At last week's Xbox spring showcase in San Francisco, we had the chance to talk to Spencer, so naturally the conversation led to a status check on the eponymous war-ready amphibians.

Engadget: Battletoads. You've worn the T-shirts around, when are we going to get a sequel?

Phil Spencer: Well, to be a little defensive, when I wore the T-shirt, we hadn't announced Rare Replay. [Then] we shipped Rare Replay which had Battletoads in it. We hadn't announced that Rash was gonna be in Killer Instinct. Now we've got a playable-in-Killer-instinct Battletoad.

Engadget: The ball is rolling though, right?

Spencer: You could say the ball is rolling. I could also say, at least it wasn't a tease that I was [just] wearing a shirt. We had a plan where Battletoads was going to be showing up in ways that people hadn't played before. But I hear your vote for a new Battletoads. I hear it and I recognize it.

Text alone doesn't convey the coy tone Spencer took during our interview, so that's what the video embedded up above is for; Battletoads talk starts around the 7:30 mark. Now all that we can do is wait. But if Battletoads fans are anything, they're insanely patient.