, release the original on the Xbox Live Arcade and release Perfect Dark 2 in the spring of 2009, several months away from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Halo 3: ODST to give the game a fair shake.
Conker 2 - Developed By: Rare:
The second title that deserves a sequel out of camp Rare is Conker. This fur ball hasn’t seen the light of day since mid-2005 and needs a true-sequel to get his mojo back. The Xbox 360 is lacking in the platforming and adventuring department, and with his lewd humor and sexual connotations, he’s a perfect fit with the Xbox 360 college crowd. While it does make the most sense for Conker to have his day in the sun again, Microsoft supposedly canceled the first attempt at the sequel to Conker’s Bad Fur Day in 2002 when Microsoft acquired Rare from Nintendo and opted for the remake of the original. Having seen Microsoft put their faith in resurrecting the Banjo franchise through two XBLA remakes (Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie) and releasing Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts in retail, which sold over 500,000 copies, so there’s a good chance that they’ll revisit the world of Conker sooner rather than later.
Blue Dragon 2 - Developed By: Mistwalker and Artoon:
It may seem more logical for Mistwalker and Microsoft to commit to Lost Odyssey 2 over Blue Dragon 2, right now there are a few factors that are heavily swing the ball into the court of Blue Dragon 2. First off, the team (Feelplus) that did all the labor on the gameplay is slaving away at developing Ninety-Nine Nights II for Microsoft, so there would have to be a new team assigned to the project. Secondly, Hironobu Sakaguchi has long talked about a sequel to Blue Dragon and discussed on where he’d like to take the franchise. Lastly, the franchise has already a much better following than Lost Odyssey in Japan and there’s already been an anime based on the series along with two Nintendo DS titles (Blue Dragon Plus and the upcoming Blue Dragon: Great Beast of the Underworld). It’s a guarantee that if Microsoft and Mistwalker announced Blue Dragon 2 at E3, it would skyrocket up the charts as one of the most wanted video games in Japan.
Check back next week for our look at games that are a stretch to make an appearance at E3 2009, but still have a glimmer of hope of being showcased one way or another. Until then, check out our forums and discuss if these eight games get you amped up for E3 2009.
