Microsoft's E3 Conference Displays Company Confidence 147
The tone from Microsoft tonight was one of celebration and anticipation, as they ran down their successes since the 360 launched and hyped their lineup between now and the end of the year. Peter Moore framed the discussing by recalling the blockbuster holiday season of 2004, which was driven by the Grand Theft Auto, Madden, and Halo franchises. Moore stated that 'the only place to play all three games' this year is the 360. In addition to showing off other heavyweight titles like Mass Effect (which is due in November), the company had a few new announcements: They'll be releasing a version of the movie trivia game Scene-It with a quartet of special controllers, for a standard game price. They've partnered with Walt Disney and its associated companies to bring their family of movies to the Xbox Live service, with many titles already available tonight. CliffyB officially revealed Gears of War for the PC; it'll have additional content as well as co-op gaming via Live for Windows. Resident Evil 5 will be coming to the system (the only game from their conference not releasing this year). The event was capped by a live-action short piece meant to show what a Halo movie might look like, the announcement of a Halo 3 special edition 360 sku set to launch alongside the game, and a new trailer showing a bunch of Halo 3 in-game footage. For further details on the event, click below for other sites' liveblog coverage.
Call of Duty (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Call of Duty (Score:4, Interesting)
Overall, I think it was an odd presentation. They only showed stuff coming out this year, and while there are a lot of quality titles coming in the next few months, it might come back to bite them. If Sony's presentation tomorrow contains all kinds of gorgeous footage from games that are still more than a year away, people will come away far more impressed. This is a lesson they should have learned from 2 years ago during the unveiling of the consoles. Sony showed CG footage that they hoped would represent in-game graphics, and even though it was BS, people came away wowed.
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Re:Call of Duty (Score:4, Informative)
Nintendo never showed a demo of "Mario 128", as in the game. I was at the press conference when they initially unveiled this - I believe it was actually at Space World, not E3. What they showed then was a demo called "128 Marios", *not* "Mario 128". This was only changed to "Mario 128" later. (There is a photo of the original title screen that got changed for later demos floating around the net somewhere, though I can't find it at the moment.) It was always a simple tech demo designed to show that the GameCube was capable of handling 128 N64-quality Marios at the same time without slowdown. There was no game there. It was just a bunch of Marios on a platform in space.
Later, Miyamoto started saying in interviews that he was thinking of ways to turn "Mario 128" into a game. But no game was ever shown, and I don't believe any actual coding was done. Somehow, at some point the press and bloggers turned things around and got the idea retroactively that the tech demo that was shown was footage from a game that was never released. It wasn't. Any ideas Miyamoto did have were no doubt put into Mario Sunshine and Mario Galaxy.
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I have had no problem with either WMV or Quicktime in Linux. And, as someone who uses Linux, I'm very aware of Microsoft's vast reach and control. I just watched the quicktime trailer with ZERO problems, and I'm not in Windows, nor am I using a Mac. So it's not helping them get Microsoft software on MY PC.
If you can't view the trailer you are a very special kind of moron indeed.
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No, that'sinnacurate. They want a lock-in in the e-distribution era. The living room will be the entry point for all media consumed in the house, they want to control that channel. The same objective as Sony with Ps3, Apple with AppleTV, etc...
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Aside from that, the visual style of Halo simply doesn't transfer well to the uber-realistic rendering of games like Gears of War and forcing it to do so would be detrimental to the game's sense of identity. Heck
Chief (Score:1)
Lots of dick waving, not alot of substance (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm sick of all this "our console is better than the other's" crap, I want to see the best games on the right console at the right time. For all three competitors. Their products should speak for themselves.
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Who else would care that the biggest 'holiday' (and here I thought the war on Xmas was dead) ever was generated by the three franchises for which Xbox360 has exclusive rights.
The message? If you're going to carry/hype/stock any console and games, make sure it's this one.
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They're learning from Sony. I'm surprised they didn't say XBOX360 can make baby dolls cry blood yet. PS3 can.
