Microsoft to Alternate Gears and Halo

If an yet to be published EGM article is to believed, it looks like Microsoft has found it's latest weapon against Sony... Alternating blockbuster game releases! Microsoft already does this with Forza Motorsport and Project Gotham Racing though neither of them are blockbuster level games.

Which two blockbuster games could Microsoft alternate to fuel the 'must have' console sale fire in the Christmas shopping season? You probably already guess them, Gears of War and Halo. Cliffy B and others have already commented on how Gears of War was designed to be a trilogy but would only continue if the first game was a success, which it is. Halo 3 set to release in November 2007 will be the last chapter in that trilogy but we all know Microsoft will continue rolling it's cash cow franchise. You don't walk away from something that puts $125 Million in the bank.

Going back a couple of years, Halo 2, the most successful Xbox video game in history, sold 2.38 million units in the first 24 hours of going on sale in North America. That's a take of $125 Million in a 24 hour period which surpasses Hollywood's current blockbuster king Spider-Man which took in $114 million in 3 days.

Gears of War on the other hand is a brand new franchise much like Halo was for the Xbox launch. Even though there's not as many Xbox 360's out there as there were Xboxes when Halo 2 launched, Gears of War has set new sales records for an Xbox 360 title. In just two weeks, Gears of War has sold more then 1 Million copies, has toppled Halo 2 from the top of the most played games list Xbox Live Gold subscriptions rose 50 percent.

Microsoft alternating these blockbuster titles helps give them huge boosts in sales going through the holiday season. It also means a release schedule of every two hears for our favorite games. Of course this also kind of unofficially confirms that the Halo franchise will continue on past Halo 3.