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Microsoft E3 2008 Press Event
By Joe Haygood | July 14, 2008
The show just started with the new spokesman of the company, Dave McKitrich, I think. I did not get the name down fast enough.
We start with a Fallout 3 skit. Straight of of a 1950’s instructional video, we have a commercial for a space in the Vaults, common to Fallout 3. Todd Howard just came out from Bethesda. He said that a new trailer should be out in a couple of hours. YAY, actual game footage. Wow, this footage is smooth. The enclave is still broadcasting footage. The PIPBoy looks awesome. You can pick up radio signals to play background music and sound. That dude just exploded into pieces. Very violent. VATS looks really good, but could use some work. Over 100 hours of gameplay. Active combat seems to work well. The game remembers your behaviors, just like the original game. The enclave seems to not like you. Mini nukes rule all. DLC will be substantial for Fallout 3 and will be exclusive to Xbox 360 and Games for Windows.
June Takehashi (spelling is probably off), developer of Resident Evil 5 is showing off the new footage. It is the first time a Resident Evil game is showing up on a Microsoft console. Definitely has a Resident Evil 4 feel. Chris is in Africa to investigate the spread of the zombie infection. He is part of a new agency, the DFAA. Online co-op is shown off. The lady backing up Chris is Sheva Alomar (Speling may be off). In co-op, you approach the game from different angles to solve puzzles it looks like. They show Sheva shooting out a lock so Chris could continue on his journey. The guys are being rushed to finish the demo. Crazy chainsaw guys shows up just as they end the demo. The game looks good. Resident Evil will go on sale worldwide on Friday the 13th, March 2009.
Peter Molyneux hits the stage next. Always the hypemaster, lets see what he has to say about Fable 2. Holy crap these visuals are amazing. Not sure if it is pre-rendered or in-engine. The game starts you off from a little kid, and follows your development into an adult. They are teasing us with something else. They are showing off co-op mode. You walk up to a purple orb, and see a player on your friends list. Click on it and they are transported into your game. The uniqueness of this, will allow a new player to see how your world differs from theirs. You can hang out in a bar. He shows off property ownership and his in-game wife. The co-op player can interact with all of this as well why they are in your game. The transition for the co-op player joining your game is quick and fast. Peter announces that Fable 2 will be out in October of this year.
Cliffy B shows up on the stage after a battle trailer showing off Marcus using a Locust shield, running into battle. Cliffy is showing off co-op with another Epic programmer. Again, it looks like they are showing off Marcus and Dom as the co-op players. I was hoping to see 4 player co-op. The game looks smooth with more color in the palette this time around. Whoa, a big spider looking thing with chainsaws popped out of the ground. Curb stomping is still in the game. Locusts have bad ass flamethrowers now. Very cool flame effects. Must be the new “in” thing. Levels use vertical thinking as you fall between floors in a building. Just saw something that looked like the facehuggers from Aliens crawling around. Brumaks finally show up on a 360 console. Marcus and Dom, are trying to escape a building that is going up in flames. Again, the flame effects are stunning. The Brumak is chasing them around the building from the outside. They mention they are going to ride the Brumak before the trailer ends. New mode in Gears of War 2 call horde. It is a 5 player co-op mode that unleashes waves of enemies at you. Also the game is coming out on November 7th.
$48 billion expected to be spent on video gaming in 2008. That is a huge number. Far more than I expected. Stated that the 360 has the largest US install base, as well as the largest software base. Third party revenue outpaces the PS3 and Wii combined. States that the 360 will outsell PS3 this generation. Guess they are not including the Wii. Counts 12 million subscribers to Xbox Live. Not sure if that is gold memberships or all memberships. Consumers have spent $1 billion on Xbox Live since November 2005. 10,000 movies and shows on Xbox Live, becoming the largest online distributor of HD programming. NBC and Universal Studios are announced as new partners for content on Xbox Live. Now we get a video montage of TV and Movie content on Xbox Live.
