New games and plenty of familiar faces are expected to show up at the Los Angeles Convention Centre over the next few days as thousands of games industry figures descend on Los Angeles for this year’s E3 exhibition.
Last year’s E3 was the platform for showing off the upcoming next generation of hardware, with both the Xbox One and Playstation 4 competing for gamers’ attention.
But with that out of the way, this year’s event is expected to concentrate on bringing new and better games to players.
Microsoft kicked off proceedings with its event yesterday. Its press conference gave a first look at games such as Fable Legends and racing game Forza Horizon 2, in addition to third-party titles such as Assassins Creed: Unity, Dance Central: Spotlight for Xbox One, Sunset Overdrive and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
Head of Xbox Phil Spencer took to the stage to thank games fans who had bought the console, which is still lagging Sony’s PlayStation 4 in terms of global sales.
This year, Microsoft made it clear its briefing was all about games, promising a diverse lineup, big franchises, indie games and new IP for players.
The company shared a common purpose with Sony, Nintendo and developers, Mr Spencer explained: to showcase the passion and potential behind what he described as the fastest growing entertainment in the world – video games.
“This generation is off to the hottest start in history,” he said.
There were few surprises at the event, with many of the games already expected.
But Microsoft gave players a closer look at highly anticipated titles such as Halo 5: Guardians, which takes players back to the start of Master Chief's journey.
Lara Croft
The Master Chief collection - all the Halo games up to
Halo 4
– will also be released on Xbox One in November, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the
Halo 2
release. It will also include the
Halo Nightfall
digital feature, which is being produced by Ridley Scott.
Looking ahead to 2015, gamers were also given a glimpse of new Lara Croft title, The Rise of the Tomb Raider, and a reboot of Phantom Dust, which appeared on the original Xbox, for Microsoft's latest console.
Mr Spencer said the company had been “humbled and amazed” by the comments, ideas, tweets and support of Xbox fans.
The company has rowed back on some of its key policies for the Xbox One after it came under pressure from both consumers, unhappy at the prospect of restrictions on second hand games and higher prices for the Xbox One, and competitors such as Sony, who emphasised its rival PS4’s gaming prowess.
At its launch event last year in Seattle, Microsoft said it intended to make the Kinect a key part of the console, integrating it into everything from gaming to entertainment, with voice commands.
Last month Microsoft said it would sell a cheaper version of the Xbox One, unbundling the Kinect from the console and lowering the price by €100.
Mr Spencer said it was player feedback that was “shaping the future” of Xbox One, “and we are better for it”.
The event also showcased Project Spark, which allows gamers to create their own games on the Xbox platform, and ID@Xbox programme, designed to encourage independent developers to self publish games on Xbox One.
