The E3 2011 Report: Microsoft

If any of you become global industry leaders in the entertainment industry, here's a great lesson you can pick up from Microsofts E3 presentation this year: Never start by welcoming people to a "global media briefing". Sure that might be what it is, but that's a bit like telling the buyer of a sports car that he's about to purchase a "personal combustion transportation device."

At this point, one week after E3, there's almost no excuse to be this late with Microsofts E3 presentation. No excuse except for what most of you may have already guessed: There wasn't much to report. Of the E3 presentations this year, Microsoft went first and finished last, with a less then impressive and overmarketed presentation that I couldn't even find a reason to finish watching once I knew the highlights.



The Good:
 Microsoft was in position to show off a few new games and make a few neat announcements. The Kinect is coming to games like Mass Effect 3 (allowing you to give vocal orders to your squad and play Shepherds should angel or devil in conversations) and is showing off some new bells and whistles. Dance Central 2 was demoed to the audience (and promises to be a strong seller). A few third party titles were shown first at Microsoft's presentation.

The Bad:
I almost don't know where to start. The biggest mark against Microsoft at this presentation was an utter lack of new content. Of all the games that were shown (and many were impressive) almost none of it was actually new. It was content, trailers and games that we'd all seen and known about if not weeks beforehand, months or even more then a year ago. Then there were the painfully poor child actors and the marketing hype (which I remind you, was all for games that had been seen for months already).

The Ugly:
There were several of these. Terrible Kinect demonstrators with poor acting skills. An even worse showing of what looks to be the worst Star Wars title of all time. Oh, and a completely unneeded trilogy announcement in the form of Halo 4, 5 and 6, which is twisting a dagger into Bungie's back.


Overall, Microsoft's performance would be, if not for the unforgettably terrible performance of Sony in 2006, the worst presentation I have ever seen. Even then, 2nd place for that award isn't much of a reward.

Back to normal content this week!