440°

Microsoft E3 Press Event Underwhelms

Microsoft wrapped up their E3 press event today and aside from the members of the audience who went home with a free, newly redesigned 360 the rest of us were left to wonder “Where’s the beef?”

Microsoft started the event with gameplay footage of Treyarch’s multiplatform Call of Duty title, Black Ops. After the demo Microsoft announced a new, exclusive partnership with Activision for the Xbox 360 to receive all map packs first for the next 3 years. The use of the word “exclusive” was odd. Generally, when referring to something as being exclusive that would indicate that you’ll only find the item on one console.

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smgamers.com
Anon19745057d ago

Halo/Gears/Fable - we knew these were coming. Kinect does video chat and allows you to yell at your tv to pause video playback. Thanks, but my remote works fine.

The rest was all about the same 5 or so Kinect games we saw yesterday with nothing for the hardcore gamers whose hard earned money put the 360 where it is today. And did you see the lag on Kinect Adventures? That guy had to jump well in advance of the obstacles on screen to compensate for the delay. Clearly he practiced that for the demo. His buddy was all over the place.

Even the new, quieter 360 with a bigger harddrive and wi-fi at the old price still seems to be playing catch up with the PS3 - but without the bonus of a Blu-Ray player.

This has to be the worst Microsoft showing at E3 in memory. Can anyone think of anything good that came out of this? Other than showing Gears 3 and Halo reach, I got nothing out of this - and I don't think anyone needed to be sold on those two games. I still planned on buying them even if they were a no show at E3.

N4GAddict5057d ago

IMO, there weren't any surprises and way too much of Kinect.

Trollimite5057d ago

has anyone ever tried to use voice reconition software before? its such a hassel

imagine watching i movie with your family, you say "pass the pop corn"

kinect hears "start the rough porn" you are **cked!!!!! lol

presto7175057d ago

Some things never change.

MorganX5057d ago

Wireless-N surpasses the PS3, but the lack of Blu-ray really hurts the Xbox. Maybe not movies as much, but games, yes.

WhittO5057d ago

They showed like 3 good games, really? for the year?

It was awful, they were supposed to have a separate Kinect conference weren't they ? So everyone was hoping this 1 would be all about GAMES.

Elimin85057d ago

Start the rough porn.... LOL.. Really!?

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Cold 20005057d ago

There were no surprises except for Kingdoms and the fact the Kinect actually works. Dunno about you guys but Kinect actually convinced me. Not to the point where I would pay 150$ but lest say I wouldnt mind having one of those.

Either than that, I couldnt believe my ears and eyes when the guy said the show was over I was like "but you forgot the show some games".

Redempteur5057d ago

oh they forgot to show them that's for sure ...

fable trailer was nice but i didn't know it was too much to ask to show some gameplay ..

butterfinger5057d ago

I wasn't really impressed with any of the Kinect games (Forza might be a buy for me), and they didn't really show anything that we didn't know about already. Even the Crytek announcement was drab without any footage of the game or other information. Microsoft's 09 Keynote >>>>>>>&g t;> Microsoft's 10 Keynote

Panther527995057d ago (Edited 5057d ago )

personally, i like my 360, however, after watching the MS "conference", i am now wondering if MS is going to throw in the towel.

i have never been so stunned. the lack of really any games was amazing to me. sure there was the games that we all knew were coming, but that was like 4 and then the rest to kinect?

i truly am saddened by MS today. thankfully gaming is my hobby and not my life haha

gaffyh5057d ago

Woah, be careful Cold 2000, you seem to be losing your fanboyism in your old age.

On topic - Yeah I agree, Kinect delivered on some parts, namely the fact that it works, specifically the voice control and hand movements. But there was still noticable lag and jitter during the games.

