[E3 08] - Microsoft Presser Recap

[Dr.Finger]

Lots of information came at us fast and furious at Microsoft's E3 press conference.

- Fallout 3. Coming this fall, with exclusive downloadable content (DLC) for the Xbox 360 and Games for Windows versions. A trailer, in the style of a 50's commercial, and a section of live gameplay were shown.

- Resident Evil 5. March 13th 2009. Playable footage, including co-operative gameplay was shown. Plus, chainsaw wielding zombies.

- Fable 2. This October. In-game footage was shown, focusing on your dog and the family you can gain during the game. When someone on your friends list is playing the game, you'll see them as a floating orb as they move through the game world, and you'll be able to join together for co-op play at any time.

- Gears of War 2. November 7th, 2008. Campaign has 2 player co-op, but there will be a 5 player mode in multiplayer. Flamethrowers, elevators, grappling hooks, and riding the Broomax.

- Completely revamped dashboard (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57664), complete with Mii-like Avatars and party rooms with chat that span multiple games. Xbox Live Primetime will feature gameshows like 1 vs. 100, which will allow you to play for prizes. (click here for a shot of the new dashboard (http://evilavatar.com/images/XBDB.jpg))

- New XBLA Games. Geometry Wars 2, Uno Rush, Galaga Colonies, the original Banjo-Kazooie and a new South Park game.

- Portal: Still Alive. A version of Portal for XBLA.

- Netflix integrated into Xbox Live. Netflix customers will be able to stream movies to their Xbox for no additional fee. You'll also be able to view movies with people on your friends list like you're all sitting on a virtual couch.

- Scene-It: Box Office Smash. A new version of Scene-It will be the first game to integrate the Avatars into the gameplay.

- You're In the Movies. A new title that uses the Xbox Vision Camera to integrate you into b-grade movies at home.

- Guitar Hero: World Tour. They announced exclusives with Metallica, Van Halen and the Eagles. 85 songs, all master tracks, on the disc at launch.

- Lips. Microsoft's karaoke game, ships this holiday season. Ships with two wireless mics, allowing for duets. Comes with music on the disc, but will also let you use your own tracks from a Zune or an iPod.

- Rock Band 2. Will release first for the 360 in September. Comes with 84 tracks on the disc, but you'll be able to DL 20 more when it's released for the other systems in November for free. You'll also be able to transfer "most' of the on-disc songs from RB1 into RB2, as well as using all of the DLC in the new game. Bob Dylan and AC/DC will be in the game, as will a new song off of the new Guns n' Roses album, Chinese Democracy. They also announced the full setlist (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57613).

- Square Enix. Infinite Undiscovery September 2nd. Last Remnant November 20th. Star Ocean 4 Spring 2009.

- Final Fantasy 13 on 360 (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57634). The big announcement from the show. No word on when, but it is coming to Microsoft's system.

[oldjadedgamer]

Is the new Scene It online? If not, I give this a big thumbs down.

[Murtaug]

That new dashboard looks ... horrible.

[Evil Avnovice]

Other than Resident Evil 5, that's about it.

[Paranoia]

The Xbox Live Avatar is nice. Its not too realistic to be awkward (PS3) and not too cartoony to be kiddy (Wii).

[MelbaToast]

I hope the dashboard comes out better than it currently looks. I don't want avatars and virtual lounges, I want something that's simple and easy to navigate. I don't need the fluff.

[Rarely Operable Brain]

Being a current Netflix customer, the bit about streaming movies through my 360 (and therefore on to my TV), at no additional charge, is welcome news. :cool:

[divinechaos]

Holy fuck. Those are all great news, I wonder how Sony will top that.

[Venkman]

They had a design firm come up with the blade system before. I'd bet money that the revamped dashboard was done in house. it shows, IMO.

not like I care, though. I'm too busy playing actual games on my system to spend too much time in the dash.

[Rarely Operable Brain]

I'll reserve judgment on the new-look dashboard until I get to view it on my TV. I think a "smart" move would be to include a feature that lets you switch back to the "classic dashboard" at your convenience.

[Talon-]

Holy fuck. Those are all great news, I wonder how Sony will top that.

