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3.24 OK, things are about to start! Let’s hope the conference goes according to plan.
3.25 The press has been welcomed to the briefing. A trailer is playing on screen, showing famous band the Beatles. The trailer shows a cartoon with "It’s Been A Hard Day’s Night" playing in the background.
3.33 So, this is the world premiere of The Beatles Rock Band. What we just saw was the opening cinematic. Alex Regopolis and Van Toffler from MTV are taking the stage. They say the game will “raise the bar on music gaming forever”.
3.34 Some folks on stage are playing the game, and it actually sounds good (it’s a Harmonix house band, apparently). The band is playing the game on a customised Beatles bass drum. The screen shows three scrolling guitar menus at the bottom, with the lyrics are on top of the screen. The usual Rock Band fare.
3.37 Hmm. Microsoft has a massive stage this year! On stage is Giles Martian. They are revealing 10 songs in the game, along with a trailer. Songs include ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘I Want To Hold Her Hand’, ‘I Feel Fine’, ‘Day Tripper’, ‘I Am The Walrus’, ‘Back in the U.S.S.R.’, ‘Octopus’s Garden’, ‘Here Comes the Sun’ and ‘Get Back’. The game is being released on September 9! They have confirmed songs will be available as DLC. Among them will be the ‘Abby Road’ album, with some songs available exclusively through Xbox Live. Profits will be donated to Doctors Without Borders.
3.41 ‘All You Need Is Love’ will be available only through Xbox Live. Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison are on stage ...and now they are gone! The “magic and genius of the Beatles” made this game possible. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are on stage! They both love the game. “It is good”, says Ringo. “Thank you for having us on your game show”, says Paul.
3.44 Xbox Corporate VP John Schappert is now on Stage. He is honoured to be supporting Doctors Without Borders. He says the industry has done well in the economic climate, as people always want to have fun. He says the Xbox is an all-in-one entertainment device, but that he won’t have any charts and graphs about sales figures and attach rates (mega applause). He says that there will be 10 world premieres trailers of video games that we are yet to see!
3.46 Tony Hawk has taken the stage, for Tony Hawk’s Ride. He has brought a skateboard controller with him. He says that it will have infra red sensors and other cool stuff to allow it to “respond like a real skateboard”. Tony Hawk’s Ride will ship later this year.
3.48 A trailer for the game is being showing.
3.52 Now, its time for Modern Warfare 2. The player’s character is in a icy environment, climbing up a mountain. The snow effects look awesome! The charter is carrying a gun with a heads-up display attached oh the right hand side. It looks like a GPS, showing you where to go. The snow makes it difficult to see more than a few meters. Massive explosions!
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 E3 2009 Trailer
3.55 Gameplay footage of Modern Warfare 2 is still going. The music sounds similar to Call of Duty 4, and it looks as if there are plenty more checkpoints. Time for snowmobiles! The player’s character has boarded snowmobile, with a helicopter in pursuit. You can shoot while riding the snowmobile. The demo for Modern Warfare 2 has now finished. Xbox LIVE will be leading the way with Modern Warfare 2. LIVE will get 2 maps packs for Modern Warfare 2 first.
3.57 The guys from Square Enix are now on stage, showing Final Fantasy XIII. Director Toriyama and Producer Yoshinori Kitase are presenting. They say Final Fantasy has sold over 80 million units (no sales figures, eh?). A trailer for the game is now showing. It is the first time it has been seen on Xbox 360. The footage looks similar to the Japanese demo that was released with the Advent Children Blu-Ray.
4.00 They say the battle scene will be different to anything shown in the past. There will be four active time gauges, more magical spells that can be used and room for wider tactics.
4.01 They are targeting a Spring 2010 release for the game.
4.02 Everything shown from now on will only be available on Xbox 360. Taking the stage from Epic, Donald Mustard and Cliffy B! The are showing a Xbox LIVE arcade game called Shadow Complex. They say it will be an epic Xbox title. The microphones aren't sounding too good. We can't hear anything! The game looks live a 2D Metal Gear. Players will be fighting mechs and humanoids. It will be over 10 hours long, with great replayability and fantastic boss battles.
4.06 A game called Joy Ride is now being shown, from the new studio BigPark. “An all new avatar adventure”, they say. In a nutshell, its Xbox avatars racing around in cars. It will be free to download any play, and cars can be bought and upgraded. The game is coming this winter to Xbox LIVE.
