Microsoft E3 2015 Press Conference Impressions – Sean Capri

Impressive but imperfect

Great E3 conferences do three things well: shock, confirm, and reassure. Of course, the most exciting moments come in the form of “oh my gosh” or “I can’t believe they just did that.” That’d be shock. The less exciting, but usually most substantive, spots come from confirming rumors to be true or false and closing the loop on some hanging news previously released – like revealing a release date for a game we know about. Finally, the presenter should reassure its fans (and investors) that their ecosystem is inviting, accessible, and the best place to be.

Canned messaging like Jump Ahead or Greatest Lineup in Xbox History are there to reassure the fans but frankly, gamers don’t really fall for clever marketing speak. We are a critical and finicky bunch who want games; who want games now; who want great games now; and who want a lot of great games like NOW!

Quantum Break, Scalebound, and Crackdown were pushed to Gamescom because, for Microsoft, E3 2015 was, mostly, about 2015. Will Xbox have stellar games past spring 2016? Probably. But kudos should be given for focusing on what’s in store over the next nine months rather than concepts that run the risk of losing steam (I’m looking at you, The Division).

Microsoft was the only conference of the Big Three that had me screaming up to my wife “OH MY GOD! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!” After settling myself, I’ve come to a conclusion on just how outstanding Phil Spencer and Team Xbox did at E3 2015.

Halo 5: Guardians | October 27, 2015 | Xbox One Exclusive

My love for the Halo series is, and always has been, conditional. Understanding that, it is an enormous franchise and Microsoft came out with the biggest guns possible in order to fulfill the promise of “the greatest lineup in Xbox history.”

Bonnie Ross, Studio Head at 343 Studios, greets an excited crowd and is treated to, perhaps surprisingly, a thundering applause. We already know the release date and the Master Chief/Spartan Locke angle, and even what the game will look like on Xbox One through the multiplayer beta this past winter. So the big question on my mind was: How does the Master Chief vs Spartan Locke play out?

A live demo of a Locke squad campaign mission attempted to answer this question but only showed one side of the coin we’re so desperately wanting to see flipped. Halo 5: Guardians is poised to make a huge splash this holiday season but I am left with baited breath to see why or how.

At least when it comes to the single player campaign.

True to its roots, and perhaps unsurprising thanks to an early beta, Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer looks monstrous. Josh Holmes, Executive Producer, focused on a aptly-titled mode called Warzone. Finally, Halo will have 24 player multiplayer and the intensity will be boosted by AI combatants. Where Titanfall relied on computer-controlled grunts to fluff the player count, Warzone promises to be a frenzy of players, vehicles, and carnage. Microsoft did itself a disservice by not spending more time on the multiplayer side but there’s always Gamescom.

A safe but mostly unsurprising start.

Recore | Spring 2016 | Xbox One Exclusive

From familiar to what-is-this?-I-want-it!, Recore – made by Keiji Inafune (Mega Man) and the creators of Metroid Prime (presumably personnel from Retro Studios) – is a game with a mechanical dog. That’s really all we know but I’ll dive into the CG trailer a bit.

Two poignant themes were strewn throughout the presentations this year; female protagonists and dogs. Recore has both – at least we think it does. The protagonist is most certainly female but the dog (spoilers) sacrifices itself to save the hero. But don’t feel bad for the dog, it leaves behind its essence in a glowing blue orb which is then placed into a large anthropomorphic robot and comes back to life. Streaming consciousness is pretty hot in movies these days (Lucy, Chappie, Transcendence) so it will be interesting to see how heavily this impacts the companion mechanic in Recore. Set to release in Spring 2016, we’re sure to see more in the coming months.

Recore seems to have some promising elements and has some heavy hitting talent at the helm. I’m cautiously intrigued.

Backwards Compatibility | Holiday 2015

Each month, Microsoft has updated and enhanced the user experience on Xbox One. This focus led me to praise Team Xbox for both listening to gamers and translating feedback into tangible improvements in order to top up on some goodwill. With this in mind, one would expect Microsoft to dedicate some time to talk about upcoming features to the Xbox One OS.

When Phil Spencer, trolling t-shirt concealed, drops the bomb “Xbox 360 backwards compatibility” the crowd erupts! Simply erupts. This was not supposed to be possible let alone happening this holiday season. I was thinking much smaller in that only digital games would carry over and that they would come in the form of paid packages like Wii U Virtual Console or PlayStation Classics.

