As you may all know, Microsoft is coming out with a re-designed Xbox360 tomorrow. The new box is a bit smaller (not really slimmer despite its name), quieter, and shinier, it also comes with a much bigger hard-drive (250GB) and wifi-n. No Blu-Ray this time around or Bluetooth.
I loved the design when I saw footage of the conference, and then I saw it in person... I was slightly underwhelmed. The creases are far less dramatic in non-studio lighting, and the vent on the side and top scream Alienware to me. But the upgrades for the same price, are nothing but good news to those looking to buy a new Xbox360.
"New" Games
I say "new" because there were few surprises outside of the Kinect games, and many of those were announced in the days leading up to E3, and speaking of Kinect, that is absolutely where the focus was for Microsoft this year. The Microsoft booth was dominated by the Kinect Experience, and there was very little to see outside of that. Fable 3, Enslaved, and Rockband 3 were all on display, but got little attention, as most people were waiting in line for Kinect on the other side of the booth. There was also some Gears of War 3 and Halo: Reach footage being shown in closed screening room.
KINECT
Where to start with Kinect? So much hype, but what for? To be completely honest, Kinect was a total let-down. Part of me was expecting to see nothing other than casual party games and tech demos posing as games, but part of me was hoping to see some truly innovative use of this technology. Obviously, it would be unwise to write off Kinect as a failure given the possibility of the latter, and because Nintendo has been so successful with the casual market (no, I am not saying Nintendo doesn't make games for core gamers.) There were times where I was genuinely confused, seeing those avatars in casual sports games really made me think Mii's had grown arms.
I am not completely critical of Kinect, either. The technology is very impressive. Dance Central is a great example of what it can do when put in the right hands, and again, the potential is huge, but with emphasis being so heavy on casual games early on, if these games end up selling, expect to see Master Chief Party 8 in the near future. The difference was day and night between Dance Central, and basically everything else shown. From responsiveness, to design. Dance Central basically turns your body into the controller, whereas the party games merely had you interact with in-game objects, in a fairly traditional way.
The device itself is pretty big, which makes sense considering it will require its own power source (for non-slim boxes.) There is obviously a lot of technology at work inside the device, and it makes me wonder just how much processing is going on behind the scenes in the device itself as opposed to in the Xbox.
Strangely, Microsoft did not announce a price or a bundle of any kind, but retailers are already listing it a $149.99. It's a bit steep given the initial library of games, but not such a bad a deal when compared to 4 Wii Controllers and Nunchuks, which add up to $240 and climb up to $300 when you get the motion plus attachment.
One thing is clear: Microsoft is putting many of its eggs in this basket. Whether or not it will pay off remains to be seen.
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