10:09 Matt Peckham: Just into the Microsoft E3 event here… Looks like we’ve been rescheduled for 10:30 now…
10:12 Matt Peckham: Shots from the line outside the show.
10:13 Matt Peckham: We’re in the Wiltern Theater, bathed in green light. Very Xbox-y.
10:14 Matt Peckham: Loud music thumping in background, sitting next to GameSpy’s Ryan Scott…
10:14 Matt Peckham: We managed to snap a few pics of Kinect, Microsoft’s new name for Protect Natal, in the lobby outside.
10:16 Matt Peckham: That’s it. Looks like the preliminary mockups Microsoft’s shown all along.
10:16 Matt Peckham: No sign of an Xbox 360 slim. Yet.
10:17 Matt Peckham: Peter Molyneux stopped by the line. Predicting a Kinect-based Fable III demo.
10:18 Comment From Steve think before they come out with a XBox 360 Slim they need to resolve the overheating (3 Red Rings of Death) first.
10:19 Matt Peckham: I don’t disagree with Steve, but I think the later models of the 360 mostly overcame the red ring issue. Trouble is, a lot of people still run these things inside cabinets, which wasn’t a problem for older systems, but causes serious issues for the 360.
10:20 Matt Peckham: We’re filling up here. Lots of green. Theme word for Microsoft E3 2010: Sepulchral!
10:21 Matt Peckham: I’m sitting about two dozen rows back from that screen.
10:22 Comment From Paul I would like to see a Kinect game that isn’t “Stand here while things come to you, and then jump/flail”
10:23 Chris Holt: And I’m about five dozen back in the VIP overflow room. Hi, everyone.
10:23 Matt Peckham: Hi Chris!
10:23 Matt Peckham: Chris Holt from Macworld everyone.
10:24 Chris Holt: Hi everyone. Securing a WiFi key at this thing was harder than I thought. Had to resort to some creative methods.
10:24 Matt Peckham: Microsoft had a bunch of interesting Aztec-y models out in the lobby vogue-ing.
10:25 Matt Peckham: These events just get stranger and stranger.
10:25 Matt Peckham: The briefing begins in 5 minutes!
10:25 Matt Peckham: Everyone’s taking their seats…
10:27 Matt Peckham: Stage is set with several raised platforms, automated lights, one giant flat screen with two bracketing curved displays cycling digital bubble-things.
10:28 Matt Peckham: And REALLY REALLY LOUD MUSIC.
10:28 Comment From Steve I just want to see a decent size hard drive for my 360 🙂
10:28 Comment From leicaman “Sepulchral” – Leave it to Microsoft to use a word you have to think about to even come close to pronouncing right. And don’t even try after a few beers.
10:28 Comment From Steve Sure hope they announce XBox Portable
10:29 Matt Peckham: Xbox 360 handheld? 🙂
10:29 Matt Peckham: “The briefing is about to begin…”
10:29 Matt Peckham: Uh-oh, just got the “Content Warning” message. Program may contain images not suitable for all audiences…
10:29 Chris Holt: That would be fun to see. But after Nintendo and Sony’s stumbles, would Microsoft go handheld?
10:30 Matt Peckham: Yeah, I don’t think Microsoft’s going mobile anytime soon.
10:30 Matt Peckham: Music switching to even LOUDER metal…
10:30 Matt Peckham: “Hey hey hey! Hey hey hey!”
10:31 Matt Peckham: Lights just went down…
10:31 Matt Peckham: Here we go!
10:32 Matt Peckham: Treyarch game demo running onscreen…Call of Duty Black Ops!
10:33 Matt Peckham: “We live in a world, where…” [everything explodes!]
10:33 Matt Peckham: Mark Lamia, Treyarch studio head just walked onstage.
10:33 Chris Holt: Trailer for new Call of Duty game not done by Infinity Ward. It rips off CoD 4 and Modern Warfare II pretty handily. Like, there’s some shot for shot comparisons to be made
10:33 Matt Peckham: Going to walk through Black Ops.
10:34 Chris Holt: He’s not Captain Price!
