Microsoft E3 press conference: LIVE blog
Posted by Ramon Aranda on 07.10.2007
411mania's coverage of the Microsoft media briefing.
Hello and good evening everyone, I'll be LIVE blogging the Microsoft press conference which is set to begin at 8:30pm Pacific time.
Don't forget to refresh your page frequently!
5:11pm: We've just arrived to the Santa Monica High School Auditorium, where the Microsoft E3 press conference is going to be held. Apparently they're not letting anyone in just yet, so we'll have to wait until 7:30p.
6:28pm: We're sitting at the swank little Double Tree Hotel just around the corner from Santa Monica High School. An odd place for a hotel don't ya think? Prom must be fun for these kids... (Sorry for the long time before updates, but until we get into the auditorium, there's not much need for quicker updates..stay tuned).
7:37pm: They finally open the doors to the high school. This place is pretty large. I hope we don't have to sit in an auditorium like 6th graders, but the outside looks kinda cool. Green lights everywhere.
7:40pm: Time to go inside the "auditorium". As we file inside, I'm pleasantly surprised that it's not an indoor auditorium but rather an amphitheatre. Looks really nice out here as they have padded cushions for you to sit on and some bottled water. The stage is lit up with lights, tvs and a huge screen in the middle. The walkway is surrounded by water. Very nicely done.
Yours truly (Ramon Aranda) waiting for Tommy Coloma
7:52pm: It's starting go fill up pretty fast and I'm suprised by the amount of reporters in attendance. I was expecting a small amount of people but I was wrong..so wrong. Where the hell is Tommy Coloma? My partner in crime is lagging.
8:02pm: Tommy has arrived...he's lucky I saved him a seat. The reporters continue to pour in. I like this outdor area as it was pretty hot today so at least we get to enjoy a little cool breeze now. Lots of camera crews setting up; it looks like we're getting ready for a concert out here. There's some hot chicks in the crowd...very nice, I love L.A.
We're sorry folks but the Wi-Fi connection inside the amphitheatre suddenly cut out and would not come back for quite some time. Being the professional that I am, I kept on blogging so here ya go :)
8:35pm: Peter Moore comes out and promises that every demo and trailer shown today will be released this year. A group from developer Harmonix comes out and shows off "Rock Band". The team, including Peter Moore rock out and show us a demo of the game. It looks fun as hell as all three of them get down. Controllers include a guitar,microphone and drum set.
8:42pm: Peter announces Party Animals which will be the sequel to the hit Viva Pinata.
8:45pm: Another Mass Effect trailer is shown.
8:47pm: Peter speaks on the latest sales figures. The Microsoft install base is way ahead of Nintendo and Sony though since the release of the Wii and PS3, the Wii is ahead in sales. Number of third party titles in the top 10 of sales are 0 for Sony and nintendo.
8:53pm: Jeff Bell arrives on the scene. He says he's going to show us why the 360 is the pace to be for the entire family. Announces the game adaptation of the board game "Scene It". It comes with a new controller....it looks like a baby marracas. Four controllers included for this specific game.
8:56pm: Jeff announces that the next iteration of EA Sports titles will run at twice the speed. Reggie Bush comes out of nowhere to talk about Madden 08. It's gonna be Jeff vs. Reggie (Bush that is) Two plays later, Reggie runs over Jeff using himself and scores the TD....funny stuff as the crowd cheers on.
9:03pm: Talks commence regarding Xbox Live Arcade. New additions to the family says Jeff...let's see what they are.....Bomberman Live! Ubertow, Hexic 2 (say whaaa), Sonic the Hedgehog, War World, Sensible World of Soccer, Every Extended Extra Extreme, Geon, Wing Commander Arena, Feeding Frenzy, Spyglass Board Games, Golden Axe, Track & Field (holy crap), Space Giraffe, Super Puzzle Fighter II: HD, World puzzle, Marathon, Poker Smash, Switchball, Tetris Splash, Puzzle Quest, Soduko (that's a lot of freakin' games right there). Sonic and Golden Axe are available tonight!
9:06pm: Jeff announces that Disney has signed on to provide content for the Marketplace which includes movies both animated (ie. Hercules) and blockbuster flicks....all available tonight. Starting this fall, the content will be available in Canada and europe. On August 24th, Xbox 360 Elite will come to Europe.
9:11pm: Shane Kim makes his appearance as the Corporate VP and Head of Microsoft Game Studios. He's here to talk about games. Tells us that he's job is better than Bill Gates. He talks about the 360's titles getting critical acclaim and making lots of moniez. PGR4 comes up and we get a demo...graphically is loosk pretty amazing...we get a demo of the rain effects. Theyre using a motorcycle and showing off some moves....you can taunt w/the bike rider. you can show off videos and photos w/ur buddies. Shane Kim "loves PGR".
9:16pm: Shane goes over some titles in development like Halo Wars, Fable 2, Lost Odyssey and Too Human. We get a trailer for Lost Odyssey. Looks like an epic of a game. Announcement that Gears of War and Viva Pinata is coming to Games for Windows this holiday. GoW will have a game editor and some new content. Cliffy B hits the stage.
9:20pm: Cliffy gets Gow up and running on his PC. He gets his homey Rod to join in. five new chapters, new
achievements, new maps and you get to fight the Brewmac (spelling?). Cliffy shows us a battle scene against that large s.o.b.
9:24pm: SEGA, Eidos and THQ have signed on to do Games for Windows LIVE which also includes EPIC Games' Unreal Engine 3. EA will finally get into Games for Windows. We get a video with trailers for Crysis, Hellgate London flight simulator X and Age of Empires III: the Asian Dynasty to name a few. Crysis looks amazing!
9:30pm: We get an extended trailer for Call of Duty 4 which looks like good times! I'm surprised there's not Army of Two trailer up in here. My ass hurts now...cushion or no cushion. Two dudes from Infinity Ward come out to hype Call of Duty 4, and now we get an actual demo. Some teamate creeps out from in ftont of you. He was hiding in the bushes below your feet...I didn't even see that fool!
9:38pm: Peter comes back and shows us a GTA IV trailer that's already on the net (nothing new). Speaks on the episodic content next year.
9:40pm: Peter says he's got one more trailer but taht this game wont' be out thsi year........drum roll please....holy crap its a Resident Evil 5 trailer and it look gnarly!!!!! The crowd goes bananas! July 26th, you'll be able to download the full trailer.
9:42pm: A guy and a very hot girl from Ubisoft come out to show us a demo of Assassin's Creed. It's about time we get some footage. They are showing the main character jumping all over buildings. suddently we have murder...a guy gets thrown off a building as a diversion...geeze...this guy is a jerk! The game has all sorts of bugs but its making us laugh....its ok Ubisoft..we know its early....still looks fun to play. Now its time for a fight scene...and they are parrying and counter attacking in a way that would make Link proud.
9:51pm: Peter Moore starts talking about Halo 3 again and reveals the Halo 3 Special Edition Xbox 360...not bad not bad...better not cost more than that Elite though. Peter closes the conference by thanking everyone and reiterating that the 2007 lineup will be the hottest ever.
...Oh and we get one more Halo 3 trailer that shows off some improved graphics....looking better guys! Check out the Xbox Live Marketplace.
And there you have it folks....now enjoy this picture of our very own Tommy Coloma with some E3 swag. They are the cushions we sat on so I hereby dub them "Ass Shwag".
Goodnite and see you tomorrow morning for Nintendo and Sony's press conferences.
