Microsoft’s E3 2010 press conference heralded a glut of announcements, such as the full Kinect launch details, lineup and the first glimpses of the rapidly-approaching Xbox 360 Slimline Console.
Yet despite these announcements, reaction to the media briefing was subdued, with views ranging from Microsoft producing a solid but unspectacular show to core gamers outraged that the US giant had abandoned its traditional consumer base.
If there’s one thing we can safely say, however, is that we actually got a lot of our predictions right with our conference preview last week. Microsoft did go into Project Natal-overdrive (now renamed Kinect) and indeed our Xbox360 Slim “Crazy Rumour†came to fruition. However that’s not a boastful statement on our behalf – we figured these things would happen, but we did hold hope that there were still some big surprises in store. Sadly there wasn’t, and it appears Microsoft’s journey for the rest of the year has taken a very sharp turn towards the Wii’s casual gamer audience.
It was revealed that Microsoft Kinect will hit stores on 4 November with 15 confirmed launch titles, though crucially no official pricing has yet been revealed.
Quick Recap:
Call of Duty: Black Ops trailer was shown to open the show. Activision then announced all downloadable content for Call of Duty games will come to Microsoft consoles first. Hideo Kojima showcased a trailer of Metal Gear Solid: Rising. Gears of War 3 showcased. Fable 3 trailer was shown. Halo Reach was shown.
Ah, it had all begun so well.
Kinect Hub was then shown – a demonstration was given showing how the Xbox interface can be navigated through gesture controls and voice. Awful acting followed as two girls showcased live video chat and shared movies. ESPN then announced a deal to show its sports on Xbox Live. Kinect Animals followed – developed by Rareware, a virtual pet Kinect launch title. Looked surprisingly good.
Kinect Sports was shown next (two people ran on the spot doing hurdles) also developed by Rareware. Kinect Joyride followed, an awful looking stunt racer. Kinect Adventures rounded off the roster of first-party titles, features highlighted included rapid racing and a feature where Kinect can take a photo of you mid-race, similar to being on a rollercoaster. Ubisoft’s YOURSHAPE – Fitness Evolved followed and the JOE team was slowly losing will to live.
Name came an overly long demonstration of YOURSHAPE, Dance Central by Rock Band creators Harmonix. It looked great, though (see page 2). Star Wars and Forza Kinect followed, though few key details were revealed. The show reached a crescendo when Xbox360 Slimline was introduced and Microsoft gave EVERYONE in the audience the free console.
Highlights:
Xbox360 Slimline Console – Now this we like. Not only did Microsoft announce a sexy, sleek “Slimline†Xbox360, but they revealed that the machine packs a whopping 250GB hard drive and built in Wi-Fi connectivity for enhanced online performance. Most surprisingly, Microsoft “did an Apple†and announced the console was shipping the day of the announcement in the US. Us European folk will have to wait until July 16. You can pre-order yours here. The US giants then gave away a free console to each journalist in the theatre, a smart but cynical positive-coverage-ensuring move that would make even Oprah blush.
We did anticipate a slim iteration of the console last week, but we expected it to be a substitute of the cheaper Xbox Live Arcade version and for it to be bundled with the Kinect motion platform. In contrast, the Slimline Console will be £199 (roughly around €250 we expect) and no official pricing was revealed for Kinect – begging the question of how much do Microsoft expect casual gamers to spend to start playing their new casual titles? If Kinect costs over €100 or even €150, can we really expect our nans and girlfriends to spend €400 to pet their virtual tigers this Christmas?
Dance Central – Yesterday we were somewhat dismissive of what we assumed was another “Just Dance-alike†rhythm game but after the E3 showcase of Dance Central, we realised we couldn’t be more wrong. Developed by Rock Band creators and all-round geniuses Harmonix, Dance Central fully replicates the player’s dance moves on-screen and allows them to build up their dance skills and learn new moves.
Sure, Dance Central won’t be for everyone but it was far and away the most technologically advanced Kinect title debuted and after a few beers, we’d have no hesitations in attempting a couple of ill-advised break dancing moves, furniture and house pets be damned. With the current reality TV street-dancing craze seemingly without end, expect Dance Central to receive a huge promotional boost come Christmas too. More importantly, we’re big fans of Harmonix’ effort because it truly demonstrated gameplay that is only possible with Kinect.
Halo Reach – Halo ODST, as nice as it was, was accused by some of being a bit same-old, same-old. With the announcement of Halo Reach, many were expecting a full-on reboot and a whirlwind of new gameplay ideas. Initial details on Reach didn’t sound quite so promising but the E3 trailer did much to dispel naysayers, with the extremely intriuging prospect of third-person space battles.
Lowlights:
Derivative Kinect titles – As we stated in our previous Kinect announcement feature: “Microsoft have clearly decided to full-on target the Wii demographic with their launch lineup, though it’s an odd decision to attempt this by providing the same experiences, albeit in HD and controller-free.” Sadly the first real-time demonstrations of the Kinect launch titles did little to dispel these notions.
Whilst gesture control of the Xbox interface is hugely exciting and forward-thinking, the Kinect software lineup seems very stuck in the past, more specifically with Nintendo’s past and proven successes of the last few years. Natal full capabilities were demonstrated at the 2009 E3 with the “Project Milo†demonstration, the success of which excited and intriuged core gamer and casual audiences alike. A year later and Microsoft appears to have decided to ignore the middle ground in order to try enable as many “quick-wins” as possible by hijacking proven motion title successes.
Lack of new titles for core gamers – Before E3 2010 we knew that the big winter titles for the core gamer audience were Halo Reach and Fable 3. After E3, we now know that’s about all we can look forward to now, as Microsoft and key developers such as Rareware (Viva Pinata, Banjo-Kazooie) have been up to their eyeballs with Kinect. Even Rareware’s secret E3 title, which was thought to be a reboot of SNES classic fighter Killer Instinct, turned out to be both Kinect Sports and Kinect Animals. Hmm… not quite what we had imagined.
Most WTF Moment:
Our most WTF moment was easily the above demonstration of Kinect Forza Motorsport, where the second half of the showcase involving literally walking around your motor, “sitting†inside it and essentially “re-imagining the way you experience carsâ€. Watching our live stream we witnessed the best online comment of the night. As the reveal followed full-on Kinect gesture demonstrations one online poster sarcastically blurted “…you can wash your car!†– which is exactly what we thought might have been uttered next.
Verdict:
Many people will dismiss Kinect naysayers be stating “oh well, those games aren’t for you anyway†and proclaim tMicrosoft’s E3 press conference a success. We say that Microsoft’s show was a massive diplomatic failure, as Kinect games should also be targeted towards Xbox 360 owners, not the very specific “expanded audience†of Wii owners yet to purchase the console. After all, it’s Microsoft’s current consumer base that made the Xbox the successful brand it is today, yet these consumers were completely shut out after 20 mins of the 90 min show.
Much will be made of Nintendo and Sony’s follow-up conferences but we expect both corporations to successfully toe the line between casual and hardcore gamer titles a lot more carefully than Microsoft did this week. Though there was much to get excited about from Microsoft’s show, particularly the Kinect Hub, we feel they strayed too far from their core fanbase with their the motion platform’s demonstrations and lineup titles. We grade Microsoft a C, though if they want to send us on a free Xbox360 Slimline we may end up feeling a little more generous.
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