The top things to expect from Microsoft at E3

1.Project Natal
Without a doubt Project Natal is going to be Microsoft’s biggest focus this year. After the success of Nintendo's casual gaming range (Wii Sports/Wii Fit), coupled with the fact Rare developed the Xbox Live avatars (which to date have been mostly unused), it only makes sense that Microsoft and Rare will team-up to produce a similar casual gaming experience for the Xbox 360. Microsoft will probably launch a sports game with Natal which will offer the instant accessibility for all demographics; much in the same way Nintendo marketed Wii Sports. What remains to be seen is how far the game will differentiate itself from what Nintendo and Sony will offer, and more importantly how well the controller-less interaction will work.

Other Rare franchises that may logically see a Natal re-boot could include Perfect Dark (especially after the recent Xbox Live Arcade success) and Viva Piñata. Either way it is almost certain that Rare will be making an E3 appearance in some form, and it has been well overdue!

Microsoft Studios could in addition use Natal to showcase a successor to Halo Wars. Very little has been heard regarding a sequel for the franchise but the original was highly praised by critics - especially considering how difficult console RTS games are to get right. The 'point-and-click' interface could lend itself very well to gesture commands and go some way to proving that hardcore gaming is possible through motion control.

Finally Peter Molyneux has described how Project Natal will offer an 'enhanced' Fable III experience. Although little has been confirmed regarding the extent that Natal is integrated into the gameplay of Fable III, it is likely that E3 will be used as a platform to showcase these features.



2.New Bungie Game (Not Halo related)
Bungie are guaranteed to be at E3 in some form to promote Halo Reach and the new features it has to offer over it's predecessors. As they have previously indicated, Halo Reach is likely to be the last Halo game from the studio for a while (if not indefinately). Recently the studio registered two new trademarks, one for Marathon (the first person shooter that was developed before Halo), and one for "Bungie Aerospace". Perhaps along with new details on Reach, gamers will get a first look at a 'new' project from Bungie?


3.Xbox 360 3-D support
D technology has become the essential format for big screen blockbusters since the enormous success of the Avatar movie. To date Microsoft has stayed relatively quiet about brining 3D to the Xbox 360 console. Sony on the other hand has already begun to develop the firmware required to implement the tech and have rigorously demonstrated games such as Gran Turismo 5 and Wipeout running in 3D.

Microsoft have confirmed that the Xbox 360 is fully 3D ready, and some small amount of footage has been shown to the public. Now that 3D has certainly established itself as an essential prerequisite to any major film release, this year could be the E3 that we see something more concrete in terms of the Xbox moving into the next dimension. Whether 3D will have as large impact on the gaming industry as High Definition however remains to be seen.



4. Gears Of War 3 Details
Unusually allot of Microsoft’s core franchises have already been announced for 2010 (namely Halo Reach, Crackdown 2, Fable3, Mass Effect 2, Alan Wake, Ninety Nine Nights 2, Metro 2033, Splinter Cell Conviction ), leaving little to be confirmed at E3. One game that if not already revealed before E3, that is very likely to make an appearance, is Gears of War 3.

Now that we actually have a release date and a little information about the game, we will start to see the details emerge. 4 player co-op Online Campaign, Double Barrel Shotguns etc..


5.XBox 360 Slim
Perhaps the biggest surprise at E3 from Microsoft would come in the form of a slim version of the Xbox 360 console.

A re-branded Xbox, along with the release of Natal, could be exactly what the Xbox franchise needs to reinvent itself in this long console lifecycle.

If you like internet rumours (and who doesn’t?) then it’s worth looking at the 'leaked' images below of a supposed Xbox 360 slim console (as provided by Gamekings.tv). Whether real or not, the prospect of a slim console, hopefully including a wireless adapter, is an exciting one and maybe the key to attracting late next-gen adopters this Christmas.





6.Natal Supported games aimed at hard core gamers

With Natal on the Christmas list of a lot of people this year, it's going to need games. Of course there will be the slew of party titles, Boxing, Football, Baseball etc.. What it is going to really need and apparently have is solid hard core support in the way of Fable 3, Ghost Recon Advanced Agent and even the rumored "Secret Kojima" project that is Metal Gear related and rumored to support Natal fully.


No Doubt, Microsoft is pulling all the stops out this year.

looks like a great build up year for xbox

seems to me like they are taking a gaming system that is already at the top and just jumping even further ahead

Well they kind of just sat back last year and waited things out, this year they are making a lot of moves, I'm pretty excited, I mean it's unusual to have two floor shows at E3, so something big is up.