220°

E3 2010: Five Ways Microsoft Wows

With the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010 fast approaching, much speculation is taking place. This is perhaps the most joyous time of the year on a gamer's calendar as the uncertainty builds to the ultimate payoff. That being said, what does Microsoft need do to make a positive impression this year?

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thegamesmen.com
ironhammers5059d ago

For Microsoft to wow me at E3 this year, they'd have to announce that Games for Windows LIVE is being abandoned forever! Although, I am looking forwards to seeing that "NextBox 360" you mention there!

GWAVE5059d ago

Microsoft always always ALWAYS wows. That's one of their strongest traits.

However, they have some issues when it comes to actually delivering. As a long-time gamer, I've grown tired of being "wow"ed. I want results.

SOAD5059d ago

"As a long-time gamer, I've grown tired of being "wow"ed."

How does one get tired of being excited?

It's like if I said, I'm tired of all the blowjobs, ladies.

But I see what you mean, I want results. More studios MS, more studios.

wxer5059d ago Show
Godmars2905059d ago (Edited 5059d ago )

Don't think its so much about becoming tired of being "Wowed" SOAD, and more about something being over-hyped. Not delivering though nothing can possibly do that when being *OVER*-hyped, yet having one set of fanboys insisting that it has while another say it hasn't. Needing months after release to get an honest opinion.

There's no way a sensible person couldn't become tired of "wow" with that kind of crap going on.

jukins5059d ago

honestly the past e3's microsoft really hasnt wow'd me. last e3 they get final fantasy good for gamers but nothing that you can get on sony's console. another thing timed exclusive dlc for modern warfare really? this wows ppl. show me some innovative new non third party stuff. show me natal is more than ricochet. im thinking there might be one hardcore natal game (maybe i'll be proved wrong) the rest are gonna be family night games, imo. other than that i mean we'll see more crackdown more halo and more gears. show me something new!!!!!!!!!!!

JokesOnYou5059d ago

The reason all the sony soldiers can never be "wow"ed." is because sony extremists have their head so far up sony's azz anything missing a ps logo becomes "meh" to them. They hate micro as if Bill Gates himself slapped their Mommy. lol

JOY

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Parapraxis5059d ago (Edited 5059d ago )

NextBox360 actually sounds pretty awesome. If only MS (hell almost any company) had such a sense of humour and levity.
I'm interested in seeing how they plan to launch Natal tbh.

Parapraxis5059d ago (Edited 5059d ago )

Misfire.
ugggg.

deadreckoning6665059d ago (Edited 5059d ago )

Well unless M$ announces a 360 with built-in Wifi and free online play, theres no chance in hell I'm getting one. But I do predict that they will steal the show at E3 with Natal.

"u play with air
see how long thats fun"

Perfect example of N4G stupidity. Thank you! I said that I predict that Natal will steal the show...I NEVER said I was interested in Natal personally. Please, thk before you post.

"I just might actually kill myself if I have to read another freaking "____ company needs these 5 things to wow" article for the 100th time!!! This is just ridiculous."

Why do you HAVE to read these kind of articles? Is someone forcing you? Let the mods know and I'm sure they will help u the best they can.

@MadMan00- Woah, who pee'd in ur Cheerios? Why are you calling a person you don't know an idiot over the Internet? Calm down there buddy. If you want to call my COMMENT idiotic then fine..but why the personal attack? Also, I never said M$ WOULD make XBL free, I just said that its what they need to do to get MY money.

MadMan005059d ago

It's not gonna free idiot, MS isn't stupid enough to make there Online FREE, it's way to damn good to be free...Built in Wifi would be nice and a new 360 then, yes.

I won't wanna be wow'ed I wanna be "Yesed" I waanna Sat "Yes"!!! When I see something I like!

Parapraxis5059d ago (Edited 5059d ago )

"it's way to damn good to be free"
Seriously? too good to be free? LOL

It's this mentality that makes me think that MS really could increase the cost of Live and there would not only be people fine with that, there would be those patting them on the back for making a "good business move".

ATLGAMER5059d ago

this takes two people one controller...okay lets use any game....okay now they put it in....u pretend to do what ever he is doing on the screen and lets see how long thats fun for....so he actually plays u just kinda jump around and do what the game is doing .....that is Natal in a nut shell and do that for hours...( not gonna happen)

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8thnightvolley5059d ago

MS will wow that is certain, all i want from their e3

is new game that are kickass and HARDCORE
and natal should be just too amazing to be missed and maybe just maybe i will shell out 90pounds for natal.

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Lucreto5059d ago (Edited 5059d ago )

The article says Natal was $150 before they removed the cpu but I read somewhere it was going to be $150 because it had its own power supply.

I am going to miss MS conference this year due to work. :(

markbob5059d ago (Edited 5059d ago )

Jump of Gametrailer.com when the conference starts. They are going to be the only ones streaming it live.

