Microsoft E3 2009 Keynote Thread

[DeadlyNinja]

Idiots can make waggle look like flailing like an idiot, but I've played my share of Wii games at my friend's house (I don't own one) and neither of us were flailing around like idiots. We may not play golf in real life, but we know the basic motion to make for golfing. The only laughing comes from when either of us mess up our shot.

Hell, you can make using a controller look like an idiot. Ever seen one of those really embarrassing idiots who pound their controls wildly, or spazz like crazy? Just watch the mainstream media depict gamers and you'll see it.

 

[Sound_Card]

With regard to Natal, I was surprised more by the inclusion of microphone & voice recognition. It's more than just motion controls.

It's an everything control. Literally.

 

[obonicus]

the conference showed some girl sitting on her couch, mimicking holding a steering wheel with her hands up, driving a race car in a game.

that's cool

That's Mario Kart with a Wii Wheel. Was she making motorboat sounds with her mouth to indicate acceleration?

 

[patsu]

I am surprised by the lack of enthusiasm here though. Guys, this is frakkin' scifi here, I wouldn't have expected anything like this for another five years...

Because they/we have experienced the current gen of motion sensing games already. The games and applications define the experience. The downside is it can be tiring for extended use (which may be the main objective for some titles). If you watch how Wii gamers play, the more experienced (and perhaps more lazy) ones don't hold their controller properly. e.g. Some don't swing the controller like a Golf club. They jerk it to achieve the same effect because their arms and back are tired. Try playing Operation: Creature Feature for 15 minutes. You may have to bend your back to fit into the camera's view and the HD TV's picture (since the player appears inside). Holding that posture is fun but may be straining. The problem does not exist on a smaller monitor though, since you could just sit there and wave.

The most compelling part is to be able to watch media without the damn remote -- which is what I hope all media player adopt. A pity it's not bundled like Wii for higher Xbox models (Still they will sell a lot if it's $100 or less !).

Things such as facial recognition login is convenient but my console auto login, so there is no need to recognize anything. I also have multiple accounts on the same box. So the face recognition won't be able to tell which one I want to use.

Skeptics will warm up to it more once they try it in store, or in friends' place.

 

[Tap In]

Great show overall I thought.
.

indeed best show in recent memory for me with the sheer number of new announcements reveals of great games and new Live features.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

The camera tech presentation sounds very much like last year Sony's Eye Pet, and even the very first PS3 eye presentation with augmented reality... drawing an image and letting the cam scan it, and the game character then interacts with it, a bit more advanced obviously, as a year has passed... but can't help the feeling that MS has copied, and just improved what Sony showed last year.

I disagree. It sounds like MS's tech is realising the dream, mapping users into the game. A lot depends on how well it works, but I can imagine this being a huge draw if in stores, people walk past a TV screen to see a character matching their motions. They'd stop and peer, turning their head this way and that to see the faux-mirror image copying them. Throw in a few interactive elements and I think it'd be a big crowd draw.

That's of course assuming the tech works. And if MS actually back it up witn more than bluster, which they've never shown for their other peripherals. But I think the tech has the potential to be big. Have MS got enough IP secured to lock the compeition out of true visual player-mapping?

As for the other elements, obviously an exclusive XB360 MGS game is big news. alan Wake looked very good, a sort of supernatural Drake's Fortune in play style. The graphics on the tiddly little video feed I saw looked very well done with a great style. Forza 3 I felt was wrongly pushed as a GT beater. How many times did they say 'the defining racing game of this generation'?! Visually it was okay in style but lacked PD's photorealism. I'd have rather they just said 'here's a great racer' without making comparisons, and sell the game on it's merits without referencing rivals. Finally, I found it interesting that MS mentioned nothing of their game creator. I wonder if they still care for that or not?

 

[Tap In]

That's Mario Kart with a Wii Wheel. Was she making motorboat sounds with her mouth to indicate acceleration?

 

[obonicus]

best news for me... CRACKDOWN 2!!! bad news... I have to wait until Feb 2010

what's your Best news of the show?

360's early 2010 is going to be great. Crackdown 2, Alan Wake. Not so sure about the Epic Game, I sort of would like to know more about it. Maybe it is the Painkiller devs, which would be a much bigger deal.

 

[obonicus]

Seriously, playing with a pretend wheel isn't that cool! It looked sad when the Wii did it, why's it cool now? It certainly doesn't approximate driving.

 

[TheChefO]

I am surprised by the lack of enthusiasm here though. Guys, this is frakkin' scifi here, I wouldn't have expected anything like this for another five years...

Exactly!!

The overall package they put together for Natal is flipping unreal. The Demo with the Moleneux kid was unreal! It really put the other games on show in perspective. Yes, they looked cool, but clearly, this tech is on another level and brings the expectations going forward to an entirely new level.

RPG's with the ability to decipher emotion along with words is exciting to say the least. Games like Mass Effect when combined with this tech bring it to a level of an interactive movie ...

To say I'm excited is an understatement!

The interesting thing is seeing where/how the competition will respond.

Nintendo would have to really wow to go above and beyond this tech. I'm not sure how you can one-up your body (including your voice) as a controller... If the interaction is no longer a edge or advantage, that leaves AV output as a differentiation (aside from software of course).

