Microsoft Europe's David Gosen has questioned the gaming industry's seasonal approach to game releases in a recent interview with MCV. According to Gosen, the focus on Q4 and Christmas releases has put the sustainability of new IP into question, and that a second or third release window will be good news for the industry. Great news for my wallet as well, since I won't have to buy all the major releases I want in one big go. More after the jump.

It looks like Blizzard is stirring the pot again for some juicy developments behind the scenes. As some of us probably know, they're currently working on a couple games right now (StarCraft II, Diablo III, etc.). If these two new job postings are any indication though, they're now planning to jumpstart development on an entirely new - and unannounced! - game. With details scarce at the moment, it could be anything right now: a new IP, a new MMO, or maybe a console RTS?

Marvel's getting in on the MMO craze that's about to hit the consoles. Gazillion Entertainment has acquired the rights to create an MMO for the Marvel Universe for the PC and consoles (presumably both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3). Well they couldn't let DC one-up them now could they?

Details after the link.

Ensemble Studios officially closed its doors last week, and Gamasutra was there for a final tour. They also report on the never-to-be Halo MMO, which turns out was a very serious project for Microsoft. Serious enough to actually start building Ensemble a campus to support it.

Rumors have been floating around since 2006 that a Halo MMO was in development, although this has never been solidly confirmed by any studio. It's recently revealed that the MMO was indeed real.

Unfortunately, it was canceled.

Yeah, anticlimactic huh? Anyway, check out screenshots of the never-to-be Halo MMO after the link.

There's always to sides to a fence, so they say. And when it comes to game reviews, the usual side that we see are the journalists' - particularly highlighting the many issues they have to contend with, especially with PR people breathing down their necks to bag a good score for their product. Today, however, we are allowed a peek at the other side of the fence as one guy from the biz explains why devs push the journalists to give their games a good score - and why it is right for them to do it.

Ingle Games, the developer that brought us Magic World Online, has announced that it's preparing for the Closed Beta launch of another free-to-play MMORPG, titled Legend of the Golden Plume Online. Those interested in joining its CB phase will want to visit the full article for the more details.

This issue is another one of those weeks where you could selectively stave off from spending hard-earned cash, but then there are millions of gamers who need their gaming fix. Gladly enough, third-party publishers on the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii have addressed the casual gaming populace, and that pretty much sums up this week's retail release line up. On second thought, no - we still have an MMO, EA Maxis' pre-Spore sampler, a formerly retail, now PSN game, plus the release of Rock Band on the Nintendo Wii. Check the full story for details.

Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (Xbox 360, PC) is shaping up to be quite a game. Jorgen Tharaldsen, the product director for Funcom, has shared quite a number of details about their plans to include cross-platform connectivity between the Xbox 360 and PC version of the game, the possibility of a PlayStation 3 version, and more. To find out what he had to say, check out the full article.

As this month comes to a close, blockbuster titles make the cut to establish March 2008 as a great period in time for us gamers. Of course, we're talking about the launch of big hitters headlined by Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Ryu Hayabusa will draw his Dragon Sword on the DS in North America following its recent Japan release, while glaives are going to fly in Dark Sector for the PS3 and 360. To know more about this week's releases, hit that jump!