Microsoft had its big E3 presser today (i watched on TV).
i know the self-professed "hard core" gamer will decry this as one of the worst E3 press conferences ever. However, despite their delusion, they are not the target audience for much of what is coming out. Basically, the era of the old E3 (massive announcements) is over. Now it is service the "hard core" - which MSFT did with Gears of War 3, Call of Duty Modern Warfare, Tomb Raider,etc. Who cares if those titles have already been announced - E3 is now about more than the "fan" press. Gaming has achieved more mainstream status and the press conferences had to adapt (to more of a portfolio approach - show off a bit of everything). That said, the only real impact announcement i saw was Halo 4 (also 5 and 6 confirmed).
Much of the story for me with the MSFT presser was what wasn't there. There was no Gunstringer, no Rare (BigPark apparently is doing Kinect Sports Season 2) and how many of the rumors turned out to be not ready for prime time. Though that does not mean some of them aren't true. i have to think they have more going on that was announced. Voice commands were one of the things i wanted to see expand with Kinect - it looks like i'm getting my wish.
Disappointments:
* Kinect Star Wars - much of the disappointment i have with the title is that it has so many references to the prequels. i prefer to think the prequels never happened. i know demos have issues (particularly on big stages with motion sensitive games), but this really didn't look that good. Sure, this had control issues and seemed kind of bland, but it should sell well (with a little more polish and decent marketing).
Indifferent (not my "cup of tea"):
* Gears of War 3
* Modern Warfare 3
* Tomb Raider - i don't like the button press prompts
* EA Sports Stuff
* Ghost Recon Future Solider - gunsmith mode looked interesting
* YouTube - i guess it is sort of cool
* UFC service - i like the interactivity component, UFC itself - not so much
* Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
* Minecraft Kinect
* Kinect Disneyland Adventures - looks somewhat like a Disneyfied version of Kinect Adventures (not a bad thing).
* Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster - this is unapologetically aimed at the younger demographic.
* Dance Central 2: The first game was decent except the song selection kind of sucks. This version adds two player dance battles, campaign mode, the ability to import all songs from the first game and some other stuff. Why do "dance" songs have to be so bad?
Could Be Interesting:
* Mass Effect 3 - i kind of like the way the implemented Kinect voice commands into this one. However, i didn't really like the combat in the second game (generic 3rd person shooter).
* Bing voice search - voice activated search for all thing XBL, sound cool if implemented across basically everything
* New Xbox interface - hopefully it will be a lot faster than the current glacial New Xbox Experience.
* Live television - it isn't exactly the XBL Platinum rumored, but it could be interesting
* Ryse (previously Codename Kingdoms) - this game actually looks interesting to me. It seems to be a Kinect Brawler. This is definitely on my list of games to watch for. However, who knows when it will release.
* Forza 4 - i have owned all of the Forza games so far. However, i am not sure if i will get this one. i liked that Forza 3 was forgiving, i'm not sure 4 will have the same level of accessibility.
* Fable: The Journey - this looks way different from previous Fable games. i am curious how this one will turn out. The demo they showed was not great, but they have a while to nail things down (2012 release) - this is the first openly 2012 title i will be keeping my eyes on.
* Kinect Fun Labs - Apps for Kinect, the big question here is how much support will this actually see. Also where are they ultimately going with this?
* Kinect Sports: The Second Season - This is the sequel to the multi-million selling Kinect Sports. Apparently this is being developed by BigPark (what exactly is Rare doing?). This is basically eerily similar to Wii Sports. Games are scheduled to include Baseball (awesome), Tennis, Golf, Skiing, Football (US version) and Darts (is that really a sport?).
Edit: Apparently, Kinect Sports: The Second Season is being developed by Rare and BigPark
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