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That said, what did you expect from a press conference? "Our competitors are also good"? Microsoft wanted to point out their advantages (Halo and other exclusive titles, Live Arcade, movie downloads).
Moreover, E3 is as much about publishers as it is about end users. Microsoft is trying to steal PS3 exclusives,
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On another note; I found it interesting that Microsoft seems to be going after Ninten
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I know we'll never hear it from any company, ever, unless they're already announcing their bankruptcy, but I'd like some realistic reports on game systems from their makers.
And if they can't give me
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What the fuck is this "I want innovation in games" whining that's been going on for years and years now? It's getting very annoying. Why does everyone want innovation for innovation's sake? Do you even know what you want, or are you just repeating the popular catchphrase of the moment? Even if developers do release innovative or different games, people still keep repeating "moar inovation plz" like some kind of fucking parrots. A game doesn't need to be innovative in order to
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Depends on what you mean by "innovation" and it depends on what you mean by "gameplay"
All too many games these days are just rehashes of last years crap. Look at the games that Microsoft is touting here. Madden, GTA and Halo. These games will be small iterative improvements over the last version that was released. Probably not even that in the case of Madden which is pretty much just a roster update every year.
I'm not saying there are absolutely no innovative games but all too many are just rehashes of
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where, exactly, did I say that I haven't played any games?
Or did you mean that I haven't played the games that haven't come out yet? OK, thats fair, its possible that the new Halo will be totally different from the old one, but more likely than not it will be a graphical update with some nice new maps. GTA, pretty much the same, but now with more bitch slappin' action.
I can tell you right now that the game play in Madden wont be significantly different from the last version (except maybe on the Wii where
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You wandered into the wrong trade show. You wanted the Electronic Entertainment Expo, not the Erotic Entertainment Expo. Read the marquee more closely next time.
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Damn straight!
I want GTA: Madden.
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Top selling games of 2006: http://kotaku.com/gaming/npd/npd-mario-madden-top
What most Americans want are fps/sports sequels and licensed movie titles.
Not Okami. Not Katamari. Not God Hand. Not Viewtiful Joe.
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He just wanted to remind people that the PS3 wasn't getting an exclusive period on Madden or GTA. Both of which (I think) it had before.
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Vice City and San Andreas were exclusive, for a period, for the PlayStation.
profit (Score:2)
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You know: if, if, if...
If Sony didn't focus on things like blu-ray, hd-dvd would've taken edge, and they'd lose a far more lucrative revenue source than gaming.
If Microsoft didn't burn so much money on sales at loss, maybe they'd still gain edge since XBOX260 was the first 3G console on the market, and with
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Niether would Nintendo. That whole thing broke down because Sony wanted their name plastered all over it instead of Nintendo's.
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Niether would Nintendo. That whole thing broke down because Sony wanted their name plastered all over it instead of Nintendo's.
I didn't know that side of the story, got links?
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Yeah, right
Do you think they're going to make OVER SIX BILLION DOLLARS by the end of the year? Because that's what it would take.
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Xbox is a total and utter TRAINWRECK BLACK-HOLE DISASTER by any sane reckoning. Like, "shareholder lawsuit, SEC investigation" disaster.
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Only in /. (Score:2, Informative)
Check MS stock performance:
http://finance.google.com/finance?q=MSFT [google.com] (check Max).
That is a steady state system curve for you. This means the company has matured and is not finding anything innovative.
Look how an innovative company looks:
http://finance.google.com/finance?q=GOOG [google.com]
the exponential curve shows that people perceive value in the company.
Simply put, MS is stagnated, I am sure institutional investors are losing patience, wasting 5 billion chasing a chimera does
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I'll note that Microsoft appear to be getting by just fine (swimming in a sea of cash, actually) without being what the above poster perceives as "innovative".
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I laughed out loud at "google for "microsoft stock performance"".
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Live? (Score:5, Funny)
Oh goodie, as opposed to co-op gaming via the mother-fucking-internet.
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The new E3 (Score:2, Informative)
This is the new E3, no more crowded booths, no more distract
/. is funny sometimes (Score:2)
Then the next story is about the confidence in the gaming division.
