At the annual X06 video game show, Microsoft announced that plans to join hands with director and producer Peter Jackson, well-known for ‘The Lord of The Rings’ trilogy. Microsoft in partnership with Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, Microsoft Game Studios plans to develop new interactive entertainment series exclusively for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. The first series will be a collaborative effort with Bungie Studios to co-create the next great chapter in the “Halo” universe. The second series will be an entirely original property targeted at bringing new audiences into the fascinating world of interactive entertainment.
What’s more, Microsoft Game Studios will partner with Jackson and Walsh to establish Wingnut Interactive, a studio dedicated to the creation of world-class interactive entertainment.
Jackson said, “Microsoft has built an amazing living canvas with Xbox 360 and Xbox Live, which allows the storytellers of our time to express themselves in a new medium. They have fundamentally changed how people think about games.” He added, “My vision, together with Microsoft Game Studios, is to push the boundaries of game development and the future of interactive entertainment. From a movie-maker’s point of view, it is clear to me that the Xbox 360 platform is the stage where storytellers can work their craft in the same way they do today with movies and books but taking it further with interactivity.”
This is not Peter Jackson’s first interaction with the gaming world. His latest movie, King Kong, inspired Ubisoft to produce ‘Peter Jackson’s King Kong’, a game released last year. Peter Jackson is also well acquainted with the Halo universe. On IMDB.com he is credited as the director of Halo movie. Speaking of Halo, Microsoft announced also “Halo Wars”, an all-new real-time strategy game based on the legendary “Halo” universe and designed exclusively for Xbox 360 by Ensemble Studios, creators of the “Age of Empires” franchise.
“Halo Wars” places the player in command of human UNSC armies as they deploy for mankind’s first deadly encounter with the enemy Covenant forces.
“Xbox 360 is changing the way developers are telling stories today — from the industry’s most beloved franchises to exciting new properties,” said Peter Moore, corporate vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business in the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. “We are inspiring the imaginations of the entertainment industry’s best and most creative talent to take their franchises in exciting directions, while also spinning new tales for everyone.”
Other Xbox 360 exclusives include a new installment of “Splinter Cell” from Ubisoft, “Project Gotham Racing 4” from developer Bizarre Creations, and the return of “Banjo-Kazooie” — a wildly popular all-ages game on the Nintendo 64 console — with a new game from developer Rare Ltd.