Joyride E3 2009 Trailer
4.08 Time for our favourite franchises! We see a bulky guy with gun running through a city! Okay, that was Crackdown 2. No more information at this time.
4.09 Now, zombies are on screen. It seems to be Left 4 Dead 2, which will be available exclusively on Xbox 360 and PC. It is coming on November 17. And if you rain out of ammo, you can now use a chainsaw!
4.10 A trailer for Splinter Cell: Conviction is now showing. So far, we only have seen CGI footage with Sam Fisher. Michael Ironside is still the voice of Fisher.
4.12 The Ubisoft guys are now taking the stand. They are going to play a level from the game. It has started with Sam in a bathroom. They are demonstrating melee combat as Sam asks who killed his daughter. Sam is now walking trough a city, hiding in the dark. The gameplay looks similar to Splinter Cell: Double Agent. The Graphics look quite sharp. Sam has infiltrated a building, as is clearing it room by room. Ouch, Sam has just been surrounded by a SWAT team. The gameplay demo has finished. It was a “small sample of the game”. It will be released this fall, exclusively on Xbox 360.
4.18 Turn 10 are back with a racing game. In October, the definitive racing game, Forza Motorsport 3 will be released. A trailer is currently being shown. It shows some gameplay footage, with what appears to be a new graphics engine. It will run at 60 frames per second, the developers say. It will feature one button racing and gameplay rewind, making it possible for anyone to jump in. They are now showing the new car creation process. Next up is an example of the video editor in Forza 3. With the best graphics, physics and online community, the game will be shipping this October!
4.25 Halo 3: ODST is now on stage! They are showing the first gameplay footage, of an ODST trooper being dropped out of the sky. The game takes place weeks before the start of Halo 3. You play ‘the rookie’, an ODST trooper separated from his team. You have access to new weapons and gear. The new weapons look awesome, with some not too shabby graphics! The game will feature flashbacks to other ODST troopers, meaning you will play from different perspectives. The characters are arming some chargers. Now, the Spartan Laser is being used with great results! ODST will have feature a special co-op game mode. Halo 3: ODST will be in stores September 22.
Halo 3: ODST E3 2009 Trailer
4.32 Now, Bungie's new secret project is being revealed. We see footage of scrolling text, then a view of a world vista. It is titled Halo: Reach, and it is coming Fall 2010. All we saw in the trailer was explosions on a world, as viewed from space. When you buy Halo 3: ODST, an invite to the Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta will be included.
Halo: Reach E3 2009 Trailer
4.33 Drumroll! Alan Wake! At long last, the game is being shown. We only hear a voiceover, with an sweeping view of the environment. Alan's wife has gone missing, it is revealed. They are now showing gameplay footage, which looks similar to Resident Evil 4. Alan is walking around, with a gun and torch. Trees are now falling all around. He is walking down a dark corridor. Alan is being attacked by some enemies. Are they shooting light? Alan shoots some bad guys. He takes a cable car across a valley. He uses a flare to light up the environment. He is now is some sort of building. A truck is pushing the building off a cliff! To be continued... and a voice says ‘Wake Up’. Alan Wake will see the light of day in Spring 2010.
Alan Wake E3 2009 Trailer
4.39 Music is coming to Xbox LIVE, in partnership with last.fm. It will provide live band streams directly to the Xbox dashboard. Netflix being displayed on Xbox LIVE. If you live in the UK or Ireland, you can watch Live TV on Xbox LIVE. No extra hardware is needed, apparently.
4.43 Netflix video service is being relaunched in the Fall. It will be called Zune HD and feature full 1080p. Movies can be enjoyed instantly, with no downloads required. The number of countries with the video service will be doubled. (Was Australia somewhere in there?) Music, TV and Movies can be shared with friends on Xbox LIVE. Wow.
4.45 Facebook is coming to Xbox Live. Felecia Day, producer of The Guild, is showing us the new service. Season 3 of The Guild is coming this fall. You can invite Facebook friends through Xbox, look at photos and post status updates. ‘Facebook Connect’ is also on the way. The service allows you to post screenshots and text from games in your profile. The service will start with Tiger Woods PGA Tour. Now, Felecia revealed Twitter is coming to Xbox 360. You can post tour own musings, as well as viewing other people’s. Facebook and Twitter will be available on Xbox this fall.
