10:23 am

Seated in section 108 for the Microsoft / Xbox 360 Media Briefing.

10:25 am

Oh, it's on now!  Trying... not... to... freak.

10:27 am

The Beatles Rock Band trailer (opening cinematic) is stylish.  Gotta love The Beatles, but count on video games to make anything ten times more epic.  Nice animation, sweet tunes -- this game is gonna rock music games!  Next, Alex Rigopulos and Van Toffler speak about The Beatles, giving some musical history.  

The Beatles Rock Band demo with live musicians on vocals.  Wish I was half as good as these guys at Rock Band.  Giles Martin, Music Supervisor and Creative Producer, speaks shortly after.  First look at the official trailer for the game, including 10 tracks revealed.

• "I Saw Her Standing There"
• "I Want to Hold Your Hand"
• "I Feel Fine"
• "Day Tripper"
• "Taxman"
• "I Am The Walrus"
• "Back in the U.S.S.R."
• "Octopus's Garden"
• "Here Comes the Sun"
• "Get Back"
  

Additionally, DLC like full albums.  Abbey Road will be first, after launch.  "All You Need is Love" will be exclusive to Xbox LIVE.  Proceeds from the song will be donated to Doctors Without Borders charity.

Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison make their appearance.  Holy crap!  Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr!

"The game is good."

"Graphics look very good, and uh, we look great!"

"We love the game, it's fantastic.  Who would ever thought we'd end up as androids."

"Yeah, but we love the way we walk."

And remember:

"God bless, peace and love!"

10:41 am

John Shappert, Corporate VP of Xbox, talks about the New Xbox Experience and the direction Xbox is taking now.  Promises to "deliver more," all about "showing, not telling."  Promises 10 world premiere games that have never been before seen!

10:43 am

Tony Hawk RIDE

Tony Hawk appears to talk about his game.  Revolutionary skateboard control, a bit shorter than normal board.  Accelerometers, senses direction of body, pressure from your feet, responding like a real skateboard: "Best way to experience skateboarding is on a board."

• Various difficulties, if you've never been on a skateboard.
• Time & trick-based challenges.
• World exclusive trailer, featuring commentary from pro skaters like Paul Rodriguez, and Robomodo team members.

As Rodriguez points out, this is a good way to experience skating without as much risk.  You can do all the basic skateboard maneuvers.  Check out more at RIDE.com -- skateboard fans should really love this.  Activision will be featuring the game at their show area during the expo.

10:48 am

Modern Warfare 2

Talk about way more epic on the big screen, with the sound box right next ot your ear.  Your heart races with the heavy explosions, your adrenaline pumps, as if you're playing the game not just watching a trailer that, honestly, we've all seen before.

Jason West & Vince Zampella speak about Modern Warfare 2 briefly and then get straight into showing us some action, featuring a tundra stage.  Game looks absolutely AMAZING, graphically.  Stage starts out climbing a ledge then scaling a mountain with a comrade.  Pretty intense situation.  Skip ahead a bit ("In the interest of time...") and you're wielding firearms instead of ice picks, using the blizzard your cover and killing your enemies beneath the roaring snow storm.

"Things don't always go as planned..."  So much for stealth.  Once you're caught, it's guns blazing.  Note that you probably don't want the sound on THIS loud when you're playing or the bullet effects might burst your eardrums.  Go figure though, killing someone with an ice pick is actually cooler than shooting them from far away.  Not sure if you'll get to do that or it's just for the NPCs.  The audience is sure loving this; thanks, Infinity Ward.

Two Modern Warfare map packs to be released first on Xbox LIVE.

10:59 am

Yoshiniro Kitake and Motomu Toriyama talk about the history of Final Fantasy.  20 years ago, the first FF title debuted, and last year, Square Enix shocked the globe by announcing the first major FF installment on an Xbox platform.  Today, the world's first look at FFXIII on Xbox 360!

Go figure Suds the black character is a joke compared to Lightning, the female protagonist.  Gameplay mechanics have new complexities, with openings for special attacks.  Normally, summons aren't accessible this early on, but we get a first look at a FF trademark, Odin.

