We’ve just left the Microsoft E3 2010 press conference, where much fun was had, and are primed and ready to share our thoughts and the breaking news. Microsoft chose this year to push a big focus on the casual, with an hour’s worth of Kinect/Live talk amongst a splatter of a few core titles.
What went down wasn’t as glitzy or glamor-filled (or terrifying) as the Cirque du Soleil event from the night before, but a much more refined experience focused on gameplay, live demos, and hardware.
The Core Gamer
As expected, Microsoft catered to the core audience with footage of Call of Duty: Black Ops, Metal Gear Solid: Rising, Halo Reach, and Fable 3. It’s interesting to note that all games were sequels in popular franchises, with the only new IP being a Crytek-developed title, “Codename: Kingdoms” (working title, obviously). In a resurgence year, Microsoft and publishers are clearly and safely pushing blockbuster sequels to blockbuster games. Each of the games looked huge, action-filled, and exciting.
The push for exclusives was also apparent. Microsoft VP Don Mattrick noted how Call of Duty expansions, add-ons, and map packs would be released first on XBox for the next three years. Key exclusives and partnerships will be important.
User Interface
Kinect, formerly known as Natal, will be the clear push for Microsoft this year. The completely controller-free interface provides for incredible and unique experiences. First and foremost, an updated NXE interface will focus on Kinect’s hand-waving and voice recognition to provide a way for commanding the XBox to do things without picking up a controller.
“Xbox, play game.”
Just simple commands (preceded by the word “XBox”) will allow couch potatoes like us to open menus, play and pause videos in Zune, Netflix, and Live, and play games. Video Kinect, an updated chat client, allows integration with Microsoft’s Live Messenger across PC platforms to speak to friends and family, watch movies together, and view video clips. Though Live Messenger is still in use it pales when compared to Skype’s userbase, relegating Kinect Video to a small (though efficient) app.
Trey Wingo and Josh Elliot showcased the new ESPN app, free for Gold members, that includes over 3500 live and on-demand sporting events, almost all in HD, integrated trivia and polls, and ties to ESPN3.com. Watching live NCAA football games over XBox should blow away anything cable can provide.
Kinect Games
As expected — and much to the chagrin of core gamers — the Kinect games that were showcased were mostly casual. From Kinectimals‘ cuteness to the decidedly WiiSports-like collection of sports minigames in Kinect… Sports, to Joyride, Adventure, and YourShape, it was a clear push for capturing gamers of all ages and backgrounds.
The audience did cheer, ooh, and aah during the announcement of the on-rails Star Wars game from Lucasarts, which depicted a Clone Wars-ish hero facing off against storm troopers and Darth Vader by mimicking light saber swings and force pushes in the air. Note: Playing a game about swinging a lightsaber may be awkward when not holding a lightsaber.
What excited me most was the announcement of the use of Kinect in Forza 3. While not the “changing a tire” integration seen in last year’s glitz trailer, it allows for complete walk-arounds of cars, being able to look at vehicle details (headlights, engines) up close with stats and info, and the ability to sit “into” the vehicle, turn the key, and race off into the sunset.
Kinect launches on November 4th in the US (price TBA).
Read Nathan’s write-up of all of the announced Kinect titles shown.
XBox Slim
Finally, the worst-kept secret this year may have been the reveal of Microsoft’s new, svelte XBox. The glossy machine includes HDMI and 802.11n Wifi built-in, 5 USB ports, a special port for Kinect, 250gb HDD and touch-sensitive buttons. Microsoft certainly turned the world on its ear when it announced that the sexy new XBox will begin shipping TODAY for $299. Shades of the Sega Saturn debut in the 90s suddenly flared up.
Oh, and budgets be damned: everyone in attendance at the Wiltern Theatre got one for free, effective immediately. (We were evicted into the overflow area, and enjoyed watching the hundreds around us boo and hiss as the announcement was made.)
We’ll have more in-depth details on all the news from the conference throughout the week. Stick tuned!
[Images courtesy Microsoft. Forza video courtesy GameTrailers TV]
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