E3 2007

Xbox.com @ E3: Roll the Credits

Posted 2:25pm, July 13, 2007

E3 is a wrap. Roll the Xbox.com credits…

The Redmond, WA, Crew

Production:

• DigitalRaven (Jeremy Hutton)
• SeaMonkeee (Sally Nordquist)
• Xboxwebmonkey (Paul Secord)

Editorial Assistants:

• Sluggerta (Gera Farkes)
• Kllrgarbs (Nick Garbareno)
• KP (Kevin Paul)

Design:

• Shesgottahaveit (Courtney Bailey)
• Matt Dawsey
• Jacob Greif
• Clint Harrison
• James McKenne
• RevJackDaniels (Erik Olsen)

Editors:

• Jet City Gamble (Mark Austin)
• GhostCatfish5 (Mark Rose)
• Canuckgrl (Erica Moore)

Lead:

• Dammy (Amber Dammeier)

The Santa Monica, CA, crew:

Videos:

• Video Monkey (Craig Mathewson)

Photos:

• Bruce Whitaker

Reporters:

• Editer (Denny Atkin)
• Major Nelson (Larry Hryb)
• Trixie360 (Christa Phillips)
• Treit and True (Ryan Treit)

Managing Editor:

• Highbury Gunner (Colin Hurlock)

C3 @ E3 party!

Posted 1:30pm, July 13, 2007

Last night at the Viceroy the Gamerscoreblog crew hosted a fantabulous poolside party for the Xbox Community; the third annual Community Connection Celebration at E3 (or C3@E3). Highlights included much rocking of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (“Welcome to the Jungle” was the clear favorite), the munching of mini Kobe burgers and mac and cheese balls, and star struck gamers grabbing photo ops with Xbox celebs  Major Nelson, Peter Moore, CliffyB, Jeff Bell, Frankie from Bungie, Peter Molyneaux and BIGVIP.

Madame Dork and Absolute Tara of the GamerchiX

The crowd was an assortment of game journalists, podcasters, Microsoft MVPs, GamerchiX, and regular local gamers. Gamertag Radio was streaming video live, Destructoid was there, NinJaSistah from ElectricSistaHood, Robert and Jeff from Penny Arcade, Nick from Evil Avatar and lots more.

I was delighted to hang out with Fruit Brute and Tiny Dancer from GayGamer.net and yes, they LOVED my shoes! I hung out with some of the guys from ScrewAttack.com for a while. Stuttering Craig and I were going to cap off the party with a jump in the pool (which was filled with beach balls printed with the line “Jump In”!), but he wussed out on me.

The manly Peter Moore and ScrewAttack.com guys.

Besides the unexpected timidity of allegedly macho gamers, it was a VERY fun party. As always it is the highlight of the year for those of us who work with the community to have a chance to meet people in person and say thank you for being part of the fun!

Kobe Burgers: The Aftermath

Posted 11:34am, July 13, 2007

Through unscientific testing, the Xbox.com editorial team has determined that the human body can sustain three full-sized Kobe burgers and four tiny hors d 'oeuvre-sized replicas over the course of a week. After that, the former delicacy begins to take on the air of a potential instrument of torture.

That’s not to say, however, that game journalists won’t cap off a week of Kobe burgers with a thick, juicy slice of prime rib. Although after breakfast, we’re not so sure – bring on the Breakfast Burrito!

Microsoft’s cardiology team has been contacted.

Editer's E3 Game Highlights

Posted 11:08am, July 13, 2007

You’ve already heard plenty about the big game splashes at E3: Halo 3 single-player, Madden NFL 08 running at twice the speed of competing consoles, Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat blowing everyone’s socks off, Scene It? and the Big Button Controller making gaming accessible to Mom, and Assassin’s Creed somehow getting even more impressive. But we saw dozens of other memorable games over the course of the show; here are a few of the highlights:

Beautiful Katamari: The sequel to my favorite PS2 game is an Xbox 360 exclusive, and the demo that we played in Barker Hangar included actual Xbox 360s you could add to your rolling collection of stuff.

Mass Effect: It’s a Bioware game, so we were already psyched, but the gameplay we saw at E3 showed an emotional and ethical intensity beyond what we’ve seen in other RPGs. Waiting till November is going to be positively painful, but at least BioWare’s Greg Zeschuk gave us a copy of the so-far-fascinating Mass Effect: Revelation novel to pass the time.