Fans will be pleased to know that Square Enix's target release date for Final Fantasy XIII is Spring 2010.  Hopefully, they'll fulfill that promise.

11:02 am

Some exclusive content, starting with Epic Games' Donald Mustard and Cliff Bleszinski.  Talking Epic's first Xbox LIVE Arcade's title, Shadow Complex.  Platformer from Epic?  Crazy talk!  No, seriously, it's a platformer.  As such, you'll have a myriad of unique tools to help you get around each stage.  The campaign is over 10 hours long, states Cliffy B, with lots of replayability.  Boss battles we see in the demo have a Metal Gear appearance.

Look for Shadow Complex this summer on XBLA.

11:06 am

Joy Ride, another XBLA title from a Microsoft studio.  It will be free to download and play, allowing you to use your Avatar in a go kart racer.  Coming this winter to Xbox LIVE.

11:08 am

Talk about a pretty teaser.  Crackdown 2 is looking way more appealing than the first one, though we don't know anything about it right now.

11:09 am

Trailer for Left 4 Dead 2, coming November 17 on PC and Xbox LIVE.  I may get this one on PC though -- shh, don't tell anyone.

11:10 am

Ubisoft's Splinter Cell Conviction.  Sam Fisher's not happy for sure.  Maxime Beland and Alexander Parizeau demo  the game for us, while narrating the story a bit in a rich French accent, appropriately enough.  Environments are now more interactive, built like mini sandboxes that give Sam more options on how to approach and dispatch his enemies.  A few of his new techniques may remind you of Assassin's Creed -- brutal stealth kills for the new, angrier Sam Fisher.  He's formidable as a direct fighter too, of course.  Expect this game in fall on Xbox 360.

11:17 am

This October, Forza Motorsport 3 ships out to the 360.  Dan Greenawalt, game director at Turn10, speaks about this upcoming racer, displaying an Audi R8 V10, which is the car featured in the demo.  New graphics engine running at 60 fps, amazing graphics and physics, and numerous recognizable vehicles from major manufacturers make this racer unrivaled, Greenawalt boasts.  Forza painters and other professionals designed these cars, giving the cars a more customized feel.

You'll be able to create and upload your own videos using a new video editor in FM3.  It's definitely worth checking out, especially if you can master the stunts.

11:24 am

Joe Staten talks about Halo 3 OSDT.  Sweetness!  Going right into the demo, as you fall toward the planet in your drop pod, trying to land on an alien carrier.  Of course, things go horribly wrong, and you wind up wrecked in the city.  Game takes place weeks before the start of Halo 3, and you take on the role of a rookie separated from his team.  ODST units get two unique weapons that Spartans actually don't.  Fans of the original Halo pistol will LOVE the new ODST pistol, Staten assures.

Storytelling isn't linear, so you'll flash back and forth between different characters as you progress.  In the demo, get get to see some flashbacks of ODST Dutch.  Halo 3 ODST will be dropping into stores worldwide on September 22.

We also get to see Bungie's top secret project: Halo Reach, due Fall 2010.  Looks like a game about Spartans.  Otherwise, the teaser doesn't tell us much.  If you're itching for more though, when you buy Halo 3 ODST, you'll also receive an invite to the Halo Reach beta.

11:32 am

Writer Sam Lake introduces yet another debut title, Alan Wake.  It's a story about a writer whose supernatural thriller novel is coming to life.  Seems to take a few steps back into the survival horror genre after several disappoints these past two years.  Could be a nice remedy for those left unsatisfied by Silent Hill Homecoming.  Though you are playing as a mere writer, you are also armed so it does retain some of that action feel.  Fighting, however, is not always the smartest option, and you will need to solve a few puzzles, get around using tools other than a gun.  Alan Wake might remind mystery fans of their favorite literary genre, and that may be the most unique aspect of this game.

Alan Wake will arrive in Spring 2010.  Can't wait!

11:39 am

Xbox LIVE innovations now.  Such as what?  Social networking.

