Making the grade: Microsoft's E3 presentation
by Jared Rea 
{ Jul 11th 2007 at 9:05PM }
No matter the location or the format involved, everyone just wants to know who "won" this years E3 conference. Do you want to know who won? We all did. The closest thing to massive damage was Peter Moore's singing and even that was charming in its own unique way. The big three had a lot of great games to show off and quite frankly, it's going to be an incredible year.
"Unacceptable! Tell us which of our favorite major corporations won!"
So be it! Here we begin the first of our three part series, focusing on the E3 presentations of Sony, Nintendo and our first target, Microsoft. Jump in after the break as we cast the first stone of judgment!
Microsoft's choice to (for the most part) show only games that will see release this year brought forth a mixed reaction. On one hand, it was refreshing to see all the great titles that we'll be playing sooner than Duke Nukem Forever. On the other hand, we already knew about all this stuff! Still, their presentation was packed with high quality content. Kicking off the show with Rock Band was a great choice and from there, titles like Mass Effect, Lost Odyssey, Call of Duty 4 and of course, Halo 3, wowed the crowd. Far too many multiplatform titles for our tastes though.
Their Xbox Live Arcade showing was incredibly brief, though no less impressive. We caught our first glimpse of Bungie's Marathon: Durandal and Hexic 2's multiplayer looked fantastic. With games like Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Bomberman Live on the horizon, we would have liked them to take a bit more time with XBLA.
The first step on the road to recovery is admitting you have a problem. Microsoft's is that the Wii has been outpacing the Xbox 360 since it launched and it's quickly gaining ground. Seeing this up on a chart, during a Microsoft conference, with little spin, was actually quite refreshing.
Peter Moore stood on point, constantly giving us reasons to believe that this is truly the greatest lineup in video game history. Personally, we'd agree to this with only a slight exception: that we lump both Nintendo and Sony into this party as well. Seriously, our wallets are howling in pain just thinking about the rest of 2007.
This is more or less where they floundered as every major announcement couldn't be seen without a negative slant. Their partnership with Disney, while an incredible gain for the Xbox Live Marketplace, is also Microsoft's way of squirming around the fact that Disney has signed on with Sony and their Blu-Ray disc format and still has no solid plans to commit to HD-DVD as well.
We're honestly stoked about Scene It! coming to the Xbox 360, but they should have gone a bit more in-depth as to how it'll work with a live demonstration. Waving the admittedly goofy controller about in the air and quickly moving on felt too much like a stab towards casual ground, while secretly being ashamed of it. As for the Halo 3 themed Xbox 360 ... from one nation of Halo fans to another ... that is one ugly baby.
If Microsoft's conference were a Wikipedia entry, the top would read, "This entry needs more live gameplay. You can help by adding more live gameplay." The Call of Duty 4 demo was fantastic, but where was the Halo 3 demo? It went over brilliantly at E3 2004 and to close the show with just a (fantastic) trailer felt a bit disappointing. Still, the nervous laughter of Jade Raymond during the Assassin's Creed demo is a telling story on why all titles shouldn't be involved in this process.
Jeff Bell, we hereby revoke your Ghetto Pass on one count of blackcent in the presence of a fellow brother (see: above). We don't recall you telling us to "holla atcha boy" when you showed us Scene It! and we don't think you fooled Reggie Bush either. You slept on the couch last night for your shameful defense ... so let's call your sentence a house arrest and keep it to 20 feet around the perimeter of the couch. This court is adjourned.
The Grade
This years E3 presentations will be graded using our brand-new, highly scientific, Mega Man Rating System, in which all three are given titles based upon their performance. Microsoft's final grade is ...
MEGA MAN LEGENDS
You're a bit rough around the edges but no one is going to hold
that against you! You've got some magnificent content and gosh
darn it ... people like you! Besides, it only gets better from here!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
tituspullo @ Jul 11th 2007 9:07PM
Microsoft all the games they showed were real and all but 1 coming out this year!
Joshua @ Jul 11th 2007 9:27PM
Which was the problem. I wanted to see what MS had in store for the future. I already know about the games coming out this year.
