Microsoft’s E3 Promises, One Year Later
Join us in reliving the hype of last year’s Microsoft E3 press conference with the know-it-all hindsight of what did and didn’t come true. Sorry, Microsoft, but you were not perfect in predicting the future…
What good is E3 hype if none of it comes true?
To get you ready for this E3, we’ve subjected ourselves to re-living the major press conferences of last year’s big show. We’ve pulled all of the predictions, promises and other verbal constructions Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony used to get you excited about their console. And we’ve seen what became of all those thrilling statements.
Microsoft, your E3 2008 promises are being checked today — exhaustively.
Background: The Microsoft press briefing occurred on July 14 in the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention centre. This showcase lasted more than 90 minutes.
Big Money From Hardcore Games
Don Mattrick, Microsoft’s senior vice president of interactive entertainment business (i.e. he’s the Xbox boss), starts hyping Fallout 3, Resident Evil 5, Fable II and Gears of War 2: “Combined these games represent over a half a billion dollars in projected sales. And they will drive console demand in the coming year.”
Verdict: Let’s see. Gears sells two million in its first week, so that’s about 120 million right there. Fallout 3 sells 4.7 million copies in less than a month, so that’s about 282 million. We’re over 400 million and we’re not even at Fable or RE5, so we’ll stop counting now. Good first prediction, Don Mattrick!
A Lengthy Fallout
Bethesda lead game designer Todd Howard demos Fallout 3 and says: “This is a huge game with over 100 hours of gameplay.”
Verdict: Sure, that sounds about right, though the main content in the game could be finished in about 40 hours.
Fallout DLC TBD
Howard: “We’re going to be doing substantial downloadable content for Fallout 3 and it will be exclusive for the Xbox 360 and Games for Windows.”
Verdict: True! All three DLC packs are now out for both platforms, and are not out on PS3.
Resident Evil 5 Release Date Confirmed?
Jun Takeuchi, producer of Resident Evil 5, says Resident Evil 5 “will be available in a simultaneous worldwide release in North America and Europe on Friday the 13, March 2009.” (Screen showed March 12 2009 for Japan).
Verdict: Incorrect, sir! RE5 came out a week earlier than promised in Japan, on March 5.
Fable II Would Be Awesome
Peter Molyneux, creative director of Lionhead Studios, hyping Fable II: “You’ve never experienced anything like the dog in a game, but what I want to show you is the ability to play co-op over Xbox Live” [Verdict: OK, kind of hard to disagree]….The story will be great. [Verdict: That's subjective, Peter] … Your son grows. Your children will grow up with you [Verdict: Possibly misleading; those kids don't grow up]… Fable 2 will be out in October of this year [Verdict: Correct!]
Gears of War 2: For The World
Cliff Bleszinski, design director at Epic Games: “Gears of War 2 will be available worldwide November 7, exclusively on Xbox 360.”
Verdict: True if you count the U.S. and Europe as the world; untrue if you consider Japan part of this planet.
Sony To Be Crushed
Mattrick: I’m so confident in our momentum and our bright future that I’m willing to declare here today that Xbox 360 will sell more consoles worldwide this generation than PlayStation 3.
Verdict: Too soon to say, but so far so good for Microsoft.
A New – sort of – Xbox 360 Coming Fall 2008
John Schappert, vice president of Xbox Live, software and services: “I’m excited to announce today that for the first time in history a consumer electronics device will be completely reinvented through software… When people around the world turn on the Xbox 360s this fall they will be greeted by an entire new interface, an entire new dashboard, creating a brand new Xbox through the magic of software.”
Verdict: The New Xbox Experience did indeed go live in the fall, transforming the Xbox 360 from the inside out.
Avatars Will Be Great, Omnipresent
Brendan, last-name-less Rare software design engineer, describing the NXE’s Avatars: “You’ll see them in the dashboard when you turn on the system. [Verdict: True] You’ll see them in your friends list. [Verdict: Yep] You’re going to see them in games all over the place and you’ll see avatars on websites. [Verdict: We're counting Uno Rush and a Kingdom Kieflings once apiece, ok? Seems that we've got Avatars in a little more than 10 games so far.]
Avatars Will Have Lots of Clothes
Chris, last-name-less Rare producer: “Really, the number of clothes is ultimately going to be limitless. You can expect to see new clothes released in the same way you’d go into a shop and see summer fashion and the winter fashion, you’re going to see the same thing here.”
