Microsoft “fueling” industry growth, rips off Nintendo at E3 press conference
Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 at 11:35am by Derek
After showcasing spectacular games like Fallout 3, Resident Evil 5, Fable 2 and Gears of War 2, things took an abrupt turn toward the casual during the Microsoft E3 press conference.
Much to our surprise, the company spent the majority of its time introducing new Wii-inspired 360 features. We expected to see Microsoft rip-off Nintendo, to be frank, but not to this extent.
“Our games are everywhere. The hardcore are devouring our biggest blockbusters. Fathers and sons are playing their favorite sports games. Rock-star grandmas are taking over our living rooms…and fun-to-play games are inspiring the new family game night. Today, our industry belongs to everyone.”
That statement, soaked with the “blue ocean” rhetoric one would expect to hear from Nintendo at E3, came from Microsoft’s Don Mattrick. But it gets better. He followed that up by talking about industry growth and “how Xbox 360 is fueling it.”
Come on, Donnie. I love the 360, but “fueling” industry growth?
Microsoft also revealed a new home screen for the 360. Eliminating the classic 360 tabbed interface in favor of a simplified aesthetic based on channels and avatars, the new 360 interface will be available on all new consoles in the fall. Existing users will be able to update their consoles via a software update.
Speaking of the avatars, Microsoft finally pulled back the curtain on the retarded little cousins of the Mii. The avatars were designed, according to the developers, “not to look like a toy,” but to be a “stylized” take on reality. Like Mii characters, avatars will also be available for gameplay and community features.
I was hoping for something exciting, but Microsoft’s press conference was a disappointing flop. I can only hope Nintendo delivers a far better press conference. We’re only 20 minutes away.
July 15th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
The coolest things from the Microsoft conference:
1. Final Fantasy VIII coming to XBox 360
2. Netflix video renting from the XBox 360
Although not enough to convince me to purchase a 360 those are some cool enhancements.
July 15th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Flop? Hardly.
Not only did they mention some fantastic games coming out, all of which have online co-op play for them(something Nintendo doesn’t have), but now they have FF13? Yes.
Yeah, they have incorporated some lame avatars, but they do look better than Miis. And the new Dashboard will make it easier to download movies, demos, and everything else much easier.
There’s tons of other improvements they’re making to the system too. Not to mention Banjo Kazooie will be available for download too for the 360.
It’s good to own a 360.
July 15th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
copycats!
July 15th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
If the 360 were completely reliable and not a Microsoft product, I still wouldn’t buy one. :]
July 15th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
matthew: Agreed, it is good to own a 360.
But come on. That press conference was lame. No major surprises. The games looked great, but we already knew about most of them, and who DIDN’T think they’d have great online co-op?
The content was good. But the conference sucked, is all I’m saying.
July 15th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Bleh. Anything worth having on that platform is better accomplished with a PC and a PS3.
July 15th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Wow. Nintendo’s conference is done. Ho-hum content and no new games I want to buy for my Wii. There’s a flop.
The 360 is a fantastic console. The fanboys here need to pull their heads from their asses and venture out. I’m glad I got my 360 last december. I didn’t have anything to play once Mario Galaxy was over.
July 15th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I wrote this prior to it, but Nintendo’s was even worse.
July 15th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Shorter Microsoft press conference: Mii too.
July 15th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
aside from the announcement of the FF13 port, i agree that microsofts conference was a flop. the games they showed were all 2 years old. nothing new at all.
their avatars look like big Miis, and their new dashboard looked fine, but not exciting unless you compare it to the old version. its pitiful what excites 360 owners today.
Might as well add: since nintendos conference is over. i am happy with it, but not excited by it like i should be. i can understand people being disappointed, even if i am not.
They showed more new stuff then microsoft did for sure, but it wasnt exactly stuff “core” gamers were interested in, aside from GTA on DS, which they only glanced over.
I loved animal crossing news, wii music will be amusing during get togethers.
Wii resort will be awesome and the potential they showed there for motionplus should have any but the most ardent trolls/haters exciting for the future possibilities.
July 15th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
A flop? I don’t think so. While I don’t care at all about the new avatar system or the re-designed dashboard (give me back my blades!), I am so excited about the new party features and the Netflix partnership. Whenever I play Halo 3 with more than one friend now we can still do a private chat. And then watch movies together. And then jump into Rock Band. And then keep chatting while I play fucking Final Fantasy XIII!
From reading the live feed it seems that Microsoft blew Nintendo out of the water. (I still have to read more detailed reports so I could be mistaken.) Microphones are great and all, but I’m not going to be getting Animal Crossing Wii. Unless they can patch SSBB I don’t care right now.
