I think it is quite clear that HoloLens was the reason that Microsoft bought Minecraft. It is absolutely the perfect way to demo the product in a way anyone can understand.
BTW guys, gamespot has the best stream I've found. No hiccups so far http://www.gamespot.com/e3/microsoft-press-conference-2015/
It really is amazing to see MS after Phil Spencer has been in charge for a little while. He's really got the gaming division moving in a good direction IMO. Even with the games I'm not personally interested in, this conference was night and day compared to their shows a few years ago. Huge moves with backwards compatibility, the early access stuff, mods, etc. Curious to see how Sony (and...um...I guess Nintendo?) respond. Oh, MGS trailer coming up...
I think that it has a lot to do with the fact that the Xbox One we see today is what they wanted to do at launch, but couldn't yet. All of these tremendous improvements hinge on the fact that Windows and Xbox will now share the same kernel - greatly simplifying development. That simply wasn't possible upon release, because Windows 10 didn't exist yet. Windows 8, even with all of the hate it has received is making all of this amazing stuff possible. It literally laid the groundwork for the future of Microsoft.
Microsoft with a great conference. Backwards Compatibility was an awe **** moment for me. Really want to play Cuphead. Halo 5 looks like they took the best of Halo and Halo Reach and mashed them up...looks really good.
MSG Trailer was pretty good IMO. Would've been nice if Sony incorporated backwards compatibility for PS4
All the things I like have little to do with that, and everything to do with how MS presents their vision/platform. I wasn't even being specific with the Xbox One. The 360 kinda floundered during it's last few years, due to the leadership of the Xbox team IMO. Their conferences were all about Kinect, Avatars, and a bunch of casual/non gaming stuff. They took approach and used it again with the Xbox One. We're investing $400m into some sort of NFL app/deal. Check out Kinect 2.0! Always online DRM is great! Etc. Gamers didn't want that. And it seems Phil understands that. He's saying let's take that $$$ and invest in new games (like Recore), new gaming-related features (BC), new programs, etc. I know they're still offering all that non-gaming stuff, but it doesn't really get the spotlight anymore. E3 is back to being about games, games, and more games. I think that kind of attitude and focus is what helped the 360 do so well, and I think this will really help the Xbox One (it already has actually). You're right that some of these things might have been in the works anyway, but it seems pretty obvious to me that their focus has changed. All for the better.
Looks like I'll be dusting off the XB1 now. Hopefully most of my games will be available for download.
I agree that the change in leadership has been crucial in their turnaround. When I was with Microsoft (until last July) I was a moderator on their internal Xbox page on Yammer... it was an interesting two years of internal dialogue to say the least, and when Phil Spencer took over there was a sigh of relief. They are smartly, much more open about their vision, past failures and future across the entire company. Also, the fact that Satya Nadella was at E3 shows that the Xbox is here to stay, and that the Xbox is a key player in the future of Windows.
Is Sega presenting this year? Didn't see them on the schedule in the first post. Also, what is the word on Occulus and Vive? EXTREMELY pumped to hear when/how this will become more mainstream.
Occulus had a presentation last week. http://live.arstechnica.com/oculus-pre-e3-2015-press-conference/
Need for Speed looks surprisingly good. Haven't been much into racers lately but I'd be willing to give it a try.
The Internet needs to shut up about this FF7 remake stuff. Every E3, this comes back. I don't care if all these independent sources confirm it. I refuse to believe. Spoiler I'm not even sure I even want it anymore anyway.