Verdict: True. New clothes keep getting issued for Avatars.
Prime Time Is Coming Soon
Schappert: “I’m going to take us to a new channel, Xbox Live Prime Time which we are unveiling today and rolling out this fall [Verdict: No, make that some forthcoming month in 2009]… This fall you’ll be able to play along with all of Xbox Live either as the One, the One Hundred or one of the thousands that watch and play this huge prime time game. And the best part, you’ll all be able to win real prizes… Instead of just checking to see what’s on TV this fall you’ll turn on your Xbox 360 to see what’s on Live. [Verdict: Whoa, whoa, slow down there John. Xbox Live Prime Time still isn't live, nor is its launch game show, 1 Vs 100, which is, at least, now in beta.]
XBLA Games Coming
Schappert Announced Geometry Wars 2 for “next month”; Galaga Legions announced as 360 exclusive for “next month,” Portal Still Alive coming in the fall “with brand new levels and achievements,” coming to Xbox Live Arcade.
Verdict: All accurate predictions.
And South Park Too
Announcer in short promo for South Park Xbox Live Arcade game: “Coming exclusively in 2009…”
Verdict: No sign of it yet, but there is plenty more of 2009 to come to keep from the unnamed Announcer to be known as a Liar.
Community Games coming
Schappert: We will launch Xbox Live Community games this fall as part of the New Xbox Experience.
Verdict: True
Netflix 360 Will Be Big
Schappert: “Xbox 360 will be the only game system that lets members who are also Netflix subscribers instantly watch more than 10,000 movies and TV episodes more than doubling our current content offering.”
Verdict: Seemingly accurate, though we haven’t counted to ensure that more than 10,000 movies and shows were added.
Netflix Watching Will Be Communal
Schappert: “I’m thrilled to announce that you can share your movies and TV shows with your Live party. We all can watch TV and movies together.”
Verdict: Uh-uh. This was cut.
GTA DLC Will Be Huge Part Of 360 Fall ‘08 Line-Up
Shane Kim, corporate vice president of strategy and business development (but at the time he was running the gaming part of Xbox: After hyping coming of Prince of Persia, Tomb Raider, Mirror’s Edge, Pro Evo, Call of Duty, Tomb Raider, Need for Speed, which all came out, [Verdict: True], he said, “The release of the first downloadable episode for Grand Theft Auto IV later this year promises to be another huge event for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live.” [Verdict: Ugh. We think he meant to say "February 2009," not "later this year."
Lots of 360 Games Coming
Kim: All told, by the end of 2008 more than 1000 games will be available for the Xbox 360.
Verdict: Too tired to count this one, but we are not encouraged by the fact that the ESRB as of today lists only 703 rated games for the 360. Was he counting Community Games?
Fun Games For Families Too
Kim announced Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts, Viva Pinata, BK XBLA, Scene It Box Office Smash, You're In the Movies — all of these games are coming this holiday exclusive for Xbox 360. Also from Kim: "You're In The Movies will include an Xbox Live Vision camera when it ships this holiday.
Verdict: Correct!
Guitar Hero World Tour Will Be Great, Launch New Rock Stars
Kai Huang, co-founder of Red Octane, out to hype Guitar Hero World Tour: "On disc we're going to ship with the greatest number of master tracks ever from some of the best bands of all time, more than 85 songs with tons more at launch and beyond [Verdict: True].. Our new music studio in Guitar Hero: World Tour is going to for the first time let people make and share music from around the world. This is going to revolutionize the way people create, share, discover and play new music. And with GH Tunes when that launches it’s going to be the premiere online distribution platform from where a community of aspiring artists are going to become the next big rock stars.” [Verdict: Kinda hard to verify, but we're going to say…not yet?]
And GH Will Have REM
Huang: “Guitar Hero World Tour owners will be able to download an REM track pack featuring three songs from their new album before anybody else.”
Verdict: True
And Metallica
Huang: “Metallica is joining forces with guitar hero in a huge way… for the first time in music and vg history. Metallica’s highly anticipated new album death magnetic is going to be offered as downloadable content in its entirety at the same time the album is released. First for Guitar Hero 3 in September and then again when Guitar Hero World Tour launches in the fall.”
Verdict: Not only true, but proven to be an understatement with the recent launch of Guitar Hero: Metallica.
