Bungie won't be making an E3 appearance this year (Xbox 360)

There's a lot riding on this year's E3. All expectations point to a big reveal from Nintendo; it's Sony's big chance to turn the page on the events of recent weeks; even Microsoft is having trouble quashing rumors that this year will see concrete hints of the Xbox 360's successor. But one big name whose E3 plans have been clearly laid out is Bungie. Unfortunately, those plans are minimal: they're sitting this one out.

Taking what they call a ?band-aid approach,? the�latest post�on the company's weekly news blog doesn?t mince words: ?We won?t officially be at E3 this year... sorry for the sting.? The rumor-control logic's understandable: Bungie's first proper post-Halo project, developed under the banner of their new patrons at Activision, is steeped in speculation ? but a show beset by big hardware rumors might not be the best place to afford the debut of such a property the attention it deserves.

Whatever form that project takes, though ? and whenever we first get to see it ? it won't hurt for development attention. Activision recently issued a report to investors proudly declaring that in Q1 of 2011, Call of Duty: Black Ops ?became the best-selling game of all time in dollars across the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the PC in the U.S. and Europe.? With those results from a series with as fractious a development history as that of CoD, it'll be interesting to see what eventually results from Activision and Bungie's enthusiastic pairing.

May 9, 2011

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