Microsoft's Press Conference (7/14/2008)

Microsoft's conference was meant to start at 10:30 PDT... and started on time with Don Mattrick.

Mr. Mattrick opens with a talk about having the biggest and best hits, listing games like Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty. He then comments on the Xbox360 providing for everyone with games like Guitar Hero. He promises to "kick off the next series of blockbuster games" and also promises "games guaranteed to welcome everyone to the fun." Fallout 3, Resident Evil 5, Fable 2, and Gears of War 2, are listed as games "not for the faint of heart," but sure to show support for hardcore fans.

The first video shown is a 50's-esque commercial that leads into footage from Fallout 3.

Todd Howard, of Bethesda, takes the stage to provide us with information about Fallout 3, stating that a lot was learned in Oblivion's development. He immediately provides us with live-footage of the game. Taking place in Washington DC in the 2200s. The game is shown to have ridiculous and comical stylings. Combat is shown to be real-time, but it allows for scripting attacks ahead of time, leading to a cinematic playing out of the battle. Players can be good or evil, high powered or stealthy, and they are pretty much able to do whatever they want, however they want. The game looks beautiful. Mr. Howard announces that Xbox Live Marketplace will be used for downloadable content.

Jun Takeuchi, of Capcom, now takes the stage with a translator to reveal Resident Evil 5. The RE5 director begins to play a demo of the game. The game takes place in Africa. Story details are revealed. Online co-op is revealed and a new protagonist is revealed. Combat, and stage interaction, looks to take place in a way similar to that of RE4. Visually, the game is looking beautiful. An in-game cinematic is shown, showing a new variation of the chainsaw wielding enemies of RE4.

Capcom would like to tell us one more thing: RE5 will be available worldwide on Friday the 13th, March 2009.

Lionhead Studios makes a showing. Peter Molyneux steps on stage to share with us that Fable 2 is finished. He reminds us that Fable is an RPG, and that Fable 2 takes place 500 years after the first game. A cinematic is shown, and it looks beautiful. A snow-covered realm is shown, leading to a fortified city. Co-op over Live is revealed. Heroes are unique to the player, as well as the game world itself, providing motive for others to come and visit in co-op. Life-sim elements seem present in the form of being able to go to a bar to getting married. October 2008 is the set release date.

A video for Gears of War 2 plays. Cinematic and dramatic in nature, the video looks great. Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinsky takes the stage. He readies to show a co-op video. The gameplay looks very intense and bloody. Graphically, the game manages to look even better than the first Gears of War. The action-packed video concludes. A new mode is revealed, a five-player co-op mode. Gears of War 2 is coming Worldwide on October 7th.

Mr. Mattrick takes the stage again. He takes a moment for nostalgia, taking us back to that first moment of being absorbed into a game. He declares that "our industry belongs to everyone." He gives sales stats on the financial aspects of the industry, and shares how it is that Xbox is leading the market. He makes the bold claim that this generation of gaming system will have more 360s sold than PS3s. He shifts gears to detailing the strengths of Xbox Live, declaring that more than 12 million subscribers exist. More than 500 million pieces of content have been downloaded through Xbox Live since 2005. He explains that Xbox Live pushes more on-demand high definition content than any other group. A new TV and movie partner are announced; NBC and Universal Studios will be bringing content to Xbox Live. This content lauches today. MGM International and Constantine are offering new content as of today, too.

Asking how it is Microsoft continues to fuel innovation, he asks John Schappert to come on stage to explain things. He begins by declaring that online is where innovation will continue to grow. He announces that a new software update is on the way, bringing a "new Xbox experience." This fall, a new interface and Dashboard will hit. The new "My Xbox" channel provides instant access to everything on the console. Gamercards will now contain Mii-like avatars. A video explaining the design of the avatars begins with a Rare logo. Avatars are going to be integrated across the system.

A new community channel replaces the friends list of before with visual representations of friends' avatars. Live Parties are a new innovation, allowing for group chats (of up to 8 people). A new photo-sharing tool. Xbox Live Primetime is a new channel coming this fall, that puts players into Live variations of game shows. After a brief comment about video content on Live, viewers are taken to the games channel. Here, Uno Tour, a new game, is revealed. With the click of a button, the entire party begins playing Uno Tour.

