[gekko]

My thoughts posted elsewhere earlier today (don't have time to re-write):

After having some time to analyze what I saw last night, I give Microsoft's press conference two huge thumbs up. Everyone wanted some huge announcement that would wow everyone off their feet and steal the show, but I'm happier without one. As Peter Moore said, every game shown today will be out in 2007. That's much bigger news in my book. I'm not getting a 5 second clip of the next Zelda I can think about for years as Nintendo releases 5 seconds of gameplay every 9 months for the next 3 years before it gets delayed and moved to another system. I'm hearing about what matters, the games that I'll be able to buy in a couple months.

On top of that they covered sales very well, Xbox 360 is still the dominant market leader. But more specifically, they are selling more games than their competitors. Who cares? Oh yes, the publishers sitting in the audience that are looking to make a profit. It's the reason PS3 keeps losing all of its exclusives, and the reason PS2 got so many ports. You cannot afford to not put your game out for the system with the largest install base.

The announcement of Disney movies is huge. All movies went up last night, and they're getting all future releases. It's $4 to rent the movie and keep it for weeks, and $6 to rent in HD. Never leave your house, never worry about returning it. It's really good for me, because I love watching movies in HD, but I'm not buying a Blu-ray player to watch Disney flicks.

Games for Windows is going to get a lot of help from Gears of War. But even bigger was the announcement of Games for Windows being built into the Unreal 3 engine, which could add a ton of support for future games.

Even so, they showed some great upcoming games that will be released this fall. It's a smart plan, because the press will spend their time writing about games that are more than just vaporware. The headlines are going to the games that need them. Everyone knows what Halo 3 is, it doesn't need the press, and it'll sell a ton. They're supporting the smaller titles that need the support, and good on them.

It's one of the reasons I like Microsoft in their current state. They spent their press conference helping to sell games that are third party, and some of which are multi-platform. Why hype Rock Band? Why show the first footage of Resident Evil 5 when it's coming to PS3? Microsoft cares about publishers selling games on their console, and chose not to steal all the headlines by showing off Halo 3.

It gets my approval.