Def-Jam ICON Exec. Producer to Head Gears 2!?

Gametap reports that Kudo Tsunoda, the executive producer of the remarkably unremarkable Def Jam: Icon, the slightly-better-than-average Fight Night 04, and " that cancelled Marvel fighting game" is going to be " project lead on an upcoming Gears of War title" ...


WHAT THE HELL!?[:' (]

(Article snipped, the stuff worth reading' s at the bottom.)

Last November when Electronic Arts shuttered its Chicago studio, EA Games president Frank Gibeau said that pulling the plug on the studio was " the toughest decision I' ve made in my career."

But the plug was pulled, with a promise to relocate some staffers and offer others severance and good wishes.

One staffer that won' t be needing the assistance of EA' s HR department is the studio' s former general manager, long-time Electronic Arts exec Kudo Tsunoda. The gregarious GM has taken up a post within the Xbox division at Microsoft, a Microsoft staffer confirmed today.

It was at EA' s Vancouver studio that Tsunoda cut his teeth on fighting games (working first on Fight Night 2004). Tsunoda then moved to Chicago from Vancouver to take the reins of EA' s new Chicago studio--a renamed NuFX, an independent that had worked closely with EA on the commercially successful fighting game.

At the time EA Chicago was shuttered by Electronic Arts, Tsunoda and his team were working on a fighting game incorporating a bevy of Marvel super heroes.

Tsunoda takes the title general manager, reporting to Mattrick. His hire is part of a reporting reorg being implemented by Mattrick, say sources--who also say Tsunoda is project lead on an upcoming Gears of War title.

It' d be on the Microsoft side of things though. Meaning Epic would still be creating win just as much as usual.

He' d probably be there to make sure all of Microsoft' s criteria are fulfilled, making things run smoothly, etc.

Cliffy B is still lead game designer. Tsunoda' s bounced over to Microsoft so yeah, as Unlucky already said, he' ll just be overseeing the project.

on an upcoming Gears of War title

As you can see, it doesn' t say " Gears 2" , but an upcoming " Gears" game. Plus he is with Microsoft, not Epic. Lets face it, with Halo now gone, Microsoft is going to milk Epic' s Gears for all its worth, so for all we know, it could be Tsunoda is overseeing a Gears type of spin-off thing, kind of like Halo Wars being a spin off Halo. I doubt they would let someone completely new to the company take over the spiritual milk-cow follower of Halo, let alone someone who only seems to have experience on a totally different genre.

ORIGINAL: Chimura

on an upcoming Gears of War title

Lets face it, with Halo now gone

Halo gone ? No way . There will be a halo 4 i have no doubt about it .

As you can see, it doesn' t say " Gears 2" , but an upcoming " Gears" game. Plus he is with Microsoft, not Epic. Lets face it, with Halo now gone,

Yes, I caught that, but I doubt they' re going to release an offshoot title so close (in theory) before or after Gears 2. It' d draw away from the hype of the sequel.

Anyhow, Halo was Microsoft' s staple franchise for years, and it took them how long to get a spin-off going?