LADYDRAGON.COM - E3 2003 Microsoft’s Xbox Press Briefing

Monday May 12, 2003

E3 2003 Microsoft’s Xbox Press Briefing

May 12, 2003

GOA

Los Angeles

"Expanding Video Games to Serve the Digital Entertainment Lifestyle"

...

VOG

"Please welcome

Ed Fries, Robbie Bach and J Allard…"

Robbie:

Been having some fun out here, J?

I’ve always wanted to be a VJ, Robbie.

Ed:

I noticed some audio from last year’s presentation.

Just the promises baby….

Robbie:

Good evening, everyone, and welcome.

Or actually, "Welcome back."

I hope most of you were here with us last year.

Because we did make some promises then.

We told you that Xbox is here to stay.

That we are in the games business to make a difference.

In it to lead.

Ed:

We told you we'd have more than 200 great games for Xbox by the holidays. And we promised to take gaming to new levels.

We told you we designed Xbox as the platform for the next level of digital entertainment. And we promised that design would pay off in Xbox Live.

Robbie:

So tonight, first things first - we have delivered.

Ed:

We have delivered with the highest attach rate on record, just 17 months after launch.

We have delivered Xbox Live in 11 countries, to half a million gamers playing more than 15 million game sessions a week.

Robbie

We have delivered new experiences that have changed the nature of video game entertainment.

Why don't you tee up what we'll deliver this year, Robbie?

Robbie:

Thanks, guys.

A year ago, we said that behind our commitment, driving our momentum is our vision. A vision that sees our industry doubling in size in the next ten years.

Tonight, that vision is as true as ever.

Video games are at the core of the Xbox vision, and Xbox developers are innovating with new kinds of characters, new forms of competition, new genres and new franchises.

Gaming is also about community, and Xbox Live is building gaming communities by bringing people together as never before.

And now, gaming is also part of a lifestyle where people, devices, and content converge.

Look around.

Look at the choices of people around the world - the entertainment they’re enjoying.

In hundreds of millions of homes, people now have MP3 players, digital cameras, and DVD players.

There are more than 250 million Internet-connected PCs worldwide – and not just in offices, but in bedrooms, dens, and dormitories.

And the connections are getting faster.

By 2005, more than 150 million people worldwide will have broadband.

These people are not just buying trendy new gadgets and faster connections.

They're choosing and creating their own lifestyle by mixing technologies together in fascinating ways.

We define this movement as the Digital Entertainment Lifestyle.

People living the Digital Entertainment Lifestyle want to be connected – to entertainment, information, and other people.

And no one is more devoted to the Digital Lifestyle than video game players.

So, how will we connect gamers with the lifestyle they love and the entertainment they want?

Our answer is Xbox ... the video game console designed to enable the Digital Entertainment Lifestyle.

By design, Xbox is ready to inspire this industry to expand - by connecting people with more games, more community, and more varieties of entertainment, more of the time.

Tonight, we're going to show you how.

...

Doom 3 on Xbox from id and Activision.

Do you need any more proof that great games are at the heart of Xbox entertainment?

Xbox games just keep getting better … more competitive and more lifelike ... more breathtaking and more heart-stopping.

That's because we're enabling developers to realize their creative visions like no other console company.

When Bizarre Creations wanted to evolve Project Gotham Racing, with gorgeous cars and amazing online play, I said, "Go for it."

When LucasArts asked to debut their next big Star Wars game—a console exclusive for Xbox—at this year's show, I said, "Awesome."

...

Now, let's take a look at some of the great titles coming from Japan.

Hino-san and his team at Level 5 have been working for two years on True Fantasy Live Online, the first massively multiplayer online role-playing game designed specifically for Xbox.

Another great title coming exclusively for Xbox is Namco's Breakdown.

It innovates on the 1st person shooter category with hand-to-hand combat that makes the game feel even more up-close-and-personal.

Have a look...

...

There's something else that gamers get only on Xbox.

That's the social fun of playing and talking with other people on Xbox Live.

By this time next year, Xbox Live gamers will be going online to play Crimson Skies, Counter Strike, Star Wars Jedi Knight... plus three new Tom Clancy games from UbiSoft... and every sports game from Microsoft Game Studios – more than one hundred games in all on Xbox Live.

And just as we're committed to delivering better Live games for gamers, we're also committed to attracting more people to video game entertainment.

That's why, last fall, we added Rare to our team at Microsoft Game Studios.

The guys at Rare are the creative minds behind some of the best-selling games of all time, including GoldenEye and Perfect Dark, Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong Country.

They're masters at inventing unique game experiences that appeal to everyone.

And they are delivering, with three new games you can play on the show floor this week.

I love this next title.

It just feels right from the moment you pick up the controller.

It's intuitive.

It's easy to get into. And it will make you smile.

...

The guys at Rare are not alone. This coming year, you will see tons of new Xbox titles from a wide variety of developers and publishers—innovative and diverse games that appeal to all kinds of people.

Take a look...

...

Now... if we want to connect Xbox to the digital lifestyle for more people more of the time, we have to do more than deliver great games.

We have to expand the definition of interactive entertainment.

What if you could use Xbox to mix your favorite music and digital photos... bring the experience into the living room... and share it with your friends.

...

Xbox Music Mixer is an exciting new title that unlocks more of the entertainment potential of Xbox, by connecting the console to the digital entertainment lifestyle.