4.49 Xbox Senior VP Don Mattcik is on stage. He says Xbox is missing one piece of the puzzle... Metal Gear Solid! Hideo Kojima is on stage! He says it is great to stand on the stage! He is announcing MGS on Xbox 360. Yes, MGS on Xbox. However, de didn’t mention anything about Solid Snake! Metal Gear Solid: Rising is currently in development for Xbox 360. A trailer is being shown. Kojima cannot say more now, but it will be a new MGS experience. Metal Gear Solid: Lightening Bolt Action: Rising is the full name of the game. The trailer only showed a picture of Raiden with some clouds in the background.
4.53 They mention a motion controller. They say that “the controller is a barrier”. They say they can make ‘us’ the controller. Here comes the ‘new way to play’ trailer. No controller will be required, as YOU are the controller. The trailer shows a guy fighting with someone in the screen, someone steering a car on screen ... now they are imitating changing types. Essentially, the people are just doing the movements required to play the game. It is being done with full body motion capture. Now, they gamers are playing some FIFA by running around the lounge room. A guy just scanned his skateboard, and it instantly appeared on screen. He is now skating with it in a game. Facial recognition is also being featured. Some girls are talking over Xbox LIVE about what to wear. Voice recognition is being shown in Scene It!. The player can just say the answer, and the Xbox will recognise who says it. You can also tell the Xbox what movie to play. You can turn it off by saying ‘good night’ … really.
4.58 So no controller is necessary. The venture has been titled ‘Project Natal’. It works with a sensor that track movements and voice recognition. They say it will work with every Xbox 360 sold previously and into the future. Now, Steven Spielberg is taking the stage. He says that it is his honour to be there. The crucial question, he says, is “how interactive entertainment can be as approachable as all other forms of entertainment”. Steven has tried the Project Natal experience. He felt like he was “present for a historic moment”. He says Microsoft is not reinventing the wheel, but doing away with it. The Xbox dude is clapping himself. Awesome.
Project Natal 'Lifestyle' Trailer
5.03 The creative director of Project Natal, Kudo Tsunoda is now on stage. He is now showing some prototypes. Natal can be used to navigate the dashboard, he says. It will sign people on with facial recognition. As he is moving, his avatar mimics is movements. By waving his hand, he can choose menu options. The next tech demo is named 'Ricochet'. The point of the game is to destroy bricks, be kicking and hitting balls with your hands, feet and head. “True physical play”, they say. No “waggle commands” (plenty of booing). By kicking and waving your hands, you can punches balls back at the bricks. Similar to Wii Fit.
5.06 It is time for another tech demo, called ‘Paint Party’. Darren Bennet, Creative Director at Microsoft is taking the stage. His avatar is throwing paint on the screen as he moves his hands. He is throwing different coloured paints onto the screen. The picture doesn't looks like a landscape. He is painting a tree. As he says ‘pose’, and the Xbox superimposes an image of his pose onto the picture. He is now using a friend to pose as an elephant. The picture of the elephant has superimposed onto the picture, on top of the landscape ‘painting’. So, in summary, he painted a picture using no controller. Project Natal development kits are arriving to developers as we speak.
5.12 Peter Molyneux, President of Lionhead Studios, is taking the stage. He says buttons are the barrier. He says Natal will change the landscape of gaming. Lionhead has been using the development kits for a few months now. A documentary begins of what has been happening at Lionhead. They have created a character called ‘Milo’, a virtual life-like avatar who appears on screen. Milo is talking to a gamer through the TV. Milo can engage in real conversation with a real person. He conveys “emotion”, so they say. Milo is talking about doing his homework. Now, the character has thrown a pair of goggles at the gamer. Peter says “she felt the need to reach” for the goggles. The gamer is now using her hands to create ripples in the water. “She is in Milo’s world”, says Peter. The gamer drew a picture, and held it up for Milo to see. With Project Natal, Milo recognised the picture and started talking about what was drawn. Back to Peter on the stage! Peter says you can meet real characters using Natal. Milo will be shown behind closed doors at E3. It is “a landmark in computer entertainment”, he says. Peter has departed.
5.18 It looks like things are wrapping up. The “Xbox is home to every hit franchise now”, they say.
5.19 Well, that’s a wrap! Stay tuned to PALGN as we wrap up all the major announcements of the last few hours.
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