Monday, June 1, 2009

E3 Microsoft Press Conference 2009 Impressions

Since I am only fortunate in being able to watch E3 footage on my DVR instead of actually being there, I know I can't fully appreciate the thrill of being at E3 in person, something I hope to do one day, but thanks to G4TV, I give them my personal thanks to broadcasting it for the masses. So here I sit at home watching this great coverage, and allow me to first thank you for reading my opinions of the E3 Microsoft 2009 Press Conference.

  • Rock Band: The Beatles

Opening with Rock Band Beatles was nice. Not mind blowing in my opinion but nice. Obviously, many of us who follow the business already knew of this one coming. Who knows if many will be able to appreciate the great music of the Beatles, but since the dawning of the music game with Guitar Hero (even though Guitar Freaks came out way before GH), I'm sure this will be enjoyed by so many. Even though our friendly neighbors across the ocean in England probably still cringe at the idea that John Lennon actually married Yoko Ono, it was still very impressive that not only Yoko came out to endorse the game, but Ringo Star and Paul McCartney as well. Ringo and Paul I must say were kind of lame in my opinion, but then again, I don't imagine them to be big into games. I was kind of hoping they would be enthusiastic like the guys in Metallica were with their interviews on dozens of other sites and specials, but I guess we can't have it all. I certainl3y hope there are nice goodies like interviews, commentary, and revealing videos. The biggest positive I saw in it was the harmonization of multiple singers in one song. I look forward to this technology being brought into future Rock Band games. I'll probably end up buying it because I'm a big fan of the music game genre. Rock Band: The Beatles rocks out in homes in September later this year.

  • Tony Hawk Ride

Now I haven't been a fan of the Tony Hawk series since the first Tony Hawk Underground which I felt had a cool story despite that the gameplay itself particularly mirrored its predecessors. As far as skateboarding games goes, I'm thoroughly enjoy on EA's Skate. I feel Skate brought the genre into a nice, fluid, and definitely realistic feel of the sport itself. Skate 2 moved us off the board like the Tony Hawk series did later on in its saga, but it didn't dazzle me as it did in the Tony Hawk series when they first did it. But now with the debut of Tony Hawk Ride, the peripheral itself I thought would be kind of a flimsy joke, but seeing how the real skaters twisted and turns on it was pretty amazing. In the presentation, I must say it was great to see Christian Hosoi appear once again with greatness as he did when the sport first took off. The graphics themselves look nice, and the motion recognition seemed easy and fun. Anyone getting this better have the room to move around in as it’s not just leaning your body and wiggling your hands around, being able to actually turn and twist the board with your feet and hands was really impressive. It will be interesting if kids will hurt themselves using this, which will probably spark a rise in parents much like they did when the Nintendo 64 came out with Mario Party when kids were hurting their hands spinning the center stick with the palm of their hands, causing Nintendo to include a padded glove with the game in later releases of the game. Who knows for sure? But will I buy this one? Probably not just because I really don't have the room to incorporate the range of motion to fully experience the game, but who knows, maybe I will. Tony Hawk Ride kickflips into your living room in October of this year.

  • Modern Warfare 2

Okay, if you didn't like the first Modern Warfare, you either hate shooters, or you just sucked at them. But if you did like the first Modern Warfare, Infinity Ward definitely appears to have hit another homerun hit. Many probably don't really care about the story of the first Modern Warfare as multi-player is definitely what has kept people playing the game to this day, but it sure does look interesting as I feel a game definitely should have a great offline experience as it does an online experience. The graphics look fantastic, reloading seemed a little faster than it really should be if they are shooting for realism, but then again, I've never reloaded an assault rifle, and I was really impressed with the visual effects of the snow blinding vision and movement. Riding on the snowmobile looked sweet. Nothing says fun like capping a terrorist from your snowmobile. As an added incentive, Infinity Ward will release exclusive maps on Xbox 360. Will I buy this one? You can bet on. Modern Warfare 2 brings it assault to 360 November 10th later this year.

