- The presentation was led by led by Maruyama, Executive Officer and General Manager of Xbox Division.
- Microsoft announced the official launch dates. November 22nd in North America, December 2nd in Europe, and December 10th in Japan.
- Ridge Racer 6, Frame City Killer, Enchant Arm, Dead or Alive 4, Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, and Every Party, are some of the titles that will to be ready for sure at launch. PGR3 and PDZ can of course still make it but we guess they are amongst the titles that could need a few extra weeks. We will let you know as soon as we know more.
-Maruyama said that Microsoft will support backwards compatibility for as many Xbox games as possible, but not all Xbox games will work. They will first focus on the popular, successful games, and then release compatibility upgrades over time.
- Maruyama said there will be region enforcements for games.
- High-Def Entertainment has three factors including High-Def sound, a system that is always online, and customization.
-Maruyama said that the HD-DVD is not needed for high definition games. However, in the future it's possible that Microsoft will add an HD-DVD to the system.
- The majority of Xbox 360 games can be playable without the HDD. However, there will be some exceptions, such as Final Fantasy XI, that will require the HDD.
- There has not yet been a decision to release a core system in Japan at this time. So all Japanese Xbox 360s will come with a HDD. The reason is because in Japan has an excellent infrastructure for broadband access. Some online gameplay (FFXI) will require a hard disk. These games are much bigger in Japan than in the West.
- Microsoft has no plans to launch a handheld.
- Microsoft announced that over 100 Japanese-targeted games are in development. Most of these Japanese-targeted games will be released in Europe and US as well.
- Maruyama announced that an Xbox 360 lounge will open in November. The store will be located in Shibooya on Omote Sando, Tokyo. Here gamers will be able to play the system and attend promotional events.
- Maruyama sayd that Japan is the key market for the global launch of Xbox 360.
-Tetsuya Mizoguchi, who is developing Ninety Nine Nights stated that he is excited to make something that has never been seen before. "This is truly a new experience for me. I don't want to compromise anything and so I am fascinated by the challenge."
- In-game footage of Ninety Nine Nights were shown.
The main character was a woman in shining armor who seemed to be highlighted in the currently available screenshot. The build we witnessed showed the knight performing multiple attacks that built up into more powerful strikes. During the course of battle the character leveled up and found a weapon in a floating chest on the battlefield. There were multiple dash attacks, projectiles and a single magic spell that killed hundreds of troops at once. The footage looked nearly identical to the trailer showing throngs of characters being lifted in the air by a wave of energy. The screen displayed information like 500 kills, 430 hit combos and a mini-map residing on the top corner of the screen. The game features trolls, goblins, elves, and other mystical creatures. The presentation ended with a boss battle against a huge troll with a health meter and a trailer showing new footage of the main characters. We witnessed an elf who controlled globules of water, a barbarian that shattered the earth, a Fire Demon, two human knights, and a wizard.
-Tanaka of Final Fantasy said he would like to take advantage of the online functions that have been available on the PC with the Xbox 360.
- In January there will be a Beta test for Final Fantasy XI.
- Currently there are over 100 titles in development. Most of these games will be launched before 2006. 66 have already been announced and over 200 titles available worldwide.
- Maruyama stated that highly anticipated information concerning Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey will be available at the end of the year.
- Cliffy B from Epic showed another glimpse of Gears of War.
He showed off a level which focused on the theme of "destroyed beauty," and both sides were well represented in the demo. It was basically the same level we saw at E3, but it was a little more polished looking than the already impressive demo we saw four months ago. The start of level showed troopers Marcus and Dominique pushing a burning car down a slope. The flame effects really look fantastic at this point, and although the armor on the character models is shiny and rather candy-like, it looks gritty and gnarled at the same time. The next scene showed the two running to a holdout gas station to take cover. They soon came under attack, and Marcus was caught in the middle of a heated gun battle. Once again Cliff explained the "stop and pop" gameplay that emphasizes the use of cover and its ultimate destruction. The action was intense, and Marcus had to keep ducking behind cover to keep from getting wasted, only popping his head up to take brief shots at the enemies, then back down to safety. Although Cliff wasn't actually controlling the scene himself, it was explained that the footage was all real-time, which we can confirm after playing the same level at E3. After another battle in the open area outside of the gas station, the demo ended with a message that read "Emergence Day 2006." We can honestly say that Gears of War is looking to be one of the best looking Xbox 360 games so far, and it looks as good as the trailers you've seen. The framerate still needs a bit of work, but the game is absolutely beautiful at this point, and is one of the prime examples of what we can expect out of the next-generation of games.
- A video presentation was displayed that included the following games:
Bomberman - Act: Zero (Hudson)
Call of Duty 2 (Activision)
Chromehounds (Sega)
Dead Rising (Capcom)
Dead or Alive 4 (Tecmo)
Enchant Arm (From Software)
Every Party (Microsoft)
Tengai Makyo Ziria (Hudson)
Final Fantasy XI (Square Enix)
Frame City Killer (Namco)
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)
Mobile Suit Gundam (Bandai)
Kameo: Elemnts of Power (Microsoft)
NBA Live 06 (Electronic Arts)
Need For Speed Most Wanted (Electronic Arts)
Ninety Nine Nights (Microsoft)
The Outfit (THQ)
Project Gotham Racing 3 (Microsoft)
Rumble Roses XX (Konami)
Saint's Row (THQ)
Tokyo Xtreme Racer (Genki)
Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega)
Test Drive Unlimited (Atari)
Wrestle Kingdom (Yukes)
- At the show the Microsoft booth will feature a curved 360 inch screen displaying the playable games.
- There will be 80 kiosks were people try the console and get a feel for many of the games on display, including Ninety Nine Nights.
- There will be a concept zone at the booth that simulates a high definition living room.
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