It seems reports of anger from the camp regarding Microsofts late decision to exclude their new game from their E3 briefing are unfounded, at least if you believe Microsofts Don Mattrick.

Speaking to Eurogamer the boss of the business said "Sure they're disappointed. Any software creator would be disappointed. Harold [Ryan, Bungie president] just laughed and he said, 'Boy, just a sign of growth inside the business, we agree'."

He went on to say "We didn't feel we needed to show Halo to have a great show, to pay homage to our core audience, to have a lot of news, so it was an embarrassment of riches and we couldn't fit it in. How great is that? I think that's awesome."

Instead are planning another event "another time of the year that'll go deep on Halo" which is sure to garner shed loads of attention although at the moment no-one is quite sure what exactly this new game is.

"It's awesome, it's highly anticipated, it's friggin' Halo! People love it, right? I can't say a lot about it." Said Mattrick, giving us pretty much nowt to go on.

Let the rumours begin.

By Paul Newcombe