Gamespots Take on Microsofts E3

[Gerinako]

Hey, I cannot fathom how to quote on this so just placing what I'm writing in Bold which is....I hope some of you find this read interesting?

The Innovation of Derivation

There was a moment during the Microsoft press conference that made me want to play a game. Just one.

And that bothers me. In the past, Microsoft has excited me with fun announcements, cool games, and nifty features. That was when Microsoft understood its role and embraced it. We knew what the Xbox 360 was: a functional machine with a great library of games, technical issues out the wazoo, and important functionality that gamers appreciated. Microsoft understood its audience, and was content, in true Microsoft fashion, to remain stubborn.

Today's press conference confirmed what I'd been feeling for a few months now. Microsoft is looking to its competition for inspiration, and in the process, the Xbox 360 is losing its identity. That isn't to say that Nintendo and Sony don't set fine examples, but where the PlayStation 3 was missing important functionality (in-game XMB: why did it take so long?), Xbox Live and the Xbox 360 dashboard weren't fundamentally flawed. Of course, there is always room for improvement, but from an interface and usability perspective, there's really nothing really wrong with them.

So why "improve" Xbox Live with avatars and a new user interface? You could argue that Microsoft is seeking to improve user communication and implement a friendly environment for online interactivity. That's good, particularly when I look at the ongoing Nintendo contradiction (for a machine that is supposed to bring gamers together, the Wii has gone out of its way to alienate the online userbase). I imagine Microsoft saw this opportunity--and then proceeded to create features that look like direct rip-offs of Nintendo's Miis and Sony's XMB, combined into an awkward and unnecessary interface that feels in my gut like a bad idea.

The rest of the conference followed suit. I am excited about the Netflix partnership, but the idea of a console as a full-fledged media center feels very Sony to me, and the titles we saw look--well--less than exciting. The idea of a console as a central aspect of the casual family lifestyle feels very Nintendo to me, yet we saw a lot about lighter fare today, like Scene It!, Uno, and some game show weirdness. And the idea of Live Parties sounds interesting until I really think about how non-compelling the possibilities really are. Microsoft likes the idea that seven friends and I could look at photos, then play Uno, and then, I dunno, watch a movie via Netflix. When you share the same physical space, this sounds like an awesome night. In an online space, that seems remarkably uninteresting to me. When I join other online via Xbox Live, it's for a very specific purpose: to play a game. This idea that the online space can approximate the physical space is convoluted, and it doesn't seem as if it really benefits anyone. It's like Skype on the PSP. It's nice to know it's there, but will you ever actually use it?

In the meanwhile, love them or hate them, Sony and Nintendo both seem poised to embrace their identities with vigor. I fully expect Nintendo in particular will have an entertaining (if a tad predictable) conference, outlining more plans to spread its lifestyle products across the known universe, until every nursing home and preschool is outfitted with a Wii and a DS. But that's the fun of the current generation: each machine was a self-contained piece of a fascinating gaming puzzle. If Microsoft continues to pull in ideas cribbed from others, the balance is thrown, and I don't think that bodes well for Microsoft--or for us.

Original article found here: http://e3.gamespot.com/blog.html?tag=event_nav;blog