E3 2003 MS Conference Live Transcript

[Bond]

http://www.gamerfeed.com/media/images/mse3pre.jpg

Join GamerFeed for another live event, this time from Los Angeles, CA, as Microsoft announces their plans for E3 and the future of Xbox.

Bryan Dawson will be reporting live from the conference hall and he will give you the first details on the Web about what Microsoft has up their sleeves.

Be here on Monday, May 12, at 10:30pm EST and you will see this thread update every few minutes with all the news you want to know!

Here is the link to the live transcript: http://forums.gamerfeed.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=963

Sadly, MS does not allow cameras into their live press conference. But Xbox.com will have a streaming video of the conference up tomorrow morning.

Thanks to BAB for the link.

[GameKinG]

Here are the highlights so far:

MS: We have hit all of our goals. 500K gamers playing 15 million games a week. Now we have promises for this year. We will have more characters, more games, and more technology to wow the Xbox gamer this year.

By 2005, 15 million gamers will have broadband. We are looking to take advantage of being the leader in online gaming.

Bryan: Something from id Software has come out. It looks really good. Very good. It looks prerendered. It's a FPS, I think this is Doom III. It looks like CG. A lot of applause.

Bryan: Now they are talking about Project Gotham Racing 2. Lucasarts is doing the next big Star Wars game for Xbox Live. Now they're showing PGR2. Nothing big, it looks good, not quite like GT4. Real cars, shading looks great. Xbox Live support, very nice.

Star Wars game. Star Wars Republic Commando. Coming 2004. Only CG, but the CG looked great. It looked like a FPS for Star Wars, and it is Xbox Live.

DOOM 3 will be online.


update as soon as their site un-crashes

Cont...

Rare is showing their stuff now. An original cel-shaded game, and it's just jaw-dropping. It has a Wind Waker feel to it actually. Grabbed by the Ghoulies coming Fall 2003.

Now there's just a big montage of games from third-parties, including games from Activision, Namco, and Conker: Live and Uncut by Rare. A new Legacy of Kain game is shown; Sonic Heroes looks just like a Sonic game, looking great. Madden without Xbox Live. Star Wars Knights looks great, and Simpsons Hit and Run is being shown."

Ninja Gaiden Xbox Live. The 2K4 games Xbox Live. Buffy looks just like the first one, but a lot smoother. Sega GT Online looks about the same as PGR2. Kameo looks a bit smoother than last year. NFL Fever 2004 for Xbox Live. Fable looks kind of choppy, but it has a killer feel to it."


more soon

cont...

"Halo 2 is now being shown in a realtime demo. This looks like CG. This looks like CG! Lots of voice, this looks fantastic. Looks just like CG.

"A ton of voice, and the interaction is amazing. This looks like Saving Private Ryan, you really get the feeling like you're there. You get to blow some people up, it really feels like you're there. Communication is all voice, and all the people are talking with you and each other.

"He's taking out people, taking out vehicles, all kinds of fire coming at him. He just ran down a few with a turret. The enemies are hiding behind stuff, and he's taking that stuff out and then the enemies.

"He just reloaded it. The air strike went over him and blew something up. Looks fantastic. Now he has two guns, messing people up with dual machine guns. The enemies have a shield, they're ducking behind stuff... it's like he's fighting a real person. This is all real time.

"He just jumped on a vehicle, and he's still mowing people down. The lighting is gorgeous. He's taking down enemy tanks and it all looks very good, just like CG.

"The whole time, you hear people around you all the time, just like you're there. You can blow up random cars, your wingmen are all around you and you just jumped on an alien ship. Now he's blasting people with their own ship. It's like you're watching a movie."

[BreakABone]

Well here is GameSpot's impressions of the conference.


New games by Rare and LucasArts as well as new details on Xbox Live upgrades revealed.

Microsoft held its pre-E3 press conference to unveil some upcoming games and discuss the future of the Xbox. One of the first games shown at the conference was Doom III--it appeared that the footage shown was from the PC version of the game though the Xbox logo was shown at the end of the video. Next up was Project Gotham Racing 2 with its impressive looking car models—it’s currently scheduled for release in the fall. Videos were also shown for True Fantasy Live Online and Namco’s Breakdown.

After that, a brief list of game names was flashed on the screen. Interestingly, among the games listed were Tenchu Eternal and Conker Live and Uncut. The presentation then led into a demonstration of Grabbed by the Ghoulies, a new Xbox game in development at Rare. The game appeared to have a light-hearted horror-theme with the characters on-screen dishing out punishment to some skeletons with a chair.

Ed Fries then took the stage to talk about the music mixer for the Xbox. The music mixer will contain karaoke features and it will give users the ability to play music, look at pictures. In addition, the music mixer can also strip lyrics out of songs and it also supports a microphone controller adaptor so you can sing your favorite songs.

Next, J. Allard took the stage to discuss the future of Xbox Live and the improvements that the company has in store for the online service. One of the more new interesting new features planned for the service enables users to receive Xbox Live game invites on their PC or on mobile devices such as phones. The Xbox Live upgrade will also support voice communication outside of games and it will also enable users to view Xbox Live information through a Web site. Allard then started to talk about the combination of sports and Xbox Live, which he referred to as the Xbox Sports Network or XSN. Users will be able create teams and manage online leagues via a Web site—these features will be supported by Amped 2, NHL Rivals 2004, Inside Drive 2004, and NFL Fever 2004. This Web site will also be updated every 15 minutes with the latest stats as well as a virtual newspaper with highlights from various games.

Once J. Allard left the stage, the Halo 2 presentation started. The demonstration began with a sequence that takes place against the backdrop of a futuristic Earth. Master Chief is shown in a dropship along with several marines as they swoop down and attempt to retake parts of Earth controlled by the Covenant. Once they hit the ground, the marines lead the way, heading past a medic attempting to treat a fallen comrade on the ground. He continually pounds on the fallen soldier’s chest before proclaiming his time of death. Suddenly, enemy forces start laying down suppressive fire. Master Chief then takes out his sniper rifle and takes out enemies with a single shot. The group then runs into a marine pinned down by enemy fire, so Master Chief starts throwing grenades and then jumps into a stationary machine gun as the game switches to a third person perspective. The Covenant are subsequently mowed down with blood flying everywhere. Master Chief then jumps into a warthog with an AI driver at the controls. He fires rockets at aerial and ground Covenant forces from the back of the warthog. The Master Chief then jumps off the warthog and hits a Covenant in the face with the butt of his gun before taking control of a ghost by throwing its pilot out of the seat. A large Covenant ship begins its pursuit of the ghost, only to wreck into a billboard shortly thereafter. After Master Chief comes to a stop, a group of pods drops down from the sky and open up to reveal covenant soldiers with energy blades.

Robbie Bach then took the stage to give some closing comments, saying Microsoft wasn’t going to wait for the next hardware cycle and that the “Xbox is creating the future now.”