What To Expect From Microsoft’s Xbox 720 Reveal

GXC: "The ball is clearly in Microsoft’s court at the moment, the Wii U got off to a good start [...] The PS4 was [...] revealed at Sony’s show a while back [...] This means all eyes are firmly fixed on Microsoft and their upcoming console, but what can we realistically expect from a Microsoft Xbox 720 reveal?"

[Jek_Porkins]

Hopefully the next Xbox will actually be shown off, I'm interested to see what the thing looks like. I own a Wii U, but to me it doesn't have much personality, I want consoles to have something special looking about them again.

Hopefully Microsoft wont spend too much time on social features and Kinect 2.0, stick to it about as long as Sony did with their casual aspects, and show off at least one new core IP. Hopefully Black Tusk has something nice to show us!

[Godmars290]

The WiiU looks like a plump Wii.

As long as Xbox3 isn't the dark-green brick that Xbox1 was, doesn't have the Kinect camera built in with a long enough cable, who cares what it looks like.

I do expect that social and Kinect will take up as much if not more presentation time as games. Kinect will have to leak into game time given that its suppose to be a game aid.

And god help them should there be another "shoe-BAM!" or obviously pre-recorded "live" gameplay episode.

[Jek_Porkins]

Well Sony focused on their controller quite a bit, and brought out Move, so Microsoft has some free time in my mind to show off Kinect 2.0 a bit, but they have to know and understand a lot of core gamer's will want to see something new and core centered.

I doubt they do a full 2 hour show like Sony, mostly because I thought that dragged on a bit too long, but I think the console needs to look nice and they need to show some great games, Kinect be damned.

*Edit*
@classic200
It's still going to be a games conference, despite what you might believe or choose to believe, Microsoft has stuck to the same plan with both their consoles, launch with a strong lineup of core games and slowly add things to draw in future casual/family gamers.

The current Xbox 36o is their set top box, I doubt they'll want to compete with themselves to start off with.

[classic200]

Kinect 2.0 and online service with kinect tv and xbox tv which are actually real things they are working on.

I see a multipurpose entertainment system conference and not a core gamer conference from them. Black tusk new IP sounds interesting though.

[Godmars290]

"Microsoft has stuck to the same plan with both their consoles"

And when hasn't a MS conference been overly produced and filled with actors? Their last was nothing but Kinect with a hint of 3rd parties.

Edit:
The point is when they have people like Usher largely doing nothing that has anything to do with games on stage, that's less time to show games. Likewise when stage actors "reacting" to playing a game, that's not MS talking to gamers but general consumers.

"Skittles" may have sold to Kentic to parents, but it was only a meme to gamers.

[Jek_Porkins]

I actually thought their E3 in 2012 wasn't bad at all, the Halo 4 demo blew me away, didn't care for the Usher thing though. Microsoft was buying time at E3 the past couple of years, we all know it. The new Xbox was in development for a while now and most of their devs were working on games for it since 2010.

Who cares if they use actors or popular people to promote their console or games? I remember The Rock promoting the original Xbox and thought it was cool, when the Xbox 360 was announced they had a lot of stars come out and promote that as well, obviously it worked because the 360 has done very well.

Microsoft has the money to do what they want as far as ads go, I think some people dislike them for the way they do it, but would probably love it if their favorite company did the same thing.

I am sure it'll be big and entertaining.

[EVILDEAD360]

Usher was there because he was promoting the game he worked on and was actually in.

He did the actual routine for DC 3 and literaly told people thats what he was doing...but you kno how certain memories are when it comes to these things.

People still talk about 'Skittles', but because of it's success Sony made 'Eyepet and friends the following year.

They both went casual because it wasn't MS that showed off Wonderbook last year.

Evil

[Godmars290]

"People still talk about 'Skittles', but because of it's success Sony made 'Eyepet and friends the following year."

And they made Eyepet before that. Are you trying to say Sony stole from MS before MS made something?

And just like Move, Wonderbook represents a segment of gaming available on the PS3. They're there but not needed, whereas Kinect is a catchall. Is being forced upon every aspect of the current Xbox and will become mandatory on the next. Regardless of how it works.

[EVILDEAD360]

@ Godmars

It's interesting how you criticize the MS conference for what sony and others do as well on stage.

Sure MS uses third party, just last year Sony heavily relied on Assassin's Creed 3 to the point that they showed of the specialized Assassin's Creed PS3 and announced exclusive DLC.

Sure MS has Celebs and atheletes on stage, but so does Sony. Kobe Bryant fumbles through an entire horrible NBA 2K12 demo at Sony's E3 a couple of years ago.

Then you say 'Usher largely doing nothing that has anything to do with games on stage'

He did. He did motion capture and was apart of the second biggest franchise on Kinect. Again, He was in the game. Which is moreso than the rapper Flo-rida who opened up Ubisoft's conference for Just Dance 4..and people say they won E3.