Music Mixer is what J used to produce our pre-show tonight.

It gives Xbox owners new ways to play, share, and have fun with the music and digital photos they love.

It comes bundled with a microphone and it features karaoke capabilities that let you strip out the lead vocals from any track and sing it yourself.

Music Mixer brings the club experience home with an interactive media player.

So, just like J, you can be a VJ, a producer, even an American Idol -just like you, J.

Just like Ed's ambitious title lineup... the Xbox Live service has some big ambitions.

Now let's look at some Xbox Live ambition...

...

Expanding the content... with over a hundred Live games in this years pipeline... expanding the competition… and expanding the community... That's what Xbox Live is all about.

And we're going to jack you into the online universe like no other company can.

When you fire up Xbox this fall, you'll instantly hook up with friends, check your stats, and see what's new on the service.

We call this place Live Now.

Live Now delivers what the Xbox Live community asked for the most – a place where you can hang out and talk with your friends before and after competing on Xbox Live.

Another innovation, Live Web, will give you the same information you get on Live Now, but on the Internet.

So if you're stuck in class, stuck in traffic, or at the office late, and you want to know what's happening on Live, no problem - your web-enabled devices will give you a window into the Live universe.

With a new feature called Live Alerts, you'll also be able to receive game invites and notifications about games, downloads, leagues, tournaments, and more from any MSN Alert-capable device—including cell phones, PCs, Pocket PCs, and even the cool new SPOT watches like this one.

Now, when we introduced Xbox Live a year ago, we promised more than community – a lot more.

We said that Xbox Live would allow game designers and publishers to fundamentally rethink existing game categories – and open up entirely new possibilities for the players who love them.

So let's talk about sports.

Let's talk about something entirely new in sports video games.

Sports games already look great... they have the real players and plays... the real stadiums and the real commentators. All that stuff will keep getting better. The animation will keep getting smoother... the helmets shinier... the AI a little smarter.

But what do sports gamers really love?

What they love is the competition.

That's why they love sports on Xbox Live, where trash talking is part of the game.

And we know that real sports competition goes beyond one play, one game, one experience.

It's all about leagues and seasons, playoffs and championships.

That's why I'm excited to introduce the first innovation that leverages the power of Xbox Live to push a game category beyond anything it's been before... introducing XSN Sports.

...

XSN Sports from Microsoft Game Studios is a lineup of new Xbox Live games and sports leagues that blows away old notions of sports gaming.

On XSN Sports, you can form and manage your own leagues and tournaments from the XSN Sports web site.

Scores, stats and standings are updated to the site from Xbox Live every 15 minutes.

So you can compete in all the sports you want - kick butt and build your legend... then read about it the next morning on a virtual sports page at XSNSports.com...

…oh, no. Not now.

"Peydirt advances to playoffs…"

...

You folks probably recognize this guy...

TV commercial superstar and Pro Bowl Quarterback...

Peyton Manning.

Peyton:

I have to tell you, J, XSN Sports rocks.

And baby, your defense is offensive.

OK, Peydirt.

Let's settle this right here, right now.

Peyton:

Yeah, the playoff brackets just came up, and it's you and me in the big game this weekend.

And I gotta tell ya, I've seen better arms on a chair.

Alright big arms, I’ve been scouting you. You call that a balanced attack?

You got no running game. The only thing you got running is your mouth.

Peyton:

I'm gonna whip you on Sunday just like I've been whipping you all over the leagues--

--in Amped 2, NBA Inside Drive, and NHL Rivals. But, hey, J,

I’ve got another game in five minutes. I gotta go.

Peyton

I... am the man!

Man, you’re good.

XSN Sports leagues kick off this fall with the launch of NFL Fever 2004.

And thousands of XSN Sports leagues will take off as new games become available.

Xbox Live innovations empower game publishers to expand team and clan based competition… and leagues and tournaments like XSN Sports.

And these innovations give gamers more ways to compete, against more people, than they’ve ever played before.

Speaking of innovations, hey Ed, isn't there one more thing you wanted to show?

Yeah, I guess there is one more thing.

This is something a lot of Xbox gamers have been waiting for. And this time, it's coming on Xbox Live.

Here's Joe Staten from Bungie Studios to present the world-premiere, in-game demo of Halo 2.

Halo 2 In-Engine Demo

Robbie:

Wow!

Now you've seen where Xbox is going.

But you've also seen something else. You've seen where our industry can go.

The video game industry has two choices.

There's business as usual, with some incremental growth.

Or there's the opportunity for explosive growth - to make interactive entertainment pervasive, on the order of music, movies, and TV.

We can make that happen by expanding our audience.

We can make that happen by expanding the definition of video game entertainment.

So what are we waiting for?

At Xbox, we're not waiting for anything - we don't have to.

We’re not waiting for the next hardware cycle before expanding video game entertainment... taking it online... and merging it with the music people listen to, the sports they love, the friendships they cherish.

We’re not waiting for the future... Xbox is creating the future now.

As the software and services leader, Microsoft has what it takes to drive continuous innovation.

We've got what it takes to inspire the next generation of games, like Halo 2.

We've got what it takes to build and grow the world's largest broadband content service, Xbox Live.

And we've got what it takes to enable new experiences that bring together people, devices, and content which serve the Digital Entertainment Lifestyle.

The software and services expertise to make that vision come alive is hard-wired into our company.

It's in our DNA.

It's what we do.

Thank you.