Microsoft has begun chest thumping over it's 2008 line-up of games, saying its invention of Xbox has led to a "Christmas Eve like never before" every week of the year.

In an update on its official website the company cites Gears of War 2 (Nov 2008), Ninja Gaiden 2 (June 6), Too Human (August 29), Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise (Sep 2008), Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (Holiday 2008), Fable 2 (2008) and Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One (out now).

It says: "It's going to be very tough sleeping at night with this amazing haul coming so soon."
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In a press release issued today, Microsoft and Team Ninja have announced that the Ninja Gaiden II has gone gold. The game will start shipping to North American retailers on June 3rd.
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Tomonubu Itagaki rules himself out of working on further iterations of the blockbuster action series
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CVG writes: " Head ninja Tomonobu Itagaki has told CVG that he thinks no studio takes its job as seriously as those at Rockstar Games when considering adult themes and content.

During a one-on-one interview with Itagaki in London last Friday, Team Ninja's main man offered his thoughts on Grand Theft Auto IV. "I think it's made extremely well and is a fun game," he said.

"People always use that as an example of violence in games. But I don't think there's anyone who takes their job as seriously as the guys who make that game. You only have to look at all the detail in there."
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Head ninja Tomonobu Itagaki has told CVG that he thinks no studio takes its job as seriously as those at Rockstar Games when considering adult themes and content. During a one-on-one interview with Itagaki in London last Friday, Team Ninja's main man offered his thoughts on Grand Theft Auto IV. "I think it's made extremely well and is a fun game," he said. ... » Read More

Top shop HMV is offering free Microsoft Points to anyone pre-ordering Ninja Gaiden 2.

The Xbox 360 exclusive is out on June 6th. Buy it at HMV for GBP 39.99 and you'll get 1000 points - equivalent to GBP 8.50 / EUR 12.
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XboxOZ360 relates the full details of Ninja Gaiden 2, including the release date:

""Ninja Gaiden II" makes its long-awaited debut on Xbox 360 as the blockbuster action-packed sequel to "Ninja Gaiden." "Ninja Gaiden II" features a new and improved game engine, developed from the ground up exclusively for Microsoft and Xbox 360 by Team NINJA and legendary game developer Tomonobu Itagaki, creator of the famed "Dead or Alive" franchise."
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Speaking to press in London this morning, Itagaki-san, the legendary Ninja Gaiden developer, said that Rachel, a playable character from the PS3-only Ninja Gaiden Sigma game, "wasn't done very well" and that if he had made Sonia playable in Ninja Gaiden 2 "we would have had to make a game like Gears of War".

"I would just like to point out really quickly that the playable Rachel in Ninja Gaiden Sigma was something that was done by a junior member of Team Ninja and I didn't really have any involvement in Ninja Gaiden Sigma for PS3 because I was working on this title," Itagaki-san explained.

He added: "That being said I think that Ninja Gaiden is a story of Ryu Hayabusa and of his journey. Particularly I didn't think that the Rachel playable aspect in Sigma was done very well. Sonia is mainly a supporting character that provides function with the story. She uses machine guns and bazookas and things like that, so if we were going to feature her as a playable character we would have to basically make a game like Gears of War."
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Speaking to press at a Ninja Gaiden 2 event being held in London today, Team Ninja's Tomonobu Itagaki has offered further insight into what he plans to do next.

"I love the action game genre, in particular I am very focussed on movement and the animation. One of the precepts I always have for my games is making sure that the animation of all the characters is as fluid and as cool looking as they can be," explained Itagaki. "I think that I'm going to continue to explore the action genre and do something that allows me to go in directions that I haven't been able to go with the Ninja Gaiden series, with an entirely new franchise."
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Promoting some of the most-anticipated games of the year for the region, Microsoft is trying to push Xbox 360 hard this summer, with Ninja Gaiden 2 leading the pack in Japan.
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Team Ninja's Tomonobu Itagaki has declared Ninja Gaiden II the last game in the fantastic series.The series has reached its peak with the 360-exclusive sequel, reasoned Itagaki, who says he looks to move onto something "completely new". "Personally I think we were able to create the definitive 3D game in this series so I'm not planning on making any other games in the series," said Itagaki, adding: "So I hope fans treat ... » Read More

Having trouble keeping track of the info-burst coming from Microsoft's spring media summit? You can find it all here in a condensed, confusion-free lump. ... » Read More

In an interview with Kotaku earlier today Team Ninja's Tomonobu Itagaki said that he doesn't plan on making any more Ninja Gaiden games for any platforms following the release of Ninja Gaiden II for the Xbox 360.

"Personally I think we were able to create the definitive 3D game in this series so I'm not planing on making any other games in the series," Itagaki said through a translator. "So I hope fans treat this as a swan song for the franchise.

"I think we were able to achieve everything we wanted with this game so anything else would be extraneous."

When asked if he plans on making a "swan song" Ninja Gaiden title for the PlayStation 3, Itagaki replied " that would be ridiculous."
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Kotaku Writes:

"Here you go kids, the official trailer for Ninja Gaiden II, complete with movie-guyish announcer voice and some damn fine intro music. The scythe popping out of the letterbox effect for some reason had me stopping and starting the clip over and over again. I suppose I am so used to letterbox at this point that I find something breaking those sacred black strips strangely compelling. Whoever came up with the effect deserves a cupcake. As for the rest of you, better get ready. Vengeance is coming, June 2008. Might want to clean your house or something, make things nice for it."

-The video after the link
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MCV writes: "Gears of War 2, Too Human, Fable 2 and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts all arriving before Christmas.

Unfortunate internet leaks may have reduced the wow factor, but Microsoft Game Studios has finally revealed its list of big-hitting 360 software releases from now until the end of the year.

The platform holder is set to confirm the list at its product showcase in San Francisco later today."
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A roundup of all the announcements from the Gamers Day taking place in San Francisco including news on Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Gears of War 2, Viva Pinata 2 and Too Human.
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We can barely go a day without the XBOX Live Marketplace updating (but that's not a bad thing!) and today is no exception. Here is the full list of new content on the Marketplace for Tuesday 13th May 2008:

Name: Texas Theme
Price: 180 Microsoft Points
Availability: Everywhere

Name: Texas Gamer Pictures
Price: 100 Microsoft Points
Availability: Everywhere

Continued at the source.
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Microsoft and Team Ninja released nothing less than seven new videos of Ninja Gaiden 2, each unveiling one character of the game, along with one or two artworks each. Looks like there will be quite a few boss to slaughter, and the horrible american dubbing will certainly be a good enough motivation to be fast about it.
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GamesRadar has bagged first dibs on revealing three new Ninja Gaiden II characters - Alexei, Muramasa and Zedonius ... » Read More

200 Microsoft Points for Ninja Gaiden II armor. The next Oblivion Horse Armor?
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