For the last 7 or 8 years I have listened to keynotes and podcasts, read live blogs and impressions and yearned to be a part of the madness that is E3. The highlights for me have always been the big three keynotes, but to be honest it is always Microsoft I look forward to the most.
This year is a bit different, it seems quieter out there on the “big game release” front and as such my enthusiasm has been tempered. I still think Microsoft's keynote will be interesting but unfortunately I don’t believe this one will speak to the hard core gamers out there.
No games?!
It’s not like there won’t be ANY game announcements. There will be, but we know most of them already: Halo 4, Fable: The Journey, Call of Duty:Black Ops 2, Crysis 3 as well as well as updates on games like Assassins Creed 3, Ryse (hopefully) and maybe Counter-Strike:Global Offensive. We know there won’t be a new EPIC game but maybe Cliff Bleszinski will come out to say they have a game they aren’t ready to show. For new announcements, we will be treated to some family friendly Kinect titles, some new exclusive DLC, some new content partners in the US and around the globe and if the stars and moon are aligned a big announcement from massive game studio (please be Blizzard, please be Blizzard). We may even see a new XBOX 360 sku or details on the subscription service that was teased.
One more thing...
That has more or less been the formula for the past couple of years for MS but there is one “announcement” that I believe people are missing that Microsoft will want to jump on - Windows 8. Why Windows 8? With the new iteration of Windows, not only is Microsoft redoing our user experience but they are integrating our gaming and entertainment lives across every device we own (or want us to own). On the Windows 8 dashboard you will find not only an Xbox Companion app that lets you control your xbox (I have yet to find a real use for this) but more interestingly there is an XBOX Live Games tile. Clicking on this tile takes you to your Live Profile and an environment that is deliberately meant to mimic the current 360 dashboard design. You will be able to see and interact with people on your friends list much like you do on the XBOX as well as navigate the same way. Plug a controller in and you may have a hard time telling which is which.
Once on the dashboard you will be able to download games for the PC, the XBOX and Windows Phone 7 (or 8) and even Windows Tablets. You will be able to browse the “dashboard” for other content such as Music, Movies, TV Shows and basically anything you can do on your 360.
Unity for all
What MS is searching for here is unity across its devices. What is the number one software program in the world? What platform does over 90% of the world work on? Think about it this way. iPhone users typically get the first apps and games because it is the largest unified mobile platform. Microsoft wants to change that behaviour because at its fingertips could be the largest possible unified platform in the world. That may sound a bit concerning, a bit Orwellian but put your developer hat on for a second. If Windows 8 sells like Windows 7 that would mean 300 million plus users that now have direct access to your games and programs. Why would you not want to develop for that first? On the other hand, if that platform always gets the best games/apps first, where are more and more users going to gravitate? This in turn sells more devices, more hardware and, of course, more software.
Keeping that developer's hat on for bit, the possible reach is beyond most of their wildest dreams. A $1 dollar app that sold say 200,000 copies on iTunes to 70 million users could possibly sell over 4 times that in the XBOX Live Marketplace. Apps could be developed that work on all devices seamlessly and you could put down one and pick it up on another or you could run a smaller version of one on your phone or tablet and pick it up again on your PC. The same principle could be used for games and already is to a certain extent with apps like Fable Coin Golf or the Mass Effect 3 Datapad but I don’t believe these work in the broad scope I believe MS is going for. I believe they are shooting for real integration across devices.
Lets not forget that Entertainment is a broad term and encompasses more than just games. Microsoft certainly hasn’t. According to Yusuf Mehdi, the new Chief Marketing Officer for the Interactive Entertainment Division at MS, Microsoft has “sold 67 million consoles”. He also adds that “With the launch of Windows 8, we’ll bring Xbox entertainment to everyone. With Xbox on Windows 8 devices, we rapidly accelerate the reach of Xbox entertainment from more than 60 million people to hundreds of millions of people worldwide”.
What about the “720”?
If you are hoping for news on a new console you will likely have to wait until next year. I think the “big news” from the Redmond camp at E3 this year is not going to be games, it’s going to be an operating system. One that is designed to push as much “entertainment” to as many people as possible.
Think about that for a minute. Love it? Hate it? Well Windows 8 is coming and the hype machine at MS will not miss this opportunity not to plug it.
About the Author
Tim “ChunkySoup” Dorscher started his gaming career with a bit of luck. His Tiny-Mite hockey team had a “pay what you pull” draw that netted his parents $300. The next morning, his parents foolishly let the family put their wish lists in a hat and drew a name. That fateful day started it all as not only was his name picked, he came home with an Atari 2600 with Combat and Dodge’em. Many consoles and PC upgrades later, he still likes blowing stuff up and refuses to use his brakes. He loves playing games on his own or with his two kids, fetch with his dogs and sitting on the couch for a little co-op gaming with Mrs.Soup.