I believe gametrailers is going to stream every conference. Since Im working now this is my plan to watch them

Focker4205059d ago

I just might actually kill myself if I have to read another freaking "____ company needs these 5 things to wow" article for the 100th time!!! This is just ridiculous. We are 5 days away people, do we really need pointless articles like this?!

Parapraxis5059d ago (Edited 5059d ago )

LOL, I expect plenty more of these. Journalists as well as gamers are hyped for E3 as usual, you really can't blame authors for making these articles when E3 is just about all they think about.
Annoying a bit, yes, surprised there are so many, not so much.

Britney Spears5059d ago

will be bad just like the last 3 years. multipaltform games and timed exclusive dlc/pc ports.

gfunkera105059d ago

They will show natal......accompanied by people flailing their limbs to a red ball coming at them. Pretty much what they have made Natal for.......oh yeah, and everyone's new virtual friend Milo to help with your self esteem issues.

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500°

Kinect Technical Specifications & Xbox 360 Requirements Revealed

The most notable reveal would perhaps by the requirements of the Xbox 360 console itself. While Microsoft has insisted since the original unveiling of Kinect at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in 2009, then known as Project NATAL, that the device would be compatible with all Xbox 360 consoles, the revelation of a dedicated port included on the newly redesigned Xbox 360 model has sparked rumours of incompatibility, which were quickly debunked.

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electronictheatre.co.uk
5040d ago Replies(12)
lzim5040d ago

odd, i was led to believe it lacked an internal processor and so also needed a core to itself, if not 1-2 processing threads.

Wikkid6665040d ago

The article says nothing about whether the processor is internal or it uses the 360s.

darthv725039d ago

Also, the notion of a dedicated port really lends nothing to the idea of older units being incompatible. I believe the kinect port is a custom usb port (think the original xbox controller ports) but one that will feed power and data.

Older models will require a splitter that will run off a single usb port (prob the back one) that will work for the data but not the power. That is why they keep saying it will have an external power for those systems.

As for the processor, combo of both makes sense. Using 360 cpu/gpu power to help calculate the finished product on screen along with the cpu in the kinect.

Remember people...this is not a cheap usb web cam (like the original live vision).

Inside_out5040d ago (Edited 5040d ago )

They say they are using 10-15% of one 360 P4 cores. I know that the Kinect we see today is a watered down version of the patented tech they bought and own. Maybe one day the " real " tech will be cost effective. It still is very impressive tech even without a super computer running it.

wicked5040d ago

No, the previous artical said they removed a processor, but I would guess that it had more than 1 to start with. So it will have some form of processor still within it. Arm9 or Cortex M3, all dirt cheap now but powerful.

IdleLeeSiuLung5040d ago

Does it matter? They showed Forza Kinect that looked amazing working with Kinect real time!

callahan095040d ago

Are you just talking about how the graphics are able to look amazing while working with Kinect? If that's what you're talking about, ok. The game itself, though, well... I think I'll stick with the real Forza, with an Xbox 360 control pad. The limited-control Kinect Forza they showed doesn't look like it's worth any attention, in my opinion. Why would anyone want to control a car like that, with hands held out and holding onto nothing, with no control over acceleration or braking? Just seems totally pointless to me.

CrawFail5039d ago

lol real time? I don't quite think it was real time.

Bigpappy5039d ago

You guy know that the motion tech is from prime sense right? Please go to their web site primesense.com,and have a look at what they say the tech can do. It can read fingers well enough to type with each finger and can be used while sitting. No one ever said it has to scan the entire body to work. What we have seen from kinect so far is not all it is capable of.

Reading these specs and trying to compare them to PSeye is pointless, because they are different types of cameras and provide completely differnt types of info to the consoles (Kinect is a 3D camera and provides 3D images. PSeye is a 2D camera and provides 2D images). Per Primsense, the camera is capable of providing video at 60fps, but the 3D is 30fps. The specs for 2 players active is for full body scans. There are no specs given for people sitting and just using their hands.

This tech is obviously a work in progress and has yet to be fleshed out. I suggest all you N4G Kinect experts, research before you post you doom and gloom so you atleast have solid facts for you skepticism. You can also relax and see what M$ does with the tech insteat of pretending to know more that the people developing the tech.

IdleLeeSiuLung5038d ago

The game was available for people to try on the show floor at E3 so yes it was real time. Wetter you like it for Forza or not wasn't my point.

That is up to the developer to figure out.

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Apolloeye5040d ago

So pretty much the same spec as the PS Eye, although I thought the eye went up to 120 Hertz...