Lips Will Be Fantastic
iNis founder Keiichi Yano, hyping the holiday launch of the Xbox 360 karaoke game Lips: “It’s breaking new ground by being the first game that lets you sing from your own music collection. It’s going to be great. Imagine plugging in your Zune or your iPod into your Xbox 360 and singing along to all of your favourite songs. [Verdict: True, though not without complaints from reviewers that not all iPods synced with the game] Lips is also going to be the first game ever to feature these wireless mics that light up with your music performance. And these guys are also motion-sensitive so I can do stuff like this (cymbal hit) even when I’m not singing. So it’s going to be fun Lips will ship this holiday featuring best songs from many regions and genres inclusion rock hip hop country r and b, pop a lot of your favourite artists you guys love to sing to. [Verdict: The rest was spot-on.]
Lips Will Be REALLY Fantastic
Kim: Lips is definitely going to be the gotta-have-it gift for this holiday for everyone.
Verdict: Oh, come on. Lips might have been fantastic, but he didn’t really mean that, did he?
Rock Band Sort of Exclusive
Kim: Rock Band 2 will premiere exclusively on Xbox 360 this September.
Verdict: True, since he meant it would be a timed exclusive.
Rock Band 2 Will Have Rose, Dylan, ACDC
Alex Rigopulos, co-founder, Harmonix, discussing Rock Band 2, said, there would be 84 songs on the disc, every single one of them a master recording. He said Axl Rose’s Shackler’s Revenge will premiere in RB2, as would Bob Dylan’s Tangled Up In Blue and ACDC. And, he said, “the soundtrack will also include 20 bonus tracks available for download in the fall.”
Verdict: All accurate.
Rock Band 2 Will Also Have Fine Print
Rigopulos: “We’ve made all of the downloadable tracks from the original game forward-compatible into Rock Band 2.. furthermore, if you own the original Rock Band you’ll be able to export almost all of those tracks into the Rock Band 2 game as well. So no need for disc-swapping… by the end of this year I’m happy to announce there will be over 500 songs available for play in Rock Band 2.
Verdict: True, just note that he said “almost.”
Square-Enix Will Have Three RPGs For Xbox 360
Yoichi Wada, president of Square-Enix: dropped some release dates for Infinite Undiscovery — September 2, in NA, 9/5 in Europe, 9/11 in Japan and Asia — Star Ocean for the spring, and Last Remnant for November 11 with a TBD for it coming to Games For Windows.
Verdict : Wada nailed it.
Make That Four
Wada: “An Xbox 360 version of final fantasy xiii , the latest in the final fantasy series, that has more than 85 milion units shipped worldwide, is planned for release. We believe that releasing an xbox 360 version for Final Fantasy XIII will allow us to provide a game to even more fans in the two regions in North America and Europe.”
Verdict: No reason to think this won’t happen.
Note: No mention was made during the press conference of 2008 games Too Human, Braid or Dead Space, despite the latter two becoming two of the most acclaimed games on Xbox 360 in 2008.
Next Victim: Nintendo
[PIC]
Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
ps3 will be crushed? Software sales and the marketing momentum behind just the beginning of this year alone beg to differ. I think that that prediction doesnt hold already.
Most of those things weren’t predictions mate. Especially the ones concerning game, firmware, and software relaease dates such as the one’s about Rock Band and GH.
A prediction doesn’t really count if there was a covert certainty with the “plans” in the first place.
Why are Howard and Takeuchi being counted as MS employees here exactly?
@Ness: Ohhhh yeah...
Nitro378
Sad to see no 1 vs 100, but I can wait
99-Luft-Balloons
This was very nicely done ... it should be done more often. After every presidential debate, NPR did a fact check of what the candidates said -- it was illuminating.
This story is getting very close to being what true game journalism should be, in my opinion.
@Dennen: Didn't read the article, did you?
I wonder how many people do that here. . . .
You know, comment without reading. . . .
@OneCrushingBlow: But the conclusion usually contains some witty satire or puns!
Who doesn't want to read that?
Atomsk88
@OneCrushingBlow: You just blew your cover. We know you're planning an infiltration into the Vatican to discover if they're passing slave boys and guns to Eastern Europe.
Black-Dog-Howls
All I want to know is... who is Stephen Totilo?
J.Bourne
I just want to see more exclusives for my 360. I'm so psyched for Mass Effect 2 and Alan Wake (if it ever comes out), but what else? No Halo for me.
Right now, the PS3 is dominating my living room, but I'm more than happy to be lured away from it if Microsoft wishes to bring out some other exciting exclusives.
sascha23
@goaliegeek: Haha! Oh snap Lips 2 with Lady Gaga performance would be sooo funny.