Really? It felt like an underwhelming press conference until the FFXIII bombshell.

[CaptStu]

Really? It felt like an underwhelming press conference until the FFXIII bombshell.

I didn't think it was that bad at all. Some of the execution was awkward, but they covered every base pretty well.

[Talon-]

I didn't think it was that bad at all. Some of the execution was awkward, but they covered every base pretty well.

I meant underwhelming in the sense that there were no real surprises. Some release dates were thrown out, we saw the Wii Twos and a meh-worthy dashboard update.

[rjcc]

no knockout punches, but there are definitely body blows to sony. rock band 2 timed exclusive, FFXIII crossing over, the new dash takes basically everything useful about Home, and puts it in a package that microsoft can realistically launch while Home is in beta for the next 5 years.

[divinechaos]

I meant underwhelming in the sense that there were no real surprises. Some release dates were thrown out, we saw the Wii Twos and a meh-worthy dashboard update.

I guess I should hold judgement until Sony and Ninty speak but I felt like Microsoft pretty much owns it all right now. They gave out solid release dates AND they took a huge game from the PS3's line-up. Sony NEEDS a FFVII remake to get those FF points back.

[pseudopseudo]

I'm watching the conference right now... and damn. Fallout 3 actually looks really badass. I wasn't expecting that.

[Talon-]

I guess I should hold judgement until Sony and Ninty speak but I felt like Microsoft pretty much owns it all right now. They gave out solid release dates AND they took a huge game from the PS3's line-up. Sony NEEDS a FFVII remake to get those FF points back.

Mmm...yeah, you should probably reserve judgment until Sony and Nintendo have had their say.

Now where's that motion controller?

[trip1eX]

I wanted to hear about new hardware that is quiet and reliable, free Live and an fps controller. I struck out there.

They did do a nice hurt on Sony with FFXIII though.

Casual stuff just feels like its going to tank.

[pseudopseudo]

I wanted to hear about new hardware that is quiet and reliable, free Live and an fps controller. I struck out there.

They did do a nice hurt on Sony with FFXIII though.

Casual stuff just feels like its going to tank.

The failure rate of the 360's with the new chipset is way down, AFAIK. Free Live is ridiculous to even think about, and an FPS controller? What exactly does that entail?

The casual stuff probably won't tank, but I think you're right in that it won't do as well as Microsoft wants it to.

[Wslove]

Netflix intergration + watching movies with friends is so full of win I'm wondering just how the MPAA allowed it. I mean, usually they are like "Nope, too consumer friendly and full of win. No Dice."

MS was all like, "Fuck a Halo. We got assloads of cool shit here!. Face!"

[Morratut]

They had a design firm come up with the blade system before. I'd bet money that the revamped dashboard was done in house. it shows, IMO.

not like I care, though. I'm too busy playing actual games on my system to spend too much time in the dash.

So so true. I hate the new dash.

The new dash looks like ass.

I don't want a boring interface like on the PS3 or crap Wii type interface.

Give me a dash like the one that guy thought up about a week ago. That looked nice.

[snubber]

Any word when the Netflix integration will roll out?

[Talon-]

So so true. I hate the new dash.

The new dash looks like ass.

I don't want a boring interface like on the PS3 or crap Wii type interface.

Give me a dash like the one that guy thought up about a week ago. That looked nice.

That dashboard was way too cluttered. There's a reason that there are bountiful amounts of free space on the blades: it's easier to use that way.

It may seem like second nature for us to click on the RB, but most people wouldn't know what the hell the RB is.

[bub64882]

No Blu-Ray support announcement? WTF? Sony doesn't need to top anything. They have an HD movie player and XBox has a failed Toshiba experiment. Downloading netflix is Great, but what if I don't want to risk the RROD on a 2 day download?

I expected to hear something about Blu-Ray....

[pseudopseudo]

No Blu-Ray support announcement? WTF? Sony doesn't need to top anything. They have an HD movie player and XBox has a failed Toshiba experiment. Downloading netflix is Great, but what if I don't want to risk the RROD on a 2 day download?

I expected to hear something about Blu-Ray....

