Xbox 360 E3 Press Conference to broadcast live in Times Square

Aaron Greenberg has revealed that this years Xbox 360 media briefing will broadcast live on the largest HD screen in Times Square.

[ingiomar]

wow microsoft is sure looking for attention.

way to go microsoft!

edit: i think they are really going to announce something even bigger then natal this year.. why else would they want so much attention?

[Al Bundy]

Natal had better succeed, for their sake.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Pretty impressive. MS knows how to grab attention if nothing else.

[tyrex]

all it takes is money. i keep saying there is a reason you havent seen a xbox 360 commercial in forever, they have been saving their money for things like this, natal and halo reach advertising. the commercial and tv slots will run copious amounts of 360 ads from here through the holidays..... get ready.

[tyrex]

alot of disagrees with my last comment. are the people disagreeing with saying it doesnt cost any money to advertise and that microsoft wont run commercials or use a large advertising campaign for natal, halo reach, and the 360 itself. really

[Pennywise]

Can't get much bigger than that! Geez MS that must of cost you a fortune.

[JOLLY1]

It already being broadcast on MTV and it is MTV's screen. I doubt it costed too much more than the actual broadcast.

[R2D2]

What next - President Obama to co-host Natal conference

[Christopher]

You can't compete with Microsoft's wallet in this day and age. They are definitely stepping it up a notch this year. Let's hope they deliver something worthy of such a presentation.

[Blaze929]

That'd be hilarious.

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

MS really aren't kidding with support for the Xbox 360. I wonder if there is any sound?

I don't think so, but perhaps somebody that live there can confirm.

[WrAiTh Sp3cTr3]

Wow!!! Damn!!! Megaton!!! This is EXCELLENT for the gaming industry!

[Bnet343]

Pretty big deal for your conference to air in Times Square. That's crazy.

[D4RkNIKON]

All aboard the Hype express! The media will have Natal shoved down it's throat. Lets just hope there is something worth talking about other than the MTV coverage or what celebs were there..

[-Alpha]

It's a smart move to advertise their product and make it look big, nothing wrong with doing that, is there?

[The Maxx]

According to Darknikon, any kind of advertising done by MS is bad. Only Sony is allowed to create HYPE and advertise their products and services....

[falviousuk]

Its called advertising

[k-Lan]

The Maxx,

LOL! That made me chuckle. Dorknikon is a jealous fool. If it was Sony he would be on his knees thanking the lord but it's MS so you know...

[thief]

There is nothing wrong in advertising
The problem is, MS is spending a lot of money on advertising, and have precious little to show for games other than the next generic Halo and Gears
Sony are spending little on advertising but are bringing out game after game after game
So what do you want to play on your console? Ads or games?

[silvacrest]

i think they just want to show off natal to as many people as possible before its official launch

they may not necessary have another megaton to show

[Alcon Caper]

I'm impressed that they're doing this.

Haha, the epitome of casuals are tourists in times square...

[Chris399]

Re: announce something even bigger.

Possibly a reveal of their next-gen box. I'm not trolling, I'm serious. This wouldn't surprise me at all. Seems like excessive media courtship - even for Microsoft - simply for Natal.

Personally, I'd like a 720 or whatever. The 360 is getting long in the tooth and artificially extending it's lifespan with a peripheral is lame.

[deadreckoning666]

WOW..Go Microsoft. Thats what I call confidence! Screw the fanboy war..this is incredible for the gaming industry. I think I might go see it.

[Alcon Caper]

So does this mean people will get a free Cirque du Soleil performance if they're there? Might have to skip work for this shit...

[Mustang300C2012]

Yep they spent 30 million and in less than 24 hours of Halo 3 going on sale they got the money right back.

[nickjkl]

i doubt all that money went to microsoft

[Andronix]

No really. It's logical that they are bringing out an Xbox slim, but what about another premium model that includes a blu-ray drive for playing movies?

[outrageous]

Microsoft is going all out this year. MTV, Spike TV, live feed from times square, the financial heartland of the United States!!!. WOW, if you are part of this presentation, you must be impressed with Microsoft and they're plan and VERY lucky. They have banned any mention of games till E3 gets started. Nothing but scraps of maybe and maybe not comments this week. Best part, ALL gaming will benefit from this. People will be talking about games and hopefully, how great they are.

