MS Press Conference room

[JasonXe]

**Changed title

Today is the day so discuss whatever you see today on t.v here.

--------------------------------
So what big surprises you think where gonna hear about in this E3. There is usually one unexcepted surprise so I wondering whats in store.

I know

Splinter Cell
Banjo
Fable
Gears
idk about jrpgs appearing (may wait for tgs)
XNA stuff
some dumb puzzle games

Possibly

Xbl update preview
preview of gta4 dlc
project offset trailer
Ghost recon

any ideas? I know im missing something that would blow the roof.

[OG_Monkey]

Halo Prequel and/or Bungie Project Announcement

Otherwise, roof will stay intact

[Mitri]

the ability to fast forward and rewind music. that would blow a few things.

[JasonXe]

im guessing peter jackson is probably gonna announce something.

[r33hash]

I want to see the new DS.

Oh ya, this is the Microsoft forum.

Uh... Some more footage from Borderlands. I'd love to see, or even hear an announcement for an Elder Scrolls followup. Can you imagine what they could do now, after working out the bugs of Oblivion?

Its strange though... its like the industry is in a minor lull at the moment. I really can't think of anything huge that might be announced.

[Mitri]

anyone think that rumour going around a while ago about the slim360 will come true?

[JasonXe]

maybe if we have low expectations for this e3, we might be blown away from something shocking??

[Greg]

The only thing that would blow me away is if Bungie announces what there new project is they are working on but I don't see that happening.

[The Wolf 07]

funny thing is, if bungie announced anything other then a FPS i would probably not care.

[Hisham]

All I am looking foward to this E3 is probably SF4. Hopefully it gets a release date or they show some exclusive console stuff that isn't in the arcade.

I don't really give a crap about much else, really. Well, maybe Gears 2.

[JasonXe]

So today is the day

10:30 PST which is 1:30pm EST which is still to early for me. Hopefully we see some new stuff other then the expected.

[nemesis121]

anyone think that rumour going around a while ago about the slim360 will come true?

If the Regular one Dies from Over heating, the Slim one will burn my house down, they need to fix there hardware issues before making 360 smaller.

[SuperLuigiBros]

I want Galleon for original Xbox backwards compatible or available to download at the Xbox Originals place on XBL.

[IEatFriedPikmin]

i miss being excited for e3.

I don't care about Gears so much, even though I will probably purchase it.
I am interested in Banjo and Splinter Cell though.
And I'm definitely not getting my hopes up for Fable 2.

[Applefiend]

Well I'm always in the mood for another Gears 2 demo. It's my most anticipated game for 2008. I'd queue up at midnight to get that one. Don't tell the guys at the PS3 forum I said that. :D

The next Mistwalker jRPG after LO would be nice.

Didn't like Fable 1, won't like 2. I'm a metal gear guy not a splinter cell guy.

I wonder if they'll go big on XNA Express. "Youtube marketplace for homebrew games". That would be something to get excited about.

Oh yeah a Wiimote clone, but Wii ain't my bag man. Home clone out before Home. Oucha!

[Fredag]

I got the player running now, I have never been in this section before, but now I will enjoy the show live with you guys!

:)

[speed stick]

I'm honestly not excited for E3. I used to always get so excited in the past. Things change I guess.

I guess that Square Enix Press conference may be interesting.

[Fredag]

I can't help it, but I am still exited after all these years! :D

[SuperLuigiBros]

So it starts in an hour or so, right?

[Applefiend]

Ya, countdown timer on the cashwho... I mean gamespot front page. An hour.

[Fredag]

http://e3.gamespot.com/live.html
They got the page to go auto-F5, impressive! :)

[Fredag]

Mortal Kombat vs DC
http://pici.se/pictures/uhhlPNnWK.png (http://www.gamersyde.com/news_6772_en.html)

Z1gw66M9j4A

[Lucent Beam]

Ok, I'm watching G4's coverage right now and Cliffy B is talking about Gears 2 and something I thought was really interesting he said was related to achievements... how people get tunnel vision about getting a particular achievement so they "throttled" multiplayer achievements so you'll only get "one headshot credit per match" so there aren't people who are just going for particular weapon achievements or whatever ruining the game for people who just want to play and have fun. I really thought that was a good solution for a developer to prevent their achievements from tainting online multiplayer.

[speed stick]

^That is a good idea its just that you would have to play at least 100 matches to get that achievement lol. Maybe if they make it less kills for it. I doubt they would do that :)

[Applefiend]

it has begun

[Lucent Beam]

In Fallout 3, that seems pretty cool how you can pause time & set up a command & execute it and see what happens.

[Lucent Beam]

Come on, is really no one else watching this? I'm going to feel like a tool if I continue to post and post & just am talking to myself....

[Applefiend]

Watching online.

Fallout - Will buy
Re5 - Will buy
Fable 2 - Just don't like it, waaaah
Gears 2 - Counting the freakin' days.

[masteratt]

Thanks for keeping us updated, I'm too lazy to watch.

So RE5 and Fallout3 so far?
Brother just let me know Fallout3 got exclusive DLC (this is getting tedious MS ¬_¬ lol) anymore exclusive MS only stuff?
MS tends to concentrate on multiplatform games a lot at these conferences.

[Lucent Beam]

They've shown:

Fallout 3 - Yeah, they talked about DLC content exclusive to 360.. but we'll see about that.

