THE BUZZ: Xbox Corporate VP Phil Spencer has defended the lack of Xbox 360 exclusives coming in 2012 by stating that the release schedule is about, “quality and impact, not number of releases in a year.”

The only major exclusives releasing this year so far are Halo 4, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare and Fable: The Journey, which has left many fans wanting more. ”Creating core IP, as many first- and third-parties have seen over the years, isn’t an easy thing,” Spencer said in the latest issue of Game Informer. ”I went through the process of creating Gears with Epic and I know the sweat, time, and effort that went into it. I also worked on things like Alan Wake, Too Human, Crackdown, and stuff that didn’t hit the same level of success, but had an equal amount of sweat equity and heart go into getting created.”

EGM’s TAKE: It’s understandable that fans are a little concerned by the lack of exclusive AAA titles this year, however as long as what is delivered is of top level quality then there is no real reason to be worried. There may be another reason behind the lack of first party exclusives however, if rumors are to be believed, it could be due to some studios working on Next Gen projects. It makes sense for their to be a lack of content during a wind down year, so there is a very real possibility that we could see next gen announcements at some point this year. Spencer did mention future projects stating: ”It will continue to be something that we focus on with new partners like Crytek and new people that aren’t announced yet.” Expect 2013 to be full of exclusive first party titles.

Are you happy with this years release line-up? Leave a comment below.