‘Xbox 360 not tapped out yet,’ says Halo 4 dev

The Xbox 360, now almost six years on the market, hasn’t been tapped out yet, according to Frank O’Connor, creative director at 343 Industries. The ex-Bungie man reckons developers will be getting new things out of the ageing consoles for years to come.

“Pushing console hardware to its limits has been a part of gaming since Activision stuck a DSP in Pitfall 2 for the Atari 2600. Even as a kid, I remembered thinking that it was cool that my console could always squeeze a few more tricks late into its life cycle,” O’Connor told Nowgamer. “The 360 has been incredibly successful in no small part thanks to its flexibility and technical headroom. The thing is not tapped out yet, and I expect devs to be coaxing marvels from it for years to come. Our team has great experience with the hardware and will have a few surprises of its own.”

Halo 4 has so far only been shown in teaser-trailer form. Big things will be expected from next year’s biggest Xbox 360 exclusive, and cutting-edge visuals are a must. The first game to come from 343 is Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, which hits Xbox 360 on November 15, complete with brand new HD visuals and Kinect features.

Microsoft has already stated that 343 can take over Halo without missing a beat, but can it produce a first-party exclusive with visuals that rival what’s on offer on from Sony’s PS3? Time will tell.