The first 35 mins of the conference was great, then it was 1 hour of crapness, plus I really hate that guy with the sunglasses (the "you wanna see what an Avatar's shoe looks like, BAM"). The slim announcement MAY have redeemed the show, IF it wasn't leaked, but it was so predictable that he was going to lift up that 360 case and reveal it.

rezzah5057d ago

theyre showing them tmw, i saw the schedual on the IGN list, lmao Sony has like 20 (or more?) nameless games to show. I already say like 5 games with the titles included. Othere than that, expect great things from Sony.

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ico925057d ago

everyone looked like they didnt wanna be there , kinectimals was laughably bad,in fact Kinect as a whole was a joke, Gears 3 looked like a Gears 2 expansion pack, the audience sounded bored, i also noticed how small there confrence hall was, and who the HELL wants to see a woman do Yoga, not even nintendo would show that, this was a new low for M$

ViciousBoston5057d ago

I don't know...i've seen some pretty hot girls. I'd love to watch some hot girls do some yoga.

princejb1345057d ago

ms noticed the audience aint wanna be there thats why they gave them xb360 to put a smile on their face after that horror show they just did
but the new xb360 looks freaking sexy
i want it=]

Killjoy30005057d ago

Yeah, except it looks like they completely ripped off the design of the old PS3. That system should've been the one they launched 5 years ago.

- Ghost of Sparta -5057d ago

The conference was utterly laughable. I wouldn't have the balls to admit I actually purchased an Xbox 360 after that, hence the free 360's at the end of the show.

marinelife95057d ago (Edited 5057d ago )

That was a funny article It had me rolling.

Bzone245057d ago

Did you watch the conference? Your second paragraph of the article you rip on them for the use of the word exclusive and say they should have said “exclusive for at least a little while”.

Just watched the conference and about the map packs and addons he said "First on Xbox in 2010, first on Xbox in 2011 and first on Xbox in 2012. He said first, not exclusively on Xbox.

The only time he said exclusive was about the agreement. Which I am guessing is right. Does Sony have an agreement to release the map packs first on the PS3? You can only have one exclusive agreement for being first.

Didn't read the rest of your "article".

Willio5057d ago (Edited 5057d ago )

Kinect’s voice recognition was also shown off during video playback. “Xbox! Pause!” Here’s a quick tip. You know what else can pause video even quicker? The pause button on your remote, and it won’t cost you an extra $150-$200.

Perhaps “exclusive for at least a little while” would be a more appropriate phrase. To understand fan’s reaction to this announcement, I suggest Microsoft employees try using “we’ll be exclusive for a little while” on their girlfriends or wives and report back to us to let us know how well that goes over.

Microsoft has spoken loud and clear this E3.

Unfortunately that message is “Yeah, we got nothin’.”

ThanatosDMC5057d ago (Edited 5057d ago )

^MS created the stupid "exclusivity" debate. Apparently if it's also on the PC, it doesnt count.

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T9X695057d ago

Even EA's conference was better, and EA sucks a big one.

zireno5057d ago

agree 100% EA's was better because you know, they showed real games :)

AEtherbane5057d ago

3 games in 2 hours?
And two of them were fitness games?

Microsoft Xbox 3605057d ago

Bulletstorm was actually amazing. IMO better than Crysis 2.

waterboy5057d ago

talking bout crysis 2 is the best on consoles, well that wouldnt include ps3

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mark35745057d ago

more then happy with microsoft!!

Redlogic5057d ago

what did you like the most?

jack who5057d ago

who cares Need For Speed Hot Pursuit nuff said

Somnipotent5057d ago

how many N4G articles do we need on this? oh yeah, i forgot where i'm at.

morganfell5057d ago (Edited 5057d ago )

Oh look, the top of the page has an address bar and you can surf away. You think this is bad? It's one day. One day.

Try coming here with 2 years of "PS3 is teh doomed" articles.

This is called a comeuppance where the press stops protecting Microsoft because their offerings at E3 were disappointing. And I mean a shambles.

Microsoft has their own Giant Crab and his name is Kinect.

