Microsoft turned some heads at E3 with some big Xbox 360 announcements, most notably a new camera-based control scheme, deep social media integration and some killer games including Halo: Reach, Left 4 Dead 2 and Metal Gear Solid: Rising. Here's a round-up of the news:
- Twitter, Facebook and Last.fm integration launches in the fall. Last.fm is free for Gold members, the rest should be free for all.
- A new 3D depth and motion-sensing camera/microphone peripheral dubbed Project Natal will include face and voice recognition. But will your kids be able to sign in as you by holding a photo in front of it?! Demos showed a full-body fighting game, racing with a virtual wheel and pit stops where another player can change your tires using pantomime - as well as non-gaming uses such as video chat.
- On demand games will launch in August. It's not known which titles will be released or how long it will take before A-list games will be made available, just that you won't need Microsoft points - a credit card will suffice.
- Netflix will be upgraded this fall to include Xbox Live Party (that launch feature that was delayed last minute) plus movie browsing and queue management directly from your console.
- Avatars will be getting new clothes, props and, finally, their own Marketplace where you can pay for a virtual wardrobe.
- Alan Wake is finally due in spring 2010.
- Crackdown 2 is due in 2010 and will include competitive multiplayer (as well as co-op).
- Final Fantasy XIII is due 2010.
- Forza Motorsport 3 is due in October with a new video editing mode.
- Gears of War 2: Dark Corners will be available as downloadable add-on July 28. It adds a new chapter for campaign mode and seven new multiplayer maps.
- Halo 3 ODST will cost $60 (or $100 with a special edition controller) this September and offer campaign, co-op, three new multiplayer maps and all of the previous maps you may have already bought, plus a key to get into the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta. Speaking of which...
- Halo: Reach is due fall 2010. That's all we know, except that it will help sell a lot more copies of Halo 3 ODST and reduce their first-year resale circulation.
- Joy Ride is a free MMO racing game that makes use of avatars and will be monetized by selling you downloadable add-ons such as tracks, modes and items.
- Lego Harry Potter, long rumored, is happening.
- Left 4 Dead 2 is coming November 12 with deeper co-op (whatever that means) plus melee combat with new weapons such as chainsaw, bat, frying pan and axe.
- Metal Gear Solid: Rising is a new game that features Raiden, which seems to be how Hideo Kojima got around Solid Snake's PS3 exclusivity. This new title is not (as far as we know) exclusive.
- Modern Warfare 2, due Nov. 10, will include battles using snowmobiles and will get two Xbox 360 exclusive map packs.
- Shadow Complex, a new twist on side scrollers set in Orson Scott Card’s Empire universe, is coming to Xbox Live Arcade.
- Splinter Cell Conviction is no longer MIA. It's due as an Xbox 360 exclusive this fall.
- Tony Hawk: Ride features a new skateboard controller that no longer has you pressing buttons to do amazing tricks. Now you have to manage a real board - well, a motion-sensing controller shaped like a real board, actually.
- The Beatles: Rock Band, due September 9, will include "Back In The USSR," "Day Tripper," "Get Back", "Here Comes The Sun," "I Am The Walrus," "I Feel Fine," "Octopus' Garden" and "Tax Man." Abbey Road will be the first downloadable album, released shortly after launch, and "All You Need Is Love" will be added as a download to support Doctors Without Borders. The rest of the details are still fuzzy, but there's a great video from the game to whet your appetite:
"Splinter Cell Conviction as XBox 360 exclusive"
This is being reported by a couple different media outlets, but I've yet to find any Ubisoft support for it (I'm a PC-first guy and have been counting on a PC release). The best source I can find is the developer walkthrough, released today featuring some on-site footage from an Ubisoft Montreal guy, who very clearly says at the end, "on XBox 360 and PC".
http://www.gamersyde.com/stream_11149_en.html
Actually now that I'm going through it, Kotaku's liveblog of the Ubisoft press conference even mentions it, at 7:12.
http://kotaku.com/5274638/liveblogging-ubisofts-e3-press-conference
in response to the prior comment i watched the ubisoft conference and saw no mention of exclusivity.
Idk if you got a chance to try out the 1 vs 100 beta game last night but if not I highly suggest getting in on it come saturday 8pm est. Was one of my most enjoyed gaming experiences of the year so far.
It's exclusive - see the official fact sheet:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/4/A/A4A457B3-DF5D-4BF2-AD4E-963454BA0BCC/SC5_fact_sheet.zip
Of course, exclusive usually means console exclusive, which means PC may not be included in that. And we all know exclusive means the game will probably come out on the PS3 six months later with bonus features.
Aw, who the heck knows anymore. That document even seems to contradict itself, with, right under the Ubisoft logo at the top:
"Presents: XBox 360
___________PC"
And then in the first paragraph of text it says "Coming exclusively to Xbox 360".
So you've got a Microsft source which seems to contradict itself, and two different Ubisoft reps in two different recorded video clips each saying "360 and PC" (the end of my earlier link and at the 75:00 mark here), and then the official Ubisoft site for the game only has the XBox 360 logo at the bottom (where it should have logos for all systems for which it's coming out).
Seriously, I give up. I'm not going to believe anything I see/hear/read anymore on this and just wait for release day and see what Newegg lets me put in my shopping cart.
Here's what intrigued me about the Xbox 360 press event. A lot. Partly because I'm invested in the platform, and some of the new dashboard features look good. Like Facebook and Twitter. Microsoft really seems to get community integration.
Will get or consider:
The Beatles: Rock Band
Halo ODST
Crackdown 2
Left 4 Dead 2
Lego Harry Potter
Forza Motorsport 3
Project Natal needs to prove itself to me, but if it works as advertised I'd probably get it.