Microsoft
Well, not all of Microsoft, perhaps, but certainly the Xbox division. Come Nov. 17, Sony's
Peter Jackson -- the director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong -- will aid in the development of a new entry in the Halo video game series. He'll be involved in adapting the mythology to the silver screen as executive producer, so why not help in the creative design of the software? Makes sense to me. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jackson and his partner Fran Walsh -- in association with Microsoft -- have founded Wingnut Interactive Studio, a concern that will produce software for the 360.
It's important to note that this isn't the third Halo game we're talking about -- Jackson's title will be out of that sequel loop. It will, of course, be a collaboration between Jackson and the creator of Halo, Microsoft subsidiary Bungie Studios. Jackson loves immense vistas of fantastical lore, so Halo's epic sci-fi landscape will undoubtedly benefit from his expertise. In addition, the marketing aspect of having Jackson in the 360 camp will most assuredly help to differentiate the system for at least some percentage of the videogaming market. There's no question that Halo is a killer-app game, much like Capcom's Resident Evil and Take-Two Interactive's
This strikes me -- and a lot of people out there, certainly -- as a similar coup to the one scored by Electronic Arts
Nevertheless, this is exciting news for gamers. The fruit of Jackson's and Bungie's labor won't emerge until 2008, but that's OK -- it offers plenty of time for the talent at work to make a mighty adventure. And it gives would-be 360 owners the chance to save up for the costly system. Microsoft wants to increase its installed user base as quickly as possible, so publishers like EA, Activision
Three takes to rule them all:
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Fool contributor Steven Mallas owns shares of Activision. The Fool has a disclosure policy.