Mr Khan @ Jul 11th 2007 11:02PM
aye, none of the big guys really showed anything long term. The closest things were Sony's Home philosophies and the potential of the Wii Balance Board
Patrick @ Jul 11th 2007 11:31PM
thats what tgs is for!
Hasney @ Jul 11th 2007 9:08PM
When they were all pretty shit and underwhelming, how can you say one conference won?
Banana Kid @ Jul 11th 2007 9:14PM
Wait...wouldn't the Mega Man Legends rating mean it was the greatest press conference ever?
BPM @ Jul 12th 2007 2:15AM
I'd say it would mean that. Legends was made of pure, 100%, unfiltered, not from concentrate WIN.
Shalex @ Jul 11th 2007 10:42PM
Best games... No surprises.... boreing conference.
vidGuy @ Jul 11th 2007 9:17PM
I'll say this in every thread:
MS+Nintendo > Sony
Sony put on a good show by themselves but I'm entirely underwhelmed (PSP, Home, few exclusive games) and I STILL don't see any reason to spend anywhere close to $500 for the thing. MS and Nintendo reaffirmed my obsession with their systems and made me all happy with video and release dates. I'm stoked for this fall.
hydralisk456 @ Jul 11th 2007 9:23PM
I agree wholeheartedly, frankly the SSBB date confirmation was enough from Nintendo for me. Microsoft was humble but did show off some great stuff, even if too much of it was multiplatform like Joystiq mentioned. That is to say that Sony's defiantly didn't suck, I just still don't have a reason to get a PS3 or PSP based on what they showed.
fwacce @ Jul 11th 2007 9:21PM
I'll say this in every thread:
Sony+Nintendo+MS altogether make video games. That's all.
Fanboys of any system just ruin it for everyone else looking to play a game.
Sami @ Jul 11th 2007 9:24PM
Wallets? What about our calendars? It's going to be tough finding enough time for all or even most of the interesting games.
blee @ Jul 11th 2007 9:26PM
What? MS and Nintendo had a merger?!?!...
oh.. that was just another "wii360" thing.. I think Nintendo announcing release dates for their biggest games and officially announcing kart was awesome! Exciteeed..
But Sony.. with Killzone 2 panning out and MGS4.. takes the cake this year at min-e3..
NintendoFanbot @ Jul 11th 2007 9:44PM
My favorite corporation, Miyamoto Co. Ltd. won.
OR ELSE
Brandon @ Jul 11th 2007 9:45PM
I was slightly annoyed by their token stab to acquire a couple of casual fans by showing Scene it, with yet another even more simplified controller. And yet another viva pinata game that hardly anyone wants.
They should just admit that they are a "FPS/Smattering -of-other-stuff" system and just cater to the fans that dont mind that.
NintendoFanbot @ Jul 11th 2007 9:50PM
By showing Scene It and laying out Viva Pinata MS confirmed the true winner, from last year, at least.
But they're able to talk about competing with Nintendo without smack-talk so I don't have a problem with them.
Go Wii60!
Sony had a good showing but something tells me they spent A LOT of money simply for hype, what with Chewbacca appearances and all.
cc123 @ Jul 11th 2007 9:54PM
If your a gamer:
Sony first place, Microsoft a close second, and Nintendo dead last
If your an overweight housewife with 5 toddlers:
Nintendo first place, MS and Sony tied for last
Rubang B @ Jul 12th 2007 2:16AM
I'm 24, I'm not overweight, I have no kids, and I am more interested in Nintendo's games at this point in time, as their current gaming philosophy is more in tune with my own. You are a troll of the worst kind. Your comment could be summed up as "I like Sony and Microsoft but I hate Nintendo and thought the internet should know."
Shane @ Jul 12th 2007 3:00AM
That sounds more like a shot at Wii Fit than the Wii in general. How anyone could consider Wii Fit a game is beyond me. I am all for Nintendo's big franchises but some of this casual stuff is just getting silly.
Neebs @ Jul 11th 2007 10:00PM
By far, the Sony presentation was the best of them all. Microsoft? We already know what you do. Nintendo? You HAVE betrayed us, you are about balance and BMIs now. Sony? Games mother****ers! Check out all this crap we got for you! Check out home! Look, a ****ing Wookie! Kaz laughs at him own misfortune! Oh ho ho ho ho!.