John Shafer takes the stage to discuss the next advances in Xbox Live. Holy sh*t. A new Xbox Live interface. This fall, their will be a new interface that looks so like a Mii/Wii interface. Uses a Vista tiling interface to switch between windows. Avatars are real and they have tons more detail than Miis. Not sure if I like this direction, but it does look fresh. It will happen this fall. It is not optional. Avatars will be able to be pulled into a game if the developer wants to. Maybe you can have more than one avatar. Straining really hard to not say Mii. There is a community channel, where you can see your friends avatar. Introducing Live party, where up to 8 friends can connect and party together, via games, photo sharing, etc. Xbox Live primetime, will allow people to create their own gameshows. 1 vs. 100, a gameshow, will be coming exclusive to Xbox 360, putting you into the gameshow, and you can win real prizes. Very cool. Prizes are always cool. New Game channel, including a new Uno game, called Uno Rush. Immediately, your Live party switched from photo viewing, to Uno Rush all together, very seemlessly.
New Xbox Live Arcade titles. Here it comes, Geometry Wars 2 is coming to Xbox Live next month. Looks to have the same addicting game qualities as the first one. First true sequel to Galaga coming to Xbox Live this fall. The game is called Galaga Legions. Coming from Namco, and is coming next month exclusively to Xbox Live Arcade. GLaDoS comes on the screen. A new portal game, Portal: Still Alive is coming to Xbox Live Arcade with new levels and Achievements this fall. South Park has an Xbox Live Arcade game coming in 2009. Xbox Live Community games developed via the Xbox Live Creator Club will come this fall after the System Update. Netflix is coming to the 360 finally this fall. Only way to get Netflix episodes on the console as the agreement is exclusive. You can share your movie experience via Live Party. Very cool. This Netflix has to hurt Sony as I thought they would get it as well.
Shane Kim finally comes to the stage. Showing off some games from Rare. First is Banjo Kazooie, which shows off the building engine. The graphics look good, but it does not look like a game, more like a sandbox experience. Next is Viva Pinata 2. Lots of new environments, including deserts and snow. Over 100 varieties of Pinatas. Scan cards in front of the camera to import pinatas into the game. Sounds rather Eye of Judgement-esque. Both games are coming this fall. The original Banjo Kazooie is coming to Xbox Live this fall. Looks like a new Scene It game, and it is, Scene It: Box Office Smash. Your in the Movies is coming from Codemasters, exclusive to the 360. The game allows you to be in the movies. You make short B-move type visuals. I assume you will need the camera to make this work. The video seems very seemless, and it looks like this could be a very cool party game. I can see this being an all ages game, and very popular with kids and parents. All of the footage you create, will be edited into a short film. I am really loving the campiness of the movies that this game creates with your footage. Very cool. You can also send these films to Xbox Live. The game will come with a Vision camera.
Kai Huang comes to the stage to discuss Guitar Hero World Tour. Showing off the wireless drum kit, slide panel guitar, and the game will come with more than 85 songs. No mention of bands or songs. GH Tunes will be the distribution platform for songs created in the music studio. Metallica will release their upcoming album as full DLC to both Guitar Hero III and World Tour exclusively. Looks like Lips is a reality. The mic lights up, but not sure if it does anything to the game. Keiichi Yano, maker of Elite Beat Agents, is the creator of Lips. Lets you sing from your own music collection. Talks about Zune or iPod, but I wonder if you can use music from your PC. Covering all genres of music titles. Now we are going to see Rock Band 2. I wonder if they are going to show up Guitar Hero World Tour. They have 84 tracks. Shacklers Revenge will come to Rock Band 2 from Guns and Roses. Bob Dylan is in here, but I missed the title. AC/DC is coming exclusively to Rock Band 2. Most requested band by fans, their song Let There Be Rock will be in the game. 20 extra tracks will be available. All DLC is compatible with Rock Band 2, and if you own the original disc, you can import those tracks to Rock Band 2. They are accelerating their DLC push to have 500 DLC titles by the end of the year.
