Gates: Xbox to Ship 5.5 Mln, Get HD-DVD

By Geoff Duncan January 4, 2006

Doing his part to stave off consumer complaints about the availability of the new Xbox 360 gaming console during this past holiday season, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said in his keynote at the 2006 CES show in Las Vegas that his company expects to ship between 4.5 and 5.5 million Xbox 360 systems by June 2006. The shipping estimate was re-affirmed by Xbox exec Peter Moore.

By June 2006, Microsoft also expects more than 50 Xbox 360 games geared for high-definition TV systems will be available.

Gates also announced Microsoft plans to deliver an external HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360 in 2006. The new drive would enable Xbox 360 owners

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Eve kneeling with her sword.

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Shadowheart post-launch outfit in Baldur's Gate 3.

Baldur's Gate 3 game director Swen Vincke shocked fans of the Dungeons & Dragons RPG when he revealed that the critically acclaimed game would not get any expansions and that Larian Studios would not go right into making Baldur's Gate 4. Considering how much of a runaway success Baldur's Gate 3 has been, it seemed like that would be the most logical continuation of things. Larian isn't the only studio to leave behind a wildly successful game either; Nintendo has confirmed The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom also won't get any expansions.

Those might seem like baffling decisions, both from a business perspective and from the point of view of an eager player who just wants more of a thing they love. But they become a lot more understandable when you learn to view these games as complete works, appreciate the post-launch support that has happened for a game like Baldur's Gate 3, and turn that excitement toward whatever is coming next from these developers.
A complete work
Vincke explained to IGN that Larian had actually started to do some preliminary work on Baldur's Gate 3 DLC but that the constraints of working within D&D 5th edition meant that work "wasn't really coming from the heart" and that the team's passion lied with two other projects Larian wanted to make. As a result, leadership at Larian made the decision not to work on a massive expansion or sequel to Baldur's Gate 3 for the time being, and Vincke claims the studio was "elated" by that decision. Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma offered a similar sentiment when he revealed Tears of the Kingdom wasn't getting DLC, explaining that "we feel like we have already fully explored and exhausted the gameplay possibilities in this world" and that "the next [Zelda] game will offer a completely new experience."

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Wyll with horns dancing.

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Many of these companions also come with their own series of quests and unlockable skills, turning them into more than just faceless characters to help you in combat. In fact, you can spend hours unraveling their narratives, and depending on your actions, your companions might look very different at the end of Baldur's Gate 3 than when you first met them.