Theonik5040d ago

The eye goes to 60Hz i think. Regardless the eye should be capable to do any Kinect shown so far with less lag. (they revolve on a 2D axis and only use the depth tracking to separate players.) I am really disappointed by the tech and how it is utilised thus far.

shoddy5039d ago

More or less powerful we need to see the product.
So far it seem the pseye can do anything kinect can do.
2d 3d I not yet see the advantage.

IHateYouFanboys5039d ago

no, the PSEye cannot do 3D tracking. Kinect can.

the PSEye does 2D motion recognition, Kinect does 3D motion tracking. they are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT things.

Sheikh Yerbouti5039d ago

Going from alkaline to lithium was a significant step for batteries, but at the end of the day it is just a battery. PSEye and Kinect are kind of the same way. At the end of the day it is a game camera - with camera games.

IHateYouFanboys5039d ago

@Sheikh Yerbouti: your example is not really on the same scale of difference as PSEye/Kinect.

a better example using batteries would be the jump from standard batteries to rechargable batteries. theyre both doing the same thing - being batteries - but one of them does things that the other one cannot possibly do, which is be recharged and used again. it does everything the standard battery does, and more.

Kinect does everything the PSEye does (2D motion recognition), and more (3D motion tracking). no amount of software updates can change the hardware in the PSEye, and the hardware is not capable of 3D motion tracking as it lacks infra-red.

IaMs125039d ago

Yes i see your point but how you guys feel about the PS3 can be said the same way.

The PS3 may produce better graphics and be more powerful then the Xbox360, but by the end of they day its still only a console. Also inferior to PC :)

PirosThe4th5039d ago

... PSeye can do 3d as you say... even eyetoy... they used shadows and other stuff to recognize it.
Move is also 3d...

Sheikh Yerbouti5039d ago

Lithium batteries are rechargeable batteries.

Kinect isn't a true 3D camera - it can't render a picture of your butt if you are always facing front. It makes an approximate 3D model using visual cues. The PSEye can do the same, although it will be cruder.

Plus, just because the technology is different, doesn't necessarily mean gameplay will be.

@lams12
Yes, you're right. Similarly Kinect will have some good games, different from PSEye, only if Microsoft makes them. But they haven't made games too different from the PSEye.

Theonik5039d ago

Which is what i meant from the start. None of the games they have shown so far could not have been on the PS Eye.

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Xwow20085040d ago

"Tracks up to 6 people, including 2 active players"
I think now its official that just 2 ppl can play at the same time.

Godmars2905039d ago

Love that you're quoting something and you're getting disagrees.

Sheikh Yerbouti5039d ago (Edited 5039d ago )

Only room for two anyway when you think about it...
but it can keep track of six people during a game in regards to facial recognition. I think that's impressive.

I would love to have Kinect built into my laptop, so only I can get in even without a password. Why is Microsoft wasting this on the XBox again?

Ilikegames765039d ago

still couldn't play it sitting down. Honestly, some guys are so easily impressed by copy cat technology.

blackpanther255039d ago

i was at the engadget show and kudo showed its 3d tracking and when two people where on screen......one person would be red while the other would be green.......but as soon as a third person steped into the camera view two people automatically turned gray and it couldnt read their movements well.

what i took away from that event is that the kinect is pretty kool but for right now it can only work with two people(they could still be working on it)

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150°

Kinect Re-Appears on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon & Miranda Cosgrove

Xbox Evolved:

"Microsoft is holding no breaks in making sure the general public knows all about Kinect. What cooler spot to also show it than with Jimmy Fallon? "

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xboxevolved.e-mpire.com
Coded-Dude5047d ago

although i usually watch fallon. i'll have to catch an internet clip of it later.

ProA0075047d ago

it's nothing you have to see. trust me. zzzzzzz

tokoshix5047d ago

I'm sure it's just the usual marketing stuff, so nothing really interesting. Pretty much learned everything about the device at E3.

Tony P5047d ago

The more I see this targeted at non-gamers, the sadder I get.

I want a Kinect game I can be *proud* to own as a gamer. One day.

sonarus5047d ago

I saw it full of lag. The girls was standing there and her character just started twitching out of control.

Plus you can clearly see the game is full of Lag. Regardless though i don't care...its a piece of tech directed to casual gamers so kudos to MS for this. Unfortunately i don't fall into the casual crowd so this does not interest me one bit.

What does interest me though is a cheaper 360 slim with a hard drive and wifi capablities for 50 or maybe 100 bucks cheaper

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Blaze9295047d ago

was pretty funny. same demos they showed at E3 though. Nothing new. But they sure are marketing it quick.

AridSpider5047d ago

Yeah they did the same thing the day after they announced Natal last year with Good Morning America and Fallon back when it was called Natal. No doubt this thing will sell I suspect. Will it succeed technically though is the question

ProA0075047d ago

well they did say they are launching this like the launch of a new xbox.

AridSpider5047d ago

Well they price has not been 'confirmed' yet by anyone....

