Gamertell

Every E3 there are plenty of announcements and everyone claims their is the biggest, most important and whatevertheheck else. There were fewer hardware announcements than most years with more concentration on games, developing console interfaces and content options.

Not too surprisingly, most of the staff picks for their favorite E3 2008 announcements were somehow related to Microsoft’s Xbox 360. There was, of course, a sole dissenter.

Give it a read and then let us know what your favorite announcement was from E3 2008.

Jenni Lada, Assistant Editor, recognizes Square Enix’s release of Final Fantasy XIII on the Xbox 360 as a big deal:

“I’d have to say that Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIII announcement pretty much blows any other announcement out of the water. For years the core Final Fantasy games console releases have been only on Sony platforms - FFVII (PS1), FFVIII (PS1), FFIX (PS1), FFX (PS2) and FFXII (PS2). Also, never before has a Final Fantasy core game been released on two gaming consoles at the same time. The announcement that The news that FFXIII would be released simultaneously on both the PS3 and Xbox 360 in North America was nearly epic.”

Kenny Taylor, Staff Writer, chooses Microsoft’s move to improve Xbox Live:

“My pick for the Most Exciting Announcement made would be the overhaul and additions to the Xbox user interface and Xbox Live. Xbox is well known for its online gameplay and the ability to download and watch tv shows and films from the Xbox 360.  Microsoft has now added new television and film partnering up with NBC and Universal Studios and expanding their video library to now Include MGM International and Constantine Film.  Not only that but Microsoft has partnered with the leading online rental store, Netflix.  Which means that Xbox live subscribers who have a subscription with Netflix now have access to its entire film library for no additional charge.  However, Microsoft will not only have top notch film and television entertainment, the company has completely revamped its user interface design.  Avatars, channels, and a sleek new design will be available for download during the next live update.  Gone are the sliding screens and simple gamercards as Xbox live users will be able to interact with each other with personal avatars as they chat and play games.  Talk about being the most well rounded entertainment center on the market, for my money, Microsoft has taken the lead in that category.”

Danielle Riendeau, Assistant Editor, also picked Microsoft’s Primtime initiative:

“I think the most exciting announcement, at least in terms of how revolutionary it could be was Microsoft’s announcement of Primetime, with a broadcast/game hybrid of 1 vs. 100 as the first example. If they pull this off (and there’s no guarantee they will) MS will successfully be melding TV-style broadcasting with real-time play via live (and there will be prizes, how cool is that?) TV and games. Broadcast potential and interactivity. I know social networking and web 2.0 and transmedia concepts are buzzwords, but I think there’s serious potential here.”

Jon Gronli, Staff Writer, also selects the announcement that FFXIII is no longer a PS3 exclusive:

“One of the biggest announcements at E3 was the fact that Final Fantasy XIII will be on the Xbox 360 as well. Being that the core Final Fantasy games (I-XII) were on a Playstation console, it is big news that it will be on another console as well. Though it will be released on the PS3 first, after the release of FFXIII to the PS3 is done Sony will start working on the 360’s edition. The release might tip the scales out of the PS3’s favor even with games like Killzone 2 and Resistance 2 coming out within the next year. Being that the PS3 edition’s release date is still unannounced, 360 owners might still be able to get a copy of FFXIII before next year’s E3. However that all depends on what Sony needs to either do or scale back to be able to compensate for the media memory disparity since the 360 is still operating off of the standard DVD.”

PJ Hruschak, Editor, has to be the sole dissenter and pick a pair of DC Comics related announcements:

I’m going to go with a more personal pick on this one. I want to play as Green Lantern in any friggin’ way I can, so the announcement of DC Universe Online, as if a direct response to the cancellation of Marvel Universe Online, was my favorite thing to see from E3 2008. Even though the footage of Superman kicking ass in the Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe fighting game was pretty impressive, GL wasn’t shown (although I’m still betting he will be included). A flying and actively fighting Hal Jordan as GL (and Sinestro) was clearly seen in the footage for DC Online shown at the Sony press conference. I just hope that the green constructs you can create/use are not too lame.

Read [Gamertell]

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