Xbox takes center stage, opens E3 2009

The video game world is centered on the Galen Center at the University of Southern California Monday morning, as Microsoft prepares to start is annual E3 press briefing.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

LOS ANGELES--It may be an off-year in the video game console, but you wouldn't know it by the lines outside the Galen Center at the University of Southern California, where Microsoft is having its annual E3 press conference.

Expected announcements include some form of motion-control system; new features and offerings for its popular Xbox Live service; and several hot new games, both from its own publishing outlets and third-parties. Among them is "Halo 3: ODST."

This blog followed Microsoft's announcements--including its new motion-control system, upcoming games, and several new features being added to the Xbox Live service--as they came throughout the 10:30 a.m. keynote.

Beatles: Rock Band will feature 45 in-game songs. Full albums will also be available for download.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

10:33 a.m.: Microsoft opens the press briefing with a lovely video from the much-anticipated and forthcoming "Beatles: Rock Band."

The game will feature 45 Beatles songs, including: "I saw her standing there," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "She Said So," "Day Tripper," "Taxman," "I am the Walrus," "Back in the U.S.S.R.," "Octopus' Garden," "Here Comes the Sun," and "Get Back."

It will also feature never-before-heard live studio chatter from the members of the Beatles. And in addition to the in-game songs, players will be able to download songs and albums. That feature will commence with the entire "Abbey Road" album. Further, the song "All You Need is Love" will be available solely on Xbox Live.

Then, in a big surprise, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr come out on stage. "The game is good," said Starr. "And we were great."

"Who ever thought we'd end up as androids?" jokes McCartney.

Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr come on-stage at the Microsoft Xbox E3 press briefing to announce Beatles Rock Band.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

10:49 a.m.: Next up on stage is world-famous skateboarder Tony Hawk, who unveils "Tony Hawk: Ride," a new skating game that features a skateboard-shaped controller. Players of the game will "ride" the board, allowing complex maneuvers and a (somewhat) realistic skating experience.

To be sure, the new controller is highly reminiscent of Nintendo's Wii Balance Board. Xbox has needed something like this. But one wonders if the board controller will have the wide range of applications that Nintendo's Balance Board does.

Famous skateboarder Tony Hawk introduces Tony Hawk: Ride, a new skating game for Xbox.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

11:00 a.m.: The next big demonstration features Square Enix's Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama showing off the first preview of "Final Fantasy XIII" for the Xbox 360. They say the game is targeted for a spring 2010 release.

11:22 a.m.: Microsoft Corporate Vice President John Schappert spends the next 20 minutes introducing the developers of a series of upcoming games for the Xbox platform--and the games themselves, of course.

Among the titles that were showcased were "Joy Ride," from newly-acquired Microsoft Games Studio addition Big Park; "Left for Dead 2"; "Splinter Cell: Conviction"; and "Forza Motorsport 3."

11:32 a.m.: Perhaps the most-anticipated new Xbox game is up next: "Halo 3: ODST." The game, which takes place weeks before the start of "Halo 3," puts players in the role of a rookie solider separated from his team.

The goal of the game is to survive, covering a lot of ground, staying alert for unexpected help. But players will have new Halo weapons to work with, including a new low-light vision mode.

"Halo 3: ODST" is expected to be released September 22.

But Halo fans will have more to look forward to. Bungie Studios, the franchise's developer, is also working on another Halo title, "Halo: Reach," which is expected to be released sometime in 2010. "Halo 3: ODST" players will get an exclusive invite to the new title.

Perhaps the most anticipated game for Xbox is Halo 3: ODST, which will release on September 22.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

11:44 a.m.: Of course, no Microsoft E3 press briefing would be complete without a bunch of new Xbox Live announcements. And, intent on not disappointing the faithful, Schappert says Microsoft has been working on a series of improvements to the service.

First up, Schappert announces a new partnership with Last.fm, which will bring millions of songs to Xbox Live members. Xbox Live Gold members will be able to access the service for free. He doesn't say what the cost would be for other members. (Disclaimer: Last.fm is owned by CNET News parent company CBS Interactive).

Schappert also says Microsoft has updated the way Xbox Live members will be able to access movies and TV shows. To begin with, he says U.K. residents will now be able to access movies and TV shows through a partnership with Sky TV, all with no additional hardware.

Here in the U.S., meanwhile, Xbox Live members will now be able to watch their TV shows and movies with no downloads and no delays. In other words, they will be available instantly, and in full 1080p high definition. And that's why Microsoft is calling this part of Xbox Live "InstantOn 1080p HD."