  • Final Fantasy XIII

Those that saw E3 last year, were pretty amazed that the Final Fantasy series would finally make its debut on the Xbox 360. It was kind of inevitable that Final Fantasy would jump on ride as well. Square-Enix's premiere gameplay debut was nice. I wasn't expecting the appearance of Odin, which was awesome, and I'm glad to see that they've now included fighting alongside of your Summon's like in Final Fantasy XII but just improved on it with the system that it sort of started with in Final Fantasy X. Will I buy this one? I'm not sure. I probably will as the gamer in me does, but these days playing Final Fantasy games to the fullest can be so time consuming, and with so many games to enjoy, it may end up in the back log of so many games I already have.

  • Shadow Complex

When Epic took the stage, everyone was probably hoping to see gameplay of the new campaign expansion for Gears of War 2: Dark Corners. But no, instead, they decided to debut their newest creation, Shadow Complex. If you played Bionic Commando Rearmed, this will fit you like a glove. There wasn't a whole lot to the demo, but with the gameplay they showed, I can see the potential of good multiplayer combat in it. For those of you PS3 owners, it kind of resembles a more sophisticated and darker version of the PSN game, Crash Commandos. Weapons and enemies look pretty sweet and clean, plus the slight camera changes are nice as well. Bottom line, it looks like a lot of fun. Will I buy this game? Honestly I probably won't. I'll get the demo if anything, but once again, so many other games will probably be taking up my time. Shadow Complex comes to Live later on this summer.

  • Joy Ride

In a word, it’s cute. Very cute. I definitely think this little arcade driving game will draw in a nice group of players that really enjoy and have been wanting a little more use of their Xbox Live Avatars. Those of you that enjoyed Re-Volt (a little RC Car racer quite some time ago) will probably enjoy this title. With good use of Avatar movement and silliness, it’s a nice little title to real just kick back with. But if the game doesn't offer a good amount of content, I think gamers will feel jaded buying it if it doesn't have a something to keep you coming back to. Will I buy it? Probably not. Unless a lot of my Live Friend's are playing, don't think this will grace my Xbox Live Arcade library.

  • Crackdown 2

Alright, I've been waiting for this game for quite some time now. Now I didn't get to enjoy the first title until the game had a slight price drop to $20.00 about 3 weeks before the Halo 3 multiplayer beta ended, and I will have to admit that I got suckered into buying it as so many of my Live Friend's were playing the Halo 3 beta instead of enjoying the game that when it finally did end, I found the greatness that is Crackdown. Lots of action, explosions, firefights, leaping tall buildings in a single bound, and not to mention super fun multiplayer, if you haven't played the first game, I urge you go find it and buy it. You probably can get it used for 10 bucks in places now, so it’s definitely a nice cheap recommendation in my opinion. Now even though Crackdown 2 was only a trailer, I still can't wait to buy it. The only question one may ask about this title is will it be as fun as the first one was since the original studio team Real-Time Studios is not at the helm? No one knows, but I look forward to this title when it’s finally released.

  • Left 4 Dead 2

This was yet another game that was just a trailer. And even though Capcom's Dead Rising was the first title in quite some time to really send a lightning bolt through my system taking my zombie killing enjoyment to a whole new level than Resident Evil had (I also eagerly await Dead Rising 2), Left 4 Dead brought us those zombies like in the remade movie of Dawn of the Dead that really would scare the hell out of me. Those zombies were like Olympic sprinters. Night of the Living Dead zombies, you could just poke them with a stick to push them away. Granted you wouldn't want to run into 30 of them packed in against you in an alley, but I'll take my chances with Night of the Living Dead zombies, than Dawn of the Dead zombies any day. I really had a lot of fun with Left 4 Dead, and with the addition of melee weapons into Left 4 Dead 2 will just make it all the more fun. Who doesn't love chainsaws? If you're a tree, then you probably hate them, but it looks glorious. The only problem with this game, as much fun as I've had with Left 4 Dead, I can't help but feel like it should be a download content of some kind. It would probably difficult in that aspect to introduce it as a DLC merely because of the introduction of the melee weapon mechanics. I can only hope that they include a bit more of in-depth campaigns as I felt the campaigns in the first one were rather short, but the fun of Left 4 Dead comes from its multiplayer co-op and versus play, and not to be forgotten, hundreds of zombies running at you from every corner. Will I buy it? Probably yes. I love killing zombies.