10:35 Chris Holt: Sorry, all joking aside. The video shows an intnese fight in a cave network. No where to run, nowhere to hide. Very close quartered combat
10:36 Matt Peckham: Foliage looks pretty amazing…
10:36 Chris Holt: Now we’ve got a jungle scene. Ambushing a Russian heli pad.
10:36 Matt Peckham: Typical Call of Duty, guy wades into middle of clearing, takes pot shots at everyone in sight, survives dozens of gun wounds.
10:37 Matt Peckham: Now we’re in a helicopter…
10:37 Matt Peckham: Two person helo.
10:37 Matt Peckham: Just missile-blasted a bridge.
10:37 Chris Holt: You’re stealing the HIND. That’s new.
10:37 Matt Peckham: Dozens of missiles unloaded on an enemy camp, massive carnage.
10:38 Chris Holt: I feel like this is one of those games you’ll want stereo sound.
10:39 Matt Peckham: November 9, 2010 = release date for Black Ops.
10:39 Matt Peckham: And now Don Mattrick, Microsoft SVP, is on the stage.
10:40 Matt Peckham: “Game add-ons and map packs launching first on Xbox 360.”
10:40 Matt Peckham: That’s for Call of Duty.
10:40 Chris Holt: Tepid response from audience. Awkward.
10:41 Matt Peckham: Agreed. A few standouts, else very tepid.
10:41 Chris Holt: I still contend that “Project Natal” is a cooler name than “Kinect”
10:41 Chris Holt: Still better than Wii though
10:41 Matt Peckham: “Kinect brings your living room to life in a social and accessible way.”
10:42 Matt Peckham: Hideo Kojima taking the stage (creator of Metal Gear Solid).
10:42 Chris Holt: He’s like Jordan. He keeps un-retiring
10:42 Matt Peckham: Looks like a Metal Gear Solid Rising premiere.
10:42 Matt Peckham: “The very first footage of the game in action.”
10:43 Comment From Jovan Yes, Project Natal is the better name.
10:43 Comment From Christopher Kinect ftw !
10:43 Matt Peckham: “MGS Rising is unlike anything you’ve seen before.”
10:44 Matt Peckham: Trailer starts off, long pan over a sword.
10:44 Matt Peckham: Kojima logo.
10:44 Chris Holt: So it looks like Kojima has passed the torch to his producer, who is presenting the game.
10:44 Matt Peckham: Fans with lighting coming through.
10:44 Matt Peckham: Dank, dripping, bullets all over the floor.
10:44 Chris Holt: I caught something about the name meaning “cut” and “take”
10:44 Matt Peckham: Some sort of armored creature with a massive gun on one arm patrolling.
10:44 Matt Peckham: And there’s Raiden!
10:45 Matt Peckham: Steps in and pulls its spine out. Lovely.
10:45 Matt Peckham: White gore everywhere.
10:45 Chris Holt: FINISH HIM!
10:45 Matt Peckham: “GET OVER HERREEE…”
10:45 Matt Peckham: “Lightning Bolt Action”
10:45 Matt Peckham: “Cut”
10:45 Matt Peckham: “Cut what you will”
10:45 Chris Holt: Sounds like an action figure accessory.
10:46 Matt Peckham: MGS Rising, aka “Sushi Chef simulator”
10:46 Chris Holt: You control where and how you cut. Very, very well received.
10:46 Chris Holt: You get to turn enemies into five kinds of fries.
10:46 Matt Peckham: Over to Phil Spencer, Corporate Vice President Microsoft Game Studios.
10:48 Chris Holt: Spencer talks about the icon factor of Master Chief, Sam Fisher, and Marcus from Gears of War. Hooray for male tough guy protagonists.
10:48 Matt Peckham: Every game here out is “only available on Xbox 360”
10:48 Matt Peckham: Cliffy B (Gears of War) taking the stage.
10:48 Chris Holt: Without the Faux Hawk
10:48 Matt Peckham: Live demo of 4-player story-based co-op in Gears of War 3.