BTW I like to check out the weekly advertisements for sales. Strange thing tho, Microsoft and the 360 have disappeared. Future Shop, Walmart, etc, no ads, NOTHING. I guess the rumors of a massive price cut are true. Could also mean a newer model 360 is on the way. Anybody else see that???

[TROLL EATER]

wooow now that is mainstream.

[badz149]

I hope they don't just crazy spending for advertising, and forget to spend for more quality exclusives!

[jaredhart]

Last year they had the Beatles for cristsake.

[Fishy Fingers]

and 2 of them are dead!

[JOLLY1]

Too soon...... :p

[hamoor]

Not all of them you silly
But damn you gotta give Microsoft credits for their great marketing tactics

[k-Lan]

Fishy, lmao!!

[Elginer]

are throwing the money around.

[Shaman]

I would not really call that trowing money around.You see i my self find UC2 better experience then Halo 3 but duo to extensive marketing it sells 11mil while UC2 sells 3mil.I myself NEVER seen Uncharted 2 advert on TV,same cant be said for Halo...

They are surely trying to gain attention ESPECIALLY for Natal.

@below
Sure i knew it,they are 3rd but i think one is oil and one is WalMart,no?Anyway

[wages of sin]

Yeah, it only sold well because of marketing. Get off it already. Halo3 sold as well as it did because it's a damn good game. People are still playing it by the hundreds of thousands, daily. I still play that game several times a week.

I'm only on my second play through of Uncharted 2.

Both are great games, but let's be real. PS3 owners didn't care about UC or UC2 until the awards started coming in for UC2. Even after that, and the sales picked up, why didn't the "all so enlightened" PS3 only/SDF types not make it 11 million in sales? Who's fault is that? Word of mouth amongst gamers has more impact than commercials do so explain to me how that works. MW2 sold better on PS3, yet you guys are "above" shooters.

Oh wait, I forgot sales don't matter. Right?

Don't kid yourself.

@Giggman,
Yes, because we all know that Microsoft and Nintendo are coming to E3 with no games to show, at all, period. Only Sony cares about the so-called "hardcore" gamer. You N4G SDF guys are hilarious.

@Blumatt,
Explain to me how having more exclusives means you have better games. Sure, when a developer is dedicated to one type of hardware the potential for that game to better represent that platform is better, but still, how does more exclusives make better games?

Haze, Lair, White Knight Chronicles...these are just some of the system exclusives that were released for PS3. Tell me, how did the quality of those games compare against some third party games that were released at the same time?

You say they should spend less money on timed exclusives and buy more stuidios. Why? Even Sony admits (and everyone can see it) that the days of system specific developers and exclusives is quickly coming to an end, or at the very least dwindling. So who's really the smarter one? And even if they did the SDF would simply say some crap like "M$ just buys out people!".

A fool and their money managed to actually compete with Sony and outsell them. Perhaps you should say that a fool and his money paid $500's for a PS3 at launch when it only recently has rshown it's potential, humbled itself and had to eat crow.

Here's an idea. How about we wait until E3 before we start chanting "who won" a non contest with no awards given. The "winner" is the one who gets the most attention; which is the entire point of E3.

[jakethemuss]

.

[ingiomar]

@squallsan

yeah i agree.. but they aren't really trowing it around its called marketing and MS invented marketing.

[R2D2]

Its basic principle - you have to spend money to make more money.

[Silly gameAr]

Now that is insane.

[GiggMan]

Sadly though none of this stuff means anything to me (or most of you) if they don't show any good games. Spend some of these dollars on games!

[MGRogue2017]

... I'll be one of the dudes sitting on the floor. All of the chairs & good spots will have been taken, ffs. lol

On second though.. might just bring along one of my foldable patio chairs.. :D

[Kingdom Come]

Microsoft have something Huge in store for E3, and I like it ;)

[Omega4]

Wow just wow. They best not have another avatar shoe moment or they are doomed lol.

[ImmortalLegend]

Some people may not like the way Microsoft does things, but you have to admit that their marketing is hella good.

[tyrex]

smart you are giving them too much credit for just having a huge marketing budget lol. not taking anything away from them either though.

[Voozi]

Quick question, anyone know how many hours Microsoft's conference is going to run for this year?

[Bellcross]

I heard 2 hours but they're also having 2 conferences.

[Voozi]

Oh thank god if it's 2 hours...just cause it starts 1:30 PM my time and at 4:30 I have to go present my final group project so was worried I'd miss it.

Phew.

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

Wow.

I gotta hand it to em.