RE5 - Worldwide release including US + Europe Mar. 13 2009

Fable II

Right now they are on Gears 2. Just said Gears 2 has a new 5 player multiplayer co-op mode where you take on increasing difficult waves of enemies.

& yeah, I agree on the multiplatform stuff. Seems strange to be showing that at THEIR conference when it'll be out on competitors' consoles too...

[Lucent Beam]

Haha, they are all saying "We are doing the best here" and then their figure is 10.3mil 360 install base and 10.2mil install base for Wii. Come on, that is not really that far ahead.

And then I love how he just promised they'd sell more than PS3 but don't mention the fact that the Wii is going to obviously outsell them.

I find it hard for them to talk numbers when Wii is so far ahead.

[Applefiend]

How long is this thing anyway? After Gears 2 and RE5 I feel kinda done.

[Lucent Beam]

And all this movie stuff and TV stuff or whatever... don't really care. Never use my Xbox for that anyway.

NBC / Universal content available starting today for anyone who cares....


Now they're going to talk about how they're going to get more people on board. I feel nervous cause I don't want them to try to add in something like the Wii and have it be embarrassing while they call it innovative like PS3's with Sixaxis.

[Applefiend]

Notice they only predict outselling PS3. Wii has won this generation. First to 30 million worldwide wins.

[Lucent Beam]

OH FUCKING GAG.

Ok, it's about a system update... & ew the fucking dashboard looks terrible!! It looks like the PS3's & Wii's userinterface fucked and had a baby. Ugh, I hate it. Hate, hate, hate. Lame. I love the 360 dashboard!!!! AHHHHHHH.

With a stupid retarded-ass avatar.... no, stupid stupid stupid.

I want to barf.

So they want to make it like Mii's & they want to rape their AWESOME dashboard and replace it with the pile of shit that is PS3's & Wii's.

Seriously... I love the dashboard the way it is and what they just showed it crap.

[Applefiend]

Never liked the blades, it needed a redesign. I approve of this change.

Avatars are a license to print money too. Pay for designer gear.

[Segitz]

Hehe, so MS "copies" the Miis AND Home at the same time... BRILLIANT!

[Lucent Beam]

^By brilliant you mean "gag gag gag gag gag"

I totally disagree, Apple. This looks ugly and floofy. I think the avatar system is pointless too.

But yay for new Geomtry Wars!

And a "true" sequel to Galaga.

[Segitz]

ahh... Buzz on the 360... hehe, watching 2 minutes now and saw two "exact" copies of stuff from different systems :P

MS must be desperate (please, bear in mind my sarcasm here!)

[masteratt]

So this console 'war' is just 3 companies copying each other now?

How exciting.

[Lucent Beam]

Portal: Still Alive, exclusive to XBLA.

& a South Park XBLA game.

[Applefiend]

Did watch this to renew my interest in 360, which has been waning. Feel like I'm getting a brand new 360 for free this Fall.

[masteratt]

Just saw the new dashboard.....Well at least it looks less cluttered.

I keep getting lost in 'blades' (keep in mind, yes, I AM a 360 noob).

[Lucent Beam]

Ugh, seriously, watching the dashboard... it's JUST LIKE THE PS3's.. except folding out lists horizontally instead of vertically.. which just seems bulky and makes no sense.

But they just said Netflix now will be connected into Live & you can get into the Netflix library from an "Instant Watch Queue". & you can watch movies over live with your Xbox Live Party (movable group of friends). That actually is pretty cool. Like, "Hey, want to come watch this movie with me?" It'd be really cool if only the "party leader" was a paying member which meant then you can watch stuff with a friend & have it be for free like as if they rented it and you went over and watched it.

[Segitz]

Hmm... I love Southpark, but until now, all games sucked... maybe this won't

[Applefiend]

Well that's Sony. If they show Home then never friggin' release it this is going to happen.

All this video marketplace stuff is nevercoming to New Zealand, bah...

[Lucent Beam]

^Yeah, it'll be sad if Xbox's "Party System" aka "Home" is out before ACTUAL Home is out... Sony, stop dragging your feet on your good ideas!!!!

& just showed Banjo & Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. Also, original Banjo & Kazooie will be coming out on XBLA.

And now showing Viva Pinata 2, and saying there's going to over 100 varieties of Viva Pinata. And LOL, now you can "scan cards" of Pinatas into the Vision Camera and get new Pinatas. Hahaha, what? ...What?

Now they're showing Scene It..... uh, I was briefly in love with Scene It: LCA, so I hate to say it, but I'd buy another game like it! Other than Rock Band, Scene It was the only game I could get my parents to sit down & play and they played for a long time, too. They just said Scene It 2 will use the avatars (who cares), but have online play, and let you download new questions.

[Segitz]

Well that's Sony. If they show Home then never friggin' release it this is going to happen.

All this video marketplace stuff is nevercoming to New Zealand, bah...

Neither to Germany...

but he didn't say the Netflix "over the net" watch stuff will be free for the others... i.e. I buy a movie and the rest can watch with me for free... I dunno...

[masteratt]

Sony: Here is an idea we have, and we'll show you exactly how we did it and what it includes! :D But hey, it's not out for 2[7] years so you better not copy us! :D


Anyway, C'MON MICROSOFT, GAMEEEEEES!
New dashboard- Meh (though hopefully it'll be easier).
Movie watching with friends- I never use the console for those things so; Meh.

How long till the conference is finished?

