Microsoft E3 conference announced

By Tom Bramwell Published 5 May, 2010

Plus "Technology-free" Natal showcase.

Microsoft has revealed that its E3 press conference this year will take place on Monday 14th June at 10am PST, or 6pm BST.

The platform holder has previously said it plans to host a Project Natal showcase on Sunday evening ahead of its conference.

(Update: A second invite to the Natal event has now arrived. Apparently it's a "Technology-free event". "Please leave your technology at home, no photography or video allowed." Perhaps they're scared of the Blacksmith of the Future.)

We're expecting the company to showcase its Project Natal launch line-up for later in 2010 and reveal the controller-free gaming system's proper name.

There's also a high probability we'll hear about the rumoured slim version of the Xbox 360, the motherboard for which was seen in the wild recently.

Beyond that expect more on the likes of Fable III and Halo: Reach, and, knowing Microsoft's love of E3 headline-grabbing, a few more surprises.

Last year the company's press conference kicked off with The Beatles, before Steven Spielberg rocked up to extol the virtues of its new controller.

Look out for Eurogamer's live coverage of the Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo conferences on 14th and 15th June. This year's E3 event itself runs from Tuesday 15th to Thursday 17th.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000. Follow him on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (44) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • woodnotes #1 2 years ago

    My prediction: many annoying "celebs" showing off Natal.

  • Widge #2 2 years ago

    Very much interested in the 360 slim. If its as quiet as a PS3 slim and follows the 360 pricing plan of general cheapness, certainly on the radar?

    Can any current 360 owners let me know something? I currently use either Tveristy to stream media to my PS3 or for HD content, I grab a .mkv and demux it in mkv2vob and play straight from a memory card. Is the 360 alright for this too?

    If so, this could be a very good, very cheap HD media box for me. Only downside being no Play TV type service but can live without that I suppose!

  • cozeny #3 2 years ago

    Are they going to reveal some more sub-HD 7/10 exclusives? Now with added waggle.
    Edited by cozeny at 05/05/10 @ 10:16

  • Beano #4 2 years ago

    My prediction: Natal (for the casual market) and Halo Reach + Gears 3 for the core audience. 360 slim hardware. "Huge surprise" announcement : FF14 also on 360 :)
    Edited by Beano at 05/05/10 @ 10:17

  • woodnotes #5 2 years ago

    You forgot Lips: Drum & Bass

  • Psychotext #6 2 years ago

    No tech isn't really that surprising, given how many personal cameras throw out a ton of IR for autofocus and facial recognition.

    Probably not the best thing to have around Natal. :D

  • Spekingur #7 2 years ago

    Lips: Beatbox?

  • jonbwfc #8 2 years ago

    Do black t-shirts count as 'technology'?

  • wizlon #9 2 years ago

    @widge. The 360 wont play any .264 wrapper just your standard divx, the PS3 is far superior for media playback. |Looking forward to the slimmer 360, my one is on the brink so just hope it lasts until the new system is released.

  • Widge #10 2 years ago

    Yeah, I've got a PS3 for downstairs thats great for that, but just got a nice LCD for the bedroom. When you demux the .mkv in mkv2vob, it dumps out an .avi. Just wondering if anyone has used it for the 360, and how the support for .avi is in general.

    All comes down to price in the end I guess as I'd require wireless for the streaming.

  • Widge #11 2 years ago

    teh, you reckon it will play those demuxed .mkv's? As I say, they pop out as .avi.

  • Beano #12 2 years ago

    "Video or photography not allowed at MS Natal E3 event"
    [link url=http://www.vg247.com/2010/05/05/video-or-photography-not-allowed-at-ms-natal-e3-event/
    ]http://www.vg247.com/2010/05/05/video-or...[/link]

    Not a good sign IMO.

  • Frybird #13 2 years ago

    My Predictions:

    - Peter Molyneux Bullshit making me scream in rage.
    - "No one spends money on Game Room so we came up with a new bullshit moneymaking Tactic" making me scream in rage.
    - Cliffy"Don't call me CliffyB"B showing Footage of Gears of War 3's "Shower of pretty explosions" Level
    - Xbox Live Arcade announcements that will be higher anticipated than most "real" announced games.
    - Surprise Mutiplatform Title
    - Natal is the future somethingsomethingwhatever

  • Spunkweazle #14 2 years ago

    Its far to late in Natals Hype cycle to rename it, it will only create confusion amongst the targeted casual customers.