Microsoft doesn't need Blu-Ray. It looks like they're grabbing digital distribution by the horns and running with it.

What they NEED is a bigger, cheaper hard drive.

[pseudopseudo]

Sorry for the double post... but holy shit! Geometry Wars 2 looks fucking badass!

[bub64882]

Microsoft doesn't need Blu-Ray. It looks like they're grabbing digital distribution by the horns and running with it.

What they NEED is a bigger, cheaper hard drive.

No, they need a Blu-Ray player. Don't get me wrong...Digital is wonderful, and I'm glad they are seeing some vision there, and bringing Netflix to the download world is great.

But people buy movies. I'm not gonna wait for a download when my kid is screaming for his fucking Mickey Mouse. I need that shit playing in 3 minutes or less.

And yeah, a bigger cheaper hard drive would also be nice. :)

[pseudopseudo]

I'm not gonna wait for a download when my kid is screaming for his fucking Mickey Mouse. I need that shit playing in 3 minutes or less.

If their 360 Netflix client runs like their "Instant View" online... you can basically watch the movie almost instantly. It's really pretty sweet.

I can't argue - people do like to have physical movie collections. I think the Netflix thing was Microsoft's answer to that, though. I know I'm excited.

[bub64882]

In HD? I'll suspend my disappointment until I see it, but...Internet connections, even broadband, are not created equal. I will be extremely impressed if I can expect to watch the movie within an hour after I start the download.

[Fubl]

well hate to breka it to you bub but for the most part blu ray sales are down and prices have gone back up since the run with toshiba. With the recent US monetary issues nobody can really Afford a 400 dollar video disk player and pay 30 dollars for a movie if you buy from a B&M store. And i had a feeling paramount was going to do what they did and just try and push Upscaleing DVD players instead of going all out blu ray.

[Talon-]

I can't argue - people do like to have physical movie collections. I think the Netflix thing was Microsoft's answer to that, though. I know I'm excited.

You know, I'm actually interested to see if people will be willing to forgo physical copies of movies like they did with music. My gut instinct says yes because people were so adamant about CDs, but the popularity of HD-based players almost killed that immediately.

[Wslove]

No Blu-Ray support announcement? WTF? Sony doesn't need to top anything. They have an HD movie player and XBox has a failed Toshiba experiment. Downloading netflix is Great, but what if I don't want to risk the RROD on a 2 day download?

I expected to hear something about Blu-Ray....

Listen. Concern trolling is for passive aggressive losers. You're a Sony fanboy. Don't deny it. And don't throw in faux concern when you try to make an attack on the Xbox. Just go full throttle. It's just as effective (meaning not effective at all) and you don't have to concern yourself with trying to sound "nice" toward the Xbox.

And for the record, Netflix streams their movies. The only ones spending 2 days downloading their movies are bittorrent guys. You can get a Netflix movie up and running in less then five minutes.

[Teh Super King]

But people buy movies. I'm not gonna wait for a download when my kid is screaming for his fucking Mickey Mouse. I need that shit playing in 3 minutes or less.

Yes people buy movies and the 360 supports the most popular format for watching movies DVDs. With dvds making up 80% of the movie market share right now they have no major need to bring out a Blu-Ray usb attachment device.

[donkeydrop]

The install to the HD option looks good to me. I'm fed up with lock-ups from flaky optical drives which seem to plague the 360 (and original Xbox). I'd rather spend 10 mins on an install than lose 30 minutes of gameplay on a regular basis.

[Robber Baron]

Wow, no Halos or waggles.

[Deadend]

I love the FFXIII, everyone called it, but hahahahahahahahaha.

[Meatgortex]

I'm not gonna wait for a download when my kid is screaming for his fucking Mickey Mouse. I need that shit playing in 3 minutes or less.

Time between clicking Instant Watch link and movie starting for me from Netflix is sub-30 seconds over 6mb DSL.

[bub64882]

Listen. Concern trolling is for passive aggressive losers. You're a Sony fanboy. Don't deny it. And don't throw in faux concern when you try to make an attack on the Xbox. Just go full throttle. It's just as effective (meaning not effective at all) and you don't have to concern yourself with trying to sound "nice" toward the Xbox.

