Welcome to the 2012 Microsoft E3 media briefing! This will be the 7th year Microsoft will be at E3 with the Xbox 360. During that time we have seen the debut of the current gen of consoles, exciting new game announcments, updated sku's and pack-ins as well as the successful launch of Kinect. What will MS have up its sleeves this year?
Who's on first?
Who will be our host for this mornings festivities? Will it be Steve Ballmer? Don Mattrick? New Chief Marketing Officer Yusuf Mehdi?
It's Don Mattrick!
And here comes the pitch!
Sales number! Whoohoo! Everyone love sales numbers! The XBox 360 is still increasing its sales numbers year over year even into this, its 7th year. It has sold over 67 million consoles to date and Kinect has sold over 19 million units since its launch.
Base Hit!
Let's get to the games! This year will see the release of Halo 4 created by MS's own 343 industries. Bringing the Halo universe into a new chapter in its story. Coming November 6th...cough cough I feel a cold coming on...
Fable: The Journey takes the Fable universe into the realm of Kinect. Drive your Wagon, fling magic balls and cast spells without any input from the controller. Lionhead Studios is striving for you to be the controller! That means everything you do needed to feel natural- snap your wrists, snap the reins, wave your arms, cast a spell. No speaking the command, its all in your actions.
Of course this year will also see a new COD game developed by Treyarch - Call of Duty: Black-Ops 2. XBox will also see timed exclusives on DLC. COD: Black-Ops 2 will be available November 16th.
Also from Activision we will see the popular Skylanders universe continue with Skylanders: Giants. New features include LEDs in the figures that light up when you place them on the console. Skylanders: Giants comes to our world Fall 2012.
Assassins Creed 3 by Ubisoft will launch the series into a new era: the American Revolution. Desmond and his cohorts are still seeking answers as well as a way to defeat the Templars. Say good bye to Ezio and welcome a new assassin from Desmonds family tree-Connor Ratohnhaketon. Assassins Creed III will hit retail on October 30th.
Ubisoft likes to try to get us up off the couch and help us get a little exercise from time to time. Fitness Evolved 2013 will get us moving Holiday 2012.
Also from Ubisoft: FarCry3, the latest installment in the award winning franchise. We should see a beta in the summer prior to the September 4th release date. Splinter Cell: Blacklist-Sam Fisher is back Spring 2013. Featuring a "mark and execute" mechanic that makes dispatching enemies a snap.
Crysis 3 by Crytek is the latest installment in the series and by most accounts the best looking. Crysis 3 will be on shelves Spring 2013. Also from Crytek is Ryse. A first person medieval hack and slash game using full body motion tracking features only found with Kinect. Coming to the XBox Spring 2013. Both Crysis 3 and Ryse will be published by EA.
Another EA product is the next installment in the Medal of Honor franchise. Medal of Honor: Warfighter maintains the Tier 1 Operator theme of the last MoH game. You will be able to step into the shoes of "Preacher" October 23rd.
Fall 2012 marks the beginning a new sports season and EA is ready with NCAA Football 13, Madden 13 and NHL13. NCAA will be in stores July 10, Madden on August 28th and NHL 2013 on September 11th. We will also see a new FIFA game in the fall as well. Both Madden and FIFA feature Kinect integration with voice commands.
Ground Rule Double.
New games announced that we knew nothing or little about:
Nike revealed Nike+ Kinect Training. It features personalized digital training. You can create challenges and compete against your friends. Set to release Holiday 2012.
Ascend: New Gods. New IP from Signal. Giving Xbox gamers their version of GoW???
LocoCycle. New IP from the creators of Splosion Man.
Matter. New IP from Gore Verbinski. The famous filmmaker's first foray into gaming is Portal-esque.
Waving him home!
Microsoft introduced SmartGlass. MS SmartGlass enables you to begin watching a movie on your mobile device and continue watching it on your TV when you arrive home. You can also use your tablet as a supplemental game screen. For example, while playing Madden on your console you can draw plays up on your tablet!
On the entertainment front you'll soon be able to search Bing by genre. You can then pick from multiple providers to watch your search results. New content providers include Nickelodeon, Paramount, Machinima and a channel de espanol for your viewing pleasure. Basketball and hockey fans rejoice! The NBA and NHL are coming to Xbox with over 40 live games a week!
Lastly with Windows 8 Microsoft is reaching beyond the XBox into your PC, your phone and soon your tablets to streamline your entertainment offerings. Windows 8 will launch Fall 2012 and change the way we consume our entertainment.
Final Score
Overall we knew most of what was coming. We can't wait for our chance to play the next iteration of juggernauts Halo and COD.
Windows 8 is still unknown in how much it will actually be embraced and change the way we watch movies and TV, listen to music and of course play games.
Happy E3 Everyone!
