Madden NFL 09 did big business on the Xbox 360, selling over a million units. While that’s certainly something to be happy about for Microsoft, the manufacturer believes that the football game is but one in a long line of titles expected to hit that shiny landmark before the year is out.
Gears of War 2 and Fable 2 are pegged to repeat the success of Madden when it comes to exclusives, while other multiplatform games such as Guitar Hero: World Tour, Rock Band 2 and Fallout 3 are also being touted by MS as big hitters, selling more on the 360 than they will elsewhere.
In terms of games without numbers attached to the end of their names, The ‘Soft is also claiming that its SingStar-esque karaoke game Lips will be as successful as the leading franchises. Lips, of course, is the latest in Microsoft’s attempts to convince people that the Xbox has a wider family appeal. That idea hasn’t quite resonated with the market yet, but we all know that Microsoft doesn’t take no for an answer — just ask Japan.
Will Lips capture a piece of the mainstream pie? It will certainly sell to someone, but will it reach the one million mark this winter? We shall see, but it will be very interesting if it becomes a big hit for the system.