And for the record, Netflix streams their movies. The only ones spending 2 days downloading their movies are bittorrent guys. You can get a Netflix movie up and running in less then five minutes.

Assume much? The ONLY console I have is a 360. How am I a Sony fanboy?

I am expressing genuine disappointment because I was hoping to watch HD movies on my HD TV. Sorry you can't handle any critism. Who's the fanboy again?

And maybe Netflix streams their movies, but the 360 doesn't. My only experience is in dowloading HD over the Xbox. Have you tried that lately? It takes forever. When my download finished, the movie was already on the 24 hour timer to delete.

To Teh Super King, I disagree. The Xbox prides itself on being an HD device. To include an actual HD player seems like a no brainer to me.

Clearly there are those out there who could care less about Blu-Ray support. But I doubt I'm alone in wanting to see the Xbox compete w/ Sony with their own player.

[MrSatan]

Lol, it cracks me up to see people saying they don't need Blu-Ray. I don't know about you, but I don't want my harddrive filled with HD movies. Hell a Blu-Ray ripped, renencoded to 720p and then compressed still takes up 5-6 gigs depending on compression (which the Xbox can't use many of the high level video compression formats). That really isn't that many movies if you consider using your harddrive for things other than movies.

Also I don't know about you guys, but I guess you are pretty satisfied with streaming quality HD. Streaming HD is not true HD and I would NEVER watch a movie with that unless it was a local connection stream.

[Jackel]

Assume much? The ONLY console I have is a 360. How am I a Sony fanboy?

I am expressing genuine disappointment because I was hoping to watch HD movies on my HD TV. Sorry you can't handle any critism. Who's the fanboy again?

And maybe Netflix streams their movies, but the 360 doesn't. My only experience is in dowloading HD over the Xbox. Have you tried that lately? It takes forever. When my download finished, the movie was already on the 24 hour timer to delete.

To Teh Super King, I disagree. The Xbox prides itself on being an HD device. To include an actual HD player seems like a no brainer to me.

Clearly there are those out there who could care less about Blu-Ray support. But I doubt I'm alone in wanting to see the Xbox compete w/ Sony with their own player.

Re-read the recap. Netflix streaming support is what is being added...so your 360 WILL be able to stream.

[lost]

I dunno. I'm gonna say they needed to come up with some of their own new design ideas.

The new dashboard looks like the scroller thing on iPods and the Mii is just...unnecessary. SingStar to huh. Hmmm...ellipses.


Netflix could be cool and I'd pay for Portal: Still Alive if it's not just a download version of the same game.

[xoanon]

I'm most excited about the netflix deal. There's more info in here:

http://bit.ly/MywLY

Free for existing subscribers and live gold members!

[jeffbax]

Things I like:

Netflix - awesome, although I don't have Netflix, I'd sure think about it for this and I hope Sony has something to match it.

Avatars & Dashboard - much better than the Mii's IMO, and the Dashboard looks a lot more refined and hopefully streamlined/faster. I don't like thinking about how many ads they will probably throw in those empty spaces...

FF13 - big deal, although wasn't the reason I am getting a PS3 in august anyway... nor would it bring me back into the fold. Still don't know why they wouldn't assure it got released in Japan where it really counts.

Fable 2, Gears 2, Portal = sweet.

XBLA - other than portal and Geo Wars 2... yawn. This has been a trend lately it seems. A lot of soulless crap.

HD ripping - awesome. Anemic, nondefault HDD and super expensive addons not so awesome.

Metallica - Fuck Metallica.

The Eagles? ... Though Hotel California is always epic
http://paulduncan.org/files/big_lebowski-eagles.png

[pseudopseudo]

Did anyone catch where during the Rock Band 2 portion of the presser, the guy kept saying how it was coming out first exclusively for Xbox 360? Was it that way for the first Rock Band - a staggered release?

[Deadend]

Things I like:

Netflix - awesome, although I don't have Netflix, I'd sure think about it for this and I hope Sony has something to match it.

Avatars & Dashboard - much better than the Mii's IMO, and the Dashboard looks a lot more refined and hopefully streamlined/faster. I don't like thinking about how many ads they will probably throw in those empty spaces...

