InsideMicrosoft

Microsoft E3 Press Conference LIVE

The Microsoft E3 press conference is starting in ten minutes. Just refresh this page for updates as they happen.

They’re talking about the venue, which is outdoors and even has a pool. Very cool high school. There’s a giant screen with a map of Gamertags on it.

They removed the fourth Xbox 360, the “gray” one, from the fourth pedastal. The pedastal is blank, and the announcers are discussing it.

UPDATE 11:34: They’re starting off with a few Halo fans from Liberty, Illinois, playing the Halo theme with guitars, a violin and a keyboard.

UPDATE 11:38: Peter Moore comes out. The Gamespot feed sucks, so I’m using the G4 feed. He says that this year they will only be showing games that are actually coming out this year, not games you will have to wait for.

UPDATE 11:39: Harmonix comes out, Peter Moore grabs a guitar, and they start playing some song I don’t recognize. It looks fun because they’re not the greatest singers. “I’m on my way”, or something.

UPDATE 11:44: They’re unveiling a new Viva Pinata game, one more about partying than the previous one. Lots more zaniness than the previous one. Viva Pinata: Party Animals, or something. Then moves on to show off Mass Effect.

UPDATE 11:49: They’re having audio problem, so I missed the specifics, but Peter was talking numbers. He was showing their #1 installed base, that they have half of all consumer spending, and that the top five selling games of recent years are all on Xbox 360, and they’re the only platform with all of the top selling franchises. Only they have Halo and GTA and Madden.

UPDATE 11:52: Showing andother bunch of game videos, including stranglehold, Guitar Hero 3, Lost Odyssey, NBA Live 08, Mass Effect, Project Gotham Racing 4, Medal of Hoor Airborne, Tiger Woods PGA 08, NHL 08, Assasin’s Creed, Spider-man Friend or Foe, The Simpsons Game, Splinter Cell Conviction, Nascar 08, Bioshock. Madden NFL 08, Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Orange Box, Bee Movie, Rock Band.

UPDATE 11:55: Jeff Bell, VP of marketing, comes out. Talks about a new games they are announcing, called “scene it?”, a board game coming to Xbox 360, and it comes with a new controller they are introducing. Screenshot coming.

UPDATE 11:59: Here’s the new controller:

UPDATE 12:00: Jeff says EA’s games will run twice as fast this year as last year, and introduces Reggie Bush to come out and show off the new Madden 08. Reggie says, “You Microsoft guys, you try to cheat” about Jeff watching what play he’s choosing. The game looks good, but nothing really different. Reggie passes to himself, breaks away for a LONG touchdown. Damn, he’s got skillz

UPDATE 12:03: Xbox Live now has 7 million members. Unbelievable. Microsoft is forecasting 10 million by next E3. 45 million games have been downloaded from Xbox Live Arcade, and there will be over 100 available by the end of the year. New games annoucned: Bomberman Live, Undertow, Hexic 2, Sonic the Hedgehog, War World, Sensible World of Soccer, Geono, Wing Commander Arena, Track & Field, Spyglass Board Game, Golden Axe, Space Giraffe, Super Puzzle Fighter II, Word Puzzle, Marathon: Durankl, Poker Smash, Switchball, Tetris Spalsh, Puzlle Quesr, Buku Sudoku, and a bunch I missed. Two are available tonight: Sonic and Golden Axe.

UPDATE 12:07: Talking Xbox Live Video Marketplace, including their singular place for SD and HD content, selling $25 million in content so far. They are announcing an agreement with Disney to bring to XBox Live titles, like Tarzan, Hercules, Emperor’s New Groove, Armageddon, Waterboy, Bad Company, Unbreakable, Bringing Down The House, Coyote Ugly, Deja Vu, Primeval, The Queen, all in High Definition. Nice! Guess Apple doesn’t have a monopoly.

UPDATE 12:10: This Fall, Xbox Live Marketplace will expand to Canada and Europe, and they are moving it worldwide as quickly as possible. In late August, the Xbox 360 Elite will come to Europe.

UPDATE 12:11: Shane Kim, head of Microsoft Game Studios, comes out. Turns out Halo 3 is coming out on my mother-in-law’s birthday. Who knew? Not me! I don’t pay attention to stuff like that…

UPDATE 12:13: Talks Project Gotham Racing 4, and demoes it, showing off the new motorcycles with a live demo. You will be able to race bikes against cars. It will have 120 vehicles, 10 locations, dramiatic weather effects (they’re showing off a tropical storm with heavy rain in the dark). It will allow online sharing of gameplay videos. Coming this September.

UPDATE 12:20: Announces games for Windows, with Viva Pinata and Gears of War coming to Windows. Gears will come with a map editor and all new content, and a few surprises.

UPDATE 12:22: Gears on the PC will have five new story chapters, as well as the chance to fight against the giant monster from the trailer.

UPDATE 12:25: Peter comes out and announces new partners for Games For Windows Live: Sega, Eidos and THQ. Also, Games For Windows Live will be built into the new version of the Unreal Engine. Coming games include Flight Simulator X: Acceleration expansion pack, Thrillvill, Bee Movie, Hellgate: London, Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasty, Stranglehold, Gears of War, Bioshock, Crysis, Universe at War, Blacksite: Area 51, World in Conflict, Age of Conan, Lost Planet, Kane & Lynch, Company of Heroes, Zoo Tycoon 2, Juiced 2, Viva Pinata, Spider-man, and a few I missed.

UPDATE 12:37: They just spent a chunk of time looking at Bioshock and Call of Duty 4. Call of Duty will be having a public beta. Peter comes back out and confirms the suspicion that the Grand Theft Auto IV trailer was shot on footage from the Xbox 360 version of the game, not the PS3. Confirms that only Xbox 360 will get the GTA IV episodes.

UPDATE 12:43: Resident Evil 5 is coming to the Xbox 360! They show it off as the only game shown tonight not coming out this year.

UPDAE 12:55: They commissioned Peter Jackson and planned Halo 3 director Neil Blompfcamp to create a live action Halo 3 short, showing off a lot og the vehicles and soldiers you’re used to in the Halo games. They also pulled out the secret new Xbox 360 edition: It’s a a Halo edition of the 360. Nothing special beyond the new paint job.

UPDATE 12:58: They leave with a very short Halo 3 video, showing some gameplay and the enemy saying “Your world will burn until its surface is like glass”. That’s it! No price drop, a new type of controller, and lots of games. Microsoft put the emphasis squarely on the content, and it seems to have turned out nicely, though not spectacularly. Unless Sony can claim a great game lineup, Microsoft did fine, but if Sony or Nintendo have been holding back big announcements for tomorrow morning, they’re gonna have a problem.

July 10th, 2007 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | General | one comment