The Annual E3 Microsoft press conference thread, 2014 edition

[joker454]

The only thing on that list that makes me interested at all is Sunset Overdrive, and as I said before, that last gameplay vid actually made me question the purchase rather than want it more.

I watched people play it at e3 today for a while, and it seems like the type of game that would be a blast to play coop, but would quickly get boring in solo mode.

 

[rokkerkory]

The only thing on that list that makes me interested at all is Sunset Overdrive, and as I said before, that last gameplay vid actually made me question the purchase rather than want it more.

I agree with those who say that PC really won E3. It's almost enough to make me go back to PC gaming. The only thing is that my last PC gaming experience (years and years ago... has it been a decade already?), was that the games were always great and fun but that they changed so dramatically from night to night and session to session because there was no "Friends list" or real coordination.

Being able to send messages on Live to your friends when you're both playing different games and being able to invite people into your game or being able to find people you had a great gaming experience with last Saturday when you want to play this Saturday is what got me to move from PC gaming to Console gaming.

But I honestly don't know if those "issues" have been solved in the PC gaming world since. PC gaming was always better graphics and tighter controls.

I am on fence about SO as well, seems fun if it's like a Dead Rising and Jet Set combo. It doesn't take itself too seriously is kinda cool

MP sounds fun with 8 players though.

 

[Rangers]

90% of what attracts me to a given game is graphics and high production value. SO looks nice enough, but just not exceptional enough to make me buy it.

I'm also not so sure about all the rail grinding. Going super fast through an environment leads to gameplay problems or tradeoffs, going back to the old Sonic games! I was never sure whether to stop and collect stuff or zip through the levels as fast as possible.

But I could see where it could work depending.

 

[blakjedi]

90% of what attracts me to a given game is graphics and high production value. SO looks nice enough, but just not exceptional enough to make me buy it.

I'm also not so sure about all the rail grinding. Going super fast through an environment leads to gameplay problems or tradeoffs, going back to the old Sonic games! I was never sure whether to stop and collect stuff or zip through the levels as fast as possible.

But I could see where it could work depending.

Yeah grinding should be an optional mechanic. its always been a problem for speed/time oriented games...

 

[rokkerkory]

90% of what attracts me to a given game is graphics and high production value. SO looks nice enough, but just not exceptional enough to make me buy it.

I'm also not so sure about all the rail grinding. Going super fast through an environment leads to gameplay problems or tradeoffs, going back to the old Sonic games! I was never sure whether to stop and collect stuff or zip through the levels as fast as possible.

But I could see where it could work depending.

I think how you traverse the level is up to you... railing is likely optional for most parts and mandatory for others. Like you said, execution is key.

 

[Cyan]

I watched people play it at e3 today for a while, and it seems like the type of game that would be a blast to play coop, but would quickly get boring in solo mode.

I think it looks cool, really colourful, the way I like it.

My only gripe with this game, is the so stereotypical predictable "I am so cool" guy who is the main character talking about his game.

Games are starting to feel like modern movies, with the cool guy, smart aleck dud a la Horatio saying incredible sentences.

I am so really tired of that cliché, really. I hate smart alecks.

This applies to 90+% of the games shown in this E3.

 

[shredenvain]

SSOD still looks great to me (day one purchase)!
I was super impressed with CODAW. It was much better than I expected both graphically and gameplay wise. Fable Legends looked great running on UE4, but I cant help but feel like it is a miss use of the IP.
It's gameplay reminds me of Gears Judgement with melee weapons which is fine the problem is it lacks any of the character progression and interactivity. Halo TMC is everything you could want. Its Halo2 with full anniversary treatment plus Halo CEA, 3 and 4 all at 1080p 60fps. Tons of hours of gameplay for $60.
It was a great E3 all around from the big 3. The real winner of E3 are gamers all over the world.

 

[blakjedi]

I agree shred... COD was actually stunningly impressive.

 

[AzBat]

E3 2014 thoughts from Phil Spencer...

As we wrap up this E3, I thought I’d share a few quick thoughts on the week. It’s always one of my favorite weeks of the year and this E3 was incredibly special. We saw amazing games from innovative creators, developed for Xbox, Sony and Nintendo. Some people have asked who “won” this week and the answer is simple – the gamers. It’s wonderful to see our industry healthy and delivering what we all want – great games.

Thank you to all who watched our briefing, visited us at the booth, or read about the great games coming to Xbox One. The team worked very hard to create a show worthy of Xbox exclusives like Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Sunset Overdrive, Forza Horizon 2, Fable Legends and Ori and the Blind Forest as well as the pipeline of creative independent titles coming through ID@Xbox and blockbusters such as Assassin’s Creed Unity, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Destiny, Evolve and Rise of the Tomb Raider. In many ways, our entire presence at E3 was built to showcase the incredible lineup of games coming to Xbox this year. With nine exclusive titles, and exclusive content for many more games, we believe Xbox One will be the best place to play this holiday. You can see the full list of titles here.

