I didn't mean to imply that I'm attending E3, because I'm not. All the press conferences are being broadcast live at my office (which furie got a tour of last week), as are all other major goings-on at the event.
I also don't believe that the Lionhead Project Natal demo reflects just how it will work from day 1, but as Microsoft has shown in the past, it will get there eventually (even though they have the demo up & running behind closed doors at E3 - wish I could be one of the lucky ones to give it a go).
TBH, I love the idea of being able to actually play a game of FIFA by actually dribbling & kicking. Anything beyond that is just gravy.
Having face recognition (and the ability to navigate the dashboard without a controller) is also pretty cool. Can you imagine a shooter or horror title where the enemy AI can recognize fear from your facial expressions? I'm sure programmers will take full advantage of that when the time comes.
So continuing with the press conference rundown, I liked the 'mark & execute' ability in Splinter Cell Conviction as well as several of the new in-game gadgets.
Next up was Forza 3 which boasts an all-new graphics engine, 400 cars from 50 manufactures, one button driving, gameplay rewind assist & player-created content.
That was followed by Halo 3:ODST, which is set before the start of Halo 3 where players take on the role of a rookie orbital drop shock trooper separated from his team. The game will feature two new sound-suppressed weapons, low light vision mode, the 'firefight' co-op game mode & a pistol with a zoom shot (a la the original Halo pistol). The story uses flashbacks to multiple characters in order to piece together a mystery. The games launches September 9 & includes an invitation to the Halo Reach multiplayer beta. ODST might just be what the Halo franchise needs to keep it on top of the xbox gaming world, at least until Halo Reach releases in 2010.
An Alan Wake demo was next up, which looked better than I expected. The use of light as a weapon could make for some very interesting gameplay.
Then came the last.fm, Netflix & SKY announcements. The announcements confirmed all content will be streamed in full 1080p with no downloads or delays and can be shared with friends who do not subscribe or have to pay for the premium content via the 'Live Party' worldwide viewing parties.
The facebook & twitter announcements followed, with the ability to use the 'friend linker' to see all your xbox friends & facebook friends together plus have the ability to invite facebook friends to be xbox friends as well or vice versa. You'll also be able to post in-game screenshots (with text) to your facebook profile in real time, which will make showing off your latest achievements a snap.
Next up was Hideo Kojima's announcement that the entire MGS franchise will be coming to the 360 & that the next installment, titled Metal Gear Solid: Rising, will feature Raiden.
Then came the Project Natal announcement to finish up the press conference. Using your body (with voice recognition) as a controller has been a rumor for quite a while now, but I didn't expect them to be so ambitious with it. The fighting, racing & footy demos were what I expected (and I liked the cheap shot at the Wii controller - "this isn't a game where you can use some pre-set waggle commands"), but if they can pull off most of what Peter Mollyneux was describing then it could well change the way we play all games in the future.
Here are some facts & figures on why MGS (& other PS exclusives) are making the switch to Xbox:
1. CoD WaW sold 1.41 million units on the 360 vs 597k on the PS3
2. GTA sold 1.85 million units on the 360 vs 1.05 million on the PS3
3. Madden NFL 09 sold 1 million units on the 360 in the 1st month of release vs 643k on the PS3
The majority of 360 owners site the higher number of titles available & xbox live as the main reason for choosing it over the PS3 or Wii, not the price factor. The majority also choose the longevity of games on xbox due to increased DLC on XBL:
1. There was a 220% increase of DLC for 2009
2. There was a 62% increase in DLC game add-ons
3. There were a total of 516 pieces of additional game content for the 360
I'll be back later to post details on the EA & Ubisoft updates and again tomorrow for the Sony & Nintendo press conferences.