THQ and EA talk next-gen

With Xbox 360's May 12th unveiling fast approaching, talk is starting to extend to the console's third-party software, with THQ and EA both popping up this week to trail their own wares.

THQ yesterday released a brief missive stating that its internal studios Relic Entertainment (Homeworld, Dawn of War) and Volition, Inc. (Red Faction, The Punisher) are working on "exclusive content" for the new format.

EA, meanwhile, has gone a step further, announcing that it plans to broadcast a 60-second advert for its next-generation version of Madden NFL during the NFL draft on American sports TV channel ESPN this Saturday, April 23rd.

EA didn't specify format, but Xbox 360 must be a safe bet, and a PlayStation 3 version is almost certainly on the cards at some point too. What EA did do, however, was release this teaser image.

As we draw closer to May 12th, fully expect there to be plenty more of these little snippets. Although Microsoft recently announced a list of publishers committed to the next-generation format, and confirmed that Fable, Gotham and Halo would appear on the console, discussion of the software itself has otherwise been limited to the odd glimpse of games on release schedules. Only relatively small projects from independents have really been shown in any detail as they pitch for publisher support.

Xbox 360 is due to be unveiled by Microsoft in a half-hour MTV special on May 12th in the US, rebroadcast around the globe a day later. Microsoft then plans to unveil the console in more detail at its pre-E3 press conference on May 16th.