E3 - Microsoft, EA Go Live, Halo 2 Dated, Xbox Videophoned

Thanks to Yahoo! for reprinting a Microsoft press release revealing its major videogame-related announcements ahead of this year's E3 Expo in Los Angeles. Major among them is Electronic Arts' official support of the online Xbox Live service, long-awaited and previously rumored, so that "by the end of the year, 15 of EA's online-enabled console titles will be playable on Xbox Live." In addition, Bungie's much-anticipated Halo 2 is confirmed for Xbox release on November 9th, just as new hands-on multiplayer previews are appearing online, plus alleged Xbox Gran Turismo-beater, Forza Motorsport is announced, and a multi-person videophone service for Xbox Live is showcased, as well as an Xbox Live Arcade service featuring "casual games people love to play with their families... [including] 'Bejeweled'... and arcade favorites such as Namco's 'Dig Dug' and 'Galaxian'." Update: 05/11 06:26 GMT by S : There are also new Halo 2 screenshots via Bungie.net.

Comments

Rare

[jbfaninmo]

So anything from the company they paid so much for? Any word of a Perfect Dark sequel, a new Banjo game or a Conker follow up? Or hell, even something original? I was holding out hope that they were holding out for this E3.

God, I loved that company back in the days of the N64. What the hell happened? I'd like to blame it on Microsoft, as they are generally responsible for all things evil in the world, but the company hasn't really released a good game for this generation of consoles. I can see why Nintendo decided to take the money and run.

Re:Rare

[alexmogil]

Conker: Live and Reloaded: March 2005

Kameo: Elements of Power: Spring 2005.

Re:Rare

[prockcore]

God, I loved that company back in the days of the N64. What the hell happened?

Everyone involved with the N64 left the company, and what MS bought was an empty shell.

Re:Rare

[SilentChris]

"What the hell happened?"

You had a company in flux for several years, that's what happened. Nintendo pissed Rare off by not giving them enough creative freedom (how many googly-eye games can one system have)? Rare pissed Nintendo off by not delivering games on time. MS added to the equation by throwing their money at Rare every five minutes. How the hell is a company supposed to get any work done with all this background crap?

Granted, at least MS is patient enough to wait. Bungie has delivered all of one game for MS so far, and no one is pushing Bungie to rush Halo 2 out the door. Ditto on Rare. They released "Grabbed by the Ghoulies" (actually a better game than a lot of reviews gave it) more as a test than anything. Kind of like a tech demo. We may not see Rare produce anything substantial for a couple more years, maybe not even until the next generation.

And MS, unlike Nintendo, isn't going to put up with any crap. If Rare doesn't deliver they'll drop them like so much spare change. $400 million wasn't a purchase, it was a bet.

Re:Rare

[Ghost_MH]

It wasn't so much that Rare didn't have the creative freedom they wanted...They were getting away with a lot of stuff. As far as Nintendo second parties went, Rare had one of the more loose leashes around. It was the Stamper brothers that didn't want to work with Nintendo...As game designers and programmers go, they were great...As leaders though, they were terrible. So they wanted out...To take a break from making games and then perhaps start up a new studio that didn't have the baggage of the Rare name (No clue what they're up to now, or even if they decided to stick it out with Rare. I do know that not one of the brothers is president of Rare anymore.). They offered all their stock in the to Nintendo, but Nintendo flat out refused saying that Rare was not worth the cash they wanted since they hadn't been delivering for them.

As I understand it they offered their stock to Activision as well, but they also refused because of the high pricetag...In the end it was Microsoft took the bait...Buying the Stamper brothers' stock as well as the 49% Nintendo was holding. Anything any of the Stamper brothers said about how being with Microsoft will help Rare be able to tackle games of a larger scale and so on was complete BS...Were that the case they never would have asked Nintendo to buy them out.

Another problem was that Rare was falling apart at the seams when all of this happened. Nobody in the company knew what was going on and people were leaving and being fired left and right...It was a poorly managed company, and it shows...Once they were bought out, Microsoft placed a new president to take charge of everything and either pushed back or canceled most of the games they were working on...Because Rare may be a moderately large studio, but they were spreading themselves thin with the number of projects they were taking on. Kameo is one title that seems to have gotten the axe prematurely...The game was ready for launch on the GCN, but the title was never approved of by the higher ups in Rare and the title was left to sit there...Never being sent to Nintendo...Never doing anything, and they took the game with them to the Xbox...Though last I heard that was another title that may never see the light of day...At least not any time soon.

E3 Press release says Morgan Webb to be in Maxim!