[Applefiend]

Don't like that Pinata stuff. I tried to like it, honestly.

Banjo, that's right up my alley, getting that.

Don't know anything new yet games wise. Hmmm....

[Lucent Beam]

Now they're talking about "You're In the Movies" which you make.... movies? Hmmm?? Sounds stange, I want to see what it is... looks like using the vision game.

EDIT: Haha, it looks so retarded & stupid, that would be a ton of fun with a bunch of friends. It's pretty much just the EyeToy but maybe more polished. Aka, old, but maybe fun anyway..... and haha, then it compiles your footage from that into a movie.... haha, that would be really funny at a party.

Really just random party games to try to catch non-gamers in...

[Skull Kid]

And a "true" sequel to Galaga.

Win.

</conference>

[Segitz]

Looks interesting for booze gaming night :D (I am not entirely sure, what this has to do with either B-Movies or generally "movies", but still)

[Applefiend]

Wondered what took them so long to copy Eyetoy. Their whole strategy is about destroying then copying the Playstation brand. I don't take it all so personally these days. :D

[SuperLuigiBros]

Damn I thought this place would be dead while its still on. So far the best things are Fable 2 and Banjo Kazooie coming to XBLA. Awsome.

This movies thing looks embarrassing. The dancing thing at least. Ok that 'trailer' was pretty cool, although theyd need lots of different ones for it not to get boring quickly.

[Lucent Beam]

Guitar Hero World Tour is up now.

"A whole new level"... psh psh psh, come on.

Online band career & battle of the bands is going to be in Rock Band 2.
And now "they have the most songs" with 85 songs on disc... didn't RB2 just say they'd have like 80?

Really what will be interesting is watching them talk about the music maker.

2 special announcements:
1. 3 R.E.M. download tracks before the CD is out.
2. Van Halen & The Eagles are exclusive to GH:WT.
3. Metallica full length album is offered as DLC at the same time the album is released, first for GH3 in Sept and then for World Tour later. So much for Metallica DLC on Rock Band!

[Segitz]

The trailer looks HORRIBLE!!! (that "in the movies" "movie")

[Applefiend]

I wonder if that will do well, Eyetoy is basically for kids, this looks like Eyetoy for adults? Would that sell?

Shark, jumping, that sort of thing?

[Skull Kid]

Hah, I love the silence about Guitar Hero.

President: GUITAR HERO!

Crowd: ...woot?

[masteratt]

reply to luigi:
lol yeah I just went to my brother's room (he is watching it live) to check it out and just walked out in disgrace (saw some fat woman dancing to something like EyeToy).

This is just desperate stuff from Microsoft.
But at least it's better than copying Wii-Mote. *waits for the announcement*


Woah fast thread!
GH: WT :D:D
Wait for the awesome drums :)

[Lucent Beam]

New music experience only on 360? Karaoke? ....Uh... it looks IDENTICAL to SingStar.... seriously... the the exact interface.

Karaoke Revolution / Rock Band vocals, etc interface >>>>>>> SingStar interface

This trailer is painful.

Titled: "Lips".

You sing from your own music collection... plug in your iPod or Zune & sing along to your music collection. With stupid wireless mics with motion sensing that no one cares about.

Off your music collection... so how are they getting the words up there, exactly?

And does anyone care about whoever this "Duffy" is? Cause I don't. AH, this girl singing is such a waste of time. Shut the f up already. You are not a video game.

[Applefiend]

And then silence after downloading new tracks from the REM album. :D

This is the "copy everyone" conference. If you're an Apple fan it's a feeling you're very used to.

[Segitz]

whoa^^ timed music exclusives on GH... they are just getting desperate...

"METALLICA" (crowd says nothing) ... will be there (crowd still silent)... LOL :D

Nothing against Metallica, I like em, but this shows something

[SuperLuigiBros]

Uh oh looks like Guitar Hero turned into Rock Band.

Not that Ive played either of them to know. *shrug*

[Skull Kid]

Did they mention Rock Band 2 yet?

[Applefiend]

That Lips producer looks like a japanese Peter Moore mini Me!

I await the sex tape.

[SuperLuigiBros]

Lips does look familiar to those other ones... although now I can sing to Mario music.

*doesnt sing to anything, ever*

Now someones singing... Is that the actual singer or something?

Edit: God damn it shut up woman.

[Segitz]

Sounds like the voice tracks in Lips aren't removed... that sucks big time (as it is unnerving when singing... I do much Karaoke and it really puts me off track)

EDIT: And wtf does a singer do at a keynote anyways?

EDIT2: A horrible one as well

[Lucent Beam]

Now they are showing Rock Band.

Sort of feel bad that GH:WT went first and then RB2 has to follow up.

84 songs on the disc... LOL so GH:WT just added one extra song to call itself the biggest. That's really hilarious.

All this stupid "exclusive band" crap is going to get really really really f-ing annoying.

And they just said also there will be 20 free bonus songs... And obviously we all know RB1 DLC is forward compatible. !!!!! AND OMG YAY. YOU CAN EXPORT ALL YOUR ORIGINAL ON DISC RB TRACKS INTO RB2 "with no need for disc swapping". Win, win. I hoped for this & this is the first I've heard of it!

[masteratt]

*waits for exclusive games still*

[Segitz]

Giant Pissing contest between EA and Activision, no?

[Applefiend]

Grabbed Rock Band 2 as timed exclusive. Saw that coming.