Xbox One Preview Members have access to this feature right now and to show how it works, Microsoft demoed Mass Effect. Game developers don’t have to do much but submit for approval to have their Xbox 360 games backward compatible. That’s it. In an era when developers and publishers have a 24-hour dialogue with fans, this process promises to be truly organic. Even more impressive, the digital Xbox 360 games you already own will show up automatically on your Xbox One. Retail discs will work as well.

Spencer and Team Xbox proclaim Xbox 360 games will be better thanks to the features already available on Xbox Live. Amazingly, multiplayer will be cross-platform with Xbox 360! Plus, all the popular Xbox One features like screenshots, broadcasting, Game DVR, and streaming to Windows 10 are still available when playing last-gen games.

In a perfect world, yes, Xbox One would be 100% backwards compatible without any fine print. Unfortunately, the tail end of the announcement added a few confusing points. More than 100 titles will be backwards compatible this holiday – so which ones? With hundreds more in the months to come – again, which ones and when exactly?

I cannot understate it. This is, undeniably, irrefutably, a monster announcement. With a statement like “we don’t make you pay for games you already own” Microsoft is clearly taking shots back at Sony’s “here’s how to share games on PS4” back in 2013. Oh snap!

As I said on We The Gamercast, I own all three consoles and am far from a fanboy. I do, however, get really excited by power moves like this. Just thought I’d point that out.

Elite Wireless Controller | October 2015

Proving E3 is about having something for all not all for one, Microsoft briefly introduced the Elite Wireless Controller. The price, $149.99, wasn’t revealed until after the conference but there was little doubt this would be a costly investment. It looks beautiful and hardcore but its just not for me.

The name “Elite” doesn’t just describe the controller’s quantity but, arguably more poignant, it describes the gamer who wants it. The 1% who will pay a premium for top-tier gear. That isn’t me but this is a nice nod to the hardcore audience.

Fallout 4 | November 10, 2015

Impressively, everything up until this point has been exclusive Xbox news and even though Microsoft has had a strong showing so far, everyone is still thinking about Fallout 4 from Bethesda’s press conference the night before. Todd Howard had already been (unofficially) crowned E3 2015 Winner and nobody was upset to see him back so soon.

Howard made no assumptions during his time on Microsoft’s stage. He finely balanced introducing the game to newcomers and expanding the conversation to a more inclusive audience. Speaking to both console and PC gamers, Howard announced mods created on PC would be available to Xbox One players. After the conference, we learned this was not an exclusive deal and PC mods would be available on PS4 as well. I understand Microsoft has a heavy hand in this scripting and its all part of creating the perception that Fallout 4 is “best on Xbox” but this type of misdirection is a disservice to fans.

The part that piqued my interest most wasn’t even spoken about. Near the end of the presentation a small caption appeared but was never elaborated upon: Fallout 3 included with Fallout 4. Was this only on Xbox One? Was it part of the backwards compatibility announcement? Was this a huge miss to close the loop on the whole this is why we’re with Microsoft today angle?

Electronic Arts | Starting this week | Xbox One Exclusive

My first knock against the Microsoft conference is that nobody jumped on the serendipitous segue from Fallout 4 to EA Access: Vaults. Come on!

For an extra $5 per month, or $30 per year ($2.50 per month for the annual subscription), EA Access is an intriguing value-add to Games with Gold if you only look at what Electronic Arts provides in the Vault – a growing set of free games to subscribers. The service is exclusive to Xbox One and though it has been mostly dismissed by cynics, this writer will be signing up tout de suite.

Titanfall will be free to subscribers starting this week and Dragon Age: Inquisition will be added by the end of the summer – less than a year after its release. Say what you will about Titanfall but Dragon Age: Inquisition is a top-tier must-play and now all EA Access subscribers have no excuse to miss it.

Like all service subscriptions should, Electronic Arts announced a week-long free EA Access trial for all Xbox Live Gold members.

Closing with Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, Electronic Arts had a fine presentation with Microsoft – so long as you can temper the hate towards EA Access.

Forza Motorsport 6 | September 15, 2015 | Xbox One Exclusive

As a launch title, Forza 5 introduced us to next-gen with a truly underrated feature called Drivatar. While impressive, the Forza Motorsport 6 spot was by-the-numbers. Henry Ford III next to Turn 10 talking about 26 world-famous locations and 24-player multiplayer at 1080p/60fps set to release on 09/15/15.

