Nintendo’s E3 ‘Media Presentation’ began very different than Microsoft’s or Sony’s yesterday, with an live orchestra-backed video of the 25 year history of The Legend of Zelda. This was quickly followed by the news that the next generation console from Nintendo won’t be out till ‘next year’, yep 2012 release date.

While Nintendo had committed to showing off a playable version at E3, it’s clear there is still a lot of work to go. Essentially they’re just showing the controller at E3. Developers like EA are getting on-board and will support WiiU, clearly going HD is inviting.

The WiiU controller contains a 6” touchscreen display, camera, gyroscope, stereo speakers. Along with a touchscreen (which can be used for standalone gaming), the WiiU controller also offers the standard controller joysticks, plus pad and rear triggers. The controller can integrate with your existing Wii peripherals. The introduction video showcased users browsing the web by scrolling the controller and having that reflected on the HDTV.

Gamers on the WiiU will be able to play against gamers on the 3DS.

Amazingly Nintendo are NOT showing off the WiiU hardware. Thanks to EA Games’ we have at least had it confirmed that it will run HD graphics. To what level we don’t yet know. It’s clearly very, very early days if Nintendo aren’t showing hardware other than the controller.

After the media presentation, there was a video showcasing just how the WiiU controller would work. From the video, it looks like the expectation is that WiiU owners will only have one WiiU controller, while other players still use WiiMotes. Could this be a cost-related issue ?

When viewed from the side it did look alarming bulky, but its important to note there is a stand at the back, so the controller isn’t as thick as it seems, remember thin costs money people. It’ll be interesting to see how developers make use of the dual-screen setup of controller vs big screen, but the inclusion of physical buttons is an important one.

Expect more information regarding the WiiU to be released over the coming days and months.

Check out the video of the WiiU announcement below.

Microsoft’s keynote at E3 2011 began with a live on-stage demo of never before seen Modern Warfare 3 single player campaign. Its pretty safe to say the action was nothing short of EPIC !

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Tomb Raider
The Tomb Raider story is getting a reboot, the newest edition looks pretty brutal and is said to feature open world environments. The teaser was played on-stage and looked like a cross between a movie and user-controlled

Mass Effect 3
Just a taste during the MS keynote, EA have their own later on. The experience will be ‘augmented’ with Kinect, seems like everything is supporting it now.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
Yep u guessed it, uses Kinect as well. This time used to configure your weapons. Announcement: All future Tom Clancy titles will leverage Kinect – big call.

Xbox Update
Expect some of this to be US-only, we’re still waiting for voice controls in Australia. YouTube and Bing are coming to Xbox. Live TV is coming to the Xbox, not only in the US, but around the world. Foxtel on Xbox mentioned, we already have that, likely just voice controlled. Coming this fall (US).

Gear of War 3
Everyone’s favourite gaming rockstar Cliffy B was joined by Ice T to demo an unseen part of GOW3. Would you expect anything less than hardcore brutal action ? I think not. Can’t wait for GOW3.

Halo Remastered.
10 years ago since the first Halo. Coming November 15th, 2012. No Halo 4, what a disappointment, I guess the leak was wrong. Just updated maps etc.

Forza 4
Looking forward to seeing how the Kinect integrates. Nope, just shown the trailer we’d already seen.. disappointing.

Fable: Face the Journey
Yet another game using Kinect, its clear the ‘future of xbox’ is simply Kinect.

Minecraft
Coming exclusively to the Xbox 360. No detail really.

Kinect Disneyland adventures
Lots of Kinect Disney games coming for the kidlets.

Kinect Star Wars
Yep, the on-stage demo looked as bad as the early vids that came out yesterday. Oh well, there’ll be a whole new generation of Star Wars Kids now.

Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster
Name says it all really. You get the idea, another one for the kids.

Kinect Fun Labs announced
Kinect now recognises Hair, eyes, mouth, clothing and more.. this is freakin sweet ! Kinect Finger tracking + object capture, Kinect getting even better. Hey Sony + Nintendo, the bar just got raised.