The Simpsons Game: Despite being a fan of the show for the, what, 73 years that it’s been on, I wasn’t expecting this game to be one of my most anticipated. But its premise, which parodies and skewers popular video games with segments like “Medal of Homer,” “Castle Duffenstein,” and Marge trying to keep Grand Theft Scratchy out of Springfield, this co-op cartoon game looks both hilarious and fun.

Medal of Honor: Airborne: I saw so many World War II shooters that they all kind of blur together at this point, but MoH: Airborne gives you unprecedented freedom in planning your attack on the enemy, taking combat off the rails and making for a different battle each time.

Fracture: I’m a sucker for post-apocalyptic stories, and this futuristic shooter has both a fascinating backstory and innovative gameplay. Attack the enemy not just by blasting away at them, but also by deforming the terrain around them, plunging them into pits or toppling their weapons by making mountains.

Universe at War: Earth Assault: The first cross-platform RTS for the Xbox 360 and Games for Windows, this game has the most interesting, unique trio of battling species since the original Starcraft.

Fallout 3: Three words: Holy <deleted>. Wow.

Sonata's Real-Time, Turn-Based Split

Posted 10:31am, July 13, 2007

Eternal Sonata’s surreal spiral into Chopin’s genius musical mind is well documented, but a recent trip to Namco/Bandai at E3 revealed much more than just theory and premise. Combat in Eternal Sonata it turns out is neither turn-based or real-time but a mixture of the two. Each character is permitted a turn ala classic RPGs, but each turn allows only limited time to reach and attack enemies as well as use items and special abilities.

Beyond this rather unique combat system lies a “light and dark” energy system that determines not only the strengths and available abilities of both villains and heroes, but even the physical manifestation of Sonata’s dream-like enemies.

The clock is ticking.

On the musical front, Namco/Bandai has confirmed that scraps of music compositions can be found throughout your adventures, and dedicated NPCs (non player characters) will allow you to match the music you find with their own. The combination of which will be graded for stylistic compatibility.

You’ll need to keep your combat tactics sharp and your symphonic wits about you come September when Eternal Sonata releases to the eager masses.

Assassin's Mystery

Posted 10:19am, July 13, 2007

The buzz on Assassin’s Creed is, well, buzzing, as hands on reports and trailers highlight Altiar’s fluid acrobatics, gruesome kills and the frankly unprecedented interactive world, but for all that a burning question remains.

Press and gamers alike have been flummoxed to explain what the little bits of digital “code” are that float occasionally around characters, and why in the world is the health bar a double-helix? Asking the PR rep from Ubisoft elicited only a knowing smile. Maybe I should have offered him cookies.

Forget what we think though, we want to know what your theories are. Our dedicated “writer monkey” Treit and True will be fielding responses, so shoot off your explanations to his gamertag and the glorious Treit shall pluck the most discerning and off the wall responses for a post-E3 column.

More NFL Courtesy of EA

Posted 10:12am, July 13, 2007

Our intrepid reporters have snatched EA’s announcement of NFL Tours from the shadowy depths of the interwebs, and while details are few and far between, we do know that you’ll participate in an arcade-heavy NFL “road show” crisscrossing the country to try and secure an NFL contract. You’ll still have access to the NFL players to fill out your team and stadiums have evidently undergone a larger-than-life facelift to accommodate the game’s arcade stylings.

The Sequel to F.E.A.R.

Posted 9:53am, July 13, 2007

Deep inside the darkened depths of the Monolith demo theater a band of reporters gathered ‘round a game with no name. Yes, the sequel to F.E.A.R. is still nameless, but for all that, it’s coming along very nicely, and we were able to gather a few impressions to whet your whistle.

