Microsoft today
confirmed what has been rumored
on the Internet for a few weeks with regards to its Xbox 360 console. The
Redmond giant will include Forza Motorsport 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance with
its Xbox 360 Premium and Xbox 360 Elite consoles.
News of the two bundled games first leaked to the web via
Best Buy's online website -- the store later took the product pages down
(likely after being contacted by Microsoft).
Bundled games are nothing new and retailers often bundle
free games with new consoles during special promotions. When the Xbox 360 price cuts
went into effect over the summer, Circuit
City offered Rockstar Table Tennis
for free with the Xbox 360 Premium.
This move, however, marks the first time that Microsoft
itself has officially included two high profile games with its console.
The holiday season should prove to be quite fulfilling for
potential Xbox 360 customers. Microsoft has already rolled out HDMI ports
on the current crop of Xbox 360 Premium, Xbox 360 Elite and Xbox
360 Halo 3 Special Edition consoles.
In addition, cooler-running 65 nanometer Falcon CPUs
are starting to
show up in Halo 3 Special Edition consoles and will likely rollover to the
rest of the Xbox 360 range shortly.