[Segitz]

Suckers got ACDC!!

Well... since we still don't have RB1 in Europe (PS3 that is), I couldn't care less...

Wonder what MS gave to EA for the exclusivity?!?

[masteratt]

Soon MS will be paying Sony for timed exclusive games lol

[SuperLuigiBros]

Australia still doesnt have Rock Band 1.

[Segitz]

Well, exportable songs and compatible DLC... I didn't see that coming from EA... really

[Lucent Beam]

Other than the exporting of songs & the 20 tracks (at least I didn't know about those), all the other RB information was actually old news.... so it's odd that they included it.


& I want Star Ocean but it's funny because I won't buy it until I buy the PSP 1 + 2 remakes... so my $$ to Sony before I want to play it on 360.

Yay RPG stuff.

[Applefiend]

So far no new original exclusive games for teh hardc0re. Not impressed. I learn nothing new.

Wonder if they'll ban people making avatars like Hitler.

[Segitz]

Australia still doesnt have Rock Band 1.

EU only on 360... but MUCH MUCH TOO expensive!

[Segitz]

Oohh... Square is there... don't fuck that up^^

[SuperLuigiBros]

The Square Enix guy looked pretty sharp with his avatar, but he needs a translator badly. Good on him for trying though.

[Segitz]

Yeah... Europe is a hard word for Japanese to say^^

But no "big" delay for Europe from SE titles looks VERY nice, no matter that it is 360 only for now

EDIT: Infinite Undiscovery said "exclusive 360", Star Ocean does NOT, only "360 spring"... so it WILL come to the PS3 for SURE (same for Remant)..

No shocker here... was fearing some bad FF news :D I just don't grant MS to get those games!

[SuperLuigiBros]

Wonder if they'll ban people making avatars like Hitler.
They didnt on the Wii. I have 2 different Hilters. Plus what if someone genuinely looks like hitler?

[Lucent Beam]

Why is this a retarded "camera angle at the request of Microsoft" on G4??

Ok, apparently it was for FF13, but why the stupid angle & why do I care?

[Segitz]

WHAAAA... SE games for windows? NO WAY!?!?!

[Applefiend]

I could never get into Star Ocean, am I missing something?

[Segitz]

Why is this a retarded "camera angle at the request of Microsoft" on G4??

Watching on IGN... so I am behind^^ Dunno

SAME ON IGN... and it is FF?!?

[IEatFriedPikmin]

I don't understand why people get upset when M$ "copies" Sony... Sony blatantly does the same thing all the time. It's called competition.

I can't watch the streaming video... can someone explain the party system a little more? Like can you have a private group chat and carry it over to gaming sessions?

The Netflix partnership sounds cool. And I am happy RB2 will let me play my downloaded content... what a relief.

[masteratt]

MS got FF13?!?!?

I'm hearing something like that??

Omg yep..........Sony you fucktards, how can you let FF13 go?....Seriously, killer blow to Sony.

[Segitz]

Oh man... SE lost all credibility from me just now...

Well... IEFP, I said keep in mind my sarcasm... as was posted later "console wars" today are just that... copy the other side as much as you can...

[Applefiend]

FF13 for 360... Damn. Choose the right week to leave that xbox troll board I used to read. :D

Megaton.

[Segitz]

Ahh... if I read and understand correctly, FFXIII on 360 will NOT be released in Japan

[masteratt]

Well there is no "war" now that Sony lost FF13 lol

Ahh... if I read and understand correctly, FFXIII on 360 will NOT be released in Japan
You are right but so what?
That's like 2 sales they lost lol

FF13 is supposed to be Sony's big game to widen the market OUTSIDE Japan (since Japan is already okay for Sony) but now they lost it since 360 is getting the game on LAUNCH in other major markets.

If it's 1 disc.......I'll be blown away.

[Lucent Beam]

IEFP: The party system seems like you can be in a party chatting, then move to all play a game together as a group, or move all to watch a movie together as a group, etc etc. I honestly didn't pay so much attention to it because I was busy gagging over how ugly I think the dashboard looked.

[Skull Kid]

AND OMG YAY. YOU CAN EXPORT ALL YOUR ORIGINAL ON DISC RB TRACKS INTO RB2 "with no need for disc swapping". Win, win. I hoped for this & this is the first I've heard of it!

I totally approve of this!

[GTAce]

I will not buy FF13 in this case im sick of this business shit, have fun with it.

[SuperLuigiBros]

Wasnt it already coming out on 360?

*shrug*

I like how it said "Available at launch in North America and Europe". You'd hope it'd be available at launch.

So the actual version is coming out on 360, as well? I guess thats pretty bad for Sony...

[IEatFriedPikmin]

haha... I can't wait for the user created pictures announcing PS3's epic fail. *sarcasm, but those DMC4 pics made me laugh for days*

[hybridofsteel]

Sony had it coming.

They failed hard with the PS3. SE needs to profit. There is no one to blame but Sony.

[HPK]

Ok, I'm watching G4's coverage right now and Cliffy B is talking about Gears 2 and something I thought was really interesting he said was related to achievements... how people get tunnel vision about getting a particular achievement so they "throttled" multiplayer achievements so you'll only get "one headshot credit per match" so there aren't people who are just going for particular weapon achievements or whatever ruining the game for people who just want to play and have fun. I really thought that was a good solution for a developer to prevent their achievements from tainting online multiplayer.