  • Splinter Cell Conviction

The Splinter Cell saga has undergone some changes over the years, and I have to say that the saga has lost my interest over the years, even though Splinter Cell has a great story, it didn't really do a lot for me in the innovation department to make me jump into my car racing to my local game store to purchase it. But this installment of the game really peaks my interest with the introduction of the mark system like in the Rainbow Six series. The mark system just doesn't seem to let you know where people are going into the room you're about to break into, but leads you into quick movements like CQC in Metal Gear Solid, but also exciting gunfights. What I also enjoyed in the demo was the balance of stealth and full on-assault combat. Using objects for cover, meat shields, and fun and brutal interrogation techniques like smashing a guy's head into a mirror or urinal looks like a lot of fun. Very reminiscent of the Punisher game released on the PS2 and original Xbox which was a blast to burn a criminal's face on a stove and slam his head into a wall like in this new expansion of the Splinter Cell series. Will I buy this one? I'm thinking yes, but then again, may get stashed to the back log.

  • Forza Motorsport 3

If the game handles as great as this demo showed, this will be the pinnacle of driving game simulation. Stunning graphics, fabulous car damage, and probably one of my favorite features, a great representation of the in-car view. A view I've missed dearly and in my opinion, not very well done since Need for Speed on the Panasonic 3DO. The easy to jump in and play aspect of the game seems to be enjoyable to not just racing sim fans, but arcade style racing fans. But I can't stop there though. The most amazing feature is the customization of the cars with the paint shop. The previous installment had a nice paint shop in it already, but this one appears to have improved on it in dramatic fashion. The demonstration of the beautiful paint jobs gamers will be able to make in the game. You can even import your own pictures to lay them down as vinyl or stickers on your cars. Now, the only thing that can ruin this would be some jerk trying to post a porno picture on their car only to have Microsoft restrict the images we can use. You can bet someone will try. Let's hope they have a good way of filtering that kind of stuff so real players that love the game truly enjoy this game. Will I buy this one? I haven't been much into racing sims these days, but this one is making think again. I might just have to get this one, maybe not at launch, but I think I will get it eventually.

  • Halo 3: ODST

First and foremost, I love that they've brought back the pistol from the first Halo game. Pistol zoom returns in all its glory. The story? Try stories!!! I love a good story, but this installment has multiple stories from various shock troopers in the Halo world before the timeline introduction of the actual Halo 3 game. The weapons return with full force, the graphics look great, and you know the multiplayer will obviously be there. I think Halo really does speak for itself for the most part and I'll more than likely buy this on launch day in September later this year.

  • Halo: Reach

Okay there isn't much to say about Halo: Reach since it was only a teaser, but once again, I love a good story and Halo definitely has a great story though many can argue the loopholes, especially with the way Halo 2 ended. It's a prequel first of all, and it makes me wonder at all if it will follow or take some of the story elements from the Halo novels that told some of the story before the very first Halo game. As a little bonus to those that pre-order Halo: ODST, players will get special invites to the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta. Halo: Reach, reaches out to us in 2010.

  • Alan Wake

This is game that has been one in development for quite some time now. It's got what seems to be an amazing story with great survival horror elements. The use of the common ideas in the gameplay looked interesting and intuitive such as the flashlight that seems to repel these paranormal events and other things what appears to be monsters. Not only the flashlight, but a flare gun and a simple road flare as well. The camera and lighting effects look top notch, and has a nice eerie environment to spice up giving us that intense fear factor. Will I buy this game? Too soon to tell as the game won't be out until 2010, but I probably will.

