DICE 08: Shane Kim on going casual gaming, more Halo projects, praising Wii

Microsoft Game Studios Vice President Shane Kim discussed several choice topics during the recent DICE Summit in Las Vegas last Thursday. Among the things he mentioned were the company’s move to expand its userbase into the casual gaming market, more Halo projects and some other small tidbits discussing the state of the gaming company and its plans for the future (a portable handheld gaming console, perhaps?). Read more about what Shane Kim had to say in the full article.

During the recent DICE Summit at the Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, Microsoft Game Studios Corporate Vice President Shane Kim shared his thoughts on the company’s next-gen console and the direction they planned to take in the coming year.

Many of the questions brought forward by New York Times reporter Seth Schiesel centered on the casual gaming market trend seen these days and how Microsoft planned to capitalize on this.

Kim answered this by saying that Microsoft should be able to expand the console’s userbase this year, although he refrained from giving any concrete details on any first-party title plans to make this happen.

However, he did suggest that other third-party games like Guitar Hero was already setting the standard for the hardcore gaming console to expand their consumer base and hinted that there will be more to come in the near future.

Halo fans were also given a treat as Kim mentioned more projects in the works for their best-selling title. Asides from more downloadable content and the upcoming strategy game Halo Wars, he said that Microsoft will be collaborating with Peter Jackson to create a new interactive series based on the Halo universe.

He also praised the success of the Nintendo Wii, saying that their trend to attract gamers outside of the hardcore circle was a good move for everyone in the industry. However, he was still hopeful that Microsoft may be able to overtake the success of Nintendo’s console in the future.

Other points that were raised by Kim was his expectation for 2008 to be a good fiscal year for the company. Also, he was optimistic about using third-party developers to create more games on the Xbox 360. He ended the interview by mentioning subtle hints on how they were looking into the idea of making a portable gaming platform sometime in the future.