10:49 Matt Peckham: Marcus impales an enemy, dives into the action.
10:50 Matt Peckham: Cliffy B’s calling out commands to his co-players.
10:50 Matt Peckham: (Oh wait, he doesn’t like to be called Cliffy B anymore…)
10:50 Matt Peckham: They’ve got squids in Gears of War 3! (Actually bipeds with squid-like appendages)
10:51 Chris Holt: Fine, he’s the developer formerly known as Cliffy B
10:51 Matt Peckham: “Bring the hammer online.” Hammer of Dawn, here we come…
10:51 Chris Holt: They’re killing Ents!
10:52 Matt Peckham: Giant Lovercraftian thing is wreaking havoc on the wee folk!
10:52 Chris Holt: I, for one, welcome our new squid overlords.
10:53 Matt Peckham: “Did we fry that b****?”
10:53 Matt Peckham: Nope. Looks like you didn’t.
10:53 Matt Peckham: “And that’s our demo.”
10:53 Matt Peckham: Here comes Peter Molyneux. Fable III demo incoming.
10:54 Chris Holt: Never been a big fan of Gears story, but that was a great multiplayer demo.
10:54 Matt Peckham: Agreed, that was pretty phenomenal. Call back to epic boss battles, multiple stages of dismemberment.
10:54 Matt Peckham: Fable III shipping October 26!
10:55 Matt Peckham: Great and powerful king of Albion is dead, the king leaves his crown to his son. To the other son, “he leaves a life of adventure.”
10:55 Matt Peckham: Very steampunky.
10:55 Matt Peckham: “It’s a revolution.”
10:56 Matt Peckham: And that’s it? No Kinect demo? Awww…
10:56 Matt Peckham: P’raps later.
10:56 Matt Peckham: Microsoft’s newest partner? Greek-armor-clad dude? Who’s this?
10:57 Matt Peckham: “Who can stand?”
10:57 Chris Holt: “The sword is driven to madness”…
10:57 Matt Peckham: Crytek!
10:57 Matt Peckham: Codename: Kingdoms?
10:57 Matt Peckham: Okay, that was confusing.
10:58 Chris Holt: Yeah, now he’s talking about Halo.
10:58 Matt Peckham: Straight on to Halo: Reach.
10:58 Matt Peckham: “You haven’t experienced Halo until you’ve played it from the beginning…”
10:58 Chris Holt: Codename: Kingdoms just got a teaser trailer and that’s it. It looks like a medieval action game with Huns/Spartans/Barbarians
10:59 Matt Peckham: The world premiere of the Halo Reach campaign.
10:59 Chris Holt: Keep milking this cow, Microsoft.
10:59 Chris Holt: (sorry, I remember a day when Halo was a Mac-exclusive title. But I’m not bitter at all.)
11:00 Matt Peckham: All hail Marathon… 🙂
11:00 Chris Holt: So pretty standard Halo combat so far. Drop ships and guns et al. New: You and your friends can put on armor that resembles the power rangers! Mighty Morphing!
11:00 Matt Peckham: Looks very Halo-y, perhaps with more going on in background. Huge base far off, pods dropping in, light bleeding down from the sky.
11:01 Matt Peckham: Guns looks higher-res, everything looks sharper, more finely detailed.
11:02 Chris Holt: It looks like you get to play as a a Spartan in this game. So that’s new.
11:02 Matt Peckham: Now we’re in the base, launching missiles down at a dock of sorts.
11:02 Matt Peckham: Yep, can’t remember the exact spartan model number, but pretty sure they’re post-Master Chief.
11:02 Matt Peckham: But cheaper, fodder-style, meant to mass production.
11:03 Chris Holt: Nice melee takedown. More elaborate.
11:03 Matt Peckham: Whoa, we’re in a rocket ship.
11:03 Chris Holt: I’m still waiting for the voices of the cast of Firefly.
11:03 Matt Peckham: Okay, maybe not manual controls…
11:04 Matt Peckham: Okay, so we ARE in a spaceship.
11:04 Matt Peckham: Now we’re in orbit… Very tasty Microsoft.
