Peter Jackson's game fellowship; Xbox 360 exclusives

News from the virtual world:

— LORD OF HALO: Nobody has more geek cred than Peter Jackson, the guy who finally brought "The Lord of the Rings" to the multiplex. So the news that Jackson — as opposed to, say, Roman Polanski — is turning his attention to video games is no big surprise. He's already producing a film version of "Halo," and Microsoft has announced that he'll be creating two new projects for the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. We're just not sure if we can call them "games." One was described by Microsoft as "the next great chapter in the Halo universe" — one that will come after the long anticipated "Halo 3" and the newly announced "Halo Wars" strategy game.

Jackson's second project will be "an entirely original property targeted at bringing new audiences into the captivating world of interactive entertainment," Microsoft said. Jackson described the Xbox 360 as "the stage where storytellers can work their craft in the same way they do today with movies and books, but taking it further with interactivity."

The company is helping Jackson and his partner, screenwriter Fran Walsh, establish a new studio called Wingnut Interactive, but Microsoft couldn't quite define what kind of "interactive entertainments" might be in store. "We haven't figured it out, to be honest," said Shane Kim of Microsoft Game Studios.

— X-CLUSIVE: Microsoft had a bunch of other announcements at its X06 gathering in Barcelona, Spain, most involving exclusive titles for the 360. Software you won't be seeing on any other console includes the next "Splinter Cell" installment (after this year's "Double Agent"), the underwater adventure "BioShock," the return of the wacky "Banjo-Kazooie" and a couple of downloadable episodes for "Grand Theft Auto IV." There's also the massively multiplayer "Marvel Universe Online," designed by "City of Heroes" creators Cryptic Studios. On the hardware front, Microsoft said the external high-definition DVD player for the 360 would arrive in the United States in mid-November, with a $200 price tag.

— KEN BURNS: As we approach November's launch of Sony's PlayStation 3, there sure has been a lot of buzz about the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii. (The latter console is also debuting next month.) Some fans have even been chattering about investing in the "Wii60," on the assumption that they'll be able to buy both Microsoft's and Nintendo's consoles for about as much money as a PS3. So what does Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi think about the competition? "We do not care," he told British publication MCV.