This comes from a PC Gamer who owns a Wii. Which competes with his PC for games, and any Wii games SHALT BE GIFTS.
bigd7387 @ Jul 11th 2007 10:06PM
Ok this is why I hate MS. I am on a fixed income and now that this has happened I don't know what I have left to sell? I mean I still need my other kindey from the Halo 3 pre-order and with Two Worlds, BioShock, PGR4, Forza 2 either already out or coming out all thats left is blood and to be honest I'm feeling a little woozy.
bucklam66 @ Jul 11th 2007 10:09PM
they all did a good job at focusing on the present. I was slightly disappointed with nintendo but overall they
all did pretty well.
For anyone expecting major announcements this is not the purpose of the new e3 it was more about positioning themselves to retailers for the holidays.
James @ Jul 11th 2007 10:11PM
Just put it this way: if Sony's Press Conference was first, and all that Rock Band, Assasin's Creed, RE5, etc. etc. etc. was thus old news, Microsoft would have gotten laughed out of Santa Monica High. There is a reason they went before Sony: Sony had most of what they had, and more.
Lord Chako @ Jul 11th 2007 11:36PM
I really don't think MS should be dogged for only showing games that are coming out this year. X07 will probably be when they show what is in store for the year(s) to come.
I do agree though about XBLA. In my opinion, they should have spent more time with XBLA and whats in store/demos.
Instead we got to watch Cliffy play GOW PC. Whats the point of holding out on the ending, when you already showed us the boss and how to beat him?
Lucky @ Jul 11th 2007 10:32PM
I heard the naruto game there makeing is acculy spoess to be realy good.
o____o
BPM @ Jul 12th 2007 2:18AM
An anime game good? Impossible!
dontlikeitmodit @ Jul 11th 2007 10:41PM
I think most of the buzz was Killzone 2. Not that is the best game, who can say at this point, but it had very little talk around it save for a a screen shot a day before.
As to who won? I did. As a gamer with consoles and PCs I won the mofo conference.
360 had some goods, Wii had some goods, and PS3 had some goods. If I had to rate it it would be Sony, just because they showed us what was coming, games we hadn't seen much of before.
MS used this E3 as a press release, showcasing games we already knew about, and showing us 'comparison' number (Which I thought was tacky. Show us what you have, not what you've done).
Nintendo showed some new stuff, perhaps not things that I was terribly interested in. but things that looked like expansion on those ideas could lead to some kickass shiznits.
All talked about their sales, MS the most, Sony the least. All talked about new games, MS the least known about, Nintendo and Sony a tie.
MS had no new hardware and with the exception of 720p Disney movies nothing worth noting about on Live.
I would have to place them as far as what was new in the order of Sony, Nintendo, and lastly MS.
Robert @ Jul 11th 2007 10:53PM
So am I the only one who was intrigued by the "32-person multiplayer" that Reggie was talking about in that MoH game?
Because that could be the beginning of "serious" online play for Nintendo if it's what I think it is.
samfish @ Jul 11th 2007 11:07PM
If I were to rank it in in order of who showed the most games that interest me, the order would be Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft.
In terms of who had the most good news for hardcore gamers, it would be Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft. I put Microsoft last because there weren't exactly putting the 'new' in 'news', overall.
In terms of who's was the most fun to watch/listen to (IE- presentation), I would put it Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony.
Really, all 3 of them were lackluster and bordered upon being insanely boring, except when Nintendo livened it up with Reggie on the balance board thingy.
There wasn't a single bombshell dropped. The closest we got was, to me, either Mario Kart online or Infamous. But Mario Kart everyone was basically expecting; and with Infamous there just isn't nearly enough info to get EXCITED for the game at this point, but it looks like it could be cool.
I was let down by Microsoft, really. Not really any of the games they're releasing this year appeal to me, but some of their future games DO appeal to me greatly but they got barely a mention, if one at all.
This coming from a guy who's basically LOOKING for an excuse to buy a 360 at this point...but they did nothing to justify it for me.
Tony @ Jul 11th 2007 11:11PM
I'm not sure why people just need to know what will be happening six months from now or they just won't be happy.