I will continously disagree with what they are doing with the achievements. So what if someone decides to focus on getting an achievement? They should be happy people are buying their game, but now they feel that need to dictate how people will play it? Seriously.
If they want to stop ranked boosting they could've done 1) made the achievements for multiplayer strictly for player matches. 2) pull a Call of Duty 4 and have 0 online achievements. 3) Shut the hell up about how people play. If I get 2 torque kills a round, I want to at least be creditted for that properly.

Anyway....long post ahead. I'm just finding out all of this new info (stupid 5 hour class....)
-Banjo-Kazooie 1 to XBLA: OH FUCK YEAH! I've been hoping for this since I saw the new Banjo game screens. This makes me a very happy gamer...unless they start removing content from it so it could be on XBLA.
-Gears 2: Saw a lot of info on this already, but I am sorely disappointed with the 5 player co-op feature. Give me some 4 player campaign co-op and I'll absolutely buy this game with no regrets. If not, I will only buy this game to get some more out of the story and to please my other friends.
-Fable 2: Wait, I already thought this was going to have online co-op. Wasn't that announced back in February? But yay, October. I'm going to be broke every month for the rest of the year.
-Dashboard Update: Why is it that no one is posting links to these videos. I want to see this atrocity so I may judge how awful this will be.

[Skull Kid]

Can someone find screenshots of the new dashboard? I wasn't watching when they announced it.

[Segitz]

Well there is no "war" now that Sony lost FF13 lol

I doubt that^^

I am just at odds, what MS did to SE to deserve this treatment. Or rather, how Sony f*cked it up with SE to be disbanded like that...

But tomorrow is the day that we'll here from the rest of the group...

Except the FF announcement, nothing struck me as "holy fuck"... Copying Buzz, Singstar and Miis/Home, Microsoft really showed they are desperate, at least from a creative standpoint. I didn't see the beginning, where they showed the new dashboard though.

EDIT:

And again, I say I am biased, don't disprove my statements as fanboy rabble... My points still stand either way.

Other than that... now I am REALLY wondering if Sony has something up their sleeves... They just have to. They must've known for some time, that FF gets 360 treatment. (they didn't say anything about VS now, did they?). There needs to be something Sony has to counter this... And I hope its nothing that they already announced or hinted at... because all that stuff doesn't really "blow me away" as FF does...

[Applefiend]

On that xbox troll board I used to read, I read this:

For those who don't care about Final Fantasy or the console war ownage, that was a pretty weak conference.

Have to agree. If you're a gamer looking for the new games, nothing here. Move along.

Only two new games I now know about and want to buy. New Geo Wars and Banjo XBLA. Very poor. Very good for Microsoft, not good for me.

Night kids. Stayed up all night.

[Skull Kid]

I think I just saw highlights of the new dashboard.

...eugh.

[JasonXe]

Damn, I thought they were showing a ff7 remake at first, i was like holy shit. Then i saw ff13 and was like ehh still sweet. Someone needs to get that trailer up on Gametrailers or Marketplace.

I came on when they announce Geometry war 2..... FUCKIN SWEET... Man, i've been waiting for this game since like forever.

Everything beforehand i miss so someone got to keep me updated.

[OG_Monkey]

MS got FF13?!?!?

I'm hearing something like that??

Omg yep..........Sony you fucktards, how can you let FF13 go?....Seriously, killer blow to Sony.

rofl! woooooooooooooow!

[Fredag]

Bragging, lots of multiplats and copies. Their megaton is also a multi. No Forza or new hardware, I must say I'm disappointed. Pretty weak show overall. I bet Sony's show are going to have a lot more exclusives.

[IEatFriedPikmin]

From what I read, it seemed like a decent conference... a few surprises here and there.

And Segitz, yah... I do agree. There wasn't a lot of originality coming out of M$ at all during this conference unfortunately.

I think I am most excited about the party system. That's something live users have been craving for since the beginning of the 360.

...but then again, I hardly play video games anymore, so I don't really care.

[TEEDA]

http://i37.tinypic.com/6fwggy.png
No mention of the japanese Market...wierd.

[Lucent Beam]

Yeah, overall I thought it was an interesting conference but nothing that made me go OMG I AM SO HAPPY I HAVE AN XBOX, even though I am.

[user friendly]

[IMG]http://i37.tinypic.com/6fwggy.png
No mention of the japanese Market...wierd.

I don't think a Japan announcement really matters in MS case. It could be timed for Japan, which is why they didn't comment on a Japan release.

[HPK]

Okay, so I got more info on Rock Band 2. That game is going to kick all kinds of ass. It has everything I wanted in the first one, and more! omgomgomgomgomgomgomgomg.

I got more info on the Dashboard nonsense. No screens, but that shit is going to be retarded. There better be an option to keep the blades.

Also, I could've sworn FFXIII Versus (or whatever) was unofficially announced for the 360 ages ago.

[woundingchaney]

Going to be a great Fall for MS.

Fable 2
Gears 2
Banjo 3
Infinite Undiscovery (cant remember if it releases in the Fall or not I believe it does)
Too Human (I personally didnt much care for it)
Halo Wars (if it hasnt been cancelled)
Exclusive DLC for Fallout 3
Too Human (I personally didnt much care for it)
Lips (casual market)
GTA DLC exclusive content
etc. (most likely missed some)


I dont like or hate the new layout for Live but the Netflix and additional features are very well done.

[Rorange T-rex]

New dashboard pics.