11:04 Chris Holt: Space battles!
11:04 Matt Peckham: Halo: Reach (finally) goes Star Wars!
11:04 Matt Peckham: Halo demo finished, over to Marc Whitten, corporate vice president.
11:05 Matt Peckham: “25 million members of Xbox LIVE.”
11:05 Matt Peckham: Kinect’s sensor detects both movement and sound in very sophisticated ways.
11:05 Matt Peckham: It recognizes you, responds to gestures, knows your voice.
11:06 Matt Peckham: Imagine a world where you can watch a movie without a remote, a game without a controller… Imagine that living room is smarter… Imagine that finding content on your TV is so simple, everyone can do it.
11:06 Matt Peckham: Kinect is here, and it’s real.
11:06 Matt Peckham: This is what happens when technology gets out of your way.
11:06 Matt Peckham: Demo…
11:06 Matt Peckham: Wave to sign in, wave once more to switch to controller-free menu.
11:07 Matt Peckham: Kinect hub, find friends, games, other content like Netflix, Facebook, Last.fm. Everything’s in one place, no controller required.
11:07 Chris Holt: Voice activated.
11:07 Matt Peckham: All you have to do is say “xbox” and Kinect is listening. “If you can see it, just say it.”
11:07 Chris Holt: Zune movies! Yes, the Zune! I’m so excited for the Zune!
11:08 Matt Peckham: Using hands to move a cursor around and pick 1080p clips in Zune.
11:08 Matt Peckham: “What I can do with my hands I can do just as easily with my voice.”
11:08 Matt Peckham: “Xbox Pause!”
11:08 Matt Peckham: “Xbox Play!”
11:08 Chris Holt: Pretty cool. With his hand he was able to do pretty exact fast forwarding. Same with his voice
11:09 Matt Peckham: “Xbox Stop!”
11:09 Matt Peckham: “Xbox Play Music…”
11:09 Chris Holt: “Xbox: Become sentient!”
11:09 Matt Peckham: Justin Bieber? Who’s that? 😉
11:09 Matt Peckham: “Xbox! Giving me a drink of water!”
11:10 Matt Peckham: So Kinect = Dragon Dictate 2010.
11:10 Comment From Bubzebub Xbox order pizza!
11:10 Comment From Steve So Skynet begins with the XBox so xbox goes Terminator on us 🙂
11:11 Chris Holt: I’m skeptical of the implications for hard core gaming, but I’m impressed with Kinect’s movie watching abilities
11:11 Comment From Guest Xbox! Stop spending my points!
11:11 Matt Peckham: Yeah, this is totally not aimed at hardcore gamers (like us)
11:11 Chris Holt: But yes, your Xbox will be looking for Sarah Connor.
11:11 Matt Peckham: VideoKinect demo.
11:11 Chris Holt: Oh god, this could get ugly.
11:12 Matt Peckham: Friends on Xbox LIVE + Windows Messenger, demo of navigating with about eight pictures per screen.
11:12 Matt Peckham: Aha, voice and video chat.
11:13 Chris Holt: “sup kristen!” audience member hits on woman through Xbox Video connect
11:13 Matt Peckham: The video quality isn’t bad.
11:13 Matt Peckham: You can pick a video and watch it together, while maintaining a video chat sessions.
11:13 Matt Peckham: Did I say the video quality wasn’t bad? The (MS spokesperson) acting really is.
11:14 Chris Holt: VideoKinnect can track you as you move.
11:14 Matt Peckham: Big Brother is watching!
11:14 Matt Peckham: Again, looks like it could be a hit with families, casual gamers, friends, etc. Not really game-oriented.
11:15 Chris Holt: But to do that on your TV is something you saw on Back to the Future 2.
11:15 Comment From G-Unit Just need living tissue over Xbox metal skeleton.
11:16 Matt Peckham: Okay ESPN wonks, here’s your demo!
11:16 Chris Holt: Seeing sportcenter journalists trying to play games is funny.
11:16 Matt Peckham: Montage of sports games, shots of ESPN announcers announcing an exclusive partnership with Xbox 360.