The Xbox Live Experience

  • Last.FM

FREE!!!!!!!! Yes, free, to Xbox Live Gold members that is. Sorry Silver members. Stream music right to your entertainment system with millions of songs at your disposal. Now I don't think of playing music on my Xbox much, but I can see it being a nice freebie to the whole Xbox Live Experience.

  • Netflix

Dashboard Instant Queue browser, much needed, will be given to users coming this fall. Thank god. Not that I minded it much, but still was very much needed. Instant play from the title image, not that I thought it really needed much more instant play than what it already has, but it’s not a bad added bonus. The U.K. and Ireland will also be added to those that will enjoy Netflix as we have here in the U.S.A. Not only that though, if you love Futbol, or Soccer as we call it here in the U.S.A., SkyNews will join Xbox Live allowing for live streaming of broadcasting or news and World Premiership Futbol right over Xbox Live. My father doesn't play video games, but this may just make him very interested in an Xbox.

  • Xbox Live Movie Library

Microsoft will now provide all of its movies available on Xbox Live in full 1080p, seamless streaming, and expanding its broadcasting up to 18 countries worldwide. PS3 has been displaying movies in full 1080p already, which makes you wonder why things are in reserve from the two companies. I mean, Xbox 360 could display movies in full 1080p, but the majority of games display in 1080p. And PS3 movies have been in 1080p, but yet the good majority of games only display in a max of 720p. Very odd indeed. Anyhow, for those of you that dumped your DVD libraries for Xbox live streamed movies, your movies will now be fuller, richer, and smoother. Now the one feature that was announced at last year's E3 with watching movies on Xbox Live I was looking forward to was the Movie Party feature where we were told that we would be able to form parties from all around the States and stream movies not just to our homes, but to those in our party. Well, that has not yet made its debut, but supposedly will make it’s appear this fall in an update. As happy I am to hear that, I have a question once again. Originally it was suppose to be a part of the Netflix integration, but they didn't mention if this feature would be only a part of Netflix, Xbox Live Movie Library, or both. Both would be great, but we'll have to see what it will really do for us.

In Microsoft's attempts to reach out to new users, Microsoft now brings us a new way of connecting to friends with Facebook Connect. Social Networking sites are hard to avoid this days, and Facebook appearing on iPhones, Blackeberry's, and such, perhaps it was just a matter of time. Honestly I kind of thought Microsoft would kind of do their own thing linking user profiles to a sort of gamertag site using www.xbox.com, but this is one better because in this case, Facebook has done the work for you. Facebook already their application to display achievements you gain while on Xbox Live, updated right to your Facebook account. Now people love taking pictures these days with cameras getting better and better so fast, they become almost obsolete as fast as computers do. But with Facebook Connect, you will be able to snap screenshots right to your Facebook for all your friends to see. As much as I come to use Facebook these days, I'm not sold on the idea that it will draw a new audience from Facebook users, though Felicia Day (creator and star of the online comedy show, "The Guild") is very cute in my opinion, makes me want to friend just to keep up on the developments and news of "The Guild". Most Facebook users are into it seems with updating their status, pictures of family or funny moments, and just chatting and messaging like other social networking sites. Will I use this? More than likely.

Along with Facebook Connect for more networking connectivity, why wouldn't Twitter join gaming consoles as well? I myself have only begun to use Twitter just recently, and as much as I didn't want to like it, I definitely find it useful and entertaining. While my growing appreciation of Twitter increases, meanwhile my gaming doesn't seem like it will ever stop, seeing Twitter on my Xbox Live will definitely bring my connection to friends both old and new, right from my Dashboard. Both Facebook Connect and Twitter come to Xbox Live this fall.

