E3 2007: Microsoft

All three big keynote presentations have come and gone, and left us to ponder the announcements, speculate the unannounced and wish we were several months in the future. The first of the three to present was Microsoft who showcased their commitment to bring the best titles to both of their gaming platforms, Xbox 360 and Windows. Lots of titles were shown, a few were announced and we even got to see some new hardware. All the games shown at the event will be available before the end of the year.

Moore started the presentation's bulk with a few interesting statistics:

• To date there are 7 million Xbox / Games for Windows Live players, exceeding their goal of 6 million. They predict 10 million before the end of the year.
• Since the launch of the Wii and PS3 65% of console game sales have been on Xbox 360, proof they have the most desired titles.
• The Xbox Live Video Marketplace is the world's largest reservoir of on-demand HD content, servicing users with over 2,350 hours of full HD content. This is twice what the leading HD cable provider offers.

Although stats and figures are terribly interesting I much prefer the game announcements. The first title showcased was Rock Band, MTV Games' first live public display of the game. Who better to play it than Peter Moore himself? Accompanied by 3 of the game's programmers Moore strapped on the wireless Fender Stratocaster and jammed with his band mates. They play "Main Offender" by The Hives, the game looks brilliantly fun as Moore joins in with some vocals.

Rock Band

The night's first title announcement is a bit off-beat. The Viva Pinata characters return in the Mario Party like Viva Pinata: Party Animals. The game forgoes having you craft a garden and instead thrusts you in the center of a bunch of mini games. I don't think Viva Pinata established itself enough or captured their target audience well enough to be much competition for it's Nintendo counterpart, but it's good to see Microsoft still trying to push the family games scene.

Viva Pinata: Party Animals


Mass Effect is shown next in a rather epic trailer. This is part of their RPG trifecta that also includes Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon. The game will be out in November, but the trailer doesn't say exactly when or much of anything new to be exact. The game looks great, visuals are stunning and the gameplay looks well thought out. It looks like it will also be a very long game, something lacking in a lot of blockbuster titles.

Mass Effect:


Speaking of blockbuster titles, Moore next talks up the facts I posted at the top of the page. He then goes on to say that the Xbox 360 this year has the greatest line-up in gaming history. 2004 was a monumental year for the games industry because of 3 major game released, GTA: San Andreas, Madden 2005, and Halo 2. This year looks to be equally impressive with GTA IV, Madden 08, and Halo 3 releasing in the same season. The major difference is that this time all 3 games are available on Xbox 360, and it is the only console where you can get all 3 games.

The next video to roll is one of the well-known montages. Titles shown include; Project Gotham Racing 4, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, Call of Duty 4, Stranglehold, Guitar Hero 3, Beautiful Katamari, Lost Odyssey, NBA LIVE 08, Mass Effect, Fatal Inertia, Medal of Honor Airborne, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08, Ace Combat 6, NHL 08, Assassin's Creed, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, The Simpson Game, Splinter Cell Conviction, Nascar 08, Eternal Sonata, BioShock, Madden NFL08, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, Crash of the Titans, Harry Potter Order of the Phoenix, The Orange Box, Bee Movie Game, Rock Band, and Naruto: Rise of a Ninja. The music in the background is "Here it Goes Again" by OK Go, they seem to be in the Microsoft Keynote somewhere every year.

Note: It's much easier to watch the video than read all that.

Xbox 360 Game Montage


Most of the shown titles are relatively well known, to stir the pot with another first-party title release Moore makes way for the plastic head of VP Jeff Bell. He whips out a brand new controller shaped like a... well... It's used for the new exclusive console version of Scene It!. The title will launch at normal price and include four of the family-friendly controllers, a smooth move to capture some of the Wii's non-gamer mindspace. Unfortunately they don't show any video of the game, but as you can imagine it's likely identical to the board game. I predict downloadable content will be a big part of this game.

Bell then talks up the coming exclusive Naruto title from Ubisoft, "It's the most popular television franchise for boys age 8-15". I am neither of those, but the game does look interesting. They did a very good job on the cel animation, it looks similar to what I've seen of the TV show. I, like most hardcore 360 players, will probably pass on this title. Here's the video, you make up your own mind, or just headbang to the awfully passionate Japanese pop-rock.

Naruto: Rise of a Ninja


Bell brings out Reggie Bush to help promote Madden 08. Jeff delivers the hands-down worst line of the night, "It's got excellent speed, kinda like you." Horribly phrased PR or subtle racism, you decide. I'd skip the terribly uninteresting gameplay video but then you would miss the incredibly hilarious commentary track between Bell and Bush as they play through a few quick minutes, "Pass or run? Pass or Run?! Don't look at what I'm doing!".

Madden 08


Bell finally gets off stage as the begin the XBLA montage. A few known titles are shown, but there are many new ones. In the video; Bomberman Live!, Undertow, Hexic 2, Sonic the Hedgehog (finally!), War World by Ubisoft, Sensible World of Soccer, Every Extend Extra Extreme, Geon by Eidos, Wing Commander Arena, Feeding Frenzy 2, Track and Field, Spyglass Board Games, Golden Axe, Space Giraffe, Super Puzzle Fighter II HD Turbo Remix, Marathon: Durandal, Poker Smash, Switchball, Tetris Splash, and Puzzle Quest.