Finally, Xbox Live members will now be able to interact with both Facebook and Twitter through their consoles. They'll be able to share photos with Facebook friends via Xbox Live, and be able to see their lists of Xbox Live and Facebook friends simultaneously.

As for Twitter functionality, Xbox Live users will be able to post tweets directly from their consoles, without a PC.

12:05 p.m.: But the big news, as always, comes last.

Microsoft finally unveils its new full-body motion-sensitive controller. Called by its code name, Project Natal, the new technology sits near the Xbox 360 console, and allows Xbox users to control their games, movies, and other Xbox media without touching any hardware.

During a video presentation, players are seen interacting with games and movies simply by waving their hands, jumping up and down and doing other things with their bodies--but not ever touching the controller.

Microsoft Xbox Senior Vice President Don Mattrick says that Natal will work with all Xboxes, including those that have already been sold, and any that will be sold in the future.

To demonstrate interactive media and entertainment industry acceptance of the new technology, Mattrick brought legendary film director Steven Spielberg on-stage to talk about Natal.

"I've been asking the crucial question: How can interactive entertainment become as approachable as other forms of entertainment?" Spielberg said. "The vast majority of people are just too intimidated to pick up a video game controller...Despite the size of (the video game) industry, still 60 percent of households do not own a video game console."

Film director Steven Spielberg came on-stage during the Xbox briefing to wax rhapsodic about Project Natal, Microsoft's new motion-sensitive control technology.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

Mattrick didn't say whether Natal had, in fact, come from 3DV Systems, or whether it had been developed in-house.

12:07 p.m.: A live demo the technology features a woman playing a game called "Richochet" on-stage. It allows her to kick a series of onrushing balls solely by kicking her legs in the air.

A Project Natal video shown during the briefing demonstrated that users can literally interact with their Xbox by reaching out to it. The technology recognizes human body movements and translates them into complex maneuvers on-screen.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

[myles taylor]

I'm looking forward to Halo ODST. I feel like Microsoft is always playing catchup though.

[NCTARHEELS]

Uh, hello? They're REVOLUTIONIZING motion sensitivity

[OmegaCerebro]

Revolutionizing? How so, by being the last of the 3 consoles to do it? Interesting definition of revolutionizing.

[TylerCountie]

I'm assuming Omega, that you didn't watch or read anything on Project Natal. They're third, yes, but they have already outdone Sony and Nintendo.

Simply put, the six-axis PS3 motion sensitivity, and the EyeToy are well...terrible. I've never enjoyed playing anything with Sony's motion controlled games.

What about the Nintendo Wii? Honestly it's not that great, most games have huge lag/calibration issues (that you can't even fix), and none of the games are GREAT.

Microsoft is revolutionizing motion sensitivity by using not just infrared, but many other cameras and microphones, and I mean really, you don't even need a controller, so don't be so ignorant.

[Fil0403]

Yes, if Halo ODST is anything like the previous 3 Halos, it should be damn good - I only wish they didn't make Halo a trilogy (could have no end as far as I'm concerned, why put an end to such a great game?). I agree Microsoft is playing catchup (only to Nintendo and less than Sony, though), although I think that's understandable: they only entered the console market in the previous generation, and they were already 2nd, although very much behind the then-leading Sony; this generation, they currently hold a strong 2nd place and are not as distant from the now-leading Nintendo as they were to the then-leading Sony in the previous generation; and let's not forget this console generation wars are not over yet.

[thirteentongimp]

If the Wii is ground-breaking, I'm a super-powered mega strong genetically enhanced mutant lemur from the future.

Protip: I'm not.

[CDubber]

Motion controller??? GROUNDBREAKING!!!

Microsoft: The Freedom to Innovate (Or Copy our Competitors, Whichever is Easier) (TM)

[DMAN3k]

You're an idiot.

This technology is brand new. Sure, we have motion sensors and webcams for years. But nothing coming close to the accuracy or the motion recognition this has.

That's like saying the telephone is not groundbreaking because people have talked for ages...

[Vegaman_Dan]

The first automobile was not invented in the US, but in France instead. Does that mean only the cars built in France are worthwhile and that all other auto makers on the planet should have not even bothered to make something that someone else did first?

I suppose if we follow this logic, then we'd only be driving Citroens and the world would never know about Jaguar, Mercedes, Corvettes, Mustangs, Wrxi, and Ferrari's. After all... they were only 'copying' what the French did and therefore totally unworthy.

Riiiiiight.

[B-McGee]

are you tony hawk? then how do you know how accurate and precise the controller is?