  • Metal Gear Solid Rising

Like last year when Square-Enix joined the gaming library of Xbox Live, we were graced with the lovely surprise that Konami will now bring the Metal Gear Solid series to Xbox Live. This is both shocking, and not so shocking at the same time. In the previous console war, Metal Gear was always to be thought to never cross the border between the two systems. But it was eye opening to hear that Konami would release Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty - Substance on the original Xbox. It eventually made its way to the PS2 over time, but was still something many thought was not possible with Kojima's faithfulness to Sony. This is not to say Kojima is not have faith in Sony as he clearly expressed in interviews that he felt the PS3 was the quintessential system to truly show the Metal Gear story in the best way. Graphical differences are definitely seen here and there in various cross-platform titles, but I feel one can agree that both systems run neck and neck in the strength of their graphical performance. But as for this teaser in which Hideo Kojima himself came out to announced declaring Raiden being the star of the game, it will be nice to bring this new expanded story of the Metal Gear saga to Xbox 360. As it makes me excited to see this, at the same time, I don't feel I will purchase this on 360 but rather PS3 which was later confirmed after the press conference that it would make its appearance on not just 360, but PS3 and PC. Perhaps I'm just to use to playing it on my PS2 and PS3, but it’s just where I'm more comfortable playing the game. But we'll see.

  • Xbox Natal

In the words of Darth Vader, "Most Impressive". When Nintendo came out with their motion sensitive controller upon the birth of the Nintendo Wii, and Sony delivering their Six-Axis controller to their audience, it was probably a matter of time before Microsoft would follow suit to create their own motion recognition device. Well at the close of their conference, they introduce Project Natal. An ingenious device, much like the Wii sensor bar that will rest on the top or base of your television, only with so much more. A camera, a sensor, and a microphone, but it’s not just that. If Skynet is anywhere close to realism, this would probably where it may originate. What's Microsoft headline with this? "You are the controller" is it. How does it work? The Natal is able to scan your body outline and therefore map it to your Xbox Live Avatar from which any time you sign in with your Xbox Live account, the Natal will automatically sign you with just standing in front it as soon as you turn on your Xbox 360. Your avatar itself will map to your body movements and can fully move with every measure of your body movement. As Kudo Tsunoda (Creative Director of Project Natal) demonstrated and said, "If you ever wondered what the bottom of an avatar's shoes looked like? Bam! There you have it." Fully body recognition, what can you say. No controller, navigate your dashboard with hand gestures, start games, and even play more intuitive avatar games. But this is not the end of it. With the use of the microphone, voice recognition is now capable. You will be able call up various parts, if not all, of the different aspects of dashboard by just saying something as simple as the word "Netflix", to initiate the application and others as well.

To go even deeper, I didn't think it was going to as far as they demonstrated. Kudo was great enough to show us a few more the ability of the Natal. First, he debuted the Avatar game, Ricochet, a fabulous reinterpretation of the simple breakout style games. His assistance, with her full body recognized avatar scope allowed her to not just maneuver her arms and legs, but every part of the body. Shaking her hips, squatting up and down, rotating her hands, even moving her head side to side, she was able to swat an onslaught of balls launched at her and return volleys to break the pieces in front of her. This looks not only like a good body workout moving about with virtually unlimited range of body motion, but a lot of fun. Kids will love it. The second item Kudo had demonstrated was Party Paint. A cute, fun family and friend’s party game. Imagine yourself 6 years-old, in front a huge canvas, with endless buckets of paint. Create colors just by asking for it. You want Brown, you got it. You want light blue, no problem. The demo had another of Kudo's associates virtually drenching his hands in virtual buckets of paint and just slapping hands full of paint to a canvas. Whether or not 2 users will be able to use the canvas as one time, remains to be seen, but in the demo, they demonstrated a cool tool called the stencil tool. Two or more users can join together to make shadow like stencil shapes to create cool new shapes or just about anything. Animals, trees, monsters, whatever. Just pose, say the word to freeze the stencil, then return to your canvas and place your newly created stencil. I can see a lot of family fun happening here, but like always, some fool will use it for some inappropriate purpose and probably get some politician get their underwear in bunches, but let's hope we can keep a happy medium on this.