Narutone665057d ago

Even though I hate MS, I feel sorry for them and their fans.

morganfell5057d ago

I don't, not one bit because I haven't forgotten the way they have been acting for years.

Somnipotent5057d ago

you guys disagreed with me for speaking the obvious truth? what part of that was opinionated? did i come across like a microsoft fanboy? bah hah hah hah, that's a good one.

morganfell5057d ago (Edited 5057d ago )

But that is it, you were not speaking the truth. Sites have a right to express a particular opinion about the show. And offer the facts to support their view.

This isn't the same thing as reporting the price of Kinect listed by Gamestop. That is your error. It isn't a matter of truth but of policy.

k2d5057d ago

Granted, Sony had THE. BIGGEST. downperiod of Playstations lifetime with the launch of PS3, but now it seems as if the tides are turning.

Kinect is little more than a well advertised adrenalin shot.

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90°

10 Weirdest Video Games of All Time

Plenty of unforgettable games have completely messed up their players throughout the years, all the way back from the PS1 days to the dark recesses of the modern internet.

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culturedvultures.com
JonTheGod19h ago

Why are the Katamari games not on the list??

130°

70 percent of devs unsure of live-service games sustainability

With so many games fighting for players' attention and interest losing out over time, time sink games are at risk of eventually losing steam.

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gamedeveloper.com
thorstein1d 15h ago

It was worrisome to begin with.

It's a niche genre with only a handful of hits that can stand the test of time.

Cacabunga18h ago

I like the sound of that!! I will for sure never support these gaas games.
Sony must be shocked at gamer's reaction, making them cancel a few of these and hopefully go back to the good heavy hitters they had us used to..
now bring on that PSPro reveal and show us some SP 1st party awesomeness.

CrimsonWing691d 15h ago

What’s to be unsure of!? Look at the ratio of success to failure!

DarXyde22h ago

It's pretty ridiculous.

Imagine having a breadth of data at your disposal to see the statistically low success rate of these games, only to be laser focused on the exceptional case studies.

shinoff21831d 13h ago

Yes. Stop all the live service bs.

jznrpg1d 13h ago

Only a few will catch on. You need a perfect storm to be successful in GaaS and a bit of luck on top of that. But a potential cash cow will keep them trying and some will go out of business because of it.

MIDGETonSTILTS171d 13h ago

Helldivers 2 manages just fine…

Keep production costs low… don’t just make custscenes until the mechanics and enemies are perfected first.

Make so much content that you can drip extra content for years, and the game already feels complete without them.

Most importantly: make weapons, enemies, levels, and mechanics that will stand the test of 1000 hours. This might require more devs embracing procedurally generated leveled, which I think separates Helldivers 2 from Destiny’s repetitiveness.

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60°

The Battle Pass Is The Worst Thing To Happen To Modern Gaming

Nameer from eXputer: "Some exceptions aside, I don't think the battle pass is a net positive for gaming with how they're implemented in most live service titles."

got_dam1d 17h ago

Battle passes AND meta gaming both.

DivineHand1251d 15h ago (Edited 1d 15h ago )

I like the way Helldivers 2 does battle passes. It allows you to make purchases on each level of the battle pass and gives you the option of choosing which item to unlock first. The more purchases you make using medals the further you progress. There is no timer and you can earn medals towards purchasing stuff via personal orders and Major orders.

I haven't played much live service games that have battle passes but I remember some games that have battle passes where you progress through it linearly using an exp system. What makes it really bad is that the battle pass will have like 50 or more levels with the cooler stuff being closer to the end. They also have an in-game shop that sells exp boosters so you can reach the end of the pass before it refreshes. Everyone ilse will have to grind their way through.

lucian2291d 15h ago

battle pass in fortnite is perfect; buy one and it buys the rest for every other season as it gives you more money than the first cost. so 8.50 and season ends with you getting 13.00, it pays for the next and you have some pocket change to save up for cash shop. All of which is optional