As we look ahead, our team is laser focused on delivering the best line-up of exclusive games and continuously working to deliver new features and improvements to Xbox One. As always, we look forward to your feedback. Check out Xbox Feedback. It is a new tool that allows you to suggest ideas for Xbox and vote on ideas submitted by others. It’s been really exciting to see over 169,000 votes on the site since it launched earlier this week. As I said at our briefing, Xbox One is being built by you and we are better for it. I can’t wait to hear your ideas.

We’re just getting started on the road to the holidays and look forward to continuing to deliver more games, more product improvements and more entertainment in the coming months.

Thanks,
Phil
@XboxP3

http://news.xbox.com/2014/06/events-e3-letter-from-phil

Tommy McClain

 

[Phil]

I have to say, there were a few things that intrigued me greatly;

One of which, is; Witcher 3. Must say, it looks a bit like a God of War type of game set in a Skyrim world. Perhaps the closest to a faster paced action game. Don't really know more of the game, since I haven't seen any Witcher game previously, but I guess if I had an Xbox, this would be one of those I'd be looking forward to.

 

[Arwin]

I have to say, there were a few things that intrigued me greatly;

One of which, is; Witcher 3. Must say, it looks a bit like a God of War type of game set in a Skyrim world. Perhaps the closest to a faster paced action game. Don't really know more of the game, since I haven't seen any Witcher game previously, but I guess if I had an Xbox, this would be one of those I'd be looking forward to.

The Witcher 3 is multi-platform (as was the previous one). But yeah, it looks like a better Skyrim, on the surface at least.

(This gen is going to be so much better for fantasy open world! )

 

[Phil]

Oh, happy to hear that then! Will definately have to read on about it.

But yeah, props to Microsoft for showing it. There's more games that I liked during the MS press conference (will have to watch again to know which they were), but yeah, overall, I thought the conference was quite good.

Also, I really like Sunset Overdrive.

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

I think this new "warm and fuzzy" attitude from Phil Spencer is quite odd.

It is really the opposite of the "American" attitude which permeated the creation of the Xbox. I realize that MS and the Xbox have been getting hit repeatedly throughout its creation as being "Too American" or at least, "Too NA focused", but that was also the reason for its success - becoming the Go-To platform for Madden and FPS's.

Now we are all supposed to live in harmony and be friends and congratulate the competition on their successes? After that same competition spent the last two years not just trying to demonstrate they were superior, but actually making fun of the product that MS was offering?

Sure, so now Phil wants everybody to think that MS and the Xbox Brand are "being the bigger man" and "turning the other cheek" and "killing them with kindness", to what end? Hoping to shame Sony into stop insulting them?

I find it to be an extremely bizarre strategy, and don't mistake for one second that it is anything but. All this "happy happy happy, we're all gamers and all friends" is an extremely calculated decision.

 

[Cyan]

I think this new "warm and fuzzy" attitude from Phil Spencer is quite odd.

It is really the opposite of the "American" attitude which permeated the creation of the Xbox. I realize that MS and the Xbox have been getting hit repeatedly throughout its creation as being "Too American" or at least, "Too NA focused", but that was also the reason for its success - becoming the Go-To platform for Madden and FPS's.

Now we are all supposed to live in harmony and be friends and congratulate the competition on their successes? After that same competition spent the last two years not just trying to demonstrate they were superior, but actually making fun of the product that MS was offering?

Sure, so now Phil wants everybody to think that MS and the Xbox Brand are "being the bigger man" and "turning the other cheek" and "killing them with kindness", to what end? Hoping to shame Sony into stop insulting them?

I find it to be an extremely bizarre strategy, and don't mistake for one second that it is anything but. All this "happy happy happy, we're all gamers and all friends" is an extremely calculated decision.

That's an interesting subject actually.

One of the reasons I preferred the Xbox is because it was American and the games felt closer to my tastes, plus they were focused on brand new technology and more complete hardware, with the built-in HD, a GPU centric console, etc.

Phil Spencer has a tough job ahead. He uses avatars from the original Xbox and things like that, which means he is the right person for the job.

The problem with the Xbox One is that it wasn't loyal to what the Xbox means to people.

Call me crazy but I always thought that even being launched a year before than the Wii and the PS3, I thought the Xbox 360 was if not the most powerful console the last generation, 'cos of its GPU-extra free memory, it was at least equal to the allegedly more powerful PS3.

Xbox was about offering good racing games, Halo, and being up there with the PC in terms of quality. Xbox One departed from most of that, it just felt like a personality crisis to me. So unstable.

I may need to clarify a bit more on that, though...

After Wii's success Kinect was launched offering a similar experience, but the winning key wasn't found, although it sold well.

Xbox was loved/hated for what it was, but when it began to swim with the current and sitting on the fence....