FF13 - big deal, although wasn't the reason I am getting a PS3 in august anyway... nor would it bring me back into the fold. Still don't know why they wouldn't assure it got released in Japan where it really counts.

Fable 2, Gears 2, Portal = sweet.

XBLA - other than portal and Geo Wars 2... yawn. This has been a trend lately it seems. A lot of soulless crap.

HD ripping - awesome. Anemic, nondefault HDD and super expensive addons not so awesome.

Metallica - Fuck Metallica.

The Eagles? ... Though Hotel California is always epic
http://paulduncan.org/files/big_lebowski-eagles.png

OMG, did Jeffbax almost say something nice about the 360?

[jeffbax]

OMG, did Jeffbax almost say something nice about the 360?

Because... you know, buying the thing in the first place and 25 games, loving the first Xbox, and hating the customer abuse the hardware and XBL fees turned out to be... that makes one a fanboy.

I gave it more than a fair shot, and have never had anything but a completely rational opinion regarding it.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

Hmmm, nothing that really grabs me. I'm glad that the Fallout 3 stuff is hitting the PC as well - I'd be kind of irked if it was going to be 360 only.

The Netflix deal is cool, provided it actually comes out reasonably soon.

The FFXIII announcement surprised me, but I'm not a big JRPG fan. It's great for those who are though.

Overall I'd say that this Press Event was kind of so-so. Hopefully the new dashboard looks better in person and isn't chock full of advertising.

[Sammael]

great keynote, but I think I might be falling out of gaming.
I can't get into anything FF since FFX...

Even RE5 footage had me kind of like "um, ok?" I know it will be fun, but it looked to me like there were no improvements in animations. Now it looks like you get to shoot people with some weird form of arthritis... they look cooler, but move the same?

I love some of the live ideas. being able to drag parties across apps is awesome.

But so far, Fable 2 looked the most intriguinig.

Also, Fallout 3? is it turn-based? or can you run and gun? I think I missed something, because that demo made me begin to lose interest.

I have all 3 major consoles, and it looks like MS is upping the ante. I kind of doubt Sony can compete this year.

Maybe I'm just getting too old for this shit. I nitpick everything now...

[Sloth]

Fallout 3 was very disappointing to me. It didn't look RPGish at all.

FF13 to Xbox is a the mother of all bombs. The PS3 fanboys are hurting. They'll be hurting even more when xbox FF13 outsells the PS3 like it did on Madden and GTA.

If Sony has nothing besides Home to pull out of their hat tomorrow, they will look lost.

[pseudopseudo]

Also, Fallout 3? is it turn-based? or can you run and gun? I think I missed something, because that demo made me begin to lose interest.

You can do real-time battle. That turn-based-looking battle was Fallout3's new V.A.T.S. (Vault-tec Assisted Targeting System) - you basically pick what parts of the body you want to hit on your opponent, and you can stack attacks. Then when you start it, it just all goes on its own. Kind of interesting.

[Meatgortex]

Also, Fallout 3? is it turn-based? or can you run and gun?

It's a mixture like KOTOR or to some degree Mass Effect. Since the original Fallouts were turn based they needed to do something for people that play that way, so you can stop time and get a %-to hit for various targeted body parts. You can also just play in realtime is that's your thing.

I assume all other equipment skills progression will be handled similarly to Oblivion except through the pipboy interface.

[AgtFox]

Did anyone catch where during the Rock Band 2 portion of the presser, the guy kept saying how it was coming out first exclusively for Xbox 360? Was it that way for the first Rock Band - a staggered release?
No it wasn't. The 360 and PS3 versions came out at the same time. This time around the 360 version will be out in September, the rest by the end of the year...timed exclusive.

[xoanon]

No it wasn't. The 360 and PS3 versions came out at the same time. This time around the 360 version will be out in September, the rest by the end of the year...timed exclusive.

A huge coup for Microsoft, if you ask me.

[GunnyMo]

Netflix intergration + watching movies with friends is so full of win I'm wondering just how the MPAA allowed it.

