News out of today’s E3 Press Conference from Microsoft.
The video stream from G4 on Justin.tv was some of the best live coverage. Played flawlessly with over 21,000 viewers. Update: ok the stream just died. 5:22am.
Beatles RockBand announced
Personally I’m not a fan of the Beatles, but I know a lot of people are, so I’m sure they’ll be happy about this announcement.
10 new games demo’d
Tony Hawk
– includes peripheral (skateboard)
My thoughts: I really hope this board is wireless, I seen some ports on the side that made me a little nervous, but hopefully that’s just for charging. Ultimately it’s l
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Xbox 360 gets the first 2 map packs first.
My thoughts: The demo was set in the snow, it looked good, but we’ve come to expect this from COD, there didn’t look to be anything particularly innovative about this sequel. Still this game will probably be
Final Fantasy XIII
Announced last year, shown off running on the Xbox 360 for the first time.
– Spring 2010 release date
– Also available on PS3
My thoughts: This game looks pretty good, but is still so far away.
Shadow Complex
My thoughts: While it looked like the best Xbox Live Arcade game, I’d rather spend my time and money on a full game.
Joy Ride
– Will be free
– The most comprehensive use of Avatars yet
My thoughts: Actually pretty keen to check this one out, reminds me very much of the movie cars.
Crackdown 2
My thoughts: OMG OMG OMG, *runs round in circles with excitement 😛 I loved the first Crackdown, very excited about the next iteration.
Left4Dead2
– November 17th Release Date
My thoughts: Another will buy game
Splinter Cell Conviction
My thoughts: Some of the best pre-rendered faces, I wish in-game looked that good.
Forza 3 !!!!
– 400 cars from 50 manufacturers
– New graphics engine.
– Includes the Audi R8
– Drifting !!!
– Release date: October 09.
My thoughts: My most anticipated game from E3, can’t come soon enough.
Halo 3 ODST
– September 22nd
– Buy this and get a multiplayer beta invite to Halo Reach
My thoughts: I’m a big Halo fan, what’s not to like ?
Allan Wake
– Spring 2010 release date
My thoughts: Not much to say here.. another first person shooter. Looked good, still going for Left4Dead 2 though.
Xbox Live
– Last.fm coming to the Xbox, available later this year around the world for free !
– Netflix (US only) ads downloading / on on demand streaming from xbox, Sky TV for UK and Ireland.
– Video Library renamed Zune – This Fall, to 18 markets, I didn’t see an Australian flag.. 🙁
– 1080p, no disc, no downloads, no delay.. ? Not sure how they pull this off.
Facebook comes to Xbox
– Felicia Day from The Guild on stage
– Nice UI, access to manage friends, see facebook photos etc.
– Facebook connect support in-game allows screen shots to be uploaded to facebook
– Release date: Fall 09
Twitter comes to Xbox
– Live stream of updates
– Chatpad now becomes the must-have accessories
– Release date: Fall 09
Metal Gear Solid coming to Xbox for the first time
– Next edition is called Metal Gear Solid: Rising
– Completely new title, no Solid Snake ?
My thoughts: This is a big exclusive loss for Sony, definitely pays to have market share.
New Xbox features – Xbox Project Natal
– Sensor bar
– No need for a controller
– Video conferencing !!
– Voice controls !!
– Facial recognition
– Steven Spielberg on stage talking about the transformational technology.
– Available to all Xbox’s.
My thoughts: Looks great, but you know the motion sensing won’t work as well as advertised. Fingers crossed I’m wrong. The video really showcased some great innovation, Microsoft are making a big play for the casual non-gamers, clearly a response to the Wii’s success.
– Control your Avatar by moving your body.
– “This isn’t a game where you end up on the couch using some preset waggle controls” – owch!! A big swing at Nintendo.
– Peter from Leohead Studios shows off a 3D Natal, an interactive, interact with a 3D character. It’s like being able to interact with your imaginary friend 😛
Natal release date: Developers get Natal SDK today.
More @ Xbox
