The Tuesday of E3 2006 Microsoft held their press conference at the Mann’s Chinese Theater. Since I arrived in LA on Monday, I already heard plenty of rumors about what was going to be shown and announced. While the journalists and others were trying to be helpful, I wanted to go into the conference without any pre-determined expectations. The theater was packed with journalists, press and camera crews. I took my seat and waited for the big event to kick off.

By now most of you have either seen the conference on Xbox Live or read about it on other on-line magazines. Keeping this in mind I won’t cover the entire event step by step. Instead I will point out a few things I found to be important as well as a few things that were not shown or unveiled as rumors claimed they would.

A Renewed Bill Gates – a Clear Vision

Bill Gates kicked off the conference and I must admit this was a different Bill Gates. He was not nervous and he smiled during the event and was almost beaming with confidence. He, of course, announced what most had guessed in the way of titles and accessories. He then introduced Peter Moore to the stage. Peter also had that confident looked as he first gave some impressive numbers and a few bombshells like GTA IV and Fable 2. He had pictures of the new HD player add-on but no price or ship date was announced. However, he did show off a line-up of movies that are secured for the new format.

Gates also mentioned that support is growing and more studios and titles would be announced at a later date. Both Peter and Bill joked that their were problems getting the shipments of launch 360’s to retail and a map of Area 51 was shown on the screen. They mentioned that the hardest part was getting the units into stores, not production. This lead into one of the boldest statements I have heard from Microsoft to date. 10 million units will be in gamers’ hands before either Nintendo or Sony launches their new systems. They also stated that 6 million are members of Xbox Live and the number will jump in the upcoming year.

Beaming Confidence

Now let me stop here and tell you my impressions. So far less then 20 minutes into the conference and they both are saying they not only have a very huge head start but Xbox live is growing every day. The fact they did not show the HD player and just showed pictures also was a way of sending a message to Sony. In short — a nice way of throwing the gauntlet down. If Microsoft is not worried about Blue Ray, it shows just how confident Microsoft is about their products. It was interesting prior to the show that the main topic was Sony’s poor showing at their press conference.

Now I am not going to sit here and bash one company and praise another even though we are an Xbox site. The press and the trades already did that and I see no reason to go there. Peter Moore also showed off the wireless headset and racing wheel and then said we would get a chance to see both items later. I thought he meant at E3 and so did many others, but they had a surprise for us and more on that later. The only item not shown or even mentioned was the 100 gig hard drive that everyone was talking about on our forums.

PC Gamers – Xbox Live’s Best Friend

It seemed with each passing minute of the event the confidence grew as they showed trailers from Forza 2 and of course Halo 3. After the crowed calmed down, it was time for Bill Gates and Peter Moore to announce something that seemed impossible. Windows Vista will be the first PC operating system made for gamers by gamers. As the new logo flashed they announced “imagine your friend is a PC gamer who wants to shoot you an invite to play, a cross platform gaming experience that has never been heard of before.” The crowd was quiet as both Bill and Peter talked about the fact the PC gamer can now join Xbox Live and play with their friends.

They both said the system would be up and running at E3 and to make sure we check it out. This is huge and perhaps overshadows everything else announced. PC gamers have complained they felt left out of the Xbox Live world and now it is going to allow them to be a part of it. Not all games will work but support is going to grow. After the shock Peter pulled up a screen of a cell phone and stated “say you’re at work and want to send a car to a friend to tweak and try out. You can paint it, make adjustments and send it to your friends Xbox 360”. They will receive the note with the car, download it and be able to try it out.

This sounded impressive because not only PC gamers but cell phones can communicate through Xbox Live as well. In short, we were witnessing the start of something huge. After the presentation of Vista and their vision and goals, the huge crowd was quiet almost waiting for either one to say just joking. In fact it was not a joke. It is where Microsoft wants to take gamers. They had short term plans and long term plans and not just a “Pep Rally”. Peter Moore beamed as he announced the new line up of the arcade games and Marketplace content. Everything was impressive but I could have gone without seeing Madonna in behind the levels of Lumines singing, although I think they are onto something mixing the two mediums together. Microsoft pulled out both guns and blasted both barrels. Not in a way that came across as over-hyped and unsure but confident and a Microsoft that had planned out each step for the next few years and beyond.

Games, Games, and Game Play

For those who saw the press conference, you know the list of games and yes Gears of War, Halo 3, Forza 2 and others got the crowd pumped. Once again, Bill Gates and Peter Moore waited for the crowd to calm down and went on without losing that confident smile. While I only scratched the 120+ minute presentations, it was clear MS has several goals and has a way to make them a reality. No longer are they content on just the console gamers. They want to make it possible for anyone to enjoy the Xbox Live experience. They also want to cater to the PC gamer with better games and an easier operating system that allows gamers to load the games and play with ease. Families will have more options and even younger family members will have games and content that fits their age group.

Accessories, Support, and Booth Babes

After the presentation the crowd burst in applause that lasted longer than was seen at the televised version of the event. We were then told to exit the doors and to follow the security to the second part of the event, which happened to be a chance to see the games before E3 opened and every company was there with their games on the floor. The hotel was divided into a summer bash and even the poolside had the accessories and a DJ spinning tunes. EA was there showing and allowing people to play Madden 07. The difference this year was each company had real Reps at the stations to answer questions and offer help learning the controls. While I don’t mind looking at E3 Booth Babes, when it comes to game information, a company representative speaks a bit better than, “use the controller.”

Everyone was willing to answer questions and only a handful knew that this event was also planned. It kicked off with the conference at 12:00 with seating at 11:30 and then ended the day around 4:30. It was great to have time with the games and the reps before the start of E3 but what was more impressive was the new attitude of Microsoft and all the companies there. “How can we help you?” was the new attitude from the gaming reps. Microsoft’s attitude was simple with a three stage goal that would take them into the front and keep them there — hard to beat. 

No BS, Here is the Plan

Of course, a few things were rehearsed and I can tell you that the more the crowd got pumped, the bigger the smiles were from Bill Gates and Peter Moore. I try and get the facts and not fall for the hype but when any company has clear cut plans for the future of our industry, I get interested. After the event back at the hotel, other journalists were gathering and talked about the show and what was unveiled and shown. Not a single one said that was BS or smoke blown. In fact, it was almost like a renewed insurance that Microsoft wants to stay out front and is ready to prove the non-believers that they are going to do everything they stated. The confidence lasted throughout the whole 3 days of E3 06 and even at the Xbox Live party on Friday night. Stay tuned for more in depth views, thoughts and coverage we could not bring live from E3 06.

Written by: Rich Reed, XBS Head Writer

Filed under: Editorials

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