Kinect Sports 2
Kinect Sports is the top selling franchise on Kinect. Standard kind of improvements you’d expect out of wave 2. It does integrate voice, this has to mean Australian accent will be supported.

Dance Central 2
All songs from the first can be imported. More than 100 songs, the most of any dance Kinect game. Dual dancers now supported. They actually make it look pretty fun, then again, they have rhythm.

Halo 4
You tease Microsoft ! Coming in Holiday 2012 – Halo 4 ! Clearly a lot of development to go, but as a Halo fan.. exciting stuff.

That’s it guys, hope you enjoyed the photo tour of Microsoft’s E3 press conference for 2011. Apologies for draining your bandwidth, but lets face it, it was worth it.

Thanks to the time zone gods, tomorrow the day will start around 2AM. Microsoft will open the electronic entertainment expo, better known as E3, with a keynote that is said to showcase “Xbox, the future revealed”. A very intriguing title indeed.

We already know Nintendo have committed to showing off a playable version of their next console. Previously Microsoft had been quoted as saying the Xbox 360’s lifespan would be around 10 years. As we know, the likes of the PS2 can live on for a very long time, but doesn’t mean the successor has to wait till that 10 years is over. So are we likely to get a sneak peak at the Xbox 720 ? That’d be two big reveals in a week (the other being Windows 8).

A more likely scenario is that Microsoft will talk about future game releases using Kinect and potentially expand Zune services. As always techAU will follow the news and be tweeting updates as we go. There’ll be live streams available, so join in the complimentary discussions, thoughts, opinions on twitter.

For those more sane people, there’ll be a summary blog post of the announcement for you to digest over your breakfast coffee.

Microsoft are making sure you don’t miss the action, watch it on Microsoft’s Facebook page, on your Xbox 360 or Windows Phone. E3 is jam packed with press conferences, Microsoft will be followed by EA, Ubisoft and Sony tomorrow, then its Nintendo’s turn on Wednesday morning.

E3 Press conference list. (courtesy of AusGamers)

• Microsoft Xbox: – June 7th, 2am AEST – Live Stream @ xbox.com.
• Electronic Arts – June 7th, 5:30am AEST – Live Stream @ ea.com
• Ubisoft – June 7th, 7:30am AEST – Live Stream @ ubi.com.
• Sony: June 7th, 10am AEST – Live Stream @ playstation.com
• Nintendo: June 8th, 2am AEST – Live Stream @ nintendo.com

More information @ E3Expo

Well it’s official, the name Project Natal was just a code name, the retail name for Microsoft’s new control-less device is Kinect. While Kinect relates to the connected experiences it provides, I actually preferred Natal as the name. There’s been a lot of discussion about Natal since it’s unveiling at last years E3 and brand awareness was already high. With a renaming, that process needs to start again.

Update
Engadget have more info on Kinect and have confirmed video chat will be a key feature.

Kinect will launch a number of compatible titles while some previous titles may receive an update to make them Kinect compatible. Joystiq list the launch titles as:

• Kinectimals features over 20 different virtual pets, including lions, tigers, and cheetahs, to play with or raise.
• Joyride has returned to life as a controller-free racing game, apparently.
• Kinect Sports will offer sport games to play: "boxing, bowling, beach volleyball, track and field, soccer and table tennis." For each one, you will make motions to play the games.
• Kinect Adventures has a river raft and obstacle course to navigate — this is likely the demo we saw last week.
• MTV Games will release Dance Central, where you can cut a virtual rug.
• And there will be more games announced later featuring both Disney characters and Star Wars characters, in conjunction with Disney and LucasArts, respectively.

Gizmodo have an impressive gallery of hands-on photos from the E3 launch party. The final production model of Kinect actually looks a lot smaller than early Natal builds, but is a slick shade of glossy black. One possible issue I see with Kinect is its location in your home entertainment setup. Most decent setups have 5.1 surround sound, including a middle speaker placed below the TV, right where Kinect wants to be. It’s a lot larger than the Wii sensor bar, so sitting Kinect on top of your flat screen is not an option. Not sure what the right solution to this problem will be, hopefully Microsoft will tell us tomorrow morning.