WiiHD won't cut it in the face of this competition.

The only flaw I see in this Natal system is the fact that it is an add-on. It may have been smarter to pack this in with their next gen system.

 

[dah145]

most of the games they announced arent going to released this year, and BTW the new Metal Gear game IS MULTIPLATFORM.

 

[tha_con]

As for the other elements, obviously an exclusive XB360 MGS game is big news.

Is it exclusive though? I find it odd that MS didn't trump that infamous word around when they were talking about it. That's generally something that the Hardware Manufacturers (Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft) do when they have an exclusive as big as this.

Still not impressed by the camera. Revolutionary technology or not, I just don't think the software and implementation will be there to make it successful. Milo was a bit creepy, far more than it was jaw dropping.

I mean, I still have to get my controller to turn on the 360, so why invest in this camera? I've already turned on my console, and I have the means to navigate everything in my hands.

I just don't see it. It's a day late (rather, a few years) and a dollar short. This technology would have been better served waiting until the next generation.

 

[deepbrown]

Milo was incredibly impressive, both graphically and in interaction. The facial stuff looked better than Heavy Rain.

MGS5 on XBox 360 was obvioulsy the biggest news of the conference on a fanboy scale...broke lots of websites. All in all was a great conference and hard to beat!

 

[deepbrown]

Is it exclusive though? I find it odd that MS didn't trump that infamous word around when they were talking about it. That's generally something that the Hardware Manufacturers (Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft) do when they have an exclusive as big as this.

Still not impressed by the camera. Revolutionary technology or not, I just don't think the software and implementation will be there to make it successful. Milo was a bit creepy, far more than it was jaw dropping.

I mean, I still have to get my controller to turn on the 360, so why invest in this camera? I've already turned on my console, and I have the means to navigate everything in my hands.

I just don't see it. It's a day late (rather, a few years) and a dollar short. This technology would have been better served waiting until the next generation.

I dont belive it is exclusive.

 

[ErnstH]

Logan's Run is also frakkin's sci-fi. Doesn't make me look forward to it. But yeah, more seriously, for gadget freaks it's interesting. For people who actually play games? I don't really understand everyone's enthusiasm.

But it's not just playing games. To me, just interfacing in such a way with consumer electronics is something I hadn't expected to be able to do for many years. For me, it seems as if the future has just come a lot closer. Interacting becomes much more natural, and as posted above, I'm looking forward to even simply start watching an online movie through this interface.

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

I really don't see how this can 'fail', as if what somebody said earlier was correct.. that this is an everything control.

It might not be fun playing a racing game with a pretend wheel, or no wheel at all. But the 360 is far more than just GAMES, and especially a lot more than just ACTION actions.

As a device to manage the interface or menu-driven features, this has great potential.

Personally, I'm excited about 1 v 100 and it seems to me that with this motion sensor, I'd never have to touch the 360 to do anything but turn it on. Play 1 v 100, then watch a movie, turn on digital radio, etc...

I agree that this doesn't excite me as a 'gamer', for FPS's or racing games, or sports games. But that is so little of what the 360 is, or what MS want the 360 to become.

(And, if it works for those things, that's just icing IMO)

 

[obonicus]

But it's not just playing games. To me, just interfacing in such a way with consumer electronics is something I hadn't expected to be able to do for many years. For me, it seems as if the future has just come a lot closer. Interacting becomes much more natural, and as posted above, I'm looking forward to even simply start watching an online movie through this interface.

Okay, I'll give you that. I even agree, as a minority-report controls this could be cool. I'm not convinced that this is better than a programmable remote, but maybe I need to see how well the software is developed -- Minority Report interfaces looked a bit exhausting. Tom Cruise was in great shape in that movie!

 

[Arwin]

It's always better to get it now than in the next generation. That makes it better in the next generation. Think Live on Xbox1 vs Live on 360 - because they did it on the Xbox, they're ahead of the curve in the 360.

MGS isn't exclusive, it's just like FFXIII.

Shall we make threads on the different topics, and only continue discussing the actual conference here? (i.e. about the presentation, the group of games or nxe features, etc.?)

 

[RobertR1]

Okay, I'll give you that. I even agree, as a minority-report controls this could be cool. I'm not convinced that this is better than a programmable remote, but maybe I need to see how well the software is developed -- Minority Report interfaces looked a bit exhausting. Tom Cruise was in great shape in that movie!

Have you watched the full presentation of "natal"???

 

[tha_con]

But it's not just playing games. To me, just interfacing in such a way with consumer electronics is something I hadn't expected to be able to do for many years. For me, it seems as if the future has just come a lot closer. Interacting becomes much more natural, and as posted above, I'm looking forward to even simply start watching an online movie through this interface.

I want you to put your hands up in front of your monitor, and make gestures, any kind you like, to simulate going back a page, forward, between tabs, etc.

Now pretend your driving in a racing game, but there's not actually anything in your hands, you're just holding an imaginary wheel to steer.

It's not "natural". It's interactive, maybe visceral, but not "natural". I'm a HUGE skeptic, and I will believe this technology to "flop" for the entirety of this generation. It just doesn't have great application for games, etc, not that the average consumer is going to get.

It's not "simple" enough.