Geometry Wars has a Live-exclusive sequel that is officially announced today. Another Live Arcade game is revealed, sure to touch nostalgic gamers' hearts: A true sequel to Galaga. Galaga Legions will be available next month exclusively on XBLA. Portal Still Alive is announced as an Xbox Live Arcade exclusive, coming this fall. In 2009, a Live-exclusive game based on South park is coming. A video showing off some titles from community created Xbox Live games said to hit this fall.

An exclusive partnership with Netflix is announced. With Netflix connectivity, a queue (similar to that of Netflix) is available for immediate viewing. With the emphasis on Xbox party support, it is possible to watch Netflix movies with friends who are on their own consles.

Shane Kim takes the stage. Prince of Persia, Call of Duty, Tomb Raider, and other games show third-party support. An Xbox Live-exclusive new episode for Grand Theft Auto is said to be soon released. A trailer for the new Banjo-Kazooie is revealed. It looks similar to older games in the series at first, but gameplay implies that "some assembly may be required" to progress. A video for the colorful Viva Pinata sequel begins playing, showing off a usage of the Live camera. The camera scans cards to introduce new characters into the game. Both games are set to come this holiday season.

Two new "games for everyone" are revealed. The first is a live-action advertisement for a Scene It? game. New controllers are a part of the game. Downloads for new questions are possible. Playing on Live is also included. The next game revealed is You're In The Movies. The game has brief improvisations that are "immediately turned into movies." Minigames in varied forms are shown with players acting out in front of a camera. The mini-games look fairly simple, but the game then compiles the footage captured into a comical B-movie. A director's mode allows editing to take place. You're In The Movies will include an Xbox Live Camera in the packaging.

Next, music games are revealed. On average, 3.5 million songs are downloaded from XBLA. Kai Huang of Activision comes out stage to talk about the next Guitar Hero game. He promises that On Tour will take music gaming to a whole new level. New features include a wireless drum kit and eight player battle of the bands. He then details Guitar Hero's new music creation tool. Two new announcements show that World Tour will have three songs from R.E.M.'s next album before anyone else. Metallica's next album will be released in full at the same time as the actual album on Guitar Hero III, then on World Tour.

The next Xbox exclusive is a new karaoke game, Lips. Keiichi Yano, creator of Lips, takes the stage. The game lets you sing from your own music collection. The wireless mics light up with the performances and have motion sensitivity. Duffy takes the stage to provide a live performance of one of her songs, "Mercy," using the Lips game. The game is set to come out this holiday season.

Rock Band is now introduced as being huge last year. Rock Band 2 is said to be exclusively released on Xbox 360 in September. A spokesman comes on stage to reveal the entire Rock Band 2 soundtrack, made of 84 tracks (all of which are master tracks). Tracks of focus are Guns 'N Roses first single in 14 years, Bob Dylan's "Tangled Up in Blue" is announced, and AC/DC will be appearing exclusively in Rock Band 2 by means of "Let There Be Rock." Metallica, Pearl Jam, Devo, Megadeth, Paramore, Modest Mouse, Interpol, and many, many more are mentioned to be on the game. 20 bonus tracks will be released later in the fall. All Rock Band tracks are compatible with Rock Band 2. Most all of the Rock Band's original setlist will also work with Rock Band 2. More than 500 songs will be available for the game in time.

Mr. Mattrick returns to the stage to present Yoishi Wada, president of Square-Enix, as the last guest of the day. Wada-san mentions three major titles, Infinite Undiscovery, Star Ocean, and the Last Remnant. Infinite Undiscovery is set for a September release. Star Ocean is set for a spring 2009 release. The first real-time trailer for the game is available on Live Marketplace today. The Last Remnant will be available on the Xbox this holiday season. Footage for the game plays, revealing a cinematic setting and an impressive art direction. The game is announced to also come to Games for Windows.

Mr. Mattrick retakes the stage. He provides a conclusion and recap to the conference. But Wada-san returns to the stage with a new announcement: he asks viewers to "take a look at this movie." The movie is nothing short footage from Final Fantasy XIII. It seems that the much speculated possibility of the game coming to the Xbox is, in fact, a reality.