Then you say 'Skittles' is a meme to gamers.
if that is true then 'Wonderbook' is a meme to gamers as well. Eyepet was an existing IP that got Move treatment. I'm just pointing out that after the success of Kinectimals, Sony released 'Eyepet and friends'

'And just like Move, Wonderbook represents a segment of gaming available on the PS3. They're there but not needed, whereas Kinect is a catchall. Is being forced upon every aspect of the current Xbox and will become mandatory on the next. Regardless of how it works.'

Completely false.

Sony is appealling to the same segment with Move that MS is with Kinect.

The difference is that people use ther preference of console to pretend that it's only ok for Sony and Nintendo to appeal to that demographic.

You are pretending that Kinect is mandatory this gen, when it is absolutely optional. No Xbox 360 owner ever has to use Kinect for anything at all. Why pretend otherwise?

The next gen rumor is Kinect is that Kinect needs to be calibrated before using console. The rumor is that Sony is including a Kinect like camera with every PS4 as well.

You may not personally like it, but it's clear that all console companies are very similiar in their approach to E3.

Evil

[Godmars290]

Sad how your comments become longer the more wrong you are.

Skittles became a meme because a child actor "interacted" with a 20 foot jumbo-tron. Meanwhile, no one remembers the kid with the Wonderbook.

Likewise where Sony gave 2K sports time during their presentation and 2K chose to waste it by hauling up a sports star, Dance Central in a MS made title. Usher was all on them. It a 3rd party vs a 1st party presentation. Sony was let down by 2K wasting their time where MS wasted it directly.

You also need to check your comprehension. While Kinect isn't mandatory currently, the 360's interface has been changed to favor it. And with the next system there will be no choice.

Sony has generally been all inclusive. Actively supported features as well as games whereas MS focus has narrowed onto Kinect and XBL. Your own examples show as much and yet you're unwilling to see it.

As always.

Edit:
And please don't misunderstand further. Its not that Sony's perfect - their current finical issues scream otherwise - its that game "fans" such as yourself have become so delusional is that its become to involving correcting you.

[EVILDEAD360]

@ Godmars

Let me help you. No matter how you spin it there is no delusion or faulty reading comprehension at all to what I wrote.

'Skittles became a meme because a child actor "interacted" with a 20 foot jumbo-tron. Meanwhile, no one remembers the kid with the Wonderbook.'

False. The child interacted with a small TV. The jumbo-tron displayed her in the background for the audience. The gif made the internet.

At the end of the day, MS used a kid to promote a kid game. As a result, it helped Kinect break records and that kid game sold over a million. Guess it worked.

My point was simply that Sony used a kid as well to promote a kid game as well. No one forgot. Including you.

These are your words not mine

'The point is when they have people like Usher largely doing nothing that has anything to do with games on stage'

FACT. Usher had everything to do with the game they were promoting as he helped the developers in it's creation and literally recreated the routine from the game in his performance which they sinced with the game live on stage.

This had nothing to do with 1st or 3rd party splitting of hairs. Celebs whether atheletic or not have been used on Sony, MS and others to promote their brand. Ubisoft not only had Flo-rida perform but Aisha tyler literally hosted the conference.

'Sony has generally been all inclusive. Actively supported features as well as games whereas MS focus has narrowed onto Kinect and XBL. Your own examples show as much and yet you're unwilling to see it.'

False. It is your console bias that narrows your view of the facts. MS promotes absolutely promotes XBL,Kinect and their features as they are supposed to. criticism of this would be like someone criticizing Sony for promoting Move, PSN+ or even Vita.

What you won't acknowlege is that in the same conference they promoted non-Kinect games as well. They literally opened E3 with a well-recieved demo of Halo 4, hands-down the biggest exclusive of 2012. They also had Forza Horizon, Ascend: New Gods etc.

Pretending that MS doesn't focus on games as well, when they literally spent more money on Halo 4 than any game in Xbox history is just fan biased rhetoric.

No one claimed you were saying Sony was perfect and I have no clue why you would point to their financial isues when I was simply pointing to the fact that Sony as well as MS use E3 to promote their brands in similiar fashion.

Evil

[Godmars290]

I give up.

[EVILDEAD360]

Just keeping it real

Evil

[IRetrouk]

Just show me games, couldnt care less about the look of the console, make it powerfull enough so that the games can run smooth and i will be happy

[stage88]

Just announce a date for the reveal, I'm bored of waiting on them.

[StrongMan]

The author of this article is a joke.

[whoyouwit04]

you are a joke

[Tzuno]

To be like 360 in therms of freedom and improved in core aspects. Have a nice day.

[dangerousjo44]

and games were 40 bucks back in the NES days and their was no trade in places yet and guess what we did when we had a bad game we kept it and bought new better games when we could and it was just fine so stop crying lil babys and xbox has over 70 million units sold so far so can you please tell me what casual game is really making the xbo 360 sell right now cus i can only see core games softwere sells running the game industry still cod,halo4,bf3,AC,batman.fable, and alot more core games so weres the casual games at that im always hearing about lol i mean ps3 has a move ,and wii still got wii mote ,and xbox360 got kinect so were all doing motion gaming with casual games but were all still doing more core games then ever.