Microsoft E3 2008 Press Conference Summary
A Synopsis of Microsoft's Preview into Xbox 360's Upcoming Year
Microsoft’s display of previews and updates for their next year included in-game previews of major titles, a redesigned dashboard, and Netflix compatibility. Parts of Microsoft’s show integrated numbers and anticipation for the future of the Xbox 360, though Don Mattrick’s speeches felt somewhat unoriginal and dry. Aside from the originality, Microsoft’s lineup of games was certainly not dry and could potentially drive up system sales.
Exclusive Strength & Updated Dashboard
Gears if War 2 is expected to be one of the games driving sales on the 360 and Epic Game’s Design Director Cliff Blezinski’s presented why it will bring back fans for another episode of intense action. A key feature to GOW2 is Horde, in which up to five players can fight off waves of increasingly hard enemies until they lose. Fable 2, in addition to the game’s “choose-your-own-adventure” style, it will also allow for another player on Live to connect to the other player’s world and roam around.
One of the biggest announcements was the overhaul of the blade system of the 360 dashboard. The appearance is similar to Windows Media Center, with scrolling text menu on top and side scrolling windows in the middle. 360 owners can move through menus of games, pictures, downloads, and the upcoming Netflix integration for Netflix subscribers.
Non-Exclusive Strength
Though Microsoft does not hold any exclusivity towards some of the titles that were shown, it was still entertaining and informative to watch demo footage and learn more information about many of the games displayed for the 360. The first game shown was Fallout 3 from Bethesda Studios, which demonstrated some of the weaponry in the game and the setting of post-apocalyptic Washington, D.C. Harmonix President and CEO Alex Rigopulos announced Rock Band 2’s 84 song list and DLC content for Xbox Live. Resident Evil 5 displayed the newly announced co-op mode by previewing one of the levels from the game.
A surprise announcement cam from Square-Enix Yoichi Wada, when he said that Final Fantasy XIII, a popular exclusive series for Sony, was going onto the Xbox 360 lineup as well. In addition to dealing a hefty blow to Sony, Microsoft may also gain some much needed appeal in Japan, where the 360 trails in sales.
Strength through Non-Originality?
While the display of highly anticipated titles and new Xbox features are a welcome addition to the future of the Xbox 360, it’s important to point out that virtually nothing shown felt or looked truly original to the Xbox. It’s almost as though Microsoft has identified their competitor’s strong points and copied them into their system. For example, the new dashboard plays of the avatar system originally made popular on the Wii, and upcoming Home for Playstation 3, the Portal expansion was originally made famous for the PC, and all of the exclusive titles shown were only sequels. There were also some surprising no shows, like Halo Wars and Mirror’s Edge, which couldn’t make it into the conference. (But how did a pop singer for the new Lips game make it into the show instead?)
None of these factors will bring down Microsoft’s system; in fact, it’s more than likely to greatly succeed in the next year. But as Sony and Nintendo have shown, new content and original design are becoming an appealing factor among consumers. Eventually, Microsoft will have to come up with something that neither the Wii nor Playstation 3 can offer to stay in the game.