These demos gave us a great insight into what the Natal can do, but also the trailer of the product itself showed game shows where a team of four, faced off against another team of four, and not just recognize which team was hitting their buzzer to answer the trivia question, but the person who rang the buzz, said their name, and responded as if talking to just another person sitting right next to them. More into the trailer we saw a skateboarding game that fully recognizes kick offs, jumps, grabs, kickflips, and grinds, without the use of a peripheral. Even more interesting was making use of the scanning feature allowing the young boy to scan his own skateboard deck imagine to use in the game. Also in the trailer, a driving game where a young girl grasps an invisible steering wheel and fully recognizing her movements to move her hand away from the virtual steering wheel and move the gear shift. Staying with the young girl in a later part of the reel, the girl initiates a video conference with a friend of hers where her friend states she found a great dress for her to try on. The young girl first interested wasn't sure what to think until her friend on the screen loaded up and imagine of the dress which allowed the young girl to map a makeshift imagine of the dress onto her person and displayed right on screen. How many of these trailer features are real? Only time will tell as it’s still too early to tell, but if it does function as it appears in the trailer, this will truly bring a new world of invention to the gaming industry.

The Natal truly amazed all audience members, but Microsoft had one more ace up their sleeve. Creator of the title Fable 2, Peter Molyneux came out to introduce his newest project, Milo. Milo is a fully interactive virtual child. Milo recognizes when you walk in front of the Natal, even calling you by name. He will not just recognize your voice, but the tone of your voice as well. Say something in a sad tone of voice, Milo looks concerned and begins to ask you questions like, "What's wrong?" Milo remembers things you tell him like birthdays of not just yours, but people you talk about. Milo makes use of the scanning feature in the demo, all this not live mind you, by having the user draw a picture in actual physical space, pass it forward to the Natal camera, and Milo will actually behave as if you are handing him a picture and you will see the piece of paper you just handed to him, watch him turn it around and show it to you just as you drew it. As a small but interest highlight on it, the paper wasn't just a stiff board, no. Milo was able to gently bend the picture with his hands and have it behave as it would the same way in your very hand. Whether or not Milo is something that will be available to the masses, it could be just a demonstration of the Natal's power.

With my next point, you may trend noticing a trend of mine point out how people can take a good idea, and turn it in something just horrible. What I mean by this is that with the Natal and Milo in mind, we can only pray that it doesn't fall in the hands of some pervert that would just abuse this awesome display of power to an unmentionable and terrifying nightmare where it would be stripped away from us, the faithful, the honorable, and the most appreciative of users. I just hate seeing things ruin by those few and making experiences like the Natal a horrible and corrupt version of itself. I guess I can kind of define this as a form of cheating, and to clarify my version of cheating, I define it as playing and manipulating games in a version other than intended. I myself have cheated a cheater to defile their cheating and hopefully making the game just as unenjoyable as he or she makes others feel. I've only done that several times and I usually either just find a new game to join, or play another game altogether for the time being. But bottom line, I like enjoying a game for the way it was intended. Why buy a game for $50 or $60, only to cheat it and beat it in the same day you bought it. I'm all about getting the most out of your game. Getting back on topic, Milo looked amazing. I can see Milo being a great educational tool where you could possibly load up applications into Milo where he can assist in tutoring children in school subjects, maybe even college level students with more sophisticated subjects like calculus. Perhaps Milo can link to automated systems with other voice recognition devices, or even act a computer assistant where he would behave like a web browser and call up web pages and he would fetch them for you. These are all good ideas, and I feel you can understand where my analogy of Skynet truly can take shape with the introduction of Milo. Though they made no mention as to when we may be able to get our hands on Natal, but they did say that when released, it will be included with Xbox bundles when finally sold to the general public.