Ness
@OneCrushingBlow: Or just comment immediately (read: FIRST!)
MSFT is keeping extremely mum for this round of E3 '09. Some say there will be an explosive announcement. Sony is also keeping pretty mum, probably rehash of the triple AAA releases coming this year.
I am waiting on Nintendo. They fucked up two E3 press conf. in a row with Wii Music kicking the can. Even casual market is drying up in the land of the East. I expect them to drop a bombshell in the 1st party development, with Wii sports/motion plus taking a small time slot in the conference.
MSFT seemed to hit most of the promises given last year, that is why I am even more piqued with them being so quiet this year.
PsycheE
@BxB402: I would call those Apple and Sony Fanboys. Nintendo Fanboys aren't as bad.
Nintendo's about to get ROASTED son.
Ness
You know, I would think that it would be better to judge how accurate all their stupid superlatives were. Then you could catch them in some big lies, but as it stands, Microsoft isn't a politician...they have expectations they need to meet, so generally they won't out and out lie about things like Netflix or games coming out when they can't meet those expectations.
But, I'm going to admit that I wouldn't be able to come to that conclusion without first reading this article. Nice job. Maybe Sony or Nintendo's articles will prove me wrong.
@Atomsk88: Hey, it's not required to read ALL of the article here at Kotaku! It's a known fact it's acceptable to just read the title or the first few lines.
According to Netflix.com they have over 12,000 movies and TV shows on instant streaming.
MooglesInMyFace
@Jacob Schumer: Dates aren't the best thing to keep perfect track of. I mean with delays, cancellations, and basically trouble with the development of the game could happen.
@SwKninja: For church. Not CIA or anything super crazy like that.
@Dennen:
Can't wait for the other ones. LOL
Great article, seems like Microsoft nailed what they wanted to do, lets see how the others do...
SwKninja
@Dennen: Yes, at the bottom it clearly shows "Next Victim: Nintendo"
Ness
@codemaster525:
And delivererd almost everything too. Damn good track record going into this next one. and a nice read for those that think MS is all lies.
@Brian Crecente: I'm definitely interested in Nintendo's. There's a part of me that has hope they'll return to the SNES/64 era of things, aka putting out good quality games all around without having to rely on a gimmick. It's a small part. But I'm still hoping.
And don't flame me for calling "motion control" a gimmick because I did own a Wii and liked it for what it was, but I'm not in the group of people who feel the need for it. I'll always be a Nintendo fan, despite not owning any systems right now, but until I see some better quality gaming that is sustained over the months instead of small spurts, I'll stick with my 360. And my SNES, whenever I decide to re-buy one.
Ah.. love these kind of things, always interesting to read. Seems like MS pulled through.
@OneCrushingBlow:
Soooo off topic, but what mission?
SwKninja
MS was spot on with more than 90% of these things. Now for Sony and Nintendo!
@rayne117 - Those Luna Online ads make me uncomfortable: *off CURSES NO EDIT BUTTON
while obviously not being perfect, I'd say they got most of this stuff down... in fact they were more truthful then I figured they would be.
warpped655
Good work ST.!
This is how you start of a month a Kotaku. Can't wait for Nintendo and Sony...
Awesome feature Totilo, I'd really like to see this for Nintendo and *gasp* Sony.
Ah, Microsoft: the only E3 conference that didn't let me down.
jonny911
Kudos to you, Mr. Totilo.
A very interesting read.
Chinpokomon
@Dennen: Last line of the article seems to imply that the next one under the knife will be Nintendo.
Atomsk88
I'm calling out that Lady Gaga will perform for MS this year.
I'd kill to see FFXIII before the end of the year. I have a feeling it's going to be released while I'm on my mission next year for two years. So by the time I come back, it'll be "old news." I'm sure it'll still be good, though.
Great job St. can't wait to see Nintendo's and Sony's.
Seems like it was almost entirely accurate, minus a few "this will be the best evars" and a few dates.
Jacob Schumer
wow, they promised allmost everything.
codemaster525
Will we be doing this for Sony and Nintendo as well? I'd love to see it =)
Dennen
They deserve at least an A-, you're nit-picking :D
GtheMVP99
Nice article, i was actually a bit surprised at how close to reality the predictions were. Can't wait for the other 2
D3lphiki
Can't argue with what they said really, think peter exagerates the fable experience tho nothing new there. He never delivers, fallout was a much more engaging experience.
touchmypenguinagain
I'd like to know when the UK is going to get a streaming movie service like Netflix. As a film student, I was super excited when the partnership was announced, but then... nothing. If the software is available, surely one of the Uk companies like ilovefilm.com could manage it.
