E3 Microsoft Conference Thread

Here are some the other stuff they didn't touch on...

Tommy McClain

 

Conference was weak as far as new information goes, it seems...

Some quality titles this year for sure, but we already knew about them. It's hard to complain when the the line-up this year is already pretty good (I think both 360 and PS3 have an excellent winter line-ups -- more concerned about Wii's line-up for the rest of this year).

Glad I didn't actually spend the time to watch it -- I got the gist of it and I'm downloading all the stuff on XbLive now. Nothing to be ashamed of as far as line-up goes (I'll be getting 4-5 of those games, maybe more), but not much to look forward to that we didn't already know about, which is always a little disappointing -- hopefully Sony and Nintendo do a better job of that.

 

I bet this goes over really well in the main stream media however. "Microsoft shows tons of games that you'll be able to play in months... instead of years".

 

Here's the new Scene-It? controller...



http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/117881.asp

No details whether it will be wireless or not, but I expect that since you get the game and 4 controllers in one package for $60, then it's most likely a wired version. Either way, I'll probably pick it up. Would be great to use with You Don't Know Jack.

Tommy McClain

 

Very true, no need to hype games that people won't see this year when they have a great lineup of games. Of the listed game, Assasins-Bioshock-COD4 are must buys for me. Halo 3 is only a maybe, since I've never played any versions before.

Even with that lineup, I still think MS needs a price-cut at the same time. The 360 has no shortage of great games lately, yet their NPD numbers are ever shrinking. Halo3 (along with those other great games) plus a price-cut would make an effective one-two punch.

 

I bet instead the media goes like this "Wow, what a lackluster conference MS had this year".

In fact I'm sure of it.

I think a lot of that goes back to venue though. I remember a year or two ago Sony had this AWFUL e3 conference, a lot of it was just that the crowd was dead, and a lot of that can get back to venue. MS had a dead crowd from the get go. I'm sure being in some high school auditorium didn't help.

 

Surprisingly bland! Maybe they've had to pull some punches at the last minute ...

I guess they've decided to invest more in X07 then. When is that?

 

An actual price for the Halo 3 edition console has been conspicuous by its absense so far.

 

So Microsoft have just ripped-off the Buzz controller

 

Yep, just like Nintendo ripped off the TV remote.

Personally, I would have preferred that Atari 2600 looking joystick thing that they sent out on some surveys last year. Live Arcade is in bad need of something like that.

Tommy McClain

 

It's not really a sequel innit? More like a spin-off...

Anyway, it's coming this year? Megaton!!11!

By the way, I expect much more news from the show floor. The conference was pretty low profile indeed.

 

wow... that's a helluva fall lineup and while we already knew the info, the presentation of what appears to be some intense graphics and game play is blowing me away (XBLive and other outlets with HD vids).

 

Any word on if the big red button at least doubles as a track ball? Otherwise it's terrible (i.e. the broad bars on the Buzz controller are much better than these small round buttons)

 

So now I'm at home and have a bit more time to read through the news... MS's conference seemed a little underwhelming. I don't know why, but they just can't excite their audience at these things. They have what is the best 6 months of gaming or so I've ever seen lined up over 2H'07, but they just don't enthuse with their message.

Oh well, at least we have these great games and demos to look forward to

 

That seems to be their strategy.

They have some stuff left in the pocket for later this year (X07?). For example: they can pull out the price drop whenever they feel like it.

 

How do you plug in 4 wired controllers to the 360? Will it include a USB hub?

 

I would expect it to be wireless, really. The PS3 version of the Buzz thingies should be wireless too, I think I've read somewhere.

Right now though, the wired Buzz controllers use just one USB cable for four buttons, with a cable splitter. For the later Buzz games, you can plug in two of these and play 8 player games. So that'd be one way to do it.

 

I missed this part:

http://www.gamedaily.com/blog/2007/...t-gears-confirmed-for-pc-with-cross-platform/

 

Isn't that in a sense like having commercials paid for by commercials?

 

The good:

Resident Evil5 looks amazing!

I think the whole PC or Games for Windows bit was the strongest part of their show. There is actually a lot to be looking forward to on the PC side. I might even have to upgrade my hw again!


The bad:

The Neill Blomkamp bit was SO disappointing. It's no wonder the movie got canned. I had high hopes for that director, I liked his previous work. But this felt totally off the wall.

I think there is no way Assassin's Creed is coming out this year. It has so much potential, but what they showed of it was very rough. I mean just the core mechanics of the game was not nailed down very well. Again it has so much
potential for greatness, I really hope they don't rush it out the door a half baked product.

The COD4 gameplay presentation was almost a bad joke! I'm suprised that out of the whole game they decided to show the slowest quietest part of the game in front of a huge crowd on a big screen! Who green lit that? Admitably the video feed I was watching was a lo-fi blurry mess-- and that might be why I "didn't get it"