July 15th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Microsoft and their lemon, brick, doorstop, whatever you want to call it, are doomed. They lack any sort of innovation and it is no wonder their sales are declining. The future looks bright for Nintendo and Sony though.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
didn’t see the MS press conference, but come on. you really can’t believe they’re ‘ripping off’ nintendo? MS is a follower. They have always been a follower. They brag internally about being followers that catch up eventually. And they have the money to waste on not getting it right the first time.
also, it’s not just a reaction to nintendo here- this is as much a response to Home as it is to Miis. Personally, the tabs weren’t terrible, but the new aesthetic looks alright by me.
still, without knowing if the conference was a flop, wow- my 360 will get some loving when i get back to the states.
now that it’s post E3 conference, I wish Nintendo would rip off MS and, you know, release something for us ‘veterans’. and please let it be ghostbusters wii.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Neko, the blades will still be there I believe. majornelson said there’d be a way to switch back to them.
TWhite, you’re one of the people I was talking about. Take your head out of the sand and realize Nintendo must not have anything worth a damn coming to the Wii. It’s upsetting not to see something Kid Icarus or some new game appealing to a “hardcore” gamer. I loved Animal Crossing on my Cube, but it got old after a while. All the casual games they showed are bombs. I play games like Cooking Mama with my fiance because they’re easy. If it has more buttons than her old Atari she doesn’t want to fool with it.
Sony is still playing catch-up. Home hasn’t even hit beta yet and it was announced two years ago. Their biggest game is coming out on 360. They’re adding things like trophies to their system which 360 had since launch.
I’m going to break out my SNES and remember good Nintendo days.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
@matthew…umm, Nintendo has plenty coming. Ever hear of Disaster, Monster Hunter, The Conduit, Fatal Frame, and now 1:1 motion control!!…Are you bleepin serious?!?
And Sony playing catch up?…my ass! They put 360 graphics and gameplay to shame within their first year. Not to mention the reliability of their product.
Microsoft has lost BILLIONS in their Xbox division. Sony is on the verge of making profit with PS3…not to mention they’ve been profiting off PS2 for years.
The 360 will only be around a couple more years until Microsoft pulls the plug and all of them RRoD and will be unrepairable.
All Microsoft cares about is diverting attention away from the REAL game companies…Nintendo and Sony.
July 15th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
“I can only hope Nintendo delivers a far better press conference.”
Well so much for your HOPE eh? Microsoft had a pretty “ho-hum” press conference. BUT Nintendo had an even worse one, to be honest. Neither impress this year.
I am much more interested in RE 5, FF XIII, Gears of War 2, Fable 2, Fallout 3, Banjo nuts and bolts and more than anything I saw in the equally “ho-hum” Nintendo conference.
The new Dashboard looks to be pretty cool for the 360.
The Avatars seem decent, albeit a rip-off of the Mii’s. Time will tell.
NetFlix news is interesting. Although I already download HD movies off x-box live anyways.
I was hoping to hear about the Halo project that is underway, and maybe the rumoured KI3 game.
Overall, every press conferences was a let down. But Microsoft’s was better than Nintendo.
Get over it FanBOYS.
July 15th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
matthew get your brown nose out of mr. gate’s ass yourself and realize not everyone gives a shit about online play or voice chat. all the press conferences lacked luster and nobody introduced anything really revolutionary. so stop throwing stones when you live in a glass house…and if you seriously think the snes was the end of nintendo’s golden years then you’re friggin retarded.
July 15th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
I think the general consensus rated the MS event as a “blockbuster smash hit” and the Nintendo event as a “colossal disaster of Virtual Boy proportions”.
Did Microsoft borrow from Sony and Nintendo? A little, sure. Avatars were hardly a nintendo invention but whatever. But I have been begging nintendo to copy the Microsoft Live experience since the Wii was launched. Why not learn from the successes and failures of others? That’s good business.
But I think that Microsoft surprised everyone. They just needed to announce a cheap HDD to make it a perfect show.
Nintendo fell short on all counts – clumsy demos, few great titles, no HDD, no online upgrades, no firmware updates, and even Reggies slides were a little suspect.
I really expected and hoped Nintendo would do better. They made all of us Nintendo fans look foolish.
July 15th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Yay, my 360 will actually get to be turned on. Poor thing has been neglected for so long in my house.
July 15th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
“retarded little cousins of the Mii”… ha ha ha HA HA! Classic!
July 15th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
@ TWhite
So I was thinking there’s no way MS will ditch Xbox. It’s as important to them as MSN/Live or Word or IE now. Everything is converging- the internet, games, business tools. And MS needs to be in each area to control it. Also, the XBOX brand is worth… a LOT. It’s not going to just be dropped.
But then I started thinking… MS is a follower… if they’re not gong away… then they’re going after Nintendo next generation! Good lord- if MS and Nintendo decide to fight over the casual gamers… the it’s true! less hardcore investment! Was the horror only postponed? Was this generation our T2, and next gen will be the Rise of the Casual???
Xbox 720…. now with waggle! Fun for the whole family and the dog!
Scary stuff- i’m hoping it stays in my nightmares!