[Lucent Beam]

Seriously, the friends list thing makes me want to throw up. It's horrible. There better be an option to have to to look at your friends list like that or I'd cry.

[D3adcell]

I have never felt such depression over a console before. What the fuck is with this new dashboard? It looks horrendous, shit, worst idea ever.

Vista sucks ass and now they are making the dashboard look like vista.

[JasonXe]

ok, so im definitly buying

Gears 2,
RE5
Geometry Wars
ff13 (depending on gameplay)

--- maybe
Star Ocean (not a big fan of the series)
Fable 2 (they got my attention with live co op)
Your in the Movies (thought it was funny)

not buying

Fallout 3 (it suck)

I haven't seen the new dashboard so I don't know how to grade it.

[speed stick]

Fallout looks great.

[Coded-Dude]

they look like Mii's

[JasonXe]

http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2008/07/14/mrcwhtnltrxle.aspx
Marc Whitten Letter on the New Xbox Experience
Today, Marc Whitten shared the following letter with us concerning the new Xbox experience:

Dear Xbox LIVE Member,

When we launched Xbox 360 in November 2005, Xbox LIVE was integrated directly into the console. Back then, Xbox 360 was the first system to deliver access to experiences beyond just the disc in the tray. With the Xbox guide and dashboard you had access to everything on your console as well as your community.

We also imagined that Xbox experience would continuously improve over time, through the power of software.

Since launch, you’ve always pushed us to continuously innovate. It is because you spoke with one loud voice that we added new features like background downloading, 1080p support, movies and TV shows, video chat, a Marketplace blade and instant messaging.

Over time, as we’ve delivered more and more content into the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, we’ve heard from many of you that it has become increasingly difficult to find the games and content you want.

And that brings us to today.

Because of your feedback, we started rethinking the entire Xbox experience. What we discovered was that we could not only provide a better experience for you, but also something that reaches out to new audiences.

What John Schappert unveiled for the world on stage at E3 was just a sneak preview, so I wanted to share some deeper details on some of the new features in the new Xbox experience.

Here is a look at some additional features you will find interesting:


Play from hard drive. Copy your games from the game disc and play directly from the hard drive. Not only will the drive not spin, but load times are quicker, as well. Of course, you will still need the disc in the tray to prove you own the game.

Access Xbox LIVE Marketplace on the Web. Browse and purchase Marketplace content whenever you want from Xbox.com and it downloads automatically to your console. Purchase that new map, television episode, the latest Xbox LIVE Arcade game or set up a movie to watch when you get home from work.

Dashboard built into the new Xbox Guide. For everyone who loves the blades interface, it’s not going away; they are now built directly in to the new Xbox guide. Every feature and option is available right from the guide. You can even access your full games library at all times. No matter where you are (in dash or in game), immediately call up your games played list and directly launch a game.


LIVE Party system. Create a party of up to eight friends, and stay with them from one game to another, or watch a Netflix movie together, or share a slideshow of your personal photos. It works with all Xbox 360 titles, not just upcoming games. LIVE Party allows up to eight people to chat in the dashboard, so you can meet up before playing.

Xbox LIVE Primetime. This whole new category of games is going to give you more reasons to get online with your friends. Games will support everything you’d expect, like Achievements and leader boards, but many of these games will include real prizes. You can invite your friends, and even set a reminder for an upcoming show. Each game is broadcast simultaneously, so everyone is answering the same questions. Many events will have a live host, calling the shots as they happen.

Avatars. Your online identity started as a Gamertag - it then grew into a personalized Gamercard. Now, it has evolved even further into avatars. You can express your style, check out new outfits and share this with the community. Avatars will also be integrated into Xbox LIVE Arcade games, LIVE Party, as well as retail games. \

New display support. Because you asked for it, we are adding 16X10 over VGA or HDMI, and support for 1440x900 or 1680x1050.

This is only the beginning. Over the next few months, we will share more details on the upcoming changes.

See you online,

Marc Whitten
Gamertag- Notwen

[speed stick]

At least the Blades are not going away.

[JasonXe]

Thats good news. I'll still try out the new interface they have just to see how it works.

[OG_Monkey]

New dashboard pics.

ROFL....omg....LMFAO :spit:

[speed stick]

Yeah that new dashboard does look terrible. I don't want Mii's!

[IEatFriedPikmin]

I don't think that new interface looks awful... it does remind me of PS3.
I kinda like the blades better as well.

That party mode feature has me excited. I want to know how the movie thing is going to work. Also Primetime sounds interesting and new. I missed that earlier.

[OG_Monkey]

I liked that idea about ripping game disc to the hdd....until I found out you still need the damn disc...which won't even be utilized. So what's the point? Sure piracy but I saw it as a way to back up games because 360 disc are just so fragile inside a 360....

But nope, guess not. Well with this, I bet microsoft will start releasing 360 games straight from marketplace.

I REALLY like the party mode ALOT. Watch movies, stay connected, good stuff. Of course I'll never be the one to offer the movie but just watch like the freeloader I am. Hopefully it works like that. One buys a movie from netflix, others can view free...or at least discounted. It'd be AMAZING if thisll work with DVDs too. Can anyone say xbox e-mpire movie nights? Haha

Biggest shock for me, I still can't believe FF13 is coming to the 360. Multi-disc? More than likely.

Btw, WTF is 1680x1050!?

