Kinect! Halo 4! Xbox LIVE! Xbox 720?
This time next week, Microsoft will be getting ready to kick off E3 2012 with their conference. We gave you our thoughts on what Sony might unveil last week, but now it’s time to focus on Microsoft and what they might reveal in Los Angeles next week.
Will it be a Kinect focused showing? Maybe Microsoft will surprise us all with talk regarding their next console? We’ll find out the answers next week, but right now NGB team members put their necks on the line with their predictions. Read on to see what they think Microsoft will do.
Aaron Sullivan – Microsoft have come out saying that there will be no talk of their next-gen console, which leads me to believe that we will have a very similar showing for them this year as we did last. One or two games, Halo 4 and maybe a new franchise they’ve been keeping under their belt, mixed in with a couple of 3rd party trailers. Black Ops II being their crown jewel in that department. Other than that, expect a lot of Kinect and Xbox LIVE talk pertaining to music and video services in an attempt to push their “media hub” vision. However, if Microsoft have any sense whatsoever they will at the very least show us a tech demo or two to get us excited about the future.
Adam Neaves – Microsoft’s press conference is the one I’m least looking forward to. I don’t think they will announce anything next-gen wise and I think their focus will (just like last year) be Kinect. Even the showing of Halo 4 won’t be enough to steal the show.
Adrian Purser – Unless their PR team is playing the greatest poker game of all time, Microsoft seem to be lining up for another fairly casual-focused show with the obligatory tacking on of Halo 4 information. I’m expecting to see plenty of software for Kinect, a host of new media functions (Spotify?) coming to the 360, and something around Windows 8 and how it can integrate with the 360. Microsoft’s forte at E3 in recent years has been announcing exclusives for XBLA, so I am hoping for something big to make up the defecit for the more ‘hardcore’ gamer.
Aryel Abrahami – Microsoft are in a similar situation to Sony, the hardcore are all talking about the next Xbox, but an unveil will come as a surprise. The 360 is doing very well and Microsoft will be keen to milk that cow for as long as possible, announcing the next iteration of hardware now would certainly undermine that success. However, they will be wary of once again being upstaged by Sony at E3. In reality we know what will happen, Black Ops 2 will kick things off with a bang, then we will be presented with a bunch of Kinect titles that we really don’t wish to see, but that’s okay, as Master Chief will be sent out at the end like an over used whore to make the time invested in watching the conference almost worth it.
Asim Tanvir – Just like last year, I’m preparing for disappointment from Microsoft’s offering at E3. I think their conference will focus mainly on Kinect, with a few third party titles getting pushed as “better on Xbox 360”. Forza Horizon and Halo 4 will be there too, but only the latter will get the attention of hardcore gamers. Unless Microsoft gas secured a massive third party coup (Metal Gear Solid 5 or Grand Theft Auto V), they will need to announce a couple of exclusive IPs to steal the show from Sony or Nintendo.
Dave Duncan – I think one of the big companies will announce a new console. If any of them do, I think it’ll be Microsoft. They’ll rely heavily on Halo 4, Kinect and third party titles. Not expecting a ground-breaking show from them unless they announce the next console.
David Bryant – Kinect needs “serious” games and at E3 I think it will get at least one. With Gears of War: Exile cancelled the baton will have to pass to someone else. Who? I just don’t know. Hardware will also be on the agenda for Microsoft though and with their press conference being up first, they have all the power. If they detail the Next Box then Sony will have to follow. If they stay quiet, Sony could steal the show.
Gari Clark – Although Microsoft has denied that the next Xbox will be revealed at this years E3, I feel that it will make an appearance in some shape or form. Of course, Microsoft will have more on Forza Horizon and Halo 4 at the show. I think they will also reveal the ‘Spotify-like’ music stream service. Woodstock has been the name flying around the rumour mill for a while now, so it could be that. I feel Microsoft will overhaul of the Xbox LIVE service too, bringing a slightly new strategy which will include more Kinect functionality and a web browser.
Nick Harrington – Halo 4 will most likely be Microsofts trump card. Disappointedly, trend might dictate a whole new bunch of new Kinect related shenanigans such as Fable journey that will inevitably annoy the non-casual gamer. If no next-gen console is announced, it’s hard to see past the usual with Microsoft’s conference. Kinect 2.0 anyone?
Tom Mills – Again, I don’t feel like I need a new console from Microsoft just yet. I’d much rather see some unique titles for Kinect as a service to gamers who invested in the hardware and then found the software support to be fucking terrible bar the odd gem. They need to start making that device be a valuable addition to the console or they risk losing the support of the players that put them in the place they are now.
That’s our Microsoft predictions, next up (Wednesday) we talk Nintendo!