Bookdiver
@-MasterDex-:
Shaky camera on standby
bluebuju
I have to disagree about Fable 2, everything promised on F2 was a lie. The dog in the game was nothing more than extremely annoying and most certainly something I've experienced before in a game. I valued my dog in Harvest Moon far more than in Fable 2. I'm never buying anything from Molyneux again as Fable 2 was a greater disappointment than the first one.
Also, the new Xbox is horrific, worse than I ever could've imagined which is one of three reasons why I renounced my Xbox-fanboy status and will buy a game for the PS3 or PC before the 360.
The avatars are stupid no less and while they do seem to roll out new articles of clothing frequently there certainly aren't a lot of options. The amount of customization one can do to their Wii/Home cross breed avatar is highly limited. I don't see much avatars either unless it's just some bland, default looking one. Very disappointing and stupid (The entire avatar thing).
I really hope the PS3 gains some steam and that Xbox is knocked off it's pedestal.
Luke Shiffer
Great article! Great job Stephen Totilo!
samfr
@Hraesvelgr: Zing!
-MasterDex-
@NeVeRMoRe666: Yeah, when one says Microsoft exclusive but sascha23 only mentioned the 360 so I felt as a PC gamer it was my duty to make sure people don't end up uninformed as a result. :)
-MasterDex-
@NeVeRMoRe666: Alert the CIA! The man must be stopped!
-MasterDex-
@Tenerence Love: Nice drop of an awesome joke from "Arrested Development".
@ithyphallus: Probably a Wii.
There is nothing you could possibly get from re-visiting the previous years show and seeing what came true. Pointing fingers and saying "booo you liked to us, you suck" lol. Please.
Sad thing is i read it with my morning coffee lol. And you only gave them a B ? from a couple of failed points. Rockstar didnt lik they were talking about the Fiscal year :)
Chris Taylor
@Tenerence Love: I read the entire article but missed that line as well.
@sascha23: interesting that you mention the ps3 dominating the living room. may i ponder what's in your closet?
ithyphallus
@J.Bourne: Jason Bourne?!?
@-MasterDex-: Well what did you expect? Microsoft owns both the PC and 360, it would be silly not to capitalize on two fronts. When one says exclusive, it still applies.
@Droid: *rolls eyes*
another soldier in the fanboy war.
SeikenFreak
@InconspicuouslyConspicuous: I miss it too. I always forget to preview a comment when there isn't a button there to remind me.
-MasterDex-
@Sparkimus Prime: Haha, lol. So I did. I was hoping to get at least the little spelling/grammar dig right to counteract all my mistakes yesterday. Oh well.
*checks over comment thrice....
Ahhhh, Prefect.
-MasterDex-
Microsoft loves money, but also loves their fans, and doesn't lie to them.
Sony loves money and also lies all the time, so I think they consider their fans as stupid mentals. What a shame I was one of them...
@PsycheE: probably rehash of the triple AAA releases coming this year.
The Triple Triple A releases? They aren't THAT good!
KaneRobot
I wish they'd do that damn Netflix party watching thing. I'd probably sign up for Netflix again if it were implemented.
KaneRobot
@Brian Crecente:
Either Microsoft REALLY did deliver or Stephen Totilo put on some rose-tinted specs...
I'd give Microsoft game division (or whatever its called) a score of A, but it would be a low A.. like a 90. Maybe a 91. They did pretty dang good doing what they said they were going to do. I like that.
--Core--
lots of clothes for Avatar? If you call that a selection, 80% of the pants are Jeans that look the same, and for shirts, I think there are about 5 that people would actually wear.
even Home has more limited stock clothing, yet you can customize your style more.
"True! All three DLC packs are now out for both platforms, and are not out on PS3."
This should be changed to False!
tokyoeroking
@n00b_pwner: Your comment gave me a good laugh, thank you. :)
"starts hyping Fallout 3, Resident Evil 5, Fable II and Gears of War 2"
The first two were multi-platfom, so hardly rocket science to predict. Gears Of War II was also inevitable, and anyone could've predicted that as being a sure hit. I think just Fable II was the only disappointment