• While the franchise will undergo a name change courtesy of the “Name Your F.E.A.R.” contest, the story is very much an extension of the first game with a heavy emphasis on Alma’s fate and growing powers.
• Much more detail has been paid to realistic movement within the first person perspective as the camera tilts and leans appropriately as you vault over and crawl under obstacles, as well as generally interact with the environment. Even walking or running produces an immersive camera jiggle.
• Enemies in the first title fought with a fierce determination to live, even to the point of knocking over tables and couches to create makeshift cover. When the outraged cries of the gaming community noted the player couldn’t do the same, Monolith took note. You can breathe easy now knowing that just about any object that makes sense can be converted into cover with a good swift kick.
• The health system has undergone a shift from health bars and medkits to the “cover and heal” system used by games like Call of Duty 3, Halo 3, and Gears of Wars.

Shocking frights and unnerving tension still play as vital a role in the new game as the original, if not more so. You know the horror-factor is sizzling when you can elicit a few gasps from a roomed filled with jaded journalists and one member of Xbox.com royalty.

Xbox 360: The Default Platform

Posted 9:34am, July 13, 2007

After countless meetings with every conceivable developer we could lay our greedy little gamer hands on, we've noticed an exciting trend. Nearly every demo has begun with the same sentence: "we're running this on Xbox 360, but we'll be coming out on *%&$# and PC as well." It's good to see Xbox 360 leading the way as the default platform.

Kane & Lynch: What a Couple

Posted 9:13am, July 13, 2007

A raving psychopath and cold-blooded mercenary do not a fuzzy couple make, but they sure are fun to play in Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. A brief demo at the Eidos booth in the Fairmont hotel helped prove just that, but more importantly, allowed Editer and Treit and True to gather intel on some of the finer points of gameplay.

• In single-player you take full control of Kane (the ruthless, but level-headed mercenary) but can issue explicit orders to the unsettled Lynch.
• Beyond our dynamic, blood-letting duo, you’ll pick up a few mercenary friends along the way to assist in your dangerous and elicit activities. These are controlled with simple “go to,” “come here” and “attack that” commands that work smoothly while keeping things simple.
• Action is handled in a third-person, over the shoulder view and like Gears of War you can zoom in for more accurate aim, slowing you down to a careful walk.
• From plot points to raving motivation, story is constantly unfolding in Kane and Lynch, usually in the form of off-color commentary and bickering between the two main characters.
• Though it’s old news, it’s worth repeating for gamers not in the know that you can play through the entire campaign cooperatively on Xbox LIVE. More to the point, the design is more at home with co-op in mind. It simply the way it is meant to be played.

If anything is apparent after the demo at Eidos it’s that Kane and Lynch is eager to provide spectacular set pieces for the gunplay to take place in. From a thriving club filled with dozens and dozens of dancing bystanders to rappelling down a skyscraper and taking a firefight out into the bustling streets, action is a far cry from the empty-hallway firefights of yesteryear.

The Elixir of Life

Posted 5:00pm, July 12, 2007

In case anyone was concerned, TriXie is now feeling much revived from both her evening of hard partying and being thrown under the bus by her boss. A very nice waiter at the Viceroy mixed her up a magical hangover elixir.

She’s got two more parties tonight: the big C3@E3 shindig and then the Ubisoft fiesta. At this point TriXie has sworn off adult beverages, but we’ll see how she holds up tomorrow.

New Back-Compat Titles

Posted 4:41pm, July 12, 2007

Hey, have you guys been paying attention to Remote Control? We’re totally answering your questions. Check ‘em out here.

Here’s the most recent query:

F250 HD: Will there be another update to the backwards compatibility list during this E3?

xboxdotcomE3: Yes we added approximately sixty games to the list of backward compatible games. Check out the updated list here.

TriXie's Travels: Bull Riding 'Til Dawn

Posted 12:32pm, July 12, 2007

TriXie is feeling a little under the weather Thursday after a fun-filled Wednesday night at no less than three parties.

TriXie’s Wednesday night started innocently at the Games For Windows Media Reception at the Viceroy. Lots of buzz around all the great Games For Windows titles coming, a few drinks, some mini Kobe burgers, all manageable for TriXie.

Then she went to the MTV ‘Rock Band’ party at the Troubadour, arriving around 10:30pm. On stage were Queens of the Stone Age, with our girl TriXie within spitting distance of lead singer Joshua Homme – close enough that Joshua actually thanked TriXie and Dirty Diva for coming to the gig.

But that wasn’t enough for TriXie, who moved on to the Saddle Ranch Chop House on Sunset Strip around 1am. There she mastered riding the mechanical bull – she managed to stay on the bull for the entire ride.