11:17 Matt Peckham: Watching any non-actor try to act is funny.
11:17 Chris Holt: Trey Wingo! I usually watch you cover events like Women’s College Basketball.
11:17 Matt Peckham: Josh Elliott and Trey Wingo on stage. Names that mean something to ESPN fans, no doubt.
11:17 Chris Holt: Not really, these are the C-list anchors.
11:17 Comment From Steve Does it seem easier to control than just moving a joystick around? Other than the fact you don’t need a controller, does it make things easier?
11:18 Matt Peckham: Cue the ESPN sport-rivalry jokes.
11:18 Chris Holt: They keep showing video clips of USC. Funny cause they just hammered by the NCAA for cheating.
11:18 Chris Holt: *got hammered.
11:19 Matt Peckham: “Xbox – JOIN USC”
11:19 Matt Peckham: Okay, voice commands to run ESPN coverage like DVR, that’s cool.
11:20 Chris Holt: “Kinect is going to make taunting that much easier.”
11:20 Matt Peckham: Real-time polls, trivia, other ways to enhance live experience.
11:20 Matt Peckham: “How many times has Ohio State won the Rose Bowl?”
11:20 Matt Peckham: ESPN game scores, video statistics, without leaving the action.
11:21 Matt Peckham: Reasonably strong response to ESPN on Kinect from the audience. Actual whistling this time.
11:21 Chris Holt: Looks good for sports fans. Great if you’re watching a game live with a bunch of friends.
11:21 Matt Peckham: ESPN For Xbox LIVE gold members “at no additional cost.”
11:22 Matt Peckham: The creative director of Kinect, Kudo Tsunoda on stage.
11:22 Chris Holt: The dude looks like a poor man’s Russell Brand.
11:23 Matt Peckham: “We allow you to play however you want to play.”
11:23 Matt Peckham: Without a game console? For free? 🙂
11:23 Matt Peckham: Six Kinect launch games “the world’s going to be playing this holiday.”
11:23 Matt Peckham: Can only be played WITHOUT a controller.
11:24 Matt Peckham: Kinectimals, looks like. Tiger cub looking pretty cute.
11:24 Chris Holt: Cute kid on stage. Playing with her pet Tiger.
11:24 Chris Holt: Not named Hobbes.
11:24 Matt Peckham: Virtual ghost hands on screen petting, caressing the tiger.
11:24 Matt Peckham: Most uncoordinated cat I’ve ever seen.
11:25 Matt Peckham: “Skittles, get up, now go get your toy…”
11:25 Chris Holt: This kid is adorable.
11:25 Matt Peckham: This is ridiculously cute. Insanely cute.
11:25 Matt Peckham: The kid is now jumping rope with the tiger. Awwww….
11:26 Chris Holt: And then the cat did a move out of the matrix. Skittles is the One.
11:26 Matt Peckham: Every family in America (and probably the rest of the world) just reserved a Kinect.
11:27 Chris Holt: Kinect’s Animals looks a step above Touch Pets and the like, but with a focus more on animals rather than accessories. Pretty strong AI. Curious to see the range of tricks.
11:28 Chris Holt: Now Kinect Sports. Running game to start things off.
11:28 Matt Peckham: Demoing a running game, two on stage about to start running.
11:28 Matt Peckham: On your mark, set, GO!
11:28 Chris Holt: Running in place, jumping in place. The avatars look like Wii’s avatars. But Wii can’t do this.
11:29 Matt Peckham: Soccer, bowling…
11:29 Matt Peckham: Javelin throwing, hurdling, table tennis, boxing.
11:29 Matt Peckham: Volleyball…
11:30 Matt Peckham: Wii Sports, but as Chris said, the Wii can’t do this.
11:30 Chris Holt: The boxing game, which everyone seems to have, resembles Wii’s rather than Sony Move’s. More flailing, less hooks and grapples.
11:30 Chris Holt: Now a driving game without a controller. She’s just holding an invisible steering wheel
11:31 Matt Peckham: The racing game lets you drive using your hands holding an imaginary wheel. Thrust them both out to BOOST the vehicle.