[massfat]

McGee, did you skip the whole article and come to the comments to start trolling?
There is no controller. That's the beauty of this motion sensor. You don't need a controller. You just move.
The skating thing is another story.

[sleepy711553]

playstation has had this tecnology when it first came out, Playstation eye people, look it up. All these xbox fans hyped about somethin they copied from playstation

[SNOOP_ROCA]

yes, sleepy711553, I'm happy u remember, but do u remember the OTHER half of that story? It was still new technology, and it was very buggy, as Vegaman_Dan said, the people that did it first aren't always the best, this (If it actually works) will be one of the most ground breaking things the gaming world has ever see (Work correctly, that is)

[DrtyDogg]

@sleepy: If you are going back don't forget the Gameboy Camera or the Dreameye.

[dhavleak]

@ CDubber

You said "Motion controller??? GROUNDBREAKING!!!"

>> You didn't get the part where there was *no* controller? Maybe you didn't extrapolate that to it's logical conclusion - you are not limited by what a controller can do? Or maybe you're just trolling?

[ghostolo]

@ sleepy711553: the playstation eyetoy was a fail for motion sensing that only used one camera and no microphones. so the motion was limited to 2 dimensional space and the camera was not very accurate. to say the least it was a fair attempt. however the xbox project natal uses a camera that is better and more accurate than the eyetoy, but also uses an infrared camera to detect movement in 3 dimensional space. then natal introduces a microphone to pick up voices and a speech recognition software to differentiate from other voices in the room (so your buddy can't ruin your game with annoying false commands). the software itself can recognize your face and automatically log you into your gamertag. so this is definitely not a copy of eyetoy, but rather a great improvement on a prototype model. just like your tv, if we didn't have design improvements on television then we would still have the black on white and analog signals coming into our homes and crappy 3 channel shows.

[agriffith96]

That's pretty cool that they were able to get Ringo and Paul on stage together at this event. I hope that made it on G4. Good thing I fired up the DVR.

[bplewis24]

Hilarious...

What a surprise that two of the most anticipated announcements are regarding two "new" Halo games. Seriously?

Weak.

[Vegaman_Dan]

Considering the huge market demand there is for Halo, it seems to be what the consumers want. Are you calling Xbox gamers weak?

[DrtyDogg]

Metal Gear ranked up their for me as did Call of Duty.

[TylerCountie]

They're not the two most anticipated, in my opinion Metal Gear, L4D2, and MW2, and Project Natal were.

I hate the fact that non-xbox gamers automatically hate Xbox because they think it's all about Halo. That's really being stupid.

[slapppy]

@CDubber

"Microsoft: The Freedom to Innovate (Or Copy our Competitors, Whichever is Easier) (TM)"

What else can they come up with thats groundbreaking, oh yeah more Halo games.

[B-McGee]

Zune HD...only to be beaten to market by Apple's next iPhone which will undoubtedly have HD capabilities.

That's what happens when you get to be too big of a company...smaller ones can beat you to market with the same product. It happened in the auto industry and is happening right before our eyes here.

[SNOOP_ROCA]

Wow, nice job B-McGee, LOL now this is gonna become a Microsoft vs. Apple argument......

[Kwasiowusu]

@ slapppy :"Microsoft: The Freedom to Innovate (Or Copy our Competitors, Whichever is Easier) (TM)"


Given that Neither Nintendo, nor Sony has ever come up with anything that is even close to being as cutting edge as Project Nepal, the only ones who will be trying to copy will be Nintendo and Sony. Microsoft is the pioneer here, blazing the path in tecnology that 3rd rate outfits like Apple can only hope to copy.

@ slapppy :"What else can they come up with thats groundbreaking, oh yeah more Halo games. "

Which Apple has never created anything close to, in their entire lives.
oh wait, Apple has never even created ANY AAA game since Apple was founded.

[Kwasiowusu]

WOW!
Project Natal is the biggest megaton ever at E3.
This groundbreaking technology simply just rocks!
This is awesomeness!
Let's see Apple or Nintendo even try and come up with anything that is even close to this one.

[roark1]

how is Apple even coming out of your mouth in this discussion? are they behind the trend because their iPod Touch doesn't have a motion sensor, just a gyro scope to control the iPod? What a jip!!! boy those apple guys are just wondering aimlessly, what will they do?

[Super2online]

Wow, Project Natal was incredible. The future of gaming console controllers was invented millions of years ago- Mankind. This will go down in history as a game changing year. Xbox 360 Rocks!

[yiang]

What happens when Milo becomes self aware??

Lionhead=Skynet

[jessiethe3rd]

hehehea hahahahaha LMFAO!

[RLJSlick]

That's awesome bring Ringo and Paul on like that, but does the young people have a clue or care who the Beatles are?

[Elvin77]

Ok while the tech for Natal is amazing, I play games to relax. This is the reason the Wii is of limited appeal fun for parties but not much else IMO.

Games are my relaxation. I want to come home and play Madden or some RPG to blow off some steam and relax on the couch. I don't want to stand in front of the TV and wave my arms much less jump around like I'm actually playing the game. If I wanted to do that I'd go outside, and play football for real with some of my real friends.

I can imagine this wil put a few people in the hospital. :-)

Revolutionary tech? Yes? True game changing tech? Not sure, I think this will be more of a fad than anything else. Can you really imagine people crawling on the floor and sniping in Metal Gear or Call of Duty using this tech? Don't know about that.

[Super2online]

I can imagine that and much more. It seems to me that this tech goes way beyond game play. Look at the demo of the computer generated child that was interacting with the woman like a real human being. The interactivity there was incredible.

As for game play itself, as with all current gaming systems, games are designed for the entire spectrum of the gaming audience. So for those with more sedentary aspirations, you can tone things way down by using the current XBOX 360 controller and for go all the body movements. For those that just want a mild body and voice experience, certain games can be developed with that in mind.

I think this opens up thousands of possibilities that we haven't even dreamed of yet.

[Kwasiowusu]

@ Super2online :"I can imagine that and much more. It seems to me that this tech goes way beyond game play. Look at the demo of the computer generated child that was interacting with the woman like a real human being. The interactivity there was incredible. "

That really just blew my mind.
Iit's the most impressive demo of AI I have ever seen.

@ Super2online:"I think this opens up thousands of possibilities that we haven't even dreamed of yet."

I agree. and it's not just for games consoles either. It completely changes how we interreact with our computers .

[dhavleak]

@ Elvin77

"I play games to relax."

>> That's why I'm hoping this gets integrated into the dashboard. Imagine - if the remote is too far, you can just gesticulate at your TV to launch netflix, and then whatever show you want. No need to get off the couch (or even move from your horizontal position if they get it right) :P

[McDaygo]

The new camera seems pretty cool to me. Thanks Wii. Without you it probably wouldn't be coming out. Thats whats cool, I don't care who does what first, just who does it the best. But seeing the cam and using the cam are two different things. We shall see.

[Kwasiowusu]

@ Daygo :"Thanks Wii. Without you it probably wouldn't be coming out"

If you saw the demo of Project Napal from Peter Molyneaux, you will know that there is simply NO WAY, that technology could have been developed in the 2 1/2 years since the Wii was luanched.
This technology was in development long before the Wii was even conceived. It probably had heavy imput from the PhD heavy eggheads at Microsoft Research, not just the games people.

[DrtyDogg]

Actually I remember watching a video from Microsoft Research that showed this same idea in interacting with a PC. Now that I think of it I watched that video probably 7 or 8 years ago.

[McDaygo]

Thanks for assuming I'm not too bright. I meant thanks wii in the sense that MS probably wouldn't have rolled out Project Natal without the Wii having a breakout sucess with its consoles motion control.

Also you are correct, this camera was in no way developed in the last 2 1/2 years. It wasn't initially developed for gaming by MS though.

[TylerCountie]

The actual development for project Natal started 18 months ago.

Sorry, don't have the source, but I'll make sure to look.

[nsmoly]

If this technology is released, it will change not only games, but also pretty much all computers and how we interact with them. I saw E3 demo and it is really really impressive. Looks like in those Sci-Fi movies...

[Hoody69er]

err i dont think anyone rembers a little thing called "Eyetoy£ for the ps2 pritty much the sam... i dont care what you say stuff like "oohhh but that cant come close to this" or stuff like that... my point is this was done before on ps2 along time ago

[OmegaCerebro]

It certainly was, my friend. But fanboys live in their own little worlds where they can't be bothered with such trivial things as details and facts. It's much better to sing hallelujah in praise of everything Microsoft does so as to increase your sense of self importance for buying it rather than another console.

[TylerCountie]

Omega, do you even remember eyetoy? It was absolute rubbish.

I can see you are a PS fanboy, but that's beside the fact that Natal has multiple types of cameras, not just one.

[ArsFragica]

Microsoft is truly amazing....today they definitely earned more respect for me....the 360 just gets better every year...its going to destroy the Wii with project natal....MGS Rising for 360 hurts Sony....L4D 2 is gonna be fantastic + MW 2 + Halo 3 ODST + Crackdown 2 + Alan Wake + ME 2 + many more how much more do you want?

Oh yea, plus 1080p movies on demand, full game downloads, facebook & twitter & last. fm.....

i'm sorry sony but whatever you have planned for tommorow you can't beat microsoft.

[ibeetle]

Sony has had 1080P movies for over a year. Facebook and Twitter are a joke with less than 20% retention aver 6 months for the average user. If they don't file for bankruptcy Google is probably going to by one or both by the end of this year. And while Last.fm is good the leader of the pack (for better or for worse) is Pandora and all others are a distant crowd of number 2.

[ArsFragica]

Microsoft is truly amazing....today they definitely earned more respect for me....the 360 just gets better every year...its going to destroy the Wii with project natal....MGS Rising for 360 hurts Sony....L4D 2 is gonna be fantastic + MW 2 + Halo 3 ODST + Crackdown 2 + Alan Wake + ME 2 + many more how much more do you want?

Oh yea, plus 1080p movies on demand, full game downloads, facebook & twitter & last. fm.....

i'm sorry sony but whatever you have planned for tommorow you can't beat microsoft.

[spiterod]

The thing that gets my attention is the instant on 1080P movies. That is some good stuff!, kind of does away with the need for blue ray. The motion control thing will be sweet as well for controlling the system. Very minority report.

[ibeetle]

Not really, in a blind test recently held by the CEDIA association 92% of the participants picked Blu-ray over a hidef
While the test used iTunes as the source both the Sony Playstation Network service and Microsoft uses the same video codex.

http://www.twice.com/blog/730000673/post/1790044179.html

Even Reed Hastings CEO of Netflx said that Blu-ray Disc is the future for home video for at least 5-7 years.

[DrtyDogg]

That A not a very reliable test: "Based on some recent events, the CEDIA technology council decided to conduct a small survey of internal CEDIA staff members" 25 staff members to be exact.

And B. That comparison was an mp4 at 720P. Re-read the release to see that it very plainly states: "In other words, they will be available instantly, and in full 1080p high definition. And that's why Microsoft is calling this part of Xbox Live "InstantOn 1080p HD."

[donnaporter]

Excellent review and photos, of which is mentioned in "The Beatles Rock Band game, Ringo/McCartney at E3 (VIDEOS)." It sounds like a winner!

[OmegaCerebro]

by NCTARHEELS June 1, 2009 12:23 PM PDT
Uh, hello? They're REVOLUTIONIZING motion sensitivity

Uh, hello? How are they "REVOLUTIONIZING motion sensitivity" when the Wii was doing it first and the PS Eye has been out for over 2 years? How about doing some homework before you go crediting Microsoft for being revolutionary when, in this particular case, they're actually the last one to get on board. Freaking fanboys, I swear...

[mixerman3d]

in all fairness microsoft has infact for the first time added sterioscopic motion sencing to a console...but it's hardly revolutionary. sony just made a more practical version that gives you props with buttons with much more accuracy

[BeatleMegaFan]

Quote: The game will feature 45 Beatles songs, including: "I saw her standing there," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "She Said So," "Day Tripper," "Taxman," "I am the Walrus," "Back in the U.S.S.R.," "Octopus' Garden," "Here Comes the Sun," and "Get Back."

"She Said So"? Not to burst your bubble, but for the record, the song that I believe this refers to is entitled "I Feel Fine", which is a great song indeed. Link here if you must check it up:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Feel_Fine

Back to the Xbox: I think it's quite astounding that here, Microsoft is able to garner so much attention by pushing out so many innovative games and technologies on the platform. They got Paul and Ringo, Tony Hawk, this Project Natal, not to mention the news about ODST and Halo: Reach... What did Sony have to offer? I wasn't particularly thrilled by any of their announcements. The new PSP has the specs, but not the appearance I was hoping for. I still prefer the original 1000, but I haven't found any great shooters on the system that would prompt me to play it again. Nice UI though.

Nintendo didn't have too much to say, but I was overjoyed about the small (why was it small and vague to being with?) announcement about Golden Sun. That was one of the most entertaining RPGs I have ever played. Arguably the best handheld game period. The series had great replay value and customization of character classes. I'd happily buy a new DSi for it, even though it lacks a GBA slot for the the originals. Camelot did a fantastic job with GS, and I can't wait to get it. All in all, E3 was a pretty good this year, for MS and the big N at least.

-BMF