Forza is a hefty exclusive confirmed for this year and confidently ignores all would-be competitors. That’s the unspoken victory of Forza Motorsport as an exclusive on Xbox One. Its sales, within months of a Halo release, will surely please many Xbox execs.

Dark Souls 3 | Early 2016

It was a little strange to see From Software at a Microsoft conference after Bloodbourne achieved such tremendous commercial success earlier this year on PS4. This reveal was limited to a short-but-brooding CG-only trailer. With any cross-platform game at one of the Big Three conferences, you have to think the goal is to solidify a strong association between the game and console. This one feels a touch forced and I’m not sure if anyone’s thinking about From Software as anything but a PlayStation-focused developer.

The Division | March 8, 2016 | Xbox One Exclusive Beta

Okay, two games in a row with a 2016 release date. We are now in the low point of Microsoft’s conference as Ubisoft President, Lauren Detoc, enters – looking and sounding exhausted; almost apologetic.

Detoc manages to get a decent response from the crowd with an early-access beta for Xbox One players starting in December. Finally, something imminent from The Division but is it too little too late?

Rainbow Six: Siege | October 13, 2015 | Xbox One Exclusive Content

We’re now back into 2015 territory with Rainbow Six: Siege which appears to be vying for the Best Value in a New Game award. Thanks to Xbox 360 backwards compatibility, Rainbow Six: New Vegas and New Vegas 2 will not only be playable on Xbox One but will be bundled (likely digitally) with Rainbow Six: Siege. This continues a long-lasting and strong partnership between Xbox and Tom Clancy games and felt like a natural fit within the press conference.

Gigantic | Beta August 2015 | Xbox One and Windows 10 Exclusive

This one is hardly worth talking about. Developed by Montiga and playable across Windows 10 and Xbox One, Gigantic is likely a MOBA but it wasn’t clear. Moving on.

Indie Time

When you have so many independent titles to show but only so much time to show them, you’re going to need a montage. Montage!

Cuphead, The Solus Project, and many others were given a split second each in your traditional indie splash. The one thing I’ll note, however, is how atypically “indie” these games are becoming. Empowering independent developers is really starting to pay off and Xbox took some time to highlight four particularly interesting titles.

Tacoma | 2016 | First on Xbox One and PC

Creator’s of the well-received Gone Home are venturing off into space with Tacoma, first on Xbox One and Windows 10. With a little clout after Gone Home, this mysterious first-person adventure begs the question: What am I going to find behind this door? Tacoma seems to be based on a simple idea – alone in space – but with a few twists like a missing crew and buried evidence, I can’t wait to try it.

Ashen | No date | Xbox Console Exclusive

Minimalist art styles are a hallmark of independent games but where Ashen truly stands out is how purposeful it comes off. This reveal did a nice job of quickly portraying the game’s faceless characters adventuring dark and dangerous environments riddled with hollow skeleton enemies. I am intrigued.

Beyond Eyes | Summer 2015 | First on Xbox One and PC

Removing sight from your protagonist seems counter-productive but Beyond Eyes looks like a living water painting with beautiful transparencies and lovely pastels. Having decent eyesight, I can only imagine trying, and failing, to accurately visualize the world around me. Beyond Eyes conveys this nicely as a tall and skinny object in the distance appears to be a tree but upon closer inspection is a traffic light. Lovely.

Cuphead | 1936 + 80 years | Xbox Console Exclusive

Everyone needs to buy this game. This could be the Castle Crashers of Xbox One.

Xbox Game Preview

I have heard many call for the return of Xbox Live Arcade so Microsoft can prove its commitment to independent developers. It appears Chris Charla is up to bigger and better things, however, as he announced a new pilot project called Xbox Game Preview. This will allow early access for in-progress games and, from what I can tell, will benefit the indie scene in three ways; mid-develpoment feedback from gamers, mid-development funding for creators, and – quite simply – yet another spotlight on the indie scene through riskless free trials. Xbox Game Preview is yet another example of Microsoft closing the gap between gaming on PC and console because, as Charla mentions, this type of early access gaming is already popular on PC.

Once again, drawing a connection between long-term and now, Charla announced a select number of games over the next year including Sheltered and Day Z while Elite Dangerous and The Long Dark are available today.

Ion | “Soon” | First on Xbox One and Windows 10

Coming first on Xbox One and Windows 10, Ion looks to place you as a recently un-cryogenically frozen protagonist in the depths of space. I need to know more about this game.

