E3 2009: Game Convention Gets Beatles For Opening Act
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The two surviving Beatles recently opened a convention dedicated to extending video games to an audience that's broader than ever. NY1's Technology reporter Adam Balkin filed the following report.The Electronic Entertainment Expo may never start on a higher note than the E3 2009 convention. A day before the show officially kicked off, Microsoft held the first press conference of the week, and brought out rock stars Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to unveil the new game "Beatles: Rock Band."
"The game is good, the graphics are very good, and we were great," said Starr.
"We love the game, it's fantastic. Who'd ever have thought we'd end up as androids?" said McCartney.
"I like the way I walk," said Starr, who then walked like a robot to mock the games' characters.
Microsoft also unveiled some new Xbox Live partnerships, including those with Facebook and Twitter. Yet the company's biggest announcement was a new controller for the Xbox 360 called "Project Natal." This three-camera, full body motion-capture system with voice recognition allows people to move their entire bodies to play a game, in place of using a handheld device.
Hollywood director Steven Spielberg hinted at looking forward to designing titles that could change the definition of gaming.
"As a creator I could suddenly envision a new way of personalizing gameplay, making it possible to even change the paradigm of storytelling and of social interaction," said Spielberg. "I think what Microsoft is doing is not reinventing the wheel, it's about no wheel at all."
Developers say they are confident when the system does become available, it will break the final barrier for those who are still afraid of or uninterested in video games.