What would E3 be without a whole lot of announcements and gaming goodness? If Microsoft’s foray is any indication of what the industry will do to outdo the others, this looks like it’s going to be one heckuva week in Los Angeles. While Microsoft’s blitzkrieg of fast and furious announcements took over two hours, and included the living Beatles, John and Ringo, as well as skateboard legend Tony Hawk all endorsing or demoing new and exciting projects that Xbox fans can look forward to, it was perhaps the luncheon that took place afterwards where we were given the most clarification on the news.
Arguably one of Microsoft’s most exciting announcements is their plan to begin offering full game downloads directly to the console’s hard drive. Coined “Games on Demand” for Xbox 360, Xbox General Manager Marc Whitten called this new feature a “natural progression” of Xbox Live’s current arsenal of offerings. Yes, competitor Sony’s PS3 has had this feature for some time via the PlayStation Network, but now adding the Xbox into the mix may be seen is a direct assault on retail distributors. With the Xbox Live community reportedly covering approximately 20 million members, with 6 million members checking in daily, brick and mortar retails such as GameStop could see a serious drop in foot traffic. Answering the question from Gamasutra editors, Whitten responds,
“We’ve been talking closely with our retail partners,” he said. “This isn’t some zero-sum game where there is a winner or loser. I personally believe that going into a store and seeing that back of the box of the game, talking about the game–that’s not going away.” He said that digital distribution and retail can coexist in the current ecosystem.
At launch, the service will feature 30 games, with top tier titles including Assassin’s Creed, BioShock, Call of Duty 2, Crackdown, Mass Effect, and Oblivion. Direct download prices will be inline with their physical retail counterparts, with new titles being added on a regular basis.
It’s also interesting to note that these direct digital downloads also open the door for Microsoft to begin accepting direct credit card purchases, instead of the current mechanism used for purchases, the Microsoft Point value system. If we look between the lines here, could Microsoft also be testing the waters for more direct, however micro, payments down the line? If the technology is already in place, and larger purchases are the testing mechanism, the proposition doesn’t seem unreasonable.
Speaking of testing the waters, it looks like Xbox fans have a whole lot of new community features to look forward to. Using a new free-to-play title, Joyride, as a vehicle to facilitate new and revamped avatar interaction, the new kart racing-style game will predominantly feature gamer’s own virtual creations of themselves. And as with any good virtual self, Microsoft is betting on folks wanting to customize themselves a bit. Enter stage left – Microsoft’s new commitment and focus on avatar accessories, both free, and as Whitten puts it, “slightly more than free” (read, microtransaction). “I think you’re going to continue seeing avatars show up in lots of different places,” Whitten said. Giving us just a taste of what he’s talking about, Whitten demonstrated an avatar dressed in full Halo Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODST) gear. Putting a smile on almost everyone’s face, the Halo ODST accessorized avatar also included pom-poms and an added cheerleader animation.
Certainly not to be taken lightly, Microsoft also announced new third party integrations of both facebook and twitter. Obviously developers have had the inside track on this for a while, as the upcoming version of Tiger Woods PGA Tour will allow users to send screenshots and score updates directly to their facebook profile via the Connect interface. Likewise, players will be able to invite their other Xbox playing facebook friends to a game without ever having to leave one central platform.
While a number of Microsoft’s new announcements may not be directly tied to monetization, they certainly demonstrate that Microsoft clearly has their finger on the pulse, and are ready to deliver an envelope pushing experience to users, perhaps even before they know that they want this experience. By adding more avatar interaction, direct game downloads, and third party integrations, Xbox just became the social life of the party overnight, further enhancing the console as not just a gaming platform, but taking one step closer to becoming the family digital entertainment hub. If I might steal a line from James Earl Jones, via ‘Field of Dreams’ If you build it…they will come.