We already know a bunch of games are coming then. Fable 2, Too Human, Silent Hill 5, Soul Calibur 4, Alan Wake, etc, etc... then there's the stuff that's barely been talked about, like the next Banjo. It's not like MS has this blank slate for 2008... but as far as I'm concerned, they can talk about that at their own MS-centric convention later this year and when 2008 finally rolls around.
From MS's POV I don't know why they really need or would want to do anything but push that MS is the thing to own NOW. There's a strong chance that I'm still going to be seeing things like Killzone 2 at E3 next year. That's not very exciting either.
Car2oon @ Jul 11th 2007 11:17PM
OMFG Megaman Legends FTW!!! I'm hoping The Misadventures of Tron Bonne and Megaman Legends 2 are also part of this rating system :)
Che @ Jul 11th 2007 11:27PM
Who won? Gamers.
Darkbhudda @ Jul 11th 2007 11:43PM
I'm not surprised Microsoft only showed games being released in the near future.
Last year or the year before Microsoft copped a lot of flak for showing longer term releases rather than focusing on what was coming out that year. So much flak that they announced a rethinking of strategy.
vgxtremist @ Jul 12th 2007 2:08AM
I kinda feel Sony won because they were able to recover from last year's E3 disaster...MS and Nintendo failed to deliver a deathblow that they were quite capable of to Sony. No MGS4 or FFXIII for 360 was big to me. Nintendo was fine with a SSBB release date, but I feel I wanted more than a fitness pad...still as someone else said, the reality is the only winner is gamers.
Romano Uni @ Jul 12th 2007 6:01PM
I also agree that GAMERS are the winners of this battle. I wish APPLE wiuld enter the battle and start kicking some serious butt.
Rubang B @ Jul 12th 2007 2:34AM
This year the winner was fatties. Imagine a fatty who has a Wii with Wii Sports, DDR Hottest Party (for cardio), and Wii Fit to track their progress and tie everything together. The Wii will get even more mainstream media coverage. Remember all those pieces about retirement homes buying Wiis for bowling and golf? It's going to be just like that, times a billion. There are more fat people than old people in the United States! I don't know how that's possible, but I uh, swear it is. And get this, in the U.S., there's even FAT OLD PEOPLE.
Nintendo won. Let's see a old fatty playing Halo 3 or a fat oldie playing MGS4. When you snag the fat old people, you win the whole shebang.
FEDELE @ Jul 12th 2007 6:02PM
This post forgot to mention Gears of War for Vista which looked absolutely amazing and now is making me upgrade my system, but it also forgot the complete Games for Windows line up. Joystiq is a SONY/PS3 LOVER!!!!!!!!!!!
megaStryke @ Jul 12th 2007 9:01AM
Nobody "won" this year. They just exuded various levels of suck, and one happened to suck less than the others. That one, for me, would probably be Sony.
Zeruel @ Jul 12th 2007 9:43AM
This is what happens when you move an event that has been traditionally held in May and move it to July. The news of what will come out for the holiday season will still come out in May.
This is also what happens when you broadcast the press conference to the masses via G4 - they don't want to spend time talking on air about games that will not be out in 07, let alone 08. Last thing we need to have people rushing to Gamestop the next day trying to preorder Too Human .
David Costin @ Jul 12th 2007 11:28AM
Disney movies?! Are you kidding me ... you mean, just like the ones in the iTunes store ... with a different interface? Oh, hello again, Apple.
Phazon @ Jul 12th 2007 10:30PM
I like Nintendo and I love their franchises. They didn't announce any games for the core gamer this year. Don't you dare say Mario Kart Wii either. That series is so devoid of any innovation that it pains me to play it. Nintendo lost this year. They won with the casual gamer crowd but us core gamers who want the franchises we love, I'm saddened.
Microsoft had an awesome press conference but no new games announced was kind of disappointing. I want some new Banjo-Threeie news dammit!
Sony won in my opinion. They saved face and showed some great stuff. Echodrone was enough for me. MGS4 and Killzone were just icing on the cake. The Chewbacca appearance was kind of cheesy but everything else was pretty stellar.