Jo-Ver 360: News from Tonight's Microsoft E3 2007 Briefing

We just posted three press releases that you might be interested in:

We held off announcing tomorrow's Xbox LIVE Arcade game for Wednesday, but in case you weren't paying attention, you can download two Sega classics (a few hours early!): Golden Axe, the classic action-adventure game with two-person multiplayer, and Sonic The Hedgehog, the classic platform game updated in HD.

Check out the list of titles we showed, that are coming up this holiday!

“Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation” (NAMCO BANDAI Games).
“Assassin’s Creed” (Ubisoft).
“Beautiful Katamari” (NAMCO BANDAI Games).
“BioShock” (2K Games).
“Blue Dragon” (Mistwalker/Artoon Co. Ltd.).
“Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare” (Activision).
“Dance Dance Revolution UNIVERSE™ 2” (Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.).
“Grand Theft Auto IV” (Rockstar Games).
“Guitar Hero III™: Legends of Rock” (RedOctane/Activision).
“Halo 3” (Bungie Studios).
“Madden NFL 08” (Electronic Arts Inc.).
“Mass Effect” (BioWare Corp.).
“Naruto: Rise of a Ninja” (Ubisoft).
“Project Gotham Racing 4” (Bizarre Creations Ltd.).
“Rock Band” (MTV Games).
“Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action” (Screenlife Games/WXP).
“Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction” (Ubisoft).
“Virtua Fighter™ 5” (SEGA).
“Viva Piñata^®: Party Animals” (Krome Studios Pty. Ltd.).

On top of that, we announced an agreement with Disney-ABC Domestic Television to make high definition and standard definition feature films from Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Miramax Films, and Hollywood Pictures available for rent on demand to members of Xbox LIVE in the U.S. We also announced the rollout of the high-definition video store on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for customers around the globe, and pinpointed a release date for Europe and Canada (by the end of this year).

There will be a bunch of Xbox LIVE Arcade titles coming summer, including these:

“Bomberman Live” from Hudson Entertainment
“Golden Axe” from SEGA
“Hexic^® 2” from Carbonated Games
“Marathon: Durandal” from Freeverse
“Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords” from D3Publisher of America
“Sonic The Hedgehog” from SEGA
“Undertow” from Chair Entertainment Group

We announced nearly 30 new Games for Windows-branded titles, which will bring the total for this holiday to more than 60. New titles announced at E3 include:

“Age of Empires^®III: The Asian Dynasties” (Microsoft Game Studios)
“Bee Movie™ Game” (Activison)
“BlackSite: Area 51” (Midway Games)
“Clive Barker’s Jericho™” (Codemasters)
“The Club” (SEGA)
“Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts” (THQ)
“Empire Earth^® 3” (Sierra Entertainment)
“Fallout^® 3” (Bethesda Softworks^®)
“Flight Simulator X: Acceleration” (Microsoft Game Studios)
“Gears of War” (Microsoft Game Studios)
“Hour of Victory” (Midway Games)
“John Woo Presents Stranglehold” (Midway Games)
“Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights” (THQ)
“Kane & Lynch: Dead Men” (Eidos)
“Nancy Drew^®: Legend of Crystal Skull” (Her Interactive Inc.)
“Operation Flashpoint™ 2” (Codemasters)
“Rise of the Argonauts” (Codemasters)
“Rogue Warrior” (Bethesda Softworks)
“SEGA Rally Revo” (SEGA)
“Sid Meier’s Civilization IV^®: Beyond the Sword^TM” (2K Games)
“Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Gold Edition” (2K Games)
“Spider-Man™: Friend or Foe” (Activision)
“Star Wars^® Empire at War^®: Gold Pack” (LucasArts)
“The Witcher” (Atari)
“Thrillville™: Off the Rails™” (LucasArts)
“Turning Point™: Fall of Liberty” (Codemasters)
“Universe at War: Earth Assault™” (SEGA)
“Viva Piñata” (Microsoft Game Studios)
“Zoo Tycoon^® 2: Extinct Animals” (Microsoft Game Studios)

In addition, Eidos, SEGA and THQ announced their intention to join Microsoft Game Studios in supporting the Games for Windows — LIVE online service for Windows XP and Windows Vista. The first wave of titles to support the service includes the following:

“The Club” (SEGA)
“Gears of War” (Microsoft Game Studios)
“Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights” (THQ)
“Kane & Lynch: Dead Men” (Eidos)
“Universe at War: Earth Assault” (SEGA)
“Viva Piñata” (Microsoft Game Studios)

“Gears of War” will have five new campaign chapters, a new multiplayer mode and a new game editor only available for Windows. “Gears of War” will also take advantage of DirectX^® 10 graphics technology, which is only available on Windows Vista.

Also today, Epic Games unveiled the addition of Games for Windows – LIVE integration to the award winning Unreal^® Engine 3.

New hardware is coming too.

The Xbox 360 Halo 3 Special Edition Console features an authentic Spartan green and gold finish and comes with matching Xbox 360 Wireless Controller, 20GB Hard Drive, Headset, Play & Charge Kit, and exclusive “Halo 3” Gamer Pics and Theme, available in September.
The Xbox 360 Messenger Kit includes a Chatpad and Xbox 360 Headset, and will be available beginning Sept. 6. ERP $29.99 (U.S.).
New Xbox 360 Wireless Controllers will be available in new colors, pink, dark blue and light blue, in October. ERP $49.99 (U.S.).

from Gamerscore Blog