AridSpider5047d ago

wow first that girl's co-worker hosts the Kinect event and now she's her playing it. I see the audience Microsoft is definitely going after with Bieber, Cosgrove and McCurdy - teenage pop audiences.

Cueil5047d ago

it's that female crowd that they would love to hook into...

JasonXE5047d ago

She's kind of hot.

/pedobear

Boring show.

SpaceSquirrel5047d ago

Interesting. They did the same last year as well.

Show all comments (31)
200°

Hey Microsoft, Where Are The Core Games For Kinect?

Meodia writes, "So about a year ago when Project Natal was first starting off, many Xbox 360 and even other gamers were worried about the future of their console. A local shovelware dumping ground didn't sound quite appealing and Natal looked like it would serve extra servings of it. But Microsoft reassured us, holding our hands and telling us that everything would be alright. Since then, nothing has changed. After that "conference" at E3, we were shown nothing but how to please little girls."

xHarvey5051d ago (Edited 5051d ago )

Kinectimals. Raising a tiger isn't hardcore? lol

ipwnall5051d ago

Bubbles to you sir.

I'm extremely aggravated about this Kinect business. I mean, look at the image in the article. Those are the games for Kinect's future. Do we want to be playing those?

B-Real2065051d ago

They told you to wait till gamescom and now you will wait.

005051d ago (Edited 5051d ago )

But you won't be when that tiger mauls you.

ShinMaster5051d ago

"Wait till E3" they said.
Well E3 has come and this is the result.

Moonboots5051d ago

LOL! +bub for funny on that one!

PS: I love you Skittles! Don't eat me!!!!

BiggCMan5051d ago Show
HolyOrangeCows5051d ago

"Wait until E3"
"Wait until Gamescon"
"Wait until release"
"Wait until next E3"
"Wait until...."

So if we want core games, the best option is the waiting game?

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Alcon Caper5051d ago (Edited 5051d ago )

hey ms remember this list from tgs 09?

Activision Blizzard, Bethesda Softworks, Capcom Co. Ltd, Disney Interactive, Electronic Arts, Konami, MTV Games, Namco Bandai, Sega, Square Enix, THQ Inc. and Ubisoft

>:(

Imperator5051d ago

Behind closed doors being shown to paid celebrities who could care less about gaming.... if there's even any at all.

Mr Logic5051d ago

It needs buttons. There is only a limited a limited amount of things you can accomplish through gesture recognition.

Inane_Asylum5051d ago

I heard Kevin Butler say buttons existed in the future...

...I believe him...

Moonboots5051d ago (Edited 5051d ago )

Obviously Kinect is a casual device designed for those gamers first and foremost and that is the message MS wanted to send at E3 much to the angst of the core. And they have been saying all year that is what to expect.

I am going to give it some time because I don't think MS are going to ignore their core for long. And in the mean time enjoy my controller on games like Gears 3, Reach, Fable 3, Kingdoms, Black Ops, etc etc on the 360.. Not even going to mention my plate for the other systems I own.. There is just no time to play it all. (heaven?)

Redempteur5051d ago

Don't you see ? hardcore games are coming ..just now they annonced .. BURGER KING !!

............

neverming .

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Arnon5051d ago

It's funny because after the Microsoft conference, we actually saw some. In fact, I'm surprised that they showed off the shovelware they did, and then an hour later Sonic Freedom Riders and Child of Eden were shown off and completely destroyed what Microsoft displayed.

Imperator5051d ago (Edited 5051d ago )

Child of Eden is a multiplat, and do you have any gameplay vids of Sonic (I honestly want to see how it works).

@Orange Juice, Ah, I see. Looks kinda simple though. wouldn't really call it a core game.

@Arnon, if that's the case then Kinect really does have the edge in that game... but that's just one game. MS needs to show a LOT more.

Orange Juice5051d ago (Edited 5051d ago )

http://n4g.com/news/546595/...

There you go

EDIT Now that I watch the gameplay closely its most likely a game for kids. I couldnt see an adult "hardcore" gamer playing this game for an extended period of time.

Erotic Sheep5051d ago (Edited 5051d ago )

Eyetoy Antigrav says hi..

Arnon5051d ago (Edited 5051d ago )

Child of Eden is multiplat, but it's exclusive to Kinect in regards to motion controls. The developer Tetsuya Mizuguchi does not have a dev kit for Move.

http://www.computerandvideo...

HaVoK3085051d ago

If core gamers are anything like me they could careless about them.

pimpmaster5051d ago

gotta agree, MS is exactly like nintendo 2 years ago. hey, what ever happened to that dumb ass vitality sensor.

gynecologistcobra5051d ago

Like Nintendo two years ago? As in, raking up a fuck ton of cash?

pimpmaster5051d ago

as in having nothing to offer for the hardcore audience. and only for casuals

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