[Roger Keith Barrett]

Lookie what I found. Here is a press release about X-play at E3... and look what it says about Morgan:

Morgan Webb is well known as one of the true gamer girls in the industry. Objective and passionate, fans look to Morgan for a no-nonsense approach to all the latest and greatest titles. Morgan who will be featured in the July issue of Maxim has also appeared on "ESPN Cold Pizza" and was one of five TechTV talent in Playboy.com's "Women of TechTV" online poll.

horray! I can't wait for some Morgan Webb skin!!

Forza Motorsports..

[ohdawg]

from the article:

The announcement for Forza Motorsport does promise a number of ways that players will be able to make their car their own. First, they will be able to choose from more than 60 real-world brands, including Mazda, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, and Dodge. After they select a chassis, players can go inside the guts of their car by adding nonstandard engines, suspensions, superchargers, and brakes. True gearheads can go one step further and tinker with their engines' gear ratios, fuel-mapping, forced induction pressure, and ignition timing.

being a car guy, I can appreciate the details they're trying to include in this game.. however, I think most people are going to think forced induction pressure is something only guys in jail talk about..

Re:Forza Motorsports..

[Osty]

I thought the more interesting part was

Another new aspect of Forza Motorsport is its inclusion of "drivatars," AI-controlled drivers you can "train" in your own original driving style.

I saw the original research into these "drivatars" at a MSR techfest a year or so ago. They had them hooked up to PGR, with a bunch of graphical debugging spew turned on (showing estimated driving lines, what the AI was thinking, etc). It was very cool. There was talk at the time of being able to download drivatars based on professional drivers on the then-new XBox Live service. Hopefully they do that.

And on a side note, does it bother anybody else when people refer to "wheels" as "rims"? A wheel is more than just a "rim", so why call it that? When I read "rims" in reference to wheels, my brain automatically translates it to "riceboy crap".

Re:Forza Motorsports..

[Cyno01]

I didn't read the article, but all that just sounds like NFS Underground with more options.

Re:Forza Motorsports..

[hunterx11]

A wheel is more than just a "rim", so why call it that?

It's called synecdoche, like when Ovid refers to Apollo's bow as "horns" in Apollo et Daphne. We all know how much car people love obscure rhetorical devices.

Re:Forza Motorsports..

[thadeusg]

It sounds so cool that I have to wonder if this will be as cheesy as a NFS game.

Letting us change fuel and spark maps? How are they going to model that, especially with the "non-standard" engines? Are they going to have a list of what engines can fit in what chassis?

If I turn the boost pressure up to 35psi on an 8.5:1 engine with no intercooler, will the engine blow in the game, just like in real life? What about extreme spark advances? Cams? Wheel and rubber sizes, gear ratios, etc..? It seems like too much to me, which is why I'm thinking it will go the "MORE HP = YOU WIN" mentality of the typical arcade racer.

If it approaches realism, has better AI than GT4, real life tracks, and a bigger car list than GT4 then I'm throwing my PS2 away. I've always wanted to play GT with my own soundtrack. Oh yea, it's gotta have rally courses (including Pike's Peak), and the Escudo.

Re:Forza Motorsports..

[Osty]

I prefer RiceCop for my occasionaly dose of rice hilariousness.

P.S. Bryan is Korean. His definition of a Rice Boy: Rice-Boy is a stereotype. The typical Rice-Boy can be identified by his car, or rather what he does to it. Generally, Rice-Boy will start out with a car that was not meant to go fast (typically a Honda Civic), and attempt to "fix it up," usually consisting of aftermarket rims, lowering springs and an aftermarket exhaust system with a large exhaust tip.

Rice refers to the cars, not the drivers. It is a bit of a derogatory term, since it typically implies Japanese (or at least Asian) cars, but it can be applied just as well to domestic makes. There are plenty of riced J-body (Cavalier, Sunfire) cars out there, and the Focus is another rice favorite. If I'm feeling PC, I call them "carbohydrate-based staple food racers", but "riceboy" gets that across much more succinctly.

Besides, he forgot to mention the park bench wings, outrageous bodykits, stickers, and gaudy paint jobs that riceboys so love.

Re:Forza Motorsports..

[thadeusg]

The funny part is that they're the ones who've proposed it!

I love that type of realism, which is why I love GT so much: it's almost the perfect racing sim in most respects. It's the perfect balance between realistic, and easy to play for the novice.

The articles I read a bit ago about this game say that it's supposed to be that realistic, (its even going to have body kits and bumpers, side skirts, etc...ugh!) but I think they're being far too ambitious. I also think that it might be based on the Project Gotham engine, and I hated the way that game drove. So far nothing beats GT on that. If I'm in a MR car, it handles much like a real one would. A FF car handles like it should, same for a FR, etc..

The article says that they've brought in engineers, physicists, and the like...so we can only hope..