    Changing the subject........ I hope they tell us a bit more about Halo: Recon

  • Machetazo #15 2 years ago

    That's already out. It was called ODST.

  • Spekingur #16 2 years ago

    A new Burnout game.

  • Beano #17 2 years ago

    "Update: A second invite to the Natal event has now arrived. Apparently it's a "Technology-free event". "Please leave your technology at home, no photography or video allowed."

    Celebs confirmed!

  • Sunyavadin #18 2 years ago

    A "technology-free event"?

    Does anyone else want to gatecrash the event dressed as cavemen?

  • telboy007 #19 2 years ago

    "Lips: Drum & Bass" - I'd buy that, but I'm shit at MC'ing. Would have to stick to early Kosheen stuff then! :D

    Edit: Point on media streaming, I've got a few 4GB+ files I stream down from the WHS most are mp4/h264 one is xvid - the xvid one stutters quite regularly. I'd stick to mp4 tbh.
    Edited by telboy007 at 05/05/10 @ 12:40

  • sfp_noodle #20 2 years ago

    I don't really know what 'surprise' multiplatform title MS could really announce, they've pretty much got every third party game secured. In all honesty, after Final Fantasy 13, FF14 wouldn't really be much of a shocker. Also, after the disappointment of FF13, coupled with the general 'meh' reaction to FF11, I doubt there is too much interest in FF14 outside of Japan. The 'MGS4 to 360' train has long passed and I doubt Kojima would bother porting it now. They've made their profits on it.

    If anything, there maybe some new IP anounced considering almost everything is a sequel in the shape of Halo Reach, Gears of War 3 and Fable 3. Two of them are shooters, so I'd appreciate some innovative IP from MS. They've not really pushed the imagination this gen and it would be nice to see something similar to The Last Gaurdian or Heavy Rain make an appearance on 360. I just hope the event isn't littered with Natal/Move rubbish that I don't care about.

  • Kami #21 2 years ago

    Natal is just starting to annoy me. It's just too much hype and not enough action really, which in the gaming industry would usually mean that it's a bunch of cobblers that they'll spend a lot of money continuing to hype and then sail on the back of that wave until it gives out. Natal is going to be an expensive bit of kit though, so we need to see it in action and the last time we did, the interface lag was appalling. Not the best of starts...

    As for multiplatform games, I'm going to wager it'll be FFXIV, because it does still have a large American fanbase. I don't think we in Europe actually give a toss any more though...

  • seasidebaz #22 2 years ago

    Technology-free event, eh? Does that mean Microsoft will be demonstrating NATAL through the medium of contemporary dance and watercolour paintings?

  • Beano #23 2 years ago

    "I don't really know what 'surprise' multiplatform title MS could really announce, they've pretty much got every third party game secured."

    Maybe Insomniac Games going multi-platform and their new game is going to both 360 and PS3?

    It could happen...

  • jellyhead #24 2 years ago

    Hah, you beat me to it, baz. Good work, fella :)

  • jonbwfc #25 2 years ago

    IIRC Insomniac are 'second party' aren't they? i.e. Sony has a stake in the company. if so, it's unlikely they'd go multiplatform unless Sony agreed to it.

  • Baggies1879 #26 2 years ago

    Sign me up for Lips: Drum and Bass :-)

  • Beano #27 2 years ago

    @jonbwfc : No, they are independant and not owned by Sony. They have actually teased the idea of multi-platform development recently. No need to mark me down for it :)
    Edited by Beano at 05/05/10 @ 13:51

  • Beano #28 2 years ago

    Follow up to my claim/speculation :

    "Rumor: Insomniac Games Going Multiplatform"

    "Overheard at the Game Developers Conference: Insomniac Games has become a multiplatform developer. The company, best known for the Ratchet & Clank and Resistance franchises, is allegedly creating cross-platform software for both PS3 and Xbox 360, according to a trusted source who spoke with IGN under the condition of anonymity. "

    http://au.ps3.ign.com/articles/107/10773...

  • sfp_noodle #29 2 years ago

    @Beano

    It is true that there are rumours that Insomniac may go mutiplatform, but that will mean the same as Bungie going multi. Halo is owned by MS and Resistence and Ratchet and Clank are owned by Sony. Only new IP Insomniac announce could be multiplatform. Either way, unless it was something truely spectacular I doubt MS would sing and dance about it. An Insomniac 360 exclusive is also highly unlikely given that they have a long standing, healthy relationship with Sony. They wouldn't want to damage that.

