E3'07: Microsoft Conference Yields Few Surprises News

From the Chinese Mann Theatre to the Santa Monica High School outdoor amphitheatre...seems like Microsoft took the idea of downsizing at this year's E3 a little too seriously. So it was under blue skies that the giant delivered perhaps one of the most disappointing presentations in recent years, a presentation that literally lacked any major announcement or surprise, and will no doubt cause more than a few disappointed frowns from gamers.

After months of rumour and hearsay, Microsoft finally announced that a PC version of Epic Games' Gears of War would be released in time for Christmas - and that it'll feature reams of additional content not included in the original Xbox 360 edition, such as five new Campaign chapters, new maps, and a Map Editor. Additionally, Rare's under-achieving Viva Pinata will also be heading to XP and Vista PCs this Christmas thanks to Climax Studio, which along with the almost sacrilegious Viva Pinata: Party Animals mini-game compilation for Xbox 360, only proved to show how disappointing sales of the original 2006 game had been.

Continuing Microsoft's desperate attempts to open up the Xbox 360 to a more mainstream audience, the publisher will be releasing "Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action" for the console. Based on the DVD quizzes that seem to litter TV adverts in the run up to Christmas, the game represents Microsoft's counter to Sony's Buzz! The Quiz franchise. Sticking with 'casual gaming', a selection of Xbox Live Arcade titles were also announced at the event, including confirmation that after two years of waiting, the original Sonic the Hedgehog is now available to download from Marketplace. The recently USK rated Marathon: Durandal was officially confirmed for launch later this summer, along with War World from Ubisoft/Third Wave Games, and the original Golden Axe from SEGA. Hexic 2, Bomberman Live, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, and Undertow are also due out in the coming months.

Besides the slew of release periods for Arcade titles, Microsoft also revealed vague launch dates for PGR4 (September) and the highly-anticipated Mass Effect (November) on Xbox 360, together with the unsurprising news that Silicon Knights' Too Human had been pushed into 2008, along with Halo Wars...still nothing on Remedy's Alan Wake though.

Turning back to the PC, over thirty titles will be arriving on the platform during the 'Holiday' period, though aside from Gears and Viva Pinata, there were very little new releases revealed. However, Microsoft did confirm that Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights, SEGA's The Club, and Kane & Lynch: Dead Men from Eidos would be joining Shadowrun, Halo 2, and SEGA's Universe At War, on the cross-platform Games for Windows Live and Xbox Live experience. Microsoft had previously confirmed that both Gears of War and Viva Pinatawould be Live enabled, as the outfit continues to push the Games for Windows label.

Despite the lack of any 'big' news, Microsoft's Peter Moore, couldn't help but throw a little spin on the subject, commenting that: "Thanks to our amazing partners and our own studios, no company in video game history has ever had a lineup of blockbusters and exclusives like we will have by this holiday."

"We have a monumental library of titles hitting stores by the end of this year for Xbox 360 that will strike an emotional chord with every type of customer."

News of when European gamers will be able to get their mitts on the Xbox 360 Elite also emerged through the course of the presentation, with Microsoft announcing an August 24th launch - though there was no word on how much we can expect to pay for it, just yet. The previously announced Messenger Kit, which will feature the mini-keyboard, has also been given a release date of September 6th in North America, along with a price of $29.99. One piece of information that will come as a relief for European and Canadian Xbox 360 owners though: the Video on Demand (VoD) Marketplace will be rolled out by the end of 2007. Further details on when, and for how much, was not revealed...there's always the Game Convention in Leipzig for that.

So with one of the big presentations finished, we can only hope that Sony and Nintendo will manage to stoke the fires of surprise and excitement - because Microsoft's was like going back to school after the summer holidays.