[JasonXe]

A resolution.

ff13 is a big shock to me and that trailer they show is something I want to watch on direct feed. It's definitely going to be multi disc but not dumb down like there describing it on the ps3 forums over there lol. Where pretty much getting a straight port from whatever has been developed on the ps3 already. It's just once you reach a part of the story, you move to a new disc. Game world stays the same but the new cs will replace the old one basically.

Also good point on the movie night thing.

[OG_Monkey]

no durrrrr! I meant like, is it 1680p!?

But um....one thing everyone more than likely isnt thinking about...how much will all this cost!? Price hike for xbox live? How will silver work if it'll even exist

[JasonXe]

I don't think so, just the cost of the movie really. Will see how they plan this out during the fall.

[speed stick]

Yeah there is no way that they could increase the price of Xbox Live Gold. We already pay enough for it.

Now I gotta go find some info on Final Fantasy XIII

[woundingchaney]

A resolution.

ff13 is a big shock to me and that trailer they show is something I want to watch on direct feed. It's definitely going to be multi disc but not dumb down like there describing it on the ps3 forums over there lol. Where pretty much getting a straight port from whatever has been developed on the ps3 already. It's just once you reach a part of the story, you move to a new disc. Game world stays the same but the new cs will replace the old one basically.

Also good point on the movie night thing.

The PS3 forum has become increasing defensive and outlandish in brand loyalty which runs extremely deep. Unfortunately this reflects what much the outspoken "gamer" base has become. I see no reason as to why the game will be "dumbed down" or content cut. The game will finish being developed on the PS3 and then ported to the 360. I would imagine at this point in development content/story has been established and finalized.

It might not be a carbon copy of the PS3 version but it will still be the same game (with all the content).

[speed stick]

Yeah removing content wouldn't make much sense. Why would they want to make the game that much worse and make it appeal to less people. But its funny how angry the PS3 guys have gotten.

[XboxEvolved]

So how you guys doing? As what I believe to be the resident Xbox expert (mostly because stuff gets leaked to me) I will weigh in.

Final Fantasy XIII I wasn't actually to surprised by this just because the way Square has been acting towards Xbox 360 lately, and the cost of making the game and the fact that the tools (Crystal Tools) are all PC based makes more sense. What is interesting is Square claims the PC version has priority over either the 360 or PS3 version. I have heard conflicting reports about Versus coming to 360, but I guess it isn't. Square has said however that FFXIII on PS3 and 360 will be the same, and are undecided on Xbox Live features for the game.

The question about Japan, apparently Square doesn't know if they will release it in Japan yet, mostly because of the market. Those of you that think this was Microsoft buying FFXIII, I will stop you in your tracks right there. Square said it was a manner of FFXIII being a financially sound decision overall, and the amount of 360s available in Europe and NA.

New dashboard The new dashboard is interesting, and they ripped something off that works, and that's Apple TV (it has a lot more in common with Apple TV than anything on Vista or even Media Center). I like that they are going to do a full in game dashboard, similiar to ingame XMB on PS3 also. The Avatars seems like a great thing though--if you rent a movie off of Live your friends online can watch it with you (that's nuts), you can have 8 friend chat, invite your friends to view pictures with you, and other stuff like that. I also think it is a lot better solution than Gamerpics.

Line-up The Lips and "Your In the Movies" games that are obviously for causals is cool, I don't see them doing to much but giving current 360 owners a reason to get their family to play with them. The announcement of Scene-It 2 is cool also. Other than that, it is all a very strong line up that they reiterated. This year will be great for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live as well (Portal and GW2 ftw) and while there really is only one "A" title (Gears of War 2) there is far, far more "B" titles to look forward to than last year (Banjo, Viva Pinata 2, Fable 2, etc).

So yeah, nothing really surprised me other than the dashboard thing, and I think we can all agree that FFXIII was the biggest deal. Bungie still may announce something as http://www.bungie.net hints at, but I wouldn't hold my breath. One thing that surprised me is they aren't dropping the 360 price at all, other than getting rid of the 20GB 360. Other than that, wasn't it XE that reported Banjo was coming to 360 like 5 months ago? I win.

360 conference grade: C+

I will weigh in with predictions from Nintendo and Sony now:

Sony Sony will show more improvements to their online experience, XMB, and reiterate their already announced line-up, along with probably just one major game announcement. They probably will kill off the multi-sku model also (something MS needs to do). Like MS, I don't see nothing major other than something FFXIII announcement calibur.

Nintendo Animal crossing, Star Fox, and the new flavor of the month (ie Wii Fit). Maybe revisions to Wii or DS hardware.

Either way, I don't think any of them will do anything fucking amazing like they did back in the day, and hence forth the end of E3.

[frosty]

Sounds about right. Although for Sony i'd expect more than one big announcement for a "A" game. God of War 3 is expected to make a showing, and then you have things like Twisted Metal as well. But, they have been doing a good job of coming along with brand new titles (not sequels) that we've never heard of at E3 that turn out to be "A" games (like uncharted), so I'd expect more than one big game announcement being that GOW3 is almost a guarantee.

As for the multi-SKU thing, though it would be nice, I think we'll see that 80GB stick around for a bit longer. They do have a rumored price cut on the 40GB model, which is what leads me to believe the 80 will stick around for a bit longer (unless they cram backwards compatibility into the 40GB). We'll see.