11:32 Chris Holt: Stunts. Pretty boring backgrounds. Usual avatars. Title: Kinect Joyride.
11:32 Matt Peckham: Kinect Joyride includes stunt mode (5 unique gameplay modes in all)
11:32 Chris Holt: Kinect Adventures: Looks like Wipeout! the game.
11:33 Chris Holt: Obstacle courses, multiplayer
11:34 Matt Peckham: The guys look pretty silly jumping and waving. Then again, ever watched someone play a game with a gamepad?
11:34 Chris Holt: Grab the coins, jumping. Looks like something you’d play on a blue screen as a kid at a science museum.
11:34 Chris Holt: The acting… it hurts. Now we’ve got a rafting adventure.
11:35 Matt Peckham: Now we’re in a raft, they just jumped in. Rapids!
11:35 Chris Holt: What’s missing: dueling banjos.
11:35 Matt Peckham: Looks like you could get hurt, two-player. These girls are really jumping around.
11:36 Matt Peckham: Back to a video montage of Kinect-related games in progress.
11:37 Matt Peckham: Some sort of cardio coach game, and a guy trying to out-Van-Damme Van Damme.
11:37 Chris Holt: Your Shape: Fitness Evolved.
11:37 Matt Peckham: Felicia Williams, Ubisoft international brand manager takes the stage.
11:38 Matt Peckham: World premiere of Your Shape Fitness Evolved, exclusive for Xbox 360.
11:38 Matt Peckham: Kinect can grab not just your physical body, but what you’re wearing, and integrate it with the virtual world.
11:38 Chris Holt: Felicia just took off her sweater and the game recognized it. Very, very cool.
11:39 Matt Peckham: That got several ooos from the audience.
11:39 Chris Holt: Complete digital map of the silhouette of your body.
11:40 Matt Peckham: Take a class like martial arts, yoga, play various “fun!” gym activities.
11:40 Matt Peckham: First move, “the knee front.”
11:41 Matt Peckham: Game can provide body-specific feedback for each limb, as you’re doing the exercise.
11:41 Chris Holt: Instructions appear in the corner. Number of calories burned.
11:41 Matt Peckham: High and low intensity exercise.
11:41 Matt Peckham: Kick boxing!
11:42 Chris Holt: Combat training transitions into family activities. Haha.
11:42 Matt Peckham: Tai-chi travel wide stance. This looks interesting.
11:43 Chris Holt: Yoga class. concentrating on movement and breathing. Very slow, very calm.
11:44 Matt Peckham: “Namaste”?!? It’s a post-LOST experience!
11:44 Chris Holt: And now for something completely different: Harmonix.
11:45 Matt Peckham: Dance Hero???
11:45 Matt Peckham: Looks like Guitar Hero meets live dancing.
11:45 Chris Holt: The developer is dancing to Kid & Play.
11:46 Matt Peckham: Crowd going wild.
11:46 Chris Holt: I’m really impressed by the live mapping, This isn’t just stomping but arm movement. Title: Dance Central.
11:46 Matt Peckham: Dance Central, that’s what it’s called.
11:47 Chris Holt: No Doubt, Beastie Boys, Lady Gaga featured artists.
11:47 Matt Peckham: Pop, hip-hip, R&B, No Doubt, Lady Gaga, Beastie Boys, etc.
11:47 Chris Holt: Featuring routines from the original music videos.
11:47 Matt Peckham: 600 moves, 90 routines, some from the songs’ original music videos.
11:47 Matt Peckham: Mode called “break it down,” a “really fun way” to learn each routine. Aimed at novices, lets pros warm up.
11:48 Chris Holt: He’s still dancing like a moron but his avatar seems to be grooving along flawlessly.
11:49 Chris Holt: Alright, better syncing now. You may not look quite so ridiculous playing this.
11:50 Matt Peckham: Hard to tell how precise the mapping is here… Is it really 1:1 or extremely forgiving? I’m guessing the latter.