I totally agree. That right there is a 100% reason to get with, or back with, Netflix and Live. If I can download/stream any Netflix movie I want and not have to pay anything else above Live and Netflix...fucking awesome. Hands down fucking awesome! To me, that is the perfect On Demand system.

Big props to the folks that put that idea together.

That said, I won't believe till it happens and includes 100% the Netflix catalog. We'll see this fall.

[Sammael]

why do i get the feeling if your friends want to watch netflix movies with you, they pay a viewing charge...

[pseudopseudo]

That said, I won't believe till it happens and includes 100% the Netflix catalog. We'll see this fall.

The current "Watch It Now" catalog isn't even close to 100% of what Netflix has. I'm guessing it'll be expanded when the service comes out for the Xbox, but I'm sure it still won't be 100% of Netflix's library.

why do i get the feeling if your friends want to watch netflix movies with you, they pay a viewing charge...

That's not what was said in the presser this afternoon.

[Meatgortex]

-GunnyMo

It's likely just the WatchInstantly streaming catalog, not the full Netflix catalog. The same stuff the Roku player can access.

[DaXIthR]

-GunnyMo

It's likely just the WatchInstantly streaming catalog, not the full Netflix catalog. The same stuff the Roku player can access.

The question is - what to do with the Roku player now?

[oldjadedgamer]

No it wasn't. The 360 and PS3 versions came out at the same time. This time around the 360 version will be out in September, the rest by the end of the year...timed exclusive.

In Europe Rock Band 1 is a timed exclusive to the 360.

[Your Good Twin]

*in Harry Caray voice* Game over! Microsoft wins! Microsoft wins!

[Syrinx]

Assume much? The ONLY console I have is a 360. How am I a Sony fanboy?

I am expressing genuine disappointment because I was hoping to watch HD movies on my HD TV. Sorry you can't handle any critism. Who's the fanboy again?

And maybe Netflix streams their movies, but the 360 doesn't. My only experience is in dowloading HD over the Xbox. Have you tried that lately? It takes forever. When my download finished, the movie was already on the 24 hour timer to delete.

We watched the HD version of National Treasure 2 a few weeks ago off of the 360 and the movie was up and running after 15-20 minutes.

[Ondo]

So Microsoft claims the new Galaga is created by the same team that made Pac-Man Championship Edition. This sounds like bullshit, since Toru Iwatani, the designer behind Pac-Man Championship Edition and the original Pac-Man, retired.

The rest of the team might still be there, but who cares?

[oldjadedgamer]

We watched the HD version of National Treasure 2 a few weeks ago off of the 360 and the movie was up and running after 15-20 minutes.

You must have a slow connection. Mine are ready after about 5 minutes. Do you have DSL?

[fitbabits]

Wow! Microsoft just knocked it out the motherfucking park with that press conference.

[fitbabits]

Did anyone catch where during the Rock Band 2 portion of the presser, the guy kept saying how it was coming out first exclusively for Xbox 360? Was it that way for the first Rock Band - a staggered release?

I thought that was already known - that Rock Band 2 is a timed exclusive for Xbox 360. I've known about it for a while. The talk is a 3-6 month exclusivity period, during which the Xbox 360 will be home to exclusive track downloads, etc.

[oldjadedgamer]

Wow! Microsoft just knocked it out the motherfucking park with that press conference.

All eyes are on Sony tomorrow to see what they are going to do and how in the world they can top this one.

If Nintendo announces Kingdom Hearts 3 at their press conference for the Wii, it's all over.

[jeffbax]

Wow! Microsoft just knocked it out the motherfucking park with that press conference.

Really? FF13 was a big thing to land but other than that it was pretty ho-hum gaming wise. Not bad, but nothing mind blowing just yet.

And no, FF13 for 360 will not outsell the PS3 version which has both the loyal userbase that's been crying for it for ages now, and the fact that FF13 for 360 will not be released in Japan.

[El Ikkir]

A reaction from a non-X360 fanboy:

Fallout 3 is a must buy... ...Resident Evil 4 with Updated Graphics... ...Some games I'm not even remotely interested in... ...Alot of "Meh" in between... ...Oh look more "new" futures not alot of people will care about... ...Oh Shit... Final Fantasy on XBOX?!?... ...but only outside Japan...