[Bellcross]

That would be Fail of Epic proportions lol are they really going do the presentation live ?
if so goodluck to them lol.

[dktxx2]

Worst ever time to get rrod.

[blumatt]

It is a very smart marketing move for them. However, in the end, it all comes down to who has the best games. Sony has the most exclusives, as well as new IPs. Microsoft recycles their games like Nintendo. I'm not saying Sony doesn't do it too, BUT they seem to branch off more than MS and Nintendo by supporting new IPs such as Heavy Rain, MAG, The Last Guardian, 3D Dot Game Heroes, etc. I just wish MS would spend all that money on more first party studios. I don't know why they think they're fooling anyone by buying timed exclusive third party games. That's not how Nintendo got to be in first place in the console wars and it's not how Sony got to be such a force in the industry. MS wastes a LOT of money on fluff like this instead of new exclusives. A "fool and his money" I guess...

[Kahvipannu]

Well we will see if MS has some new IP's or games to show.. I really hope so.

[Cajun Chicken]

This is impressive. I sure hope they know what they're doing. So far the Natal games detailed don't impress me one iota.

[m23]

Wow, they must have something in store for everybody at the conference, but it is probably just to get the word about Natal around.

[Ri0tSquad]

I wonder if it'll pay off.

[crapgamer]

Build up the anticipation. Get everyone talking about what you might bring to the table. I will agree that we are going to see more then Natal at E3. Big things are coming from the Microsoft camp.
If I had to guess, which is all any of us can do I'd say.
1.Project Natal
2.Slim 360
3.Slim 360/Natal bundle for $250
4.Portable Xbox-Great time to jump into the portable Market
5.Portable version of Halo
6.Gears 3, Halo Reach, Halo Wars 2, Crackdown 2, Killer Instinct 3, Ninety Nine Nights 2, Fable 3, Mass Effect 3, Dead Or Alive, Ninja Gaiden, Lost Odyssey 2.

Bottom line is, you don't spend all that money if you don't have things to show. They announced Natal last year, so other then showing it off and announcing games, they wouldn't need these huge outlets to do that. I smell something big and I absolutely cannot wait.

Also to the Sony fans gushing over the announcements of games early, do you think maybe they are trying to steal some of the media attention and thunder from Microsoft? because from where I'm sitting, Microsoft is the news and Sony is just trying to compete bu divulging games before they truly intended to.

[Silentmerc3nary]

Oh man I'd kill for Lost Odyssey 2. Well, not literally, but I really want it!

[Kahvipannu]

Yeah, me too.

[ArcFatalix]

do they care no, tons of games have been announced for ps3, sony have 20 first party studios, stop being so insecure.

[Lionhead]

Because he is a fanboy

People say Xbox Fanboys don't exist on here, just look at the disagrees lol

[Hallmark Moment]

So better you and pals than him? You troll.

[axeblade1]

That's our $30-$50 Live subscription revenue hard at work.

[biggame901]

Nice idea. Microsoft is definitely going big, at least in terms of marketing. Hopefully, their conference does not disappoint.

[BYE]

Here in Europe people would get pissed right now if there's a big screen in a city which broadcast something different than World Cup South Africa :)

It would be like anti-marketing for Microsoft.

[Cold 2000]

LOL so true.

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

We really only care about the superbowl. I'm a baseball fan myself.

Americans tend to watch sports they're good at. If, by God's grace, America gets in the semi-finals...America will pay attention.

[Brklynty1]

But NYC is a pro-PS3 area. Lol, like I'm down in Manhattan a lot. There are mostly PS3 posters and ads than 360. Also there are a lot of Sony stuff, heck the Sony store is packed all the time. Tried to get my PS3 from there, was not a good scene last christmas XD. But yes M$ pretty much made their bed, another "bam there it is" and they're done XD.

[TwistedMetal]

T.V time. This is what M$ always does and people forget about the games and just let M$ slide with the same halo and gears crap. Im sorry but unless they sayeing M$ is gonna have 10 exclusive ips that are actually good at E3 then I think people need to stop acting like fake people and sheep.

Fake people are the ones who just go after the glitz and glamour while the people who are real and keep it real go after the substance and products. Im tired of fake people in this world today. You guys might as well go to the justin bieber concert while you at it. All fake people should be together.

Haveing all this stuff isnt a win for M$ unless they got something other then crap natal games and the same halo and gears crap.

