I actually only caught the boring end live on SpikeTV (that station still exists? I thought it collapsed into a black hole of testosterone.)
Not interested by Call of Duty (or Gears of War) but Metal Gear Rising intrigued me for the ability to cut everything. I wasn't sure how the cutting mechanic works...analog stick? But I have to wonder...if you can just automatically cut through anything...where is the challenge? I assume enemies will parry/block your cuts somehow.
I have no perspective for Fable 3 (never played it before). Halo is Halo. I thought they were replaying Halo 1 with the generic corridor of what I saw. It was neat when they launched into space but there was so little of that to tell if there's a space shooter element (I kinda doubt it).
And then...the Nata...I mean Kinect...filler. I keep wanting to say Kinetc or Kine-ct. Konnect is not the sound I expect reading that word. It's not a particularly good name. Wii may have been ridiculous but at least it's easier to say (...I heard some 'why' attempts at first but mostly it's pretty straightforward). And PS3's thing is Move.
I don't see the appeal of waving to sign on my game machine. Just push a button. Plus the room the TV is in isn't particularly clear. I get line of sight with the Wii bar but in some positions my cursor will get a little jittery.
I can just imagine...*wave* *deletes account* No XBOX! Don't do that! *voice command...exterminate all humans!* EEEK! *runs*. Lol
Also, they seem to assume my internet connection is pure speed :p.
Then came the stuff that made me giggle.
Voice chat with movies - "Hey friend...let's watch a tiny version of a movie with video of each other talking about it." No, there is only one way to view a movie with a friend on chat...MST3K mode...use your Nata...Kinect to put a shadow version of you at the bottom of the movie with your friend in a theater and do voice chat mostly. That way you can watch the actual movie. Microsoft should so hire me. None of this picture-in-picture-in-picture junk.
So far as the Live update...Microsoft better not screw with my Live messenger. It's finally not working like poo.
ESPN streaming - Meh...they'll never have the Cleveland Indians live, so I don't care.
Does Microsoft assume we're ferrets on crack that scream "Shiny!" at every little thing on a screen and can do five things at once? Sports with chatting and questionnaires during the game? Meh.
And finally back to games...
Kinectimals - Nintendogs Goes to the Zoo. I have to admit...I had to wonder if the baby tiger had a "maul" option. All the while sitting through this...I thought..."How much more than five minutes of fun would it be to pet a CGI tiger?" I honestly didn't play Nintendogs all that much....mostly because the darn thing never let me unlock any of the neat stuff I wanted. I gotta admit though...bullet-time on the baby tiger made me laugh. I could easily see that as an internet meme. Bullet Time Baby Animals *WOOSH* *slow mo petting*
Then Wii...I mean Kinect Sports. Another only five minute fun task...getting the crowd to roar for you as you decapitate your enemy...Gladiator Kinect...now there's a game. Beat the crud out of your foes WITH YOUR BARE HANDS. *reenacts "Are you not entertained?!" from Gladiator*
And in all honestly...if I'm gonna play a running game...I don't want to actually f-ing run like someone actually doing it...it's why the running in Wii Fit is only good if you pace yourself. And even then, I gave that up after a while in favor of Yoga. Rugs are not fun to for in-place running. Just go outside and do it then.
And then Mario (Kinect) Kart...aka...Joyride. I still think it's kinda stupid to hold your hands out to race. With where my TV is...how high do I have to hold my hands up to make like a wheel? And can I make *vrooommm* *putt put putt* noises?
Kinect Adventures...basically more mini-games. And at this point it was getting really suspicious that there was no price given for the Kinect. So I'm thinking it's comparably priced to an entire Wii console.
And then the Wii Fit knockoff. Looks okay...but I'm not sure I want to see my body scanned and on the screen :p. The zen activity amused me...how do you achieve zen in points? "Damn you! You're not as One with the Universe as you could be! Game over! Try again!"
And I honestly did not watch the dance portion.
So they have 15 mini-games at launch...for...no price? *sees Biggest Loser*...half of them are fitness games. There is a random Sonic Heroes type game though.
And then a rail-shooter-ish Star Wars game. *waves my hands around as if I actually have a light-saber* That is potentially the main positive of Na...Kinect...to pretend you're holding things...which depending on your level of imagination is either cool...or dumb. But I didn't see too many games that really made me feel "pretend" all that well.
Then the car porn. How long till they head track real porn?..."Let's zoom in on the action!"...:p. The car porn was literally the most painful part of the conference I saw. Oh wow...a flash of info on the muffler...I must go deeeeper into the muffler. And wow...I can sit in a fake version of a Ferrari?
Then comes the main part I cared about. New 360 design. Launching this week-ish. Still 299 (but no Nat...Kinect price). Wi-fi built in (awesome). Decent HDD (but is it swappable for bigger?). Pinched in size which looks like it could fall over in a slight breeze. I gotta admit. The wi-fi built in was the main thing I was holding out for. But I'll have to see. There's a lot of neat stuff already on the 360 and it's the system I would get if I wasn't already swamped with games on the DS, PSP, and Wii. Mainly, I would buy it to play Phantasy Star with Anna and Jesse (and BlazBlue with Jesse). Otherwise, maybe the Mass Effect series and Fallout 3.
And that's my impression. I'm not a 360 gamer but that's my impression of how Microsoft left with my interest or not in the system.
Oh and they gave free 360s to everyone in the audience...it's under the seat and they're all getting NEW CARS!!!...Well, maybe not that.
*EDIT* Details on the hardware.
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/14/new-xbox-360-hardware-details/Sounds good all around. ^^
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