Today it’s a different story. TriXie is wearing shades huddled in the corner of our production room at the Viceroy, occasionally slipping off to her room to hug some porcelain. Kobe burger for lunch TriXie?

Halo 3 Update

Posted 12:11pm, July 12, 2007

Showgoers got a taste of Halo 3’s single-player campaign, as Bungie took them through part of the Sierra 117 mission. Taking place in a lush jungle, with the sun peeking through the trees, the demo showed that Bungie reps weren’t kidding when they said that the Halo 3 multiplayer beta’s look wasn’t representative of the final game. With amazing detail in the vegetation, shattering explosions as USNC ships crashed to the ground after a mid-air collision, and details down to a small stream of water dripping from a pipe,  the near-final Halo 3 look is decidedly next-generation.

We also got an updated look at Halo 3’s video recording features. During a replay of a recent Bungie team death match on a huge desert level, Bungie’s Frank O’Conner was able to toggle the view from player to player, use a free-roaming camera to fly over the battlefield, view explosions in slow motion, and freeze the action to catch bodies in mid-flight. In addition to saving videos and stills to the in-game gallery, you’ll be able to post still pictures to Bungie.net, allowing you to share your favorite frags with the world at large.

Battles and Death in Fable 2

Posted 11:57am, July 12, 2007

Lionhead Studios’ Peter Molyneux was on-hand to tease us a few tidbits about Fable 2. Though the game will have cut scenes, they’ll be fully interactive. Only the one-minute, fifteen-second introduction is “canned.” After that, control is never taken away from the player, so you always feel like a participant, rather than a viewer.

We got a taste of the game’s combat system as we wandered around a medieval town, encountering a variety of pirates and rogues. The one-button combat worked surprisingly well, with the X button launching attacks, blocking, or executing special moves depending upon timing. Despite its simplicity, combat was still exciting and challenging.

Molyneux mentioned that the town we were exploring fully supported free roaming. You could enter any home, pilfering items from inside if you so choose, and explore the sewer and catacomb network below the town.

Though we didn’t get to see this yet, Molyneux teased us with some details on how death would be handled in Fable 2. Instead of causing a sort of time travel, putting you back to a point earlier in the level, death instead incapacitates you for a period of time. Resurrection takes place at the current point of time, not in the past, and though you live again, your situation hasn’t been reset. You’ll be scarred from your wounds each time you die. Fable 2’s release date hasn’t been announced yet, but the game will not be released in 2007.

Button Mash Up

Posted 11:34am, July 12, 2007

One positive trend we saw in many games was a push to simplify game controls. We’re not talking about dumbing things down. Rather, developers are looking at how to eliminate button presses when they don’t add to gameplay, and to move key functions to a smaller set of buttons.  In Fable 2, for instance, attacks are launched by pressing the X button.  Hold down X to block, and release X after holding for a special-move attack. In Assassin’s Creed, jumping around rooftops becomes a strategic choice instead of a button-timing challenge. Just hold down Right Trigger and the A button to jump from roof to roof, swing from rafters, making rooftop acrobatics a strategic choice instead of a mini-game where missing a timed button press results in a plummet to the ground.  And though advanced gamers will find lots of controller options in Halo Wars, more casual players will be able to do everything in the game using just the left joystick and the four primary buttons.

Kobe Burger Count Explodes

Posted 10:50am, July 12, 2007

In an unexpectedly delicious development, trays of miniature Kobe burgers abounded at the Games for Windows party on Wednesday night. The official Xbox.com Kobe burger consumption count went up by at least four of the smaller-than-White-Castle variety.

Total game industry Kobe burger consumption skyrocketed into the hundreds as the evening progressed, with developers, press and marketing folks flocking to the burgers like… well, exactly like you’d expect developers, press, and marketing folks to flock to free food. Even Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of Global Marketing for Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business, snarfed down a couple during an exciting demo of Universe at War: Earth Assault.

Inside The Xbox.com Remote Office

Posted 6:00pm PT, July 11, 2007

Bruce is responsible for our cool panorama shots.