I am happy with the console, there is still some Xbox in it, like some relatively modern parts of its architecture -sound, memory controllers-, but I just hope Xbox Two stills feels like an Xbox.

In addition, since I am not the most super stable person ever when it comes to tastes -save a few sacred things, like football, and what you are, maybe consoles too-, I LOVE standards.

Hopefully there won't be an Xbox with one foot in two worlds anymore.

 

[Deleted member 86764]

I agree with the above statement. I loved my 360 for the reasons you'd stated, Microsoft disappointed me for the Xbox One. I can't help but think the person is charge of the original direction is gone now - things have got better since. Only the hardware can't be fixed until next time.

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

And I agree with both of you. When the 360 launched it really was the most capable gaming machine available except for all of the most hardcore gamer PC's, and even then, it wasn't until Intel launched the Core2 series (about year after the 360 launch?) that PC gamers really had a complete system that was easily superior.

The Xbox and the 360 were also both unabashedly American or NA focused. Yep, sports, FPS's and racing games. Sure, they spent an ungodly amount of money trying to get Japanese developers on board for the 360 (and it was really a tremendous waste of resources), to expand their base but they were still primarily NA focused.

The One was launched with that same NA focus (none of the entertainment options really work anywhere else, nobody else can use HDMI well or cares about NFL exclusive content, etc), but the hardware budget was divided between gaming and entertainment.

That's the thing that is most disappointing about this generation, there's no doubt that anybody can buy a medium range gaming PC that is far more capable than the Xb0x or the PS4. That wasn't the case last generation.

And, to top it all off, the attitude is now different as well. Sure, if you can't "beat them" there's no reason to go to war. Let's just call a truce and try to be friends because they've got more tanks than you have.

It is a wise strategic decision, but it's just another indication of how they failed when they designed this console.

They can't fight the "we are better than you" battle, because it is just too obvious that they will lose on that front.

 

[rokkerkory]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuI4rQymL7M

MS Conference behind the scenes

 

[blakjedi]

They idea behind Xbox is that its supposed to represent the most advanced DirectX hardware and software available. In a nutshell it is supposed to be the ultimate expression of Microsoft's gaming minds. Nevermind the fact that MS isn't just about gaming. But when it comes to Xbox, Gaming and power should be first and foremost. Some idiot or committee decided that clearly not being the most powerful console would be ok this time around. Rops, shaders, system wide bandwidth all less than their competition.

To add insult to injury, a true Bonaire with 14 CU actually IS more powerful than a PS4... But the gimped version in Xbox One CLEARLY isn't.

 

[shredenvain]

You cant always have the most power in your console every gen. The Xbox One doesnt have to be the most powerful to be a great system. Alot of people are acting like its the Wii of this gen. The system is plenty capable of delivering great looking next gen games. I think E3 proved that with games like CODAW , Fable Legends , SSOD and The Division. Call of Duty was running at or a little below 900p and was one of the most visually impressive games shown at the show. You guys are entitled to your opinions. I just think a little to much importance is being put on the graphical power of the Xbox One compared to the competition. These systems are closer in architecture and power than any generation before. The days of game consoles being more powerful than any Pc for the first few months or a year are over.

 

[AzBat]

More Phil Spencer on Kinect removal & lack of Kinect mentioned at E3....

"I believe that you've got to sell the console before you can sell Kinect.

<snip>

"Price point is important. I had to give people a choice when they come in to go buy a console, that we have a console that's at a competitive price, that's at an entry price for them. "

<snip>

We've got to be competitive with the Xbox One console, and then we're going to allow people to add Kinect later when they can," he said. "They can buy it standalone. If they want to buy it day one, I still think that's the best Xbox One experience over the long run, but giving them choice will let us grow the largest install base of Xbox One customers, and those who choose to, will actually add Kinect to it as well."

<snip>

"Developers will choose when Kinect is part of the experience and when it's not, and that's the way it should be."

<snip>

"I consciously made a point to try not to call out where every game is using Kinect in an interesting way," Spencer said. "It's a difficult thing to do on stage, and second, I think really what you want to focus on is why is a game fun, not what parts of the platform does it happen to be using or not using. A lot of those games are using voice, some are using gesture, a lot are using SmartGlass in interesting ways, but I wanted to first highlight what the soul of the game is about, which usually isn't about its platform features."

<snip>

"I think it's great because people see it as an outlet for creativity, whether it's immersion, whether it's voice integrated in some interesting way, whether it's gesture," he said. "I think that the creative conversations I'm having with studios are more about, what is the core of what your game is, and then the studio actually usually comes to me and says, ‘Here's how Kinect's going to make that better.'

<snip>

"In terms of a specific focus to say, ‘Hey, you guys, you have to do something that requires Kinect.' I'm not doing that. I'm saying you need to go make games that are great. We think Kinect adds functionality to the platform that makes games better, and developers will use that when they think it will make their game better."

http://www.polygon.com/2014/6/13/5806096/xbox-one-no-kinect

Tommy McClain