July 11, 2007 - Tonight Microsoft held their large E3 press conference. Though we've already covered it minute-by-minute, we thought we'd take a moment to share our overall impressions now that the dust has settled.

Steve: Well, I think it's safe to say that we're a little disappointed in the overall presentation. While there were definitely some standouts and some interesting new announcements, Microsoft still hasn't delivered on their promise to make PC gaming a priority.

And while the team at Microsoft decided to kick off their Windows line-up by talking about a port of Viva Pinata, I'd like to start things off with a more positive note: Gears of War looks awesome. It's every bit as good on the PC as it is on the Xbox 360 and, unlike the predictable anticlimax that was Halo 2 Vista, it actually comes with enough new content to make it worthwhile for gamers who have already played it on the console.

Cliffy B came out to talk about the additions the team has in store for the PC version of Gears. Not only will the game come with five entirely new single player chapters (reason enough to try the PC version) but it will also include a coop experience, new multiplayer maps, a new game mode and an editor that lets gamers tinker with the game's assets. For me, that's more than enough to warrant my attention. Cliffy's assurance that the game will run on both XP and Vista seems like a very smart move considering the problems that some of us still seem to be having with Microsoft's new "gamer friendly" operating system.

Naturally, I was also really impressed with the new stuff we saw from the Infinity Ward and Irrational folks. Watching Call of Duty 4 and BioShock in action only got me more excited to get my hands on the final versions of both games. Other highlights included Flight Simulator X, Hellgate, Crysis, Universe at War, World in Conflict and the Company of Heroes expansion. Unfortunately, most of those passed by so quickly, I didn't really get a chance to see what sort of progress has been made on them since we last saw them. Maybe Microsoft just didn't want to highlight some of the new IPs being developed by third-party folks.

So keeping things positive, at least for now, what impressed you guys?

Dan: Like you, I thought Gears of War looked good on the PC and I'm defintely happy that they're adding new content, and it looks like a good deal of it, to the mix. Who knows how long the extra content will actually be, but at least it's something. Other than that, I wasn't particularly impressed with anything else that Microsoft was doing themselves. Plenty of great third party stuff on the PC but all we get from them is freaking Viva Pinata -- as good as it is all I can think is "who gives a crap?" -- Age of Empires: Asian Dynasties, and a Flight Simulator expansion. BORING. For a company that keeps trying shove the whole bit about caring so much about PC, they certainly don't do much development for it.

I think one of the most interesting and potentially biggest announcements was the inclusion of Live support in Unreal Engine 3, which is being used for a gazillion games at this point. Having immediate support for a multiplayer service is a big deal and the fact that Microsoft got Live in there makes it that much easier for them to convince developers to use the service. This could be big because of the ease of cross-platform development. It could also potentially bring in more people willing to pay for the service, even with all of the free options on the market. It'll be interesting to see how this gets used by developers who have the option to use it. There are definitely a lot of developers that are pretty wary of making a Live game for the fear of gamers needing to pay to play on the PC where gamers just aren't used to having to shell out more cash.

Aside from that, I'm just pissed that we don't have an easy button on my PC like Scene It does. I feel left behind...

Charles: Dan, I think your Scene It reference was sarcastic! I definitely appreciated that Windows XP and Vista systems will be able to run Gears of War PC. Unfortunately for me, I was never that crazy about Gears of War when it came out on Xbox 360 last winter. I mean I played it, I beat it, I appreciated all the co-op features and dug into the multiplayer, but I think it was pretty much globally overrated. Or maybe I'm just insane.

What I was really hoping for was an announcement that reached into 2008. They really only had a Resident Evil 5 trailer, which I liked, but that doesn't so much affect PC gamers. Basically the entirety of what was shown we knew already. All I know now is, after seeing the Infinity Ward demo during the conference, I need to play Call of Duty 4. That game looks absolutely incredible - but of course my enthusiasm may dissipate once I actually play it. I just hope it doesn't.

But back to the lack of 2008 announcements. Microsoft really needed to show off something to get me to look forward to next year. I know about Age of Conan. I know about BioShock. I already want to play them, and moreover they're not even Microsoft games, they're just Games for Windows branded. I want a new intellectual property developed by Microsoft for release later next year. I want to believe Microsoft actually cares about the PC as a platform, instead of watching year after year of boring ass PC game montages that include titles released the month before (cough, Lost Planet, cough).


Steve: Yeah, despite the lack of new IPs, I think Games for Windows has done pretty well from a purely marketing standpoint and tonight's conference shows that Microsoft is definitely committed to strengthening the brand. Personally, I can forgive them for not creating loads of new PC games internally if they put more effort into creating a more enjoyable and consistent PC gaming environment. It's great to see PC games enjoy such high visibility in the retail arena and with something like 60 or so Games for Windows titles heading to store shelves in time for the holidays, PC games are finally starting to get a little more respectability.

I completely agree with you, Dan; hearing that the new Unreal Engine is going to include Live support makes me very, very excited about the games that are coming down the pipe. Sure, we're only due for like a dozen Live-enabled games by the end of the year, but having the technology built right into the industry's most popular engines is definitely a boost for PC gaming. But why aren't we hearing more about that? It just seemed that Microsoft dropped that info and then moved right on to something else.

Even though the new technology is nice, the fact that so many of these titles are developed outside of Microsoft kind of undercuts the repeated promises they've made to us over the years about their commitment to PC gaming. I mean, set beside the PC lineups from SEGA, THQ, Activision or Eidos, what can Microsoft really offer as their own? Zoo Tycoon? Flight Simulator? While those are definitely good sellers, they don't seem positioned to push the industry forward. It's like they expect us to be excited that their big announcement is the arrival of console ports.

I was a little disappointed (but not at all surprised) that Microsoft spun the Vista launch in such a positive direction. They claim that ten million gamers have already upgraded to Vista, but they didn't bother to mention any of the improvements they're hoping to make to what is, in my experience at least, a thoroughly unreliable and uncooperative operating system. I was particularly impressed to hear that Gears of War will support XP as well. Try to find a publisher outside of Microsoft who thinks Vista exclusivity is a good idea for their game and I'll give you my next paycheck.

Charles: Where was the update on Games for Windows Live's progress, by the way. That service stinks right now, plain and simple. It's hobbled when considered by itself, and verges on insulting when you compare it to what Xbox 360 users get with Xbox Live. First and foremost, they need to make GFW Live function outside of an application. What's the point of having a new multiplayer program that only works when you've got a game loaded up. I'm assuming Microsoft has seen X-fire and what you do through Steam. I don't want to have to actually launch Shadowrun in order to see who's online. Of course I could just do that by logging onto Xbox.com, but that kind of functionality needs to be in the GFW Live service to make it worthwhile. Instead of addressing those concerns and announcing future upgrades, Microsoft instead decided to leave the topic completely untouched.

Dan: Basically, the conference was mostly a bust with trailers of games we've seen many times before. PC was especially disappointing since we apparently really only have to look forward to ports coming from Microsoft and a bunch of titles from publishers and developers that have simply agreed to be branded Games for Windows.

Business as usual. Yawn. Show me something new please before I give up on you completely Microsoft. I want to believe, I really do.