GDGT users, be sure you add Kinect to your want list. Apparently 2 people already have it.

More @ Joystiq

Get ready gaming fans.. the insanity that is E3 is almost upon us. The worlds biggest gaming expo kicks off bright an early tomorrow morning with a keynote from Microsoft. They’re partnered with Fotel’s FOX8 channel to stream the keynote live for the first time. So if you have Foxtel, forget about the hassle of connecting your laptop to the big screen and head to FOX8 at 3:30am AEST tomorrow morning.

The event being titled Xbox 360: The Future Revealed will take a detailed look at Project Natal for the Xbox 360. There’s sure to be plenty of game demos, pricing and availability details. Reports in this morning from USA Today suggest Natal’s official release name will be Kinect.

This live broadcasting of technology events in Australia is a great thing, if only it was on free-to-air, then everyone could enjoy it.

More @ InsiderX via Kotaku

News out of today’s E3 Press Conference from Microsoft.

The video stream from G4 on Justin.tv was some of the best live coverage. Played flawlessly with over 21,000 viewers. Update: ok the stream just died. 5:22am.

Beatles RockBand announced

Personally I’m not a fan of the Beatles, but I know a lot of people are, so I’m sure they’ll be happy about this announcement.

10 new games demo’d
Tony Hawk
- includes peripheral (skateboard)

My thoughts: I really hope this board is wireless, I seen some ports on the side that made me a little nervous, but hopefully that’s just for charging. Ultimately it’s l

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Xbox 360 gets the first 2 map packs first.

My thoughts: The demo was set in the snow, it looked good, but we’ve come to expect this from COD, there didn’t look to be anything particularly innovative about this sequel. Still this game will probably be

Final Fantasy XIII
Announced last year, shown off running on the Xbox 360 for the first time.
- Spring 2010 release date
- Also available on PS3

My thoughts: This game looks pretty good, but is still so far away.

Shadow Complex

My thoughts: While it looked like the best Xbox Live Arcade game, I’d rather spend my time and money on a full game.

Joy Ride
- Will be free
- The most comprehensive use of Avatars yet

My thoughts: Actually pretty keen to check this one out, reminds me very much of the movie cars.

Crackdown 2

My thoughts: OMG OMG OMG, *runs round in circles with excitement I loved the first Crackdown, very excited about the next iteration.

Left4Dead2
- November 17th Release Date

My thoughts: Another will buy game

Splinter Cell Conviction

My thoughts: Some of the best pre-rendered faces, I wish in-game looked that good.

Forza 3 !!!!
- 400 cars from 50 manufacturers
- New graphics engine.
- Includes the Audi R8
- Drifting !!!
- Release date: October 09.

My thoughts: My most anticipated game from E3, can’t come soon enough.

Halo 3 ODST
- September 22nd
- Buy this and get a multiplayer beta invite to Halo Reach

My thoughts: I’m a big Halo fan, what’s not to like ?

Allan Wake
- Spring 2010 release date

My thoughts: Not much to say here.. another first person shooter. Looked good, still going for Left4Dead 2 though.

Xbox Live
- Last.fm coming to the Xbox, available later this year around the world for free !
- Netflix (US only) ads downloading / on on demand streaming from xbox, Sky TV for UK and Ireland.
- Video Library renamed Zune – This Fall, to 18 markets, I didn’t see an Australian flag..
     – 1080p, no disc, no downloads, no delay.. ? Not sure how they pull this off.

Facebook comes to Xbox
- Felicia Day from The Guild on stage
- Nice UI, access to manage friends, see facebook photos etc.
- Facebook connect support in-game allows screen shots to be uploaded to facebook
- Release date: Fall 09

Twitter comes to Xbox
- Live stream of updates
- Chatpad now becomes the must-have accessories
- Release date: Fall 09

Metal Gear Solid coming to Xbox for the first time
- Next edition is called Metal Gear Solid: Rising
- Completely new title, no Solid Snake ?

My thoughts: This is a big exclusive loss for Sony, definitely pays to have market share.