[Optical_Matrix]

Microsft ain't even joking around here people. Bring it lol Can't wait for Monday.

[nygamer28]

WOW GOOD MOVE MS....I IVE IN MANHATTEN,HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE GO THEIR A DAY,GOOD WAY TO LET PEOPLE THAT DONT EVEN KNOW ABOUT NATAL SEE THE EXPERIENCE

[52pickup]

Are they allowed to broadcast guns and violence in times square? Because that's what Halo and Gears contain.

[nygamer28]

UR AN IDIOT....HAVE YOU EVEN BEEN TO TIMES SQUARE?

[telekineticmantis]

I'm sorry Sony I'm real happy you have great games an all, but Microsoft is the greatest Marketing company of all time, greatest marketing company of all time.

[BYE]

Then where are the ads in South Africa's stadiums right now? The biggest sports event in the world? I turn on the TV and literally everything I see is banners plastered with Sony - make.believe.

Seems like Microsoft only cares for America and Sony is aiming for the whole world.

[Stryfeno2]

Holy [email protected] MS has my attention.

[Tony-A]

Nice try, buddy. They've always had your attention.

As for Times Square, they better have Natal working better than we've seen lately. I hope their conference doesn't look too commercialized and more about getting casual attention.

I can already see Crackdown 2 won't be getting much attention at all....

[bjornbear]

when they made you stick your d!ck into your 360?

its still stuck i bet...haven't noticed?

damn these kids and their ADD

[DeltaZ3R05]

nice marketing strategy, but sony already started its advertising in the world cup event which is much more intelligent.

[DelbertGrady]

Perhaps, just perhaps, Natal has more to it than what has been shown? Just a wild guess.

[niceguywii60]

Well Microsoft said they have something bigger than Natal to show. I expect a 360 slim and a Natal compatible motion wand plus control pad with games that uses both the wand tech and full body 3D motion at the same time. Possibly a new disc format that uses more space.

[Counter Strike]

dude shouldnt they spend this money making a new IP for example ??

[bjornbear]

but i guess most people don't care, as long as 360 sells, they seem happy =/

but im glad for this, since they will be doing GAMING in general a favour =) so this makes me happy =D

[Kahvipannu]

That is really impressive. Makes me wonder do they have something bigger to announce than Natal .. I really hope MS will surprise us somehow..

By the way, what time the show is aired? (Global time, I live in Finland +2hrs)

[DiLeCtioN]

impressive tbf

[madpuppy]

maybe MS can buy some developers and get some first party exclusive love that it is seriously lacking.

[mookins]

Impressive, but it better work.

[Taker_129]

With so much attention/advertising going into Microsoft's conference, it could mean we may not see a real stage demonstration of Natal. I hope I'm wrong because unlike alot of people here, I'm pretty excited for both Natal/Move as long as they both are priced right.

[HurstDarkStar]

dude i live right in Manhattan this is gonna be AWESOME!!if i bring my camera im recording that moment in gaming history no matter what

[bjornbear]

so thats why investors are p!$$ed...MS is blowing all its 360 budget on marketing instead of games =/

still, this is very smart t reach that casual audience

and above tht, a very good thing for gaming in general.

thanks MS for making this event available to millions of "non-gamers" =D

[Bellcross]

Neogaf is waiting in anticipation.

Flop and the gifs will come.

[Demon5500]

:) ?

[ULTIMATE_REVENGE]

They're gonna need it because Sony's conference is going to cast one BIG GIANT shadow over Microsoft's.

[HIGGINZOB]

Sony suck at marketing, sorry you can't just announce most of your new titles before E3, it creates less of an impact.

[PandaJenkins]

Must say, this is a incredibly clever idea to promote natal to the casual audience aswell as the xbox 360 in general. Though all you can do is wonder if it will pay off.

[P_Bomb]

@Wages of Sin

You're cherry picking by bringing up Haze, Lair and WKC as examples of exclusives that failed vs multiplat games. Why'd you pick Lair from 4 years ago when PS3's install base was tiny? Instead, fast forward to inFamous on PS3 outselling Prototype on the 360. KZ2 on PS3 outselling Bad Company 2 on 360.You brought up Haze, but do you realise that Haze has sold more than twice as much as Alan Wake?

Far as the Times Square thing goes, if all they show is multiplats like last year, Sony might as well thank them for the free advertising. Starting off last year's MS conference with a game also available on PS3 wasn't exactly must see TV.