Noichi Iwata, comes to the stage from SquareEnix. What could he have to say to the 360 community? Infinate Undiscovery will be exclusive to 360 and will be released in September in the United States and Japan, and October in Europe. Star Ocean is coming in the spring of 2009, and according to Iwata, is long awaited. I have never played it, but I have heard people rave about it. There is a new trailer for the game exclusive today on Xbox Live Marketplace. The Last Remnant will be available this fall as a short term exclusive on the 360. We now get a short trailer for The Last Remnant. Graphically, the game looks fantastic. But not much is shown in the way of gameplay. The Last Remnant will be available on the Games for Windows platform. Finally the PC gets some love in this conference. NO FREAKING WAY! FINAL FANTASY XIII. It is coming to the 360. Megaton, Pants meets shit moment. The trailer looks awesome.
And with that, the conference comes to a close. No PC stuff mentioned, which is a bit disheartening, but it was already announced that Microsoft was focusing on the 360 at E3. Wow, please discuss below on what you thought about the conference.
Tags: ac/dc, Avatars, bob dylan, fable 2, fallout 3, final fantasy xiii, galaga legions, gears of war 2, geometry wars 2, guitar hero world tour, guns and roses, infinate undiscovery, last remnant, lips, netflix, primetime, resident evil 5, rock band 2, scene it box office smash, south park, star ocean, uno rush, XBOX 360, xbox live, xbox live party, your in the movies
Topics: XBOX 360 |
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Comment by Joe Fourhman — July 14, 2008 @ 1:35 pm
I love marketing numbers. This speech may actually be a few months old…
“Stated that the 360 has the largest US install base” must be one of those high-def only numbers, because the Wii has outsold the 360 in the US, probably well ahead in reality once you discount busted 360 units.
“States that the 360 will outsell PS3 this generation.” A bold claim given that the PS3 has been tracking faster sales if you look at where the 360 was a year ago, when comparing consoles by launch date.
“Counts 12 million subscribers to Xbox Live.” Does not account for people who manage multiple accounts.
And the Mii Too avatar steal? Microsoft just managed to take the one thing that 360 fans preferred - the not-Nintendoness of it - and destroy it. That feature is DOA.
Comment by Shane — July 14, 2008 @ 1:52 pm
Looooove the new interface - I’m speechless. Gears 2 and Resident Evil looks awesome - Lips looks fun too haha.
Comment by Sifer2400 — July 14, 2008 @ 2:07 pm
ff13 for the 360 fuck YEA
Comment by Shane — July 14, 2008 @ 3:45 pm
Joe F. I welcome the Avatars.
If they wanted an Avatar feature on the Fall update, it’s pretty much impossible to not rip off someone, somewhere.
Sifer: I wonder if we’ll see Final Fantasy 32 when we’re like 47 years old? lol.
Comment by Joe Haygood — July 14, 2008 @ 3:48 pm
Shane I will have to agree with Joe F. on this one. I do not have a need for a Miivatar on my 360. It is as if they learned nothing from the suckiness of the Vista experience. The blades were old, but they were very functional, while this feels gimmicky. I went into further detail in the forums.
Comment by Shane — July 14, 2008 @ 3:54 pm
Functional yes, boring yes. Frankly I’m a sucker for this stuff: personal customization until the cows come home.
The new interface feels more rich and the partnership with Netflix is huge - although it probably won’t adhere to Canadians I don’t know.
Comment by Richard Windsor — July 15, 2008 @ 4:08 pm
I am not a big fan of having an Avatar but at least they aren’t making it a whole world that you have to use. The Avatars seem like they are not that overwhelming. I think that they are trying to be more family friendly and they have to convey that somehow and avatars are kinda friendly and fun. I think more people will like it then dislike it, but in the end its not going to change your experience a whole lot.