They seem to be abandoning the hardcore. Judging from the recent interviews of some MS' executives we should expect more casual crap from them in 2009. Greenberg mentions crap like "scene it" and "lips" as "surprise games that were unannounced until close to release, in 2008" which suggests that this is what we should expect in 2009 (and even a waggle controller). Meanwhile xbox360' first six months , in 2009, look barren as far as exclusives go. At least the ps3 has Killzone 2 and (maybe???) infamous . The 360 has an rts and a Jrpg as their "big" first half of 2009 games and we know next to nothing about the holiday 2009 line up , except for this silly halo3 expansion.

What i liked about MS is how hardcore they used to be...gears of war, halo, fable, mass effect, ninja gaiden, crackdown even the rare stuff like kameo and banjo (though i didn't like banjo).  Now they seem hell bent on tapping the wii audiance. Well they should be careful cause they might loose the hardcore gamers that have supported them from the xbox1 days while at the same time not winning the casual crowd and that would leave them with a big fat nothing.

casual is where the money is at, as show by the success of the Wii.

Don't be ridiculous...

http://news.vgchartz.com/news.php?id=2796

When trying to target a new group there's always the risk of losing the old group. Clearly MS are looking at Wii (plus PS2 previously) and want to get there and are willing to take the risk.

IMHO they have never really understood that you need a relatively low cost console that is easy for parents to purchase and hand to the kids. I suspect they are locked into needed to provide high end console to support demanding HC audience who want ever higher res versions of shooters, etc. and this will make it difficult for them.

Nice list of , mostly, multiplatform games.

Does that surprise you?

Look at the Microsoft published ones only if it makes you happier.

The ps2 was as hardcore as they come, its big sellers were all hardcore games (GT, GTA, god of war, MGS e.t.c).

Yeah, but it sold over 100 Million consoles by appealing to everyone and being the console you just bought and stuck in your kids room.  Now the Wii has that place while xbox/360 has never had a sniff of that place.

You're completely wrong. The best sold PS2 games sold so well because they have casual appeal. GTA has very high casual appeal, GT5 obviously as well. Furthermore in the PS2 top 20: 3x Need for Speed, Crash Bandicoot, Guitar Hero III, Madden, Spiderman, Lord of the Rings and Simpsons...VERY hardcore indeed...

PS2 was for everyone, including very hardcore gamers, but it was also the casual console.

http://vgchartz.com/games/index.php?&results=50&name=&console=PS2&keyword=&publisher=&genre=&order=Sales&boxart=Both&showdeleted=&region=All&alphasort=

"What i liked about MS is how hardcore they used to be...gears of war, halo, fable, mass effect, ninja gaiden, crackdown even the rare stuff like kameo and banjo (though i didn't like banjo)."

Ok lol this gets me, Gears of War 2, Fable, Banjo and NG came out last year not so long ago ... and we have 2 Halo games this year ... by your scale the hardcore should be off the level this year!