E3: Microsoft Keynote - Part 1
Monday, July 14, 2008 12:00 AM
Microsoft's keynote speech started with the expected statement of intent, that the Xbox 360 would and could "deliver to everyone."
Microsoft bigwig Don Matrick (If only it was Jon Matrix - 80s Action Ed) said that Rock Band, Uno and Scene It? are proof that the 360 is a true, multipurpose machine, capable of delivering hardcore and casual gaming to any user.
Resident Evil 5 was one of the major titles unveiled, with the producer of the game confirming it would feature a co-op mode. The footage on show saw the new female character being attacked by axe-wielding zombie natives, which is nice.
Resident Evil 5 will be out on March 13th, 2009, so those hoping for a Christmas release will be disappointed. Nevermind, eh?
Peter Molyneux of Lionhead turned up next, saying that Fable II was indeed finished. The first movie on show was one that had been released before, just with new music.
Innovation was the watchword for Molyneux. Mind you, it usually is, isn't it? Talking about co-op modes, he revealed that other players appear in your game world via 'orbs'. You can then invite them to play 'proper' co-op.
Fable II will be out in October, he finally revealed, complete with Stephen Fry voiceover, by the way.
Next up was Gears of War II. Cliff Bleszinski, resident mouthpiece of Epic Games, wielded a red 360 pad and demonstrated a two player co-op demo on stage. The 'new' cover system seemed to behave better than before, by the way.
New enemies were seen, such as a flame thrower-wielding Locust. Most interestingly, the player was able to steal the weapon of the dead enemy - flamethrowers are always a good thing.
Gears of War II will be out in November, worldwide.
Don Matrick stalked back onto the stage, claiming that "Today our industry belongs to everyone." Casual gaming, you see, is very important to Microsoft's vision for the 360. He then claimed that £24 billion will be spent on games this year, which is quite impressive, even if it is just an educated guess.
Then came the inevitable comments about the Xbox 360's competitors. Microsoft's console is apparently 5 million units ahead of the PS3 in the US, Matrick said. Third-party revenue is, allegedly, outstripping the PS3 and Wii combined. It is difficult to know whether to believe this, considering you can bet both Nintendo and Sony will be claiming similar things in their keynote speeches.
He then went on about films being made available on Xbox Live, but we deal in games. Watch out for more later.