Again, just watch it.

Xbox Live Arcade Montage:


Tetris Splash, Spyglass Board Games, and Marathon are among my favourites new titles, but nothing is cooler than when Shane Kim walks on and tells the audience the much anticipated Sega Vintage Collection starts tonight as Sonic the Hedgehog and Golden Axe are immediately available. I've already played them, they are amazing.

Kim goes on to talk about the success of the Video Marketplace, making two major announcements. The first, Disney Pictures and their in-house studios will be releasing on Xbox Live. Starting tonight you can download such classics as Hercules, Armageddon, The Waterboy, Unbreakable, and Coyote Ugly. That's all terribly interesting news, unless like myself you live in Canada.

Which brings his second announcement, starting this fall the video marketplace will be available in Canada and Europe. It's about time!

PGR4 is the next title to be shown, followed by Call of Duty 4. Nothing seriously new shown about either of these titles (a common occurrence across the presentation). However, They do reveal that exclusive to the 360 will be a live beta, similar to the Halo 3 one. The PGR 4 team announces that there will be an unprecedented level of community features in their PGR On-Demand platform that allows you to upload both video and picture for your friends to see. Both titles are then played live.

Project Gotham Racing 4


Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare


Finally something interesting surfaces as we get a little more info on the incredibly captivating Lost Odyssey. Shane Kim repeats the commitment Japanese developers have to the 360, and states that it is the platform for RPG fans. Could their exclusives combat FFXIII? A new English trailer is played.

Lost Odyssey


The focus of the presentation shifts from Xbox 360 to Games for Windows as Shane announces that several third party publishers incuding Sega, Eidos and THQ are planning to fully support the new branding in the coming year. Epic Studios has also helped the Windows Live initiative by building resources for multiplatform play into the much used Unreal Engine 3. This will make it easier for game developpers to add Live as an option for their games.

Speaking of Epic, Cliffy B takes the stage and shows us Gears of War for PC. He says it will run on both Vista and XP, I guess Microsoft listened to the backlash over the Shadowrun / Halo 2 debacle. The game will feature all the greatness the console version had, plus a game editor (custom single-player?), new multiplayer modes and several new levels. One of these includes a fight with a Brumak. It is un confirmed weather the game will be multiplatform playable.

Gears of War PC


Shane Kim busts out the third montage for the night, Games for Windows titles this time. We're treated with snippets of; Crysis, Hellgate: London, and Conan: Hyborian Advenures on Windows are all joined by: Thrillville: Off the Rails, the Bee Movie Game, Age of Empires 3: The Asian Dynasties, Stranglehold, Bioshock, Universe at War: Earth Assault, Blacksite: Area 51, World in Conflict, Lost Planet, Kane and Lynch: Dead Men, Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, Zoo Tycoon 2: Exctinct Animals, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights, Viva Pinata, and Spider-Man: Friend or Foe.

Moore takes over for Kim once again and shows us the GTA IV trailer we've all seen a few tousand times, but reveals that both trailers were captured using an Xbox 360. he then restates that the only console to get the complete GTA IV experience is the 360, thanks to the exclusive episodic content that will be brought out before the end of spring 2008.

Grand Theft Auto IV:


Assassin's Creed is shown next, a live demonstration similar to last years, but they take a different route as they track the slave trader. The game doesn't run as smoothly as they'd hoped. Running through the crowds animations clip and head designer Jade tries to pass it off. The next blooper comes when they stab a guard atop a building and he kinda floats in the air instead of falling down. "Oops." The game obviously needs more polish, but they do have until November to get all the kinks worked out.

Assassin's Creed:


Moore confessess that one title will not be available this year, Resident Evil 5. Although available on PS3, 5 is the first to be on an Xbox console. The video seems to have changed locales since the last one I saw at E3 2005 and is now set in Africa. No real gameplay is shown, but the trailer kinda creeps you out.

Resident Evil 5:


The conference closes of course with Halo 3. First up is a short film by director Neil Blomkamp and Weta Studios. If this is any taste of what the Halo movie would be, leave me out of it. To be perfectly honest I hated this video. The green text opening is completely off base with the Halo universe which seems particularily odd considering Bungie was on-site to help them make this. It's no wonder they can't get a studio to finance the film. If this is the direction Blomkamp wants to go, he can get off-camp (teeheehee).

Halo Short Film:


Moore busts out a special edition Halo 360 that will be available in time with the game's launch. It's camo green and has yellow goldish trim on the various spots most 360's have chrome. It comes packed like an Elite and has a matching controller. No word on if it comes bundled with the game itself. My guess is that they want to keep costs down on the SKU and keep gamers with the shoice of which edition of Halo 3 they want. This, plus all the other Halo accessories they announced is really making me question how far they are willing to drive the Halo cash cow before it hits a wall and splatters delicious cow all over the place.

Unannounced in the conference Microsoft will also be releasing 2 new controller colours, Pink and Blue. Not too interesting, but will provide some variety to the monochromatic world of the gamepads.

Moore walks off stage telling us that before he ends the show we better remember to "Finish the Fight!".

Halo 3: