So, last night was the first of the three conferences, and it was Microsoft up first at the plate. Sadly, it seemed like they’d forgotten to bring a bat. Sure, there were no giant crabs or Riiiiidge Racers, but it was an underwhelming conference given the success they’ve had over the last couple of years.
To save you having to trawl through the whole thing, here’s the highlights:
Xbox 360 Elite in Europe: 24th August. No price.
That grey 360 we posted about yesterday – it’s green. Halo 3 green. It’s ugly as sin.
Games shown: Rock Band (looked great), Viva Pinata: Party Animals (Wii without the waggle), Mass Effect (Bioware’s space RPG). Then Peter Moore talked figures, and mentioned Halo 3, GTA IV and Madden 08 – “The only platform that you can play all these three franchises is on 360” he said, in a cleverly worded spin.
Then more games: PGR4 (with bikes!), CoD 4, Stranglehold, Guitar Hero III, Katamari, Lost Odyssey – all look great, and of course Katamari is now 360 exclusive. Others included EA Sports Game 08 (x4), Assassin’s Creed, new Spiderman game and Splinter Cell Conviction.
Then a guy called Jeff Bell came out and showed off Buzz! 360, sorry, Scene it? – it’s just like Buzz! but on the 360, and obviously based on the board game.
Then some Live Arcade stuff – Sonic and Golden Axe are available now to download if you want them.
Then they alienated anyone that’s a Gears of War fanboy by showing the vastly superior PC version with new levels, monsters and a better frame rate. Good going. Then they showed the same two GTA IV trailers we’ve already seen. And then a new trailer for Halo 3.
And that was it. No price cut, no new games, nothing.
Sony, Nintendo, the floor is yours.