I would give it a C+, maybe even a B- just for pulling out the cash and getting FFXIII (even thought no one knows any details yet).

[fitbabits]

Really? FF13 was a big thing to land but other than that it was pretty ho-hum gaming wise. Not bad, but nothing mind blowing just yet.

And no, FF13 for 360 will not outsell the PS3 version which has both the loyal userbase that's been crying for it for ages now, and the fact that FF13 for 360 will not be released in Japan.

Man, there was so much more to the conference than FFXIII.

[f1sh3r]

Man, there was so much more to the conference than FFXIII.

for me ffxiii wasn't even remotely interesting, and the keynote blew me away. so much to look forward to this fall. i can't wait to start using my xbox 360 at default res on my 20" lcd.

[jeffbax]

Man, there was so much more to the conference than FFXIII.

Not really... we knew about mostly everything. Avatars, Netflix, and Dashboard updates are cool but they are not new games.

Fable 2, RE5, Fallout 3, Gears 2, Rockband 2, Guitar Hero, Infinite Undiscovery, Last Remnant.... we knew about all of these. Even the big announcement was an existingly known game.

Portal was new, and Geowars 2... but what else? It was a solid lineup but nothing surprising (again besides FF13). I knew the 360 had the significant games shown coming this fall already... which is why it was ho-hum IMO.

[fitbabits]

Not really... we knew about mostly everything. Avatars, Netflix, and Dashboard updates are cool but they are not new games.

Fable 2, RE5, Fallout 3, Gears 2, Rockband 2, Guitar Hero, Infinite Undiscovery, Last Remnant.... we knew about all of these. Even the big announcement was an existingly known game.

Portal was new, and Geowars 2... but what else? It was a solid lineup but nothing surprising (again besides FF13). I knew the 360 had the significant games shown coming this fall already... which is why it was ho-hum IMO.

How jaded...

I seem to recall people saying that nothing is confirmed until Microsoft says so. Well, it's all confirmed now, so that means it's less meaningful. Right?

Where's the logic in that?

[Abash Alarmist]

Biggest thing that piques my interest is the streaming NetFlix. I was thinking about ordering a Roku, but now I don't have to. Yay!

[jeffbax]

How jaded...

I seem to recall people saying that nothing is confirmed until Microsoft says so. Well, it's all confirmed now, so that means it's less meaningful. Right?

Where's the logic in that?

Wait what? What wasn't confirmed? FF13, Portal, and GeoWars were announcements but the rest was already confirmed... except for things like Netflix and Avatars which are alright (awesome in Netflix's case) but not really a reason for me to get more excited about gaming than I would have already been.

[torrefaction]

Hooolllyyyyy shit.

Sony better be playing all aces.

[wyeast]

Screw games. I'm watchin' movies with my friends across the country! :D

[Ondo]

I think Banjo-Kazooie coming to XBLA may have been my favorite announcement. I figured rights to it were split between Nintendo and Rare, and thus it would never see the light of day again. Glad to be wrong - I think this means I can get rid of my N64.

[DaXIthR]

Biggest thing that piques my interest is the streaming NetFlix. I was thinking about ordering a Roku, but now I don't have to. Yay!

I'm not keen on switching to XBL Gold, but the Netflix is a big draw. I already have a Roku player - they are awesome - and I think the little black box is going to the bedroom if I do end up upgrading my Live account.

[Abash Alarmist]

I'm not keen on switching to XBL Gold, but the Netflix is a big draw. I already have a Roku player - they are awesome - and I think the little black box is going to the bedroom if I do end up upgrading my Live account.

A buddy of mine has a Roku box, and it is fantastic. I've wanted one, but wasn't too keen on spending $100 just for a movie player; but since I already own a 360, I'm golden.

[lost]

It might interest some to know that this site: http://www.weeworld.com/; is currently in a legal battle over Mii's.

They had them a good couple of years before Nintendo. Microsoft will be getting served soon too.