Here’s the lowdown on today: Editer and Treit and True spent all day in meetings with developers and publishers. Video Monkey and Major Nelson spent all day… um… making videos. TriXie and Highbury Gunner spent all day in the Xbox.com remote office. In fact they haven’t been outside the Viceroy hotel in several hours.

Gunner eventually got his lunch.

Highbury Gunner even had his lunch delivered here, but the room service monkey got “Business Center” confused with “Fitness Center” and delivered Gun’s non-approved club sammitch to somebody on a treadmill.

In other news, TriXie has been ‘working’ on her interview with Corporeal all day, but hasn’t seemed to get much done beyond her Q&A with Jeff Bell and posting non-approved photos on her blog. She is also hard at work contemplating what to wear to the Games for Windows and MTV parties tonight.

Major Nelson managed to BS his way into both the Sony and Nintendo press conferences and did not appear all that impressed with anything he saw.

Kobe Burger Count Rises

Posted 3:30pm PT, July 11, 2007

An update on the Xbox.com Kobe Burger count at the Viceroy. Another two were consumed by the Xbox.com gang for lunch.

The known total Kobe Burger consumption by the Xbox.com E3 team is now nine, and we’ve only been here 48 hours. We say “known total” because Major Nelson’s whereabouts is currently unknown.

Ace Combat Exclusive

Posted 3:21pm PT, July 11, 2007

A quick stop at the Namco Bandai booth revealed Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation in all its Xbox 360 exclusive glory. A nice little chat with a friendly PR rep and a few minutes of hands on time later, and a few things are made clear:

• Tactics in Ace Combat 6 are no longer tied to pre-determined objectives along a linear path. Instead, the battle is laid out around you. Where you go, who you help and in what order you do it is up to you.
• While the order in which you complete objectives is your call, whatever you do will have a logical effect on the overall battle. Free up some tanks from enemy forces for example and they’ll roll out to assist in other areas. Clear away the enemy presence at an airstrip and you can land and reequip if you need to.
• Each friendly unit is governed by its own unique AI, reacting as individuals to the events around them.
• Orders can now be given to both ground and naval units.

Ace Combat 6 is looking crisp, running smooth (60 frames per second), and while I didn’t get a chance to check out the multiplayer, I was assured Xbox LIVE support will be in full effect.

Eyes on Skate

Posted 2:52pm PT, July 11, 2007

Peeking through, over and under the clustered mass of onlookers at EA’s booth at the Le Merigot hotel, we were able to catch a healthy look at EA’s simulation skating title, Skate. And yes, simulation is the right word.

A grind you can be proud of.

In direct contrast to the arcade-like, combo-crazy skating titles we’ve come to know and love, Skate makes you earn every trick with gameplay firmly grounded in reality. Where in other games it takes an impossible combination of grabs, kick-flips and rotations to feel any satisfaction, even the simplest grind in Skate is challenging enough to grant you a smile.

E3 is here

Posted 1:10pm PT, July 11, 2007

E3 has “officially” started! The hotels are buzzing and the display and demo areas are filling up. Microsoft’s demo area is at the Loews Hotel, just a short walk from the Viceroy where all the Xbox crew is staying. At the Loews you can play the games shown at Tuesday evening’s Microsoft briefing, including PGR4, Scene It and Call of Duty 4, to name but a few.

Back at the Viceroy, the Xbox.com crew is busy writing articles, editing photo galleries, videos and those amazing 360-degree ‘virtual tours.’ Our other crew back in Redmond is also cranking, publishing all the content to the site.

Major Nelson is out and about getting interviews and TriXie just returned from interviewing Jeff Bell, Corporate Vice President of Global Marketing. 

There’s much more to come from E3 so keep it here on Xbox.com.

What a Show!

Posted 10:10pm PT, July 10, 2007

Wow. What a show! All those games, the Halo 3 console, Disney movies on Xbox LIVE Marketplace – all just incredible.

The Microsoft briefing at E3 has just ended and the crowd is starting to leave, truly impressed with what they’ve just seen over the past 90 minutes.

The Halo 3 trailer at the end of the briefing just capped an amazing evening that showed the huge variety of entertainment on Xbox 360 – and all the amazing games that’ll be available by this holiday.

The Xbox.com team is now moving into high gear, publishing all the content from the briefing. We’ll be back on this blog soon.

You can check out all the photos from the briefing here.