Final Thoughts

Microsoft really came out guns blazing with their promise not to talk about sales figures and just show us all what they are all about, and that being, the games. And as mouth watering it was to see the entire press conference, quite a number of these titles we've already known about. We've seen the teasers to Modern Warfare 2, Halo: ODST, Rock Band: The Beatles, and Final Fantasy XIII, long before E3. As for other games such as Left 4 Dead 2, Crackdown 2 (still very excited to see it), and Tony Hawk Ride, though nothing has never really been seen referring to gameplay, and the rest of the conference, I don't feel the theme of the press conference was about new games, but new inventive gameplay techniques. We saw peripherals with Tony Hawk Ride. Nice new gameplay elements as in Alan Wake. Revitalizations of stories with games such as Splinter Cell: Conviction and Halo: ODST. Microsoft's trump card was definitely Project Natal with all these other titles really just showcasing the Xbox 360 itself.

Was I impression? Oh most definitely. Discussing with a number of friends of mine, Microsoft really didn't bedazzle us with new I.P.'s. Would I have loved to have seen gameplay of the new expansion of Gears of War 2: Dark Corners? Of course I would, but I don't have long to wait until I can get my very hands on in later this month. In my opinion, Microsoft just took their already well established and very refined Xbox Live Experience, and just made it better. This is all speculation as well since don't have clear release times of these Xbox Live features, but they did give us seasons. Some in the late summer, more in the fall, and probably most definitely more in the winter. The games will undoubtablely be there. If you've read this to its completion here, I hope you understand this from my point of view, Microsoft has cemented their foundation in the gaming industry. With more than 15 million Xbox Live users and supposedly more 25,000 users a month creating the largest most focused online gaming community, Microsoft is here to stay.

Much like Sony was rather laughed at when it unveiled its first Playstation, thinking what is an electronics manufacture doing getting into the gaming industry, Microsoft did virtually the same as they too were mocked, not only viewed as a monopolizing tyrant trying to take over another aspect of business, but also with the never-ending puns and jokes of creating a system that will probably just break. Perhaps it was karma that the red ring of death was not only quickly adopted to the original Xbox inheriting its name from the dreaded blue screen of death from regular Windows OS driven computers, but also passed onto the future with the Xbox 360. But for a system to carry so many problems that has even plagued me. I myself am on my 4th Xbox 360. But despite all of these problems, so many like me continue to come back to this system and just can't seem to stay away because not only are the games here, but the experience itself, connecting to friends, silly false sense of accomplishment with thousands of Xbox Live Achievements, intense heart pounding co-operative and brutally competitive games, Microsoft's Press Conference at this year's E3, definitely left me stunned, amazed, and as I said with just the Natal, impressed.

Is the Microsoft Press Conference the press conference to beat? We still have two more to go. So it’s not really fair to say right now. But I will say after Nintendo's rather showing last year, they have a lot to live up to with so many hardcore gamers feeling left out in the cold, I think it will take a lot for them to truly impress and out do Microsoft. As for Sony, I felt that last year’s press conference was shorter than they really wanted it to be with a lot of that rushed feeling. It was probably due to the lockdown that last year's E3 placed on the industry banning flashy presentations, higher booth costs, and even booth babes. We all loved seeing Little Big Planet, God of War 3 teaser, Resistance 2, and more, but Sony has definitely turned many of those felt let down by Sony when the PS3 was first release with the delay of Home and other games such as Killzone 2, developer issues with long installs and such, and so on, Sony I feel has won their audience back and more, and hopefully they continue as I own all systems and just really love games, I sure do hope they are dressed to impress, but Microsoft's Press Conference definitely has us looking very carefully to Nintendo and Sony for a great show.

Thanks for reading, and if you are looking for more E3 details and perhaps even more in-depth knowledge, please visit one of my favorite gaming news sites:

  • www.kotaku.com

And for another great community of gamers collectively looking for great deals and trading, please visit:

  • www.cheapassgamer.com

Another special thanks to G4TV for broadcasting E3 so I can bring this opinionative article. Please visit them at:

  • www.g4tv.com

Thanks again for reading. I'll be back with impressions of both the Nintendo and Sony Press conferences, as well as developer conferences such as EA, Ubisoft, and Activison.

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