New Xbox features – Xbox Project Natal
- Sensor bar
- No need for a controller
- Video conferencing !!
- Voice controls !!
- Facial recognition
- Steven Spielberg on stage talking about the transformational technology.
- Available to all Xbox’s.

My thoughts: Looks great, but you know the motion sensing won’t work as well as advertised. Fingers crossed I’m wrong. The video really showcased some great innovation, Microsoft are making a big play for the casual non-gamers, clearly a response to the Wii’s success.

- Control your Avatar by moving your body.
- “This isn’t a game where you end up on the couch using some preset waggle controls” – owch!! A big swing at Nintendo.

- Peter from Leohead Studios shows off a 3D Natal, an interactive, interact with a 3D character. It’s like being able to interact with your imaginary friend

Natal release date: Developers get Natal SDK today.

More @ Xbox

Sony’s Press Conference was much less about system updates and more about the games on the way.

The exception to that was the addition of a video store, still waiting to have it confirmed if Australia will see the video store on the PlayStation Network.

Console update
The 40GB version will be discontinued in favour of a larger 80 GB model for US $399.99. There’s still some active discussion around wether Australians will see the newer model.

Games

MAD – 256 players
This game presents one of the biggest technological challenges ever in gaming. Presenting a single environment that doesn’t only contain a massive number, but an insane 256 characters at once, online.

It’s very early days, but if they can pull of this, it’ll be an awesome achievement. There was a lot of FMV shown, so I think it’ll be well into 2009 before we see this title released.

Little Big Planet
The very unique, very cute Little Big Planet is certainly a game with a difference. Don’t know too much about this game, but I’m looking foward to it’s release.

Motorstorm 2
The follow up to the launch title Motorstorm, as to be expected by a game with a trailing 2, then

Resident Evil 5
Videos of this game looks stunning. Despite the amazing graphics of both characters and environments, the shooting system looks terrible and almost unplayable. It appears an auto-targeting system doesn’t exist.

Bioshock
This was the smash hit from 2007 on the Xbox 360, I really think Sony missed the interest curve on this one.

Grand Turismo TV
Personally I’m excited about the new additions to Grand Turismo TV. The very popular Top Gear and many other SD and HD videos from racing events, to behind the scenes in factories and test tracks, will soon be added and available through GT5: Prologue’s GTTV.

The message from Sony was very much clear, they’re strategy is long term, and the best is still very much yet to come. Good in theory, except they’re competition is moving and moving quickly right now.

I’m still really excited about Home and the potential that offers. It’ll be very interesting to see Home go up against the newly announced Xbox 360 social and community additions.

This week the big 3, Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo all deliver what’s coming in the future on their systems.

Some of the biggest news this year came from Microsoft, with an entire refresh of the Xbox 360 interface. This also bring with it new features, Avatars, Party Play and Primetime.

Avatars
Avatars are 3D personalised characters, similar to Mii’s on the Nintendo Wii, with one difference there’s actually a purpose for having them. Now some may criticise Microsoft for stealing the idea, I’m not so much concerned with that, the idea appears to be taken and improved upon both graphically and functionally. There’s clearly potential for Microsoft to monetise new DLC (clothes/objects) for your Avatar. Currently Xbox Live friends are simply displayed as a text list, with the new Xbox interface, your friends Avatars will actually appear when they’re online.

The real benefit will be in sharing experiences like photo slideshows, videos and best of all will be making the process of teaming up with friends and gaming online a whole lot simpler with up to 8 player Party-Play.

Primetime
Microsoft are aggressively trying to attract the non-gaming community with a new ‘Primetime’ feature. It offers virtual game-shows, starting with “1 vs. 100” in which your Avatar appears in-game, while you compete against your friends and other players online.

Overall
There’s massive changes on the way for Xbox 360 owners, the response online has been generally positive. Personally I’d like to see them focus more on the international rollout of Movies and TV Shows. The new partnership with Netflix is a nice addition for those in the US, however it means nothing  to the rest of us around the world.

The update is due in “The Fall” which roughly equates to a few months from now.