It's Show Time

Posted 8:20pm PT, July 10, 2007

The crowds are starting to roll in for the Microsoft briefing tonight at the Santa Monica High School. The open-air auditorium is filling up, the stage is set and the sun is setting over Santa Monica.

We’re all ready for the big show and don’t forget that you can watch a live webcast of the Microsoft briefing starting at 8:30pm PT courtesy of G4.

Talking of which, Major Nelson was just interviewed live on G4 in front of the auditorium. He was a star.

The folks arriving at the briefing are all stoked for what they’re about to see. Xbox MVPs are all in the front row while dozens of film crews are set up along the back row of the auditorium.

It’s going to be a great show. Stay tuned!

DICE's New Direction

Posted 7:05pm PT, July 10, 2007

The news is flowing fast now that E3 is getting underway, including DICE’s just-announced Mirror’s Edge for Xbox 360. While details are scarce, our “reporter monkeys” have discovered that DICE hopes to change how you experience the first person perspective. Standard actions like running, jumping, and sliding are meant to be felt as much seen.

How precisely this works and weather violent motion sickness will ensue (we hope not) is currently unknown, but we hope to discover more at Wednesday’s Electronic Arts press briefing.

Mystery Spielberg Title

Posted 6:25pm PT, July 10, 2007

Steven Spielberg’s alliance with Electronic Arts has been well documented, but at last some tasty morsels of detail have been brought to light. According to a report from Gamasutra, the still untitled Xbox 360 game is science-fiction in setting and focuses on the relationship between you and a “mysterious female character who holds the key to many futures.” For those that don’t read closely, the intriguing bit would be “many futures”. What the heck that means, we’ll have to wait to find out, but if you were expecting standard fare from Mr. Spielberg, you can think again.

Official Xbox.com Lunch

Posted 3:25pm PT, July 10, 2007

Being stationed at the Viceroy, Xbox.com has had to pick an “official” lunch ration. After multiple orders, we’ve made the Kobe Burger our official food of E3.

Since arriving Monday, the team has consumed seven Kobe Burgers – we stress that no one on the team (to date) has eaten more than two Kobe Burgers (though TriXie might have taken one to her room.)

The Kobe Burger consists of a grilled Kobe burger, cheddar cheese, shaved red onions, arugula, roasted garlic aioli and French fries.  Calorie count is not available.

The latest round of Kobe consumption occurred at lunch Tuesday in the Whist at the Viceroy, where three were ordered by four of the Xbox.com crew. An anonymous rogue crew member ordered a Peaches & Cream desert – he/she is currently having a Kobe burger pre-ordered for breakfast tomorrow.

Xbox Commandeers the Viceroy

Posted 1:30pm PT, July 10, 2007

Greetings from Santa Monica! It was overcast this morning, but by lunchtime the so-called ‘marine layer’ had burned off and it’s a beautiful sunny day. Reports from the homefront are that the Seattle area is unreasonably hot, but it’s warm and breezy here at the beach – we mean at E3.

Xbox has commandeered the Viceroy hotel  and it’s very cool to have everyone together. It’s sort of like the Xbox dormitory. Later in the week, however, it may become more like an Xbox frat house.

In the dining hall – uh, Whist restaurant—Xbox peeps ate some fancy food, discussed the “buzz”, and had meetings. Major Nelson joked that as soon as Robbie Bach showed up it became the “Executive Dining Room.”

Outside, crews are preparing for the parties that will happen here this week:  Xbox pillows are being fluffed, Sharp TVs are being set up, silver spheres are being polished, and dead bugs have been skimmed from the pool.

On the Xbox.com side: Major Nelson, Video Monkey and Editer are off interviewing execs. TriXie, Highbury Gunner and Treit and True are stuck in the Viceroy business center which we’ve converted into our ‘war room’ – at least until it’s time to set up our remote command post at Santa Monica High School this evening for the Microsoft press briefing.

Ready to Rumble in Santa Monica

Posted July 9, 2007

Greetings from Santa Monica! The Xbox.com crew is camped at the Viceroy, hooking up laptops, cameras, microphones and various other cables and wires, all in preparation for this week’s E3 summit.

Video Monkey and Treit And True found a nice place to "work" by the pool at the Viceroy.