That's
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Yeah I hold my grudges till grim death.
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The fact that as a corporation they're a bunch of shits is just an added bonus.
P.S. What did they do to Sega, specifically?
Not at all (Score:2)
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Well I don't like Microsoft's monopoly practices, but they don't have a monopoly in hardware. In fact, I've always been a fan of Microsoft's hardware division -- their mice, keyboards, and especially the Sidewinder line of gamepads and joysticks have always been top notch. And I'm not afraid to admit that part of my liking for MS HW is thei
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So it's theoretically a good thing that MS is crystallizing their gaming experience into a standalone console. With all these PC/Xbox cross-platform games (plus whatever console-only releases), it makes owning a Windows gaming PC less necessary.
In theory.
They showed confidence, so? (Score:3, Insightful)
Well of course it was! How many companies go to a big conference and put on a presentation and say "Hey! We suck!"?
Remember Sony's conference last year? Remember "Riiidge Racer!"? _They_ were certainly confident, but that didn't mean much in the long run. It's not whether they show confidence in themselves that matters, it's whether the media and the consumers also feel confident about them by the time the presentation is done.
I remember.. (Score:2)
Did somebody say 'movie'? (Score:3, Funny)
I hope they release it in blu-ray or HD-DVD, so I can watch it in all its HighDef glory.
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Haven't you heard? The Halo movie was put on indefinite hold a while back. That said, it looks like they still have Neill Blomkamp [imdb.com] in their corner, judging by the short they showed tonight. If you haven't already, you should check out some of his stuff [youtube.com], especially Alive in Joburg [youtube.com]. He's a very talented director and cinematographer, and many people were excited to hear that he was going to helm the Halo movie. On top of
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halo 3 hd trailer torrent (Score:2)
Celebrating their monopoly... (Score:2, Insightful)
"The tone from Microsoft tonight was one of celebration and anticipation, as they ran down their successes since the 360 launched and hyped their lineup between now and the end of the year. Peter Moore framed the discussing by recalling the blockbuster holiday season of 2004, which was driven by the Grand Theft Auto, Madden, and Halo franchises. Moore stated that 'the only place to play all three games' this year is the 360."
The cel
Re:Celebrating their monopoly... (Score:5, Insightful)
really? i agree that it was a forced event, but microsoft has never been known for their people skills. bash the presentation all you want, but their console is pretty good. i'd like to see the $3-400 multi-core 3.2 ghz computer you have been gaming on.
also, saying that "it has only been the exclusive publication deals that have drawn people to buy the 360 at all" is like saying disneyland is only popular because its the only place where you can find all of those rides.
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The creation of Microsoft's video formats, or the Flash video format, or Sony's Blue-Ray, or SMS, or Verizon's "Get It Now", or Sony's memory stick, etc, has nothing to do with creating value for the consumer or making an advance in technology. It's all about luring people in to habits that are difficult to break.
I don't know. the flash video format seems to me about creating a format anyone can watch, assuming they had a flash player. It's simply an integration of the player into the video data itself, yes, but also in a format that's not platform specific and fairly slim.
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Where can I get that $300 gaming PC where I don't have to care about driver installations, upgrades, patches and all that stuff and that is going to play games for the next few years? A simple Vista license eats already a third of that money.
### and it has only been the exclusive publication deals that have drawn people to buy the 360 at all.
Consoles are about who has the best games, this generation it seems to be Mi
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I just wish I had mod points to mod you as a troll. If you'd like to carry on the "Microsoft is a monopoly" debate in an actual thread that it might be relevant, your post would be completely
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It's not an honest argument. Sure you can buy a $400 PC and do things with it you can't do with an X-Box, but you can't play comparable games on it -- which is the point of a games console. So his argument isn't all that, y'know, sensible in the first place.