• Microsoft's partnership with last.fm brings music to Xbox LIVE Gold members later this year at no additional charge.
• Users will be able to browse and queue Netflix movies without going to your PC.  UK and Ireland will be getting instant click-to-watch thanks to a partnership with Sky.
• Video service is relaunching as Zune Video this fall, and HD video library will be upgraded to full 1080p.
• All movies and TV shows can be watched instantly with no download delays.
• Video store is expanding global access from eight to 18 countries.  These video updates will be available in Fall 2009.
• LIVE Party will soon allow you to share your movies and music with multiple friends at once, placing your Avatars in a movie theatre environment.  Cute feature.

• Partnership with Facebook announced.  

Felicia Day of The Guild talks about social networking on Xbox LIVE.  Facebook will be appealing as its own channel, where you can see both Xbox LIVE and  Facebook friends. You'll be able to browse Facebook, look at photos and so on from your Xbox 360.  Xbox LIVE will also be introducing a Twitter experience for the living room.  Both Facebook and Twitter features will be coming to Xbox LIVE this fall.

11:50 am

Don Mattrick, Senior VP of Xbox, comes on stage.  With 10 minutes left, what on Earth can he bring us?  METAL GEAR SOLID IS COMING TO XBOX 360!  

Hideo Kojima ganks Mattrick and takes over from there.  Next release, Metal Gear Solid Rising, is in development for 360!  Now bring on the trailer!  

Looks like Solid Snake is taking a backseat to Raiden in Rising.  Raiden has definitely evolved since his entrance into the series as pretty boy fodder.  "With Metal Gear Solid coming to Xbox 360, we can finally say our platform is complete," says Mattrick.

That's not all though.  Looks like there will be some controller innovations in store for Xbox 360 gamers.  "Introducing a new way to play.  No controller required."  Going back to that whole social and family-friendly aspect of gaming, your whole body can be used to play the game with full motion body capture.  The video also shows us a user scanning his skateboard into a game.  On top of that, there'll be facial recognition for logging into your profile.  Aside from all this looking a bit silly (I never liked Carades), it's definitely interesting to consider in the future.  Ironically, it reminds us a bit of scrolling through an iPhone / iPod Touch.  Called "Project Natal," it's pretty much a motion-sensing device attaches to your Xbox 360 no matter which model you own.

12:00 pm

Visionary director Steven Spielberg comes on stage to talk about his support for Natal as a new form of interactive entertainment.  According to Spielberg, 60 percent of households (probably in the States) don't own a gaming console, citing that most people still feel too intimidated by the controller.  Project Natal breaks down that barrier.  It's not abouting reinventing wheel, Spielberg states, but about "no wheel at all."

Natal creative director Kudo Tsunoda talks a bit more about the project and introduces some early prototypes, starting with the Dashboard.  Looks rather painful for the Avatar really, since the movements are still stiff.  Definitely looks more entertaining than sitting there with your controller, buried in your couch.  Tsunoda also shows off some very basic games that make use of Natal, like Ricochet.  Well, at least now you can't break the TV by flinging your controller -- just watch where you kick.  Tsunoda must be aware of this because he makes fun of waggling.

Next, we see Paint Party, which using full body motion and voice recognition.  Select a color by saying the name, then use your body to splash paint on your canvas.  By saying "pose," you activate the stencil paper, which lets you create a stencil from posing your body.  "Ready" will trigger the countdown to capturing the stencil.  "Reveal" removes the stencil paper to unveil your piece.

12:11 pm

Peter Molyneux!  Of course, he talks big and gets our hopes really going, complete with compelling hand gestures.  Lionhead has been playing with Natal, it seems, and we get to see what they've done.  Introducing Milo, an interactive character developed by Lionhead who recognizes you.  This definitely isn't the Dr. Sbaitso some of you remember.  

Water in the Milo "game" captures your reflection as you try to catch fish.  The demo person, Claire, drew a picture on a piece of paper, and Natal actually scanned the paper into the "game," reproducing it in the virtual world.  Amazing stuff to see.  A select few will be able to experience Milo's world themselves with the Natal technology behind closed doors during the E3 Expo.

12:19

Mattrick's closing statements.