The entire crew has been shuttling back and forth between the various venues, picking up all the credentials needed to get in and out of the hotels, the briefing area and Barker Hangar.

Major Nelson has been checking out all the E3 sites, getting the lay of the land and spending time in the PR room at Santa Monica High School, the venue for Microsoft’s briefing Tuesday night. He even bumped into some fans at the hotel, who wanted him to pose for a few photos. That made the Major very happy.

TriXie meanwhile is in our "office away from the office" at the Viceroy, uploading photos and checking mail.

So, we’re set and ready to go. It all starts Tuesday with Microsoft’s briefing which we’ll be bringing to you right here on Xbox.com with a live webcast, courtesy of G4.

Stay tuned, the show is about to start.

Microsoft Once Again Bringing E3 Home

Posted July 2, 2007

For the second year running, fans around the world thirsting for a sneak preview of the Xbox 360™ holiday games and entertainment lineup can get together with friends to experience the E3 Media & Business Summit (E3)—the biggest video game industry event of the year—in high definition from the comfort of their own homes.

From Tuesday, July 10, through Friday, July 13, Microsoft is bringing E3 home through its second annual E3: Bringing It Home, which offers downloads on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace of the hottest content from the show.

Connect to the Xbox LIVE online entertainment network and bring everyone together in the living room to enjoy the E3 experience with E3: Bringing It Home.

Xbox 360 owners will be able to download high-definition content direct from the show including the following:

• Microsoft’s E3 2007 press conference—beginning at 8:30 P.M. PDT on Tuesday, July 10—will be available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace in high definition later in the week.
• Video updates direct from the show.
• A selection of game trailers, themes, gamer pictures and demos will be available from the hottest E3 titles such as these:
• Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.)
• Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft)
• BioShock (2K)
• Blue Dragon (Microsoft Game Studios)
• Burnout Paradise (Electronic Arts Inc.)
• Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare™ (Activision)
• FIFA Soccer 08 (Electronic Arts)
• Guitar Hero III (Activision/RedOctane)
• Lost Odyssey™ (Microsoft Game Studios)
• Madden NFL 08 (Electronic Arts)
• NCAA Football 08 (Electronic Arts)
• Need for Speed: ProStreet (Electronic Arts)
• Project Gotham Racing® 4 (Microsoft Game Studios)
• The Simpsons Game (Electronic Arts)
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 (Electronic Arts)
• WWE® SmackDown® vs. Raw® 2008 (THQ)

Welcome to the Xbox.com E3 Blog

Posted June 18, 2007

It's mid June, summer's (almost) here and usually by now the great E3 Media & Business Summit is a distant memory. Not this year.

Nope, for 2007 E3 is in July, the week after Independence Day. It'll be in Santa Monica, CA, at several hotels and Barker Hangar, officially kicking off on July 11 and running through July 13. Microsoft's press brieifing is July 10 in the evening.

According to the E3 website, "The E3 Media & Business Summit is an exclusive, invitation-only, three-day event which will offer the opportunity for both ESA members and non-members to stage major press events, and to have personal meetings in hotel suites and meeting rooms with media, retailers, developer partners, and other key industry contacts."

Wow—that's a lot to say in one sentence. But hold on, take another deep breath, there's more on the E3 website. "In addition, the Barker Hangar will be converted into a software showcase where attendees will be able to casually test drive featured video games outside of the companies' suites."

Certainly sounds like E3 is going to rock this year, contrary to press reports earlier in the year about a "smaller E3." And we here at Xbox.com are going to make sure you don't miss a thing.

In addition to Major Nelson and TriXie, we're sending a small, battle-ready crew down to Santa Monica to bring you all the news, the interviews, the videos, and exclusive looks behind the scenes. We'll be blogging (this is our blog page, by the way), we'll be filing video reports, tracking down all the latest and greatest Xbox 360 has to offer and posting it all here on our E3 pages on Xbox.com.

The E3 summit may be an "invitation-only" event, but for you, our loyal audience, consider this an invitation from Xbox.com to virtually come to E3 through our coverage. Not only will we keep posting articles and videos from E3, but with our "Remote Control" feature you can ask us what you want us to cover and we'll go and dig out the information for you.

Stay tuned. E3 is nearly here!