But to kill off the GT franchise, they've got a lot of work to do. Some of the screen shots I've seen leave me very unimpressed with the cars, and I think they're putting too much emphasis on scenery..scenery is pointless in a racing sim. Who cares if you can render the gravel on the side of the track when I'm going to be passing it at 140+ mph ?

I don't know if GT4 is out here in the states either (GT4 and Halo2 are the only games on my "to buy" list and I'm in no hurry..) but I loved GT2, liked GT3, and from what I've read about GT4 I'll love it. They have my favourite car company finally, and brought back the used cars..which ruined GT3 IMO.

In other words: this game better be f'in spectacular if they expect it to replace GT for people like me.

Families?

[Anonymous Coward]

"casual games people love to play with their families... [including] 'Bejeweled'

Don't they mean "casual games people love to play instead of doing their job?"

Re:Halo 2, taking to long

[Anonymous Coward]

Will you clean up the damn basement like I keep asking.

Sincerely,
Your Mom

Good Gravy!

[jvmatthe]

Microsoft had former Playboy Playmate, Jenny McCarthy show off the new voice capabilities with a new videophone. The new videophone not only allows gamers to talk, but also allows them to see each other while they communicate. Microsoft promises that the videophone will not only be part of the Xbox Live experience, but also revolutionize social entertainment.

Hot woman known for taking off her clothes. A video phone. And revolutionary social entertainment. I have an inkling I know where Microsoft is headed with this one.

On the other hand, considering what the hardcore, never-goes-out-in-the-sunlight Xbox Live user probably looks like gives me real fear for what prank calls of the future will be like. :^)

offline development being neglected?

[Dystopias]

here's a question for everyone...i'd be interested in hearing other opinions. It seems the new trend in video gaming is taking games online. It also seems that this has taken attention off of offline games. an example would be Final Fantasy XI. While i was anxiously awaiting the next FF game, i was disapointed to discover that it was online. another example would be the ill fated attempt to take Myst online, one that fortunatly failed. For someone such as myself who doesn't enjoy interacting with idiots in real life, let alone through some video game, i'm concerned that the trend to online gaming is hurting the rest of the industry. any thoughts? -dystopias p.s. i would consider spending more time with online gaming if i could afford to be paying another bill every month. i realize companies have to charge so that they can pay for all the maintinance and upkeep but the subscription costs are enough to keep me away.

Re:offline development being neglected?

[SilentChris]

I wouldn't say neglected, just being brought into the fold. It was kind of like when force feedback debuted a few years back. At first it was a novelty, but then developers were like "Hey, we can use this to augment x, y, and z experience". Now you can't walk two feet without stepping over a controller with built-in force feedback.

If it's done *right* (and very few games have done this), single can complement multiplayer perfectly. A very good example is Project Gotham Racing 2 on Xbox. At first I was like "Eh, another racing game..." but as soon as I saw that you were always online, even when playing single player, I slowly became impressed with the design. No matter where you are in the game, you can always check out other players replays, how well you handled a track compared to others, or just play multiplayer. It's incredibly addictive because there's always an element of competition to draw you back.

That's why Nintendo's stance (avoiding online) seems so odd. They claim it's not ready for primetime. Clearly it is. Nintendo has made great efforts to introduce extrasensory experiences to their games (the Rumble Pak was the first really successful force feedback, the Game Boy/GameCube link is a nice touch [even if it forces people to buy more stuff]) but they're totally missing the ball on this one. They should be looking at it as yet another tool to augment gaming, rather than letting MS and Sony dig their heels in. Once they're in, neither company is going to let go easily.

Re:E3 Press release says Morgan Webb to be in Maxi

[Cyno01]

Beautiful women aren't always ditzs. Last summer i dated a model who knew pi to like 300 digits and was better versed in comic theory than myself. Scary which of those things attracted me to her the most...

The price of EA

[SilentChris]

I'm a fan of Xbox and a fan of EA (to an extent -- stupid EA Trax), but I can't help but wonder if EA introducing their sports games to Xbox Live had anything to do with MS cancelling their sports games for this year. Who knows the terms of the deal, but I can imagine an EA rep saying "Look, we'll do this. But the Xbox Sports Network thing has got to go." "How about a limited number of games and a delay of one year?" "Deal."

Not to say that MS's sports games were particularly good -- they weren't. But I can't help but wonder what this year's battle is going to be like with only EA and Sega fighting over the majority of sports titles (Sony also has put it's 989 series on hiatus for a year).

Re:Yes! A supported video camera!

[SilentChris]

Or you can buy any of a number of $20 USB webcams and hook it up to a Pentium II box and a screen for less than 50 bucks, total.