[XboxEvolved]

Well I consider A games to be more than just quality, I consider them to be system sellers, and overall popular in culture as well, like Gears of War 2 on 360. Now, if I wanted to give out what would be real A games, I would say stuff like Viva Pinata 2, but because VP1 only sold 1 million, and really is only popular with the kiddies and suckers like me, I consider it a B game.

Since my departure from Xbox Evolved, I have really looked a lot into the SOny side of things, mostly thanks to a new partner of mine whom is a big Sony fan, and he seems to think GoW3 would be a big one coming out also. I would have to agree there, and if they show that and GT5, which they probably will then I would consider those A titles, but I am also referring to titles coming out this year. If I wanted to say A titles in general, I would have included FFXIII with that.

[HPK]

I was going to type a long rant about how I really (fucking) hate the new dashboard look, and how I would prefer to keep it as is (without the large icons, "smoother" looking, and stupid avatars), but I decided against it.

Really, this irks me to no end. I hope there's an option to keep the "classic" look, or I might not play the 360 nearly as much. Seriously, this new look makes me not want to play videogames as much.

[speed stick]

When does that update take effect anyways?

[IEatFriedPikmin]

Isn't there a fall update? Or just spring?

[speed stick]

I have no idea. I always like the updates because its cool seeing the changes. Maybe not so much this next one but still.

[OG_Monkey]

When does that update take effect anyways?

they say it'll be the fall update, no spring update this year.

[speed stick]

Oh ok, so a couple more months.

Watched that RE5 trailer or whatever its called from marketplace, damn that makes me want the game even more now. Makes me remember the great times that I had playing the Gamecube version.

[JasonXe]

shit i forgot to download that. Back to my 360.

[speed stick]

Damn, just played that Tales demo. Its a really small file size. Only like two hundred and something MB. Fuck, it didn't even tell me how to play unless I was missing something. I haven't played a Tales game since the Gamecube version years back. I got the shit kicked against that boss in like thirty seconds. And it only took like two minutes to get to him.

[Greg]

Yeah the Tales demo made me not want to buy the game. I have never played a tales game before and to a new play that demo was shit. I had no idea what the hell I was doing but I won't judge it off the demo I will wait.

[Applefiend]

Play from the hard drive is a key feature for me. Near silent fast gaming. Nice...

[speed stick]

^Even if I had the massive 120gig hard drive I still wouldn't utilize this feature unless it was a game that I planned on playing lots of for quiet sometime.

[JasonXe]

You know someone is going to invent a way to make a boot disc so we can sell back our games after putting it in the hd. Also installing the game into the hardrive... Would that make it faster overall (loading, pop ups etc)?

I played the tales demo too... Didn't think much of it. Then again it starts you off in the middle of the game and I don't really know much of anything.

The fighting system is a bit cool once you get use to it but I got my ass handed to me entering the boss fight.

[D3adcell]

The only thing I didn't like about the tales demo was the TP gauge and how it didn't replenish on its own. I forgot about that, been a long time since i played symphonia. Sucked having to use orange gel like every 30 seconds.

[speed stick]

You know someone is going to invent a way to make a boot disc so we can sell back our games after putting it in the hd. Also installing the game into the hardrive... Would that make it faster overall (loading, pop ups etc)?


Well that would make it worth it for sure. Just have one boot disc that works for all games. Never even thought about that. But I don't imagine that would be easy.

[JasonXe]

What happen to Splinter Cell Conviction? Man that game must of went to the dumps or something.

[OG_Monkey]

You know someone is going to invent a way to make a boot disc so we can sell back our games after putting it in the hd. Also installing the game into the hardrive...


Of course and I can't wait to see where this all goes


What happen to Splinter Cell Conviction? Man that game must of went to the dumps or something.

they completely started over from scratch. Concept, design, story, everything. "conviction" turned out to not be what they wanted

[speed stick]

I haven't played a Splinter Cell game in I don't know how long.

[JasonXe]

well after watching the psp press conference, it made the xbox one a bit more interesting.

[speed stick]

PSP sucks though lol.

[speed stick]

Just played the Too Human demo. The demo was actually much better then I had imagined. I thought the controls were a bit odd and difficult to get used to. But all in all it was better then everyone made it sound. Kinda reminded me of Mass Effect in the menu screens where you do your upgrades and change your weapons and armor ect...

[Unspoken]

Just played the Too Human demo. The demo was actually much better then I had imagined. I thought the controls were a bit odd and difficult to get used to. But all in all it was better then everyone made it sound. Kinda reminded me of Mass Effect in the menu screens where you do your upgrades and change your weapons and armor ect...

Yeah, the game's still going to bomb, though.

I was one of the few who liked the new control scheme. It's just deciding whether to tap or hold is the main issue with it. But the gameplay got old really fast. The actual story seems kind of interesting, but that's all I could gather from it. Other than the loose ties to Norse mythology every now and then, I tried not to listen to what was going on.

Also, overused lines from soldiers is another small detail I noticed. Every time enemies were spotted, I heard the same damn thing: "Stay to the high ground. Keep our advantage!" Which that was my cue to run in head first and kick some alien robot ass.

Worth a rent if no last-minute changes are made to the game.

[speed stick]

Yeah a rent is what I'll probably do. Well more like borrow it from my roommate since he is going nuts over the game for the past year. He will definitely buy it ha.

[OG_Monkey]

I haven't played a Splinter Cell game in I don't know how long.

Chaos Theory still the best hands down

[JasonXe]

Nu uh the first one is the best hands down :D