Microsoft E3 conference

[darkrage61]

http://live.cnet.com/Event/Microsofts_E3_press_conference

In case anyone is interested in the conference.  I was pretty impressed overall, most of the games looked pretty damn good, especially that titan mech game.

[HardcoreSadism1]

The Halo one was awesome but also the most confusing, Halo.... 5? Halo, in between 4 and 5? What? 

[ZetaX1]

So, let's see what our options are so far...

Wii U
----------
The good:
     No DRM

The bad:
     Current-gen graphics
     Few compelling games

The indifferent:
     Price: $350 (a little high for what it offers)
     Touch screen controller


Xbox One
----------
The good:
     Next-gen graphics

The bad:
     Collector-unfriendly Big Brother DRM B.S.
     Creepy Kinect 2.0 always lookin' and listenin'
     Few compelling games
     Price: $500

The indifferent:
     It's a blu-ray player...like I need another one


Okay, Sony.  All you've got to do is release something with next-gen graphics, no stupid DRM, a price around $399, and some decent games.  Ball's in your court.

[darkrage61]

You do know you can turn the Kinnect off right?   it isn't always looking or listening, it only will if you want it to.

 

[VideoGameCritic]

The only thing I'm excited about is the new Xbox 360.

Maybe now we'll be able to enjoy our 360 games long into the future without the fear of the console breaking down.  Hopefully this one will be quieter as well.

[Rev1]

Well... I just did a lot of snuffing around for the Microsoft news and I wasn't that impressed... The only thing that stood out was the new 360, which looks pretty solid.

The ball is really in Sony's court, I think it's supposed to start in 3 hours or so... God please let it be good. I really don't want to read the news to find out Sony is mirroring Microsoft's strategy...

[Astrosmasher1]

Well I went out and Watched the last exorcism part 2 which I enjoyed.  Also I watched After Earth which was an enjoyable piece of hokum.  It is just such a pity that the plot was entirely the same as some other sf movie recently which I have forgotten the name of.

I have just looked at the list of games.  Okay Killer Instinct is cool.  That is it.  Nothing else to be released is any cop at all. 

I thought that this big splash of games was supposed to make me want to get a new console.  Yet more of the same. 

[weallmissedme1]

The next Gen doesn't appear to be a huge step up.

[Irenicus1]

1. The games look good. Not next-gen good, but current-gen good. Visuals didn't look much better than the games I'm playing now on the 360. The cut scenes & scripted sequences were noticeably better, but the gameplay footage looked on par for 360 & PS3. The racing games failed to show better collision. Cars bump off each other with unrealistic damage.

2. Considering that every system must also include a Kinect I really expected to see some attention & upgrades for it. They showed one new Kinect Sports title. I was not impressed.

3. Some pretty good names though. New Panzer Dragoon-like game, NBA Live 14, Titanfall looked cool. A new Dead Rising game is open world. The Rome game & the tank games also looks promising.  

4. $499 is the cost. Wow that's high for a system that's removing game ownership & forcing internet connection. The forced internet connection will require Xbox Live subscription & that's even more money. I'm really surprised they didn't lower the initial cost by requiring subscription services, but I guess with forced Xbox Live they're guaranteed that money with every system they sell anyways.  

5. Like I said in another post the best part is that they are making many bad moves at once. 1. Forced internet. 2. Forced game registration. 3. Forced Kinect. 4. Limiting game ownership. 5. $499. Many gamers can deal with some of this nonsense, but hopefully by putting it all together it will make the Xbone a spectacular financial failure.    

[Atarifever1]

I'm actually going to rate the game showcase an A+.  I was very impressed.  If they can really get all that in the 12 month launch window, it'll be the console that hit the ground running the best of all time.  I would almost buy a system for Killer Instict.  I really did like that one on the SNES back in the day (and I still have the Gameboy version around here somewhere).  Quantum Break and Spark or whatever didn't do anything for me, but pretty much everything else (besides Battlefield) did.  One thing I noticed was that there was a lot of colour in most of the games, not just brown, which is great.

Thev 360 redesign and games are almost making me go buy a 360 again, and it looks like there really is a commitment for another couple years.  Playstation Plus being part of Live now is also an incredibly smart move.

All in all I was impressed a lot... and then they priced it.  $500 is way, way, way too much to be launching a console at today.  I saw an Android tablet in the Wal-Mart flyer for $78.  There is a Sony smart Blu-Ray player there for $68.  The 360 is like $200 and has a redesign and new games coming.  Smartphones are practically free under contract.  A decent laptop that can play a lot of games can go for $300, and does a billion other things.  You cannot come into the entertainment electronics market in 2013 woth a product like this at that price and expect to succeed.  Not selling a multipurpose machine or a games machine.  Get.  Out.  Before anyone mentions the price of the 2600 in 2013 dollars, please remmeber I already bored everyone a hundred times on how that is not a good comparison.  That $78 tablet is also much, much cheaper than a computer that could do 1/10,000th as much in 1980, so entertainment electronics shouldn't go up in price with inflation, but down.  

If they were serious about the multimedia stuff, and are really making subscriptions to Live so central to everything, they'd be basically giving the thing away.  $500 is way, way too much.  Nothing they showed at either press conference is $500.  

Now please Xbox fans do what Sony fans did in 2006 and try in vain to make a case for how it is worth that kind of money.  It isn't.  Like the PS3, it will sell okay for a couple weeks to die hards, then will dry up for a long time until the price comes down.  If Sony says $399, or better $349, they win.  

I also predict a Nintendo Direct announced price drop (or new multigame/controller bundle that is essentially a price drop) so expect $500 to seem even more absurd after that.  If it is $399 for PS4, and $349 for the Zombi U bundle , "$500 plus Live" is going to look horrible on the shelf next to those two.