  • sfp_noodle #30 2 years ago

    Erm why are people marking Beano down? He is only telling the truth. Insomniac may well be a multiplatform dev come E3 this year. That does not mean however that Sony owned franchises that they develop will move across to another format.

  • Beano #31 2 years ago

    @sfp_noodle:

    1) I was taling about their *NEW* game/IP... not Resistance 3 for example. They have confirmed that they are working on new IP not nothing concrete yet.

    2) Bungie have also just teased that they are going multi-platform now that Activision is the publisher. Also new IP of course - not Halo which is owned by MS... duh :D

    3) I never claimed 360 exclusive from Insomniac ;)

    4) I have never claimed that it was anything else than rumors/speculation.

    5) That's all :)
    Edited by Beano at 05/05/10 @ 14:03

  • Beano #32 2 years ago

    Also.. I'm not saying it IS happening - only that it's a possibility as a potential huge surprise like FFXIII :)

  • sfp_noodle #33 2 years ago

    @Beano

    I never disagreed with you my friend. I simply enlightened the folk that deemed it neccesary to mark you down because you claimed a dev that makes some of their favourite exclusive games may go multiplatform. I really don't understand why these people think that marking down fact or a response to strong rumours will have an effect on the outcome. If Insomniac go multi, thats great in my book. More games, more people to play them, less fanboy rubbish

  • Beano #34 2 years ago

    Ok - thanks for the support then :)

  • Beano #35 2 years ago

    Now we know where the neg-points came from - how sad :D

  • sfp_noodle #36 2 years ago

    @teh9182

    Yeah we are, it's a shame you can't join in. Also, check me out supporting MS! I'm a right traitor to the mythical Sony Defence Force aren't I? How dare I suggest that a Sony dev may be going multiplatform!? The SDF are going to track me down and utterly annihilate me!

  • sneetch #37 2 years ago

    Technology-free? Damn, I wanted to bring fire, the wheel and clothing with me. :(

  • Bander #38 2 years ago

    Rare haven't done anything for ages besides their Perfect Dark conversion, which I assume wasn't the work of more than a handful of staff. They're due for an announcement.

    But will it be something interesting like a game in the Killer Instinct or Jet Force Gemini universes? Or just some Natal stuff that looks like it's intended for 5 year olds, but somehow ends up being too complicated to be truly enjoyable like Banjo 3 or Viva Pinata?

  • sneetch #39 2 years ago

    I'd like to see something from Rare alright, they used to make damn good games but they seem to be relegated to some kind of tech-doodling role by Microsoft these days. I mean does anyone know what they're doing these days? It's been a year and a half since BK Nuts and Bolts was released after all and I find it hard to believe they were all working on Perfect Dark XBLA since then.

  • JDFreeman #40 2 years ago

    My 360 is 3 years old, out of warranty and takes a few presses of the on-off button before it actualy loads up. I reckon there's a fair few people with a similar situation who are hoping for the new slim/better 360 release anouncement. Now if microsoft are particularly clever they'll package the Natal with the slim 360 forcing us all to buy it. cos otherwise I dont think many people will get Natal by itself.

  • ronuds #41 2 years ago

    Here are my predictions for EG... since we're starting with the predictions:

    1) a bunch of comments about how everything MS shows is shit
    2) Natal is shit
    3) Peter Molyneaux is shit
    4) Every exclusive is shit
    5) Every exclusive contract is shit
    6) MS is shit
    7) EG comments section is shit

    That about covers it.

  • FooAtari #42 2 years ago

    Lots of PR bullshit that will just make me cringe.

    No thanks.

  • Spekingur #43 2 years ago

    "Technology-free" Natal showcase = showcase is held in a cave somewhere in the outback.

  • monkfishjoe #44 2 years ago

    @Sneetch and Bander

    Good question - The PD port was done by 4J studios - so apart from a few supervisory roles Rare wouldn't have had much to do with it, which begs the question that they are working on something else (or off in the carribean having a nice cup of tea).

    Rumour has it that they are producing something for Natal

    http://kotaku.com/5279213/microsoft-rare...

    (look, I just copied and pasted something from Kotaku - I'm a Eurogamer employee now)!

    Lets hope it's good...