Rise of the Tomb Raider | November 10, 2015 | Xbox One Holiday 2015 Exclusive

In the interest of avoiding the awkward messaging surrounding the Holiday 2015 Exclusive tagline, I was hoping Microsoft would announce the Rise of the Tomb Raider is a permanent exclusive as hinted by Xbox Australia’s Facebook account. I suppose it wasn’t meant to be. Instead, we saw one of the better in-game capture demos of the conference. There was hardly anything surprising here but it was nice to see some real gameplay and a release date – even if it is the same as Fallout 4 (yikes!).

Rare Replay | August 4, 2015 | Xbox One Exclusive

Releasing a package of 30 games for 30 dollars to celebrate a 30th anniversary just seems right. Even without Donkey Kong Country and Goldeneye 64, which clearly couldn’t be included in an Xbox-only bundle, this one is a no-brainer with the likes of Perfect Dark, Banjo-Kazooie, and Conker’s Bad Fur Day. Oh, and 10,000 achievement points is kind of ridiculous but I like it.

Sea of Thieves | Holiday 2016 | Xbox One and PC Exclusive

The trailer for Sea of Thieves was just enough to show us that Rare has been let loose and is creating games on its own terms. I cannot wait to learn more.

Fable Legends | Holiday 2015 | Xbox One and Windows 10 Exclusive

Sorry for my manners here but is there any interest for this game at all? And how do we not have a solid release date yet? I see Fable Legends as a stepping stone to more console-to-PC multiplayer opportunities.

Virtual Reality

Kudo Tsunoda: We’re proud to announce a partnership with Valve VR

Crowd: What!? Oh crap! That’s cool! I think.

Kudo goes on to say Microsoft will be working closely with Valve to make Windows 10 the best place for VR gaming. The crowd might have been tired at this point because this is a direct shot at Sony’s Project Morpheus. PC is where virtual reality will happen first – if it happens at all. A hardcore group of high-dollar investors are required to evangelize this new tech – especially because nobody needs it.

We are reminded that Xbox One controllers are to be bundled with Oculus Rift for streaming through Windows 10. That’s all well and good but the jaw-dropping moment of the conference – whether anyone’s going to buy it or not – came from none other than Minecraft.

HoloLens

We know HoloLens focuses on Augmented Reality but what does that mean for games? Also, can somebody remind me why Microsoft was so interested in Mojang? Oh, and has anyone figured out how to present VR or AR at a press conference?

These three questions combine for a tall order but Microsoft answers them effortlessly.

With a clever misdirect, Minecraft on Hololens cleverly starts with an impressive, but not mind blowing, demo projected on to the wall that only the user can see. That’s fine. We’ve now seen that with Xbox One games streamed to Oculus Rift through Windows 10.

The demo is then take from the wall to the table and we can hardly believe our eyes. This is the future. Its Minecraft but its the future. It is made even more impressive through the multiplayer aspect as the god-like HoloLens player can oversee the entire land played traditionally by friends online. After spending some time in the HoloLens perspective, you forget Minecraft isn’t actually on the table!

This would have been a wonderful place to end the conference but E3 is traditionally targeted to a more hardcore group of gamers.

Gears of War 4 | Holiday 2016 | Xbox One Exclusive

At this point, I looked at the time and realized Gears of War 4 will close the conference. I have to admit it, I was kind of sad.

This presentation confirmed the notion I’ve held for a while that we will never have that wow moment we had with the original Gears of War reveal. When I first bought Gears back in 2007, I remember saying “I don’t know much about this game but I hear its good.” I want that again moment again. But not with Gears.

So I went in to E3 negatively predisposed to Gears of War 4. And to be blunt, Gears of War 4 did not demo well enough to sway me. It was dark, overly-familiar, and I don’t know why we have a new set of characters. Now, I know those last two seem contradictory but this presentation failed to tell me what is new about Gears of War and why I should care. Instead, we saw gameplay that, had I not known any better, could have been from a remastered version of Gears of War Judgement.

A poor close.

Final Verdict

For anyone still holding on to their Xbox 360, backwards compatibility means they can trade in their old console if that’s what’s been keeping them from making the jump ahead to Xbox One (see what I did there?).

Microsoft’s conference shocked us, confirmed a great deal of information, and reassured fans they’re in for an overwhelmingly busy year. Pushing Scalebound, Quantum Break, and Crackdown to future conferences shows that Phil Spencer is no longer talking about how the Xbox One will eventually be a great system. He is changing the conversation from what will come to what is coming.