Xbox is no longer a value proposition for open source camps. It was a nice hobby, but honestly, there's a lot better things that people can be spending their time and money on. Leave the system to its games (which are pretty damn good now).

New Halo2 Screenshots, too...

[Recoil_42]

They were put up on bungie.net moments after the conference ended.

get 'em here:

Bungie.net HALO2 Screenshots, page 3.

Xbox.ign.com also has a fantastic preview up, its five pages long, so i wont bother to summarize it -- its simply a must-read though.

IGN Xbox: E3 2004: Halo 2 Multiplayer Hands-On

Gran Turismo killer?

[lingqi]

It's better than GT because the controller is about the same size as the steering wheel on my car right?

but seriously though, GT was so good because it was so, real. even if you cut the graphics to half it's current quality, the controls, the way cars handle, once you do GT and touch any other racer, the way the cars move feel fake and alien - and that's what makes GT special.

Heck, compared to today's standards, GT(s) for the original PS had graphics that can be rivaled by a 4 year old and a box of crayons, but they were damn fun nontheless.

at the same time, i remember EA licensed porsche exclusively. how does MS get around this? by paying EA a lot of money? I'm curious.

Re:Gran Turismo killer?

[nicky_d]

Yeah, GT's AI is pretty dull, but it's always felt like an extraneous feature to me, anyway - GT is all about mastering the driving system and adapting to the courses with a variety of vehicles, all of which have their own 'flavour'. This is the area GT has mastered and very few other games have approached. I daresay I could do without the other drivers in GT quite happily - in fact, I often play against my own time trial ghost, which I think is a lot more fun.

Similarly, the lack of damage is often mentioned in relation to GT, but again, it isn't important to the core of the game. Now there are great driving games which feature interesting AI and good damage simulation, but none of them, most people will agree, match up to GT as a driving experience.

To some gamers, GT will always seem a little dull, a little joyless - it depends what you're looking for. I appreciate being able to load up Project Gotham and launch into a kudos-grabbing show-off session, and I'll even head back to Destruction Derby 2 on the PSX for some auto carnage every now and again. But I also keep coming back to GT3, because when I'm heading through the shade of those trees, preparing to tackle the upcoming corner accoring to the specs of my car, I know that there's no other game like it. Forget the other cars, forget the fact that you can clip a barrier and not show a dent; it's all about your driving, and it has that covered completely.

Re:E3 Press release says Morgan Webb to be in Maxi

[Anonymous Coward]

Have you seen the Cat Schwartz nude pictures? man, what a slut, right!

And here is Morgan Webb nude

total sluts. how dare they expose themselves like?!?! it makes me want to touch myself in unpure ways!!! sinners!

..or how I learned to stop worrying and love LIVE

[Areeves]

Disclaimer, I don't own an xbox or xbox live, but I've played it a bunch. I've played a few games on Xbox live like Crimson Skies, Splinter Cell, RTCW and so on. I was skeptical at first, but it won me over quickly. The online buddy list and game invites work flawlessly, and very rarely do I see lag in game. Despite the drawbacks of live chat during game "dude I'm so stoned" "no way dude, so am I!" "PoWNED!", it actually works over DSL without a hitch. I see xbox LIVE as MS's iTunes Music store.

Nintendo DS logo revealed?

[NanoGator]

I apologize for being off-topic, but it's at least semi-relevent in the sense that this is sorta about E3. Somebody got a photo of the Nintendo DS logo.

http://www.planetgamecube.com/news.cfm?action=item &id=5289

The picture's kinda blurry (heh, camera phone?) but it appears to depict two screens, one above the other. Looks like a GBA SP with the lower half being a screen. Not the most exciting photo ever, but a lot of us are itching to see what Nintendo's going to show us tomorrow, figured I'd post it. (No hard feelings if I'm modded down, though...)

Re:E3 Press release says Morgan Webb to be in Maxi

[Anonymous Coward]

Dunno about the Morgan pic, but the pics of Cat are real. She acknowledged that already.

Links to some of the Halo 2 Videos

[rickst13]

Halo 2 Multiplayer (Team Xbox)

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4


Halo 2 Direct Feed (IGN)

Direct Feed Videos

Re:My question is,

[Babbster]

It's called the Slashdot CW. "Xbox games suck" or "All they have is Halo" aren't trolls or flamebait because those statements are considered true. Arguing against that is obviously flamebait because no sensible person enjoys their Xbox without a mod chip and Media Center installed.

In fact, mods should slap me with some negative points because I enjoy my Xbox games (bought five last week as a matter of fact) and don't have a mod chip.

EA and Microsoft

[ad0gg]

The original reason why EA wasn't live enabled because EA wanted to turn off xbox live after a new version of the game was released, forcing everyone to upgrade. Microsoft said no, and EA said no live.