Epic is the hype. There had better be delivery.

I do also agree there needs to be more in the strategy area.

microsoft its putting it bar way high!.
it better be something crazy, taking " exclusive" making it multiplatform won't do it this year.

@Shadowblind

I think Microsoft has the sound financial strategy. To follow in the footsteps of Sony is an expensive proposition. One that Sony might be regretting right now. They have spent hundreds of millions on purchasing developers, and if that cash had instead been banked it could have done worlds of good for their console this generation. When they needed to secure third party exclusives, or at least force Microsoft into prohibitively expensive bidding wars.

Microsoft isn't cannibalizing small developers to fill a roster. Instead of breaking the bank buying developers they have opted to go the comparatively cheap route of buying exclusives instead. When buying a high end developer can run you the budget for purchasing twenty high end exclusives. Then it is simple math. A developer can deliver a game a year. For that amount of money you can buy four exclusives a year for five years. That is a four fold increase.

Obviously the strategy works, or at least has worked for Microsoft. Their purchases have the benefit of almost always being for highly touted games or content. They almost always never eat a dud in the bargain either. Plus I am sure the third party developers are loving them for this.

Not being first party isn't necessarily bad for them. Only if Sony can manage to steal them away, or get a hold on them while they are still worth while. Which frankly doesn't look all that likely as long as Sony is in its current predicament with its current user base.

If Microsoft has to rely on taking Sony's former exclusives to continue to "win" E3 they really need to re-think their strategies and approach their internal development differently. One of these days they will have a great first party lineup, but at this time they're heavily reliant on third party developers. Im excited to see what they bring to the table. Its too bad graduation practice will get in the way of the live presentation...

The point is destroying your competition, not winning in a close battle on your own merits. You have to understand how business works. You compete by challenging your competition, not expanding your into unpopular but respected areas.

lol, read your sig. There just isn't a game big enough for MS to steal this year, to approach last year's show, and there never will be. FF was the core franchise that the Playstation's popularity was founded upon. No way can MS "blow minds" like that with ANY exclusive they could have or ever will announce.

Unless this year's announcement is Gran Turismo going multiplat, lol, then no, you don't have to worry about a repeat of last year. That said, there is NO exclusive announcement that could equal last years multiplat, and thus, your argument that multiplatform announcements aren't as "megaton" as exclusives, is flawed.

Many are angry at Microsoft for focusing on attacking competition, rather than innovating with their own ideas.

In reality, attacking competition, and stealing their cookie, not only promotes your brand, but it diminishes theirs, giving Microsoft twice the utility for half the work. It isn't just a "good" strategy, it is the ONLY strategy that anyone would possibly use.

MS gets a lot more out of taking Sony's exclusives, than it does releasing a new Banjo game....and for the record, the games MS buys are pretty damn good, exclusive or not. I mean, I haven't seen many people playing L4D or Mass Effect on their PS3's lately, have you? Those aren't exclusive....but they might as well be.

You are looking at it the wrong way, is what I mean. Instead of worrying about exclusives, you should value a console based on library quality.  Games don't have to be exclusive to matter to the Xbox brand. They just have to NOT appear on the PS3.

No, but thats what PCs are for :P

What are the chances that MS announces Zune HD as a gaming platform and considering it as a Megaton.?

Time for confirmation for all this hype is fast approaching.. i think less than 6 hrs remaining.