I'll be honest, I'm a bit bothered that nobody is critical of the decision to include these avatars. After the hammering PS3 got for the motion sensing controller decision it seems a little hypocritical. I dunno, maybe those people aren't in the room.

[lost]

Hooolllyyyyy shit.

Sony better be playing all aces.

What?

I'm shocked at the level of shock garnered by these announcements. Really not that impressed. Think of conferences past where Microsoft really did put Sony under immense ammounts of pressure. If I was Sony PR dude right now, I'd be feeling OK.

[Evil Avnovice]

Slight edit: Having caught the full conference on G4, Galaga Legions looks cool, and I may be interested in Fallout 3. The rest of the conference was weak, but there were a few more games for me to pick out.

[f1sh3r]

What?

I'm shocked at the level of shock garnered by these announcements. Really not that impressed. Think of conferences past where Microsoft really did put Sony under immense ammounts of pressure. If I was Sony PR dude right now, I'd be feeling OK.

haha. if i were sony pr i'd be taking a hard look at what "home" was offering my users. granted it's free, which is fast becoming it's only selling point, but xbl is actually getting better, not just adding flash to a dull overall package. both systems play games, it's the perks that make a difference to me. i also like the fact they are supporting their gold users, making that 50 bucks a year a little sweeter to spend. i'm getting tired of hearing "why can't silver have this, why can't silver have that?" maybe because we pay for our service, and we expect to get to a little more for our money. if it's getting the latest demo a week early, or getting netflix streaming, it's nice to see we get something other than online play for our cash.

[Talon-]

I'll be honest, I'm a bit bothered that nobody is critical of the decision to include these avatars. After the hammering PS3 got for the motion sensing controller decision it seems a little hypocritical. I dunno, maybe those people aren't in the room.

There were enough people in the chat room yesterday cracking jokes about the Avatars being "Mii Toos"/"Mii Twos" and groaning when they unveiled the new GUI.

Honestly, it felt like a very mum press conference until the FFXIII bombshell. Knocking it out of the park sounds a bit optimistic.

[Sammael]

Those conferences are kind of funny. The crowd assembled is filled with people that are not too likely to hoot and holler, but they try to get everyone EXCITED! Woot!!!!

It seems kind of lame. Business meetings about videogames have always struck me as sort of weird.
"lets take something toooootally unfun and make the main focus "the fun" but we need to remain totatlly serious. Ready? " No.

That new 360 interface... how about giving us all an option for a "no frills" selection too. Something that loads only the bare minimum so that we can do what we want with the damned thing... play games. I just get the feeling part of the new blade system will be to fit more adds.

[pseudopseudo]

Those conferences are kind of funny. The crowd assembled is filled with people that are not too likely to hoot and holler, but they try to get everyone EXCITED! Woot!!!!

I laughed SO many times at that yesterday - the most apparent case being when the Guitar Hero guy came out.

Guy: "I'm so excited today to come out and talk to you about GUITAR HERO!!!" *pause for applause*
Crowd: *one guy half-heartedly clapping*

That shit's awesome.

[lost]

I laughed SO many times at that yesterday - the most apparent case being when the Guitar Hero guy came out.

Guy: "I'm so excited today to come out and talk to you about GUITAR HERO!!!" *pause for applause*
Crowd: *one guy half-heartedly clapping*

That shit's awesome.

The world is quickly tiring of these games.

[Zeal]

i would say this was easily the lamest e3 of all time.

[H.Bogard]

i would say this was easily the lamest e3 of all time.

To me there has only been one E3 : 2004.

That is all.

[Wraith]

Not sure if this was brought up yet: Netflix requires Live Gold (in addition to Netflix membership).1UP: Let's talk about the new Xbox Live functionality for a moment. So, now you can use NetFlix, create your own avatars, and you have an improved Xbox Live interface. With NetFlix, can subscribers with existing accounts use it with their 360s?

SK: As long as they have Gold membership, they can download all the movies they want on their 360, and they can share it with a friend, who also has a NetFlix account and a Gold membership.1up (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3168783)

[f1sh3r]

Not sure if this was brought up yet: Netflix requires Live Gold (in addition to Netflix membership).1up (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3168783)

yes it has already been whined about.