Anyone thinking Microsoft has a monopoly in the gaming market is something of an idiot. In a few months, Nintendo Wii sales will pass up 360 sales -- and the Wi
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Apple does the same exact thing with the Mac. It's not a PC, it's a Mac -- product differentiation into a different market. Once you're with Mac, you don't have choices as to hardware, you just have Apple. It's ultimately the same goal. The iPod is similar in that it ties into iTunes. And OSX is similar in that it's tied directly to their har
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Halo and Halo have also "lived" on PCs. Though they had to be running Windows, they most definately were not consoles.
Not only on Windows (Score:2, Informative)
Come on man, you knew this, but in case you didn't
http://www.amazon.com/Macsoft-Halo-Mac/dp/B00006I
http://www.apple.com/games/articles/2003/11/halo/ [apple.com]
A little mixed (Score:5, Insightful)
I think that their efforts in terms of family games was a little on the week side. I can understand they want to get into the same marketspace as the Wii, but it seems as though it's an afterthought for them. I think that their initial core market is mature gamers who enjoy FPS games and such. The Scene It game just seemed kind of awkward for a console. I think the majority of Xbox 360 owners don't really care too much about these games. I would have rather seen more focus on their core.
I really could care less about their Live for Windows information as well, but I've never been much of a computer gamer. I've always liked E3 for the focus on the consoles.
One thing that really stuck out, and this always seems to happen at pretty much every conference, is that some celebrity or designer comes out to highlight a game and they come off sounding stiff and awkward. The lady talking during the Assassins Creed preview made me cringe. The Madden demo also felt forced. Please reherse or find some more genuine presenters. It makes everything look more professional. Last year Sony was horrible for this reason.
Overall, not a bad showing, but it didn't feel as though they were trying to generate a lot of buzz. Maybe that's just an effect of the new format of E3 though. Looking forward to both of the press conferences tomorrow and what Sony and Nintendo have in the works.
Gears of War PC - just one comment... (Score:2)
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Direct-X 10? Thats why I want to spend money on it.
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celebration and anticipation? (Score:2)
Scene it -- Odd but Brilliant (Score:2)
Watched the G4 coverage of the E3 MSFT preview (Score:2, Interesting)
Take home message, other than a few games (Halo) that we already knew were xBox360 specific - not much behind the PR.
Confidence? Not the buyers... (Score:2, Insightful)
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also, 40 games? 40 * ~$60 = $2,400
nobody feels sorry for you man, you have too much cash to spend. there aren't even that many decent games for the platform.
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$2400 invested in a system already two and a half years in isn't even that bad, anyway, if you can afford it. Don't be jealous of others' prosperity.
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What boggles my mind is that his 360 had only 200 hours of game play on it. 40 games, 5 hours a piece? yipes!
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not let him burn, just sizzle a little.
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It's good for another 18.
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Wow, thats a lot of games to pick up in 18 months. When I read the first part of your post I was shocked that you would buy an new 360 if your old one was busted but with that kind of investment I guess i understand.
Shame though, if your computer went to shit in 18 months you probably wouldn't buy another one of those computers.
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Why should they cut their price? The Elite version is still cheaper than a PS3. They're kicking ass in terms of media downloads (Disney is a huge win) and XBLA. They're getting exclusive games for the 360 and getting other companies to break their exclusivity (Resident Evil, Devil May Cry). Live subscriptions are way up, even if total console sales didn't quite hit the mark. They'v
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They're kicking ass in terms of media downloads (Disney is a huge win)
What movies does Disney have? Bambi? Snow White? Thanks but no thanks.
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Re: Sony cut the price of the PS3 ? (Score:3, Informative)
Wait... Sony dropped the price of the PS3? At launch you could get one for $499 or $599, now on Amazon I see them listed for $499 and $599... Did they introduce a new SKU for $449 or $399 and I'm not seeing it?
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Not a chance..I assure you they will try to extract a monthly "Live" fee from you if you wish to play Gears of war online.
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Assuming that the online is free, I think Gears has the potential to kick the 360's as
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I can see MS giving Epic money to use their service, or perhaps it was written into the contract that Epic have to. Windows Live is dying a death since people reasonably wonder why they should pay for something that should be free and can still be fo
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