11:50 Matt Peckham: Hahaha, I love the attempted “sign-off” wave. “Peace out.”
11:50 Matt Peckham: Launch date for Kinect: November 4
11:50 Matt Peckham: 15 launch titles
11:50 Chris Holt: Including the Biggest Loser and Sonic. Wonder why they aren’t demoing those…
11:51 Matt Peckham: Fully compatible with 40 million plus Xbox 360s sold to date.
11:51 Matt Peckham: “This is just the beginning,”
11:51 Matt Peckham: Exclusive agreement with LucasArts to create a Kinect game to the Xbox 360.
11:51 Matt Peckham: Guy standing in place, swinging a lightsaber to deflect incoming laser fire.
11:51 Matt Peckham: Star Wars, of course.
11:52 Matt Peckham: Looks less like a jedi, more like a TANK.
11:52 Chris Holt: Here we go. Star Wars. Light saber battles. You can manipulate the saber. I think movement is automatic though. Like, this may actually be a rail shooter.
11:52 Matt Peckham: He’s using force powers, but barely moving.
11:52 Chris Holt: Yeah, it’s a rail shooter. Sigh. So close LucasArts. So close.
11:52 Matt Peckham: Kind of ho-hum with the Star Wars demo.
11:52 Comment From Curt No Doubt as a featured artist? What is this, 1998?
11:53 Comment From Fred Does Dance Central looks like some kind of Dance Dance Revolution?
11:53 Chris Holt: To be fair, No Doubt’s dancing stuff didn’t come out till the early 00’s. Unless they’re letting you dance to ska music.
11:53 Matt Peckham: No word on price. Yet.
11:54 Matt Peckham: All the racing games look the same: You with two hands on an invisible wheel.
11:54 Chris Holt: Beautiful, beautiful Ferrari though.
11:54 Matt Peckham: A gestural Kinect interface lets you walk around the car, kneel down, look at F1 inspired carbon-ceramic (did I catch that right?) brakes.
11:55 Chris Holt: I’ve never been a racing fan, but I’ve always been impressed by their graphical abilities. Right now they’re just demoing your ability to look at your ride in the Badlands.
11:55 Matt Peckham: I guess the question is, do we want a Minority Report interface? Do we want to wave our hands around and, exercise games notwithstanding, flail about wildly to do simple things.
11:56 Chris Holt: I love how “Minority Report” will be remembered for its interface, not for its terrible plot twists and writing
11:56 Chris Holt: Wow you didn’t even get to see him driving the car!
11:56 Matt Peckham: Lame!
11:57 Matt Peckham: “Fun is a universal magnet that binds us together.” He’s laying it on a trifle thick.
11:57 Matt Peckham: Microsoft’s goal: From the 10s of millions to the 100s of millions. Big words.
11:57 Matt Peckham: New Xbox 360!
11:58 Chris Holt: It’s small, black, and has built in WiFi
11:58 Chris Holt: “Ready for Tomorrow”
11:58 Matt Peckham: Completely redesigned. Here it is. Slimmer, looks more Xbox-like, as in the original. “Sleeker, smaller, whisper quiet, 250GB hard drive, built-in WiFi 802.11n”
11:58 Matt Peckham: Same price!
11:58 Matt Peckham: How long before it’s available?
11:59 Matt Peckham: Shipping the new Xbox 360 to retailers… TODAY!!!!
11:59 Matt Peckham: Okay, that’s WAY more impressive than Kinect. Sorry Microsoft, it just is.
11:59 Chris Holt: Matt, I hope to God you get an Xbox 360. They’re free to everyone in the audience.
12:00 Chris Holt: ok, maybe not free. maybe they’re just available. Good luck, Matt
12:00 Matt Peckham: That’s it then…
12:01 Chris Holt: Yep, a bit of surprise thrown in with some predicted reveals.
12:01 Matt Peckham: Thanks all, we’ll be following up with reports and slides from the show all afternoon.
12:01 Chris Holt: Not a bad presentation. The new Xbox reveal was reminiscent of a Steve Jobs’ “and one more thing” moment.