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Microsoft's E3 Presentation
JudoChinX
June 15, 2010
I've said it once, and I'll surely say it again: E3 is all about the surprises. We already knew about Gears of War 3, Halo: Reach, and Call of Duty: Black Ops, and though we did get some additional information on those games, and we saw some exclusive campaign footage, the real fun came from the unknown. Now that the Microsoft press conference is over, and some of the dust has settled, I thought I'd share my thoughts on the events that unfolded.
One of the first things that was announced was an exclusive partnership between ESPN and Microsoft to deliver content in high definition to your Xbox
360. I'm not too big into sports, but I do enjoy the occasional NBA game. It sounds like this partnership is going to make quite a profound impact on
Xbox Live users. Promising to offer 3,500 live events in addition to on demand content, this is quite a chunk of content. To compliment this content,
ESPN will also offer replays, polls, and trivia to bring even more bang. If you're like me, then you're wondering how much you can expect to pay for
such terrific content. The answer surprised me. All of this is free to existing Xbox Live Gold subscribers. I think we can chalk this up to another
milestone in Microsoft's mission to make the Xbox 360 a focal point of our home entertainment.
Starting with Black Ops, and continuing through 2012, all Call of Duty downloadable content will be timed exclusives on the Xbox 360. Call of Duty is a perfect example of a game reaching superstar status. Millions of map packs have been sold, and millions more are sure to follow. Modern Warfare 2 saw a similar deal with its downloadable content, and I'm sure that made a considerable difference in sales. With a title this big having content released on the Xbox 360 well before any of its competitors, you can be certain that this could be a factor many will consider when picking up their Call of Duty games.
Unfortunately for me, much of the press conference involved the previously named Natal, now named Kinect. To me, a new piece of technology, especially one that I could potentially sink a lot of money into, needs to justify its existence. Nintendo has been wildly successfully with the Wii, and both Microsoft and Sony have taken notice.
Having a 'me too' attitude, they've decided to try their hand at gesture-based controlled games. Initially, I was hopeful that developers would seek out uses for this new peripheral beyond the standard fare seen on the Wii, and if what was shown today was any indication, then my hopes were in vain. I think the technology itself was impressive, responsive, and everything that it was supposed to be. The software wasn't quite there however. Showing off a few clones of software available on the Wii, we got to see the Kinect equivalents of Wii Sports, Mario Kart Wii, and Wii Fit. It's as though developers were afraid to think outside the box, and it's frustrating. There were a couple of titles that could potentially make me more interested. A Star Wars game where you controlled your lightsaber by flailing around caught my attention. We've been waiting for something like this for what seems like forever. If they pull this off successfully, then they might have a hit on their hands. Still, as a hardcore gamer, I would have liked to have seen more tailored to my interests.
The last announcement came in the often speculated new Xbox 360. One of the worst kept secrets, I was happy to hear that the console was shipping to retailers today, and will be available to purchase this week. The 250GB hard drive and built in wireless N wi-fi were great touches as well. Finally, the new Xbox 360 will support Kinect without having to use an additional AC adapter to power the unit, a luxury that older consoles would not enjoy. Available at the same price as the current Xbox 360 model, this is a no brainer for those of you looking to get an Xbox 360 for the first time, or others who are tired of having their console die (I'm on my third console by the way).
Overall, I enjoyed the Microsoft press conference, but I still expected a bit more than what we got. I realize this is probably related to what I considered an oversaturation of Kinect-related demonstrations. And what was with the unusually poor acting? Watching the video chat and some of the Kinect demonstrations were painful, and that says something considering that these sorts of things aren't known for award-winning performances. At this point, I'm nitpicking. I think the quality of Microsoft's part of E3 will really be in perspective after we see what Sony and Nintendo do. I'll leave you with a question: what did you like or not like about the Microsoft E3 press conference? What surprised you, and what did you successfully predict?
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