[06.16.15] Everything you need to know from the 2015 Square Enix Press Conference [E3 2015]

Square Enix

It has been quite the week leading up to E3 2015 with a steady stream of incredible reveals, leaving you wondering, “What exactly will there be to announce at E3?” From the “Fallout 4” reveal, the return of rhythm gaming, and YouTube taking on Twitch; the gaming industry is charging full speed into its biggest week of the year. Fortunately, the fun hasn’t stopped. Microsoft started off the console wars with a bang, and we’ve seen some great output from Bethesda, EA, and Ubisoft. Sony also threw some punches and Nintendo dazzled us with loads of fanfare! Now the question remains, can “Square Enix” close out the developers with a strong finish? Here is everything you needed to know about the 2015 Square Enix Press Conference, live from E3 2015 on Tuesday, June 16.

The conference jumps right into the action with “Just Cause 3.” A gameplay trailer shows off all the high-flying, action-packed, guns-blazing, explosion filled glory. Phil Rogers, CEO of Square Enix Americas and Europe, opens up welcoming everyone with a “We haven’t done one of these in a while.” He talks about the awesome changes the company has made over the years, adapting to changes and listening to fan feedback – a popular theme this year. He teases a few of the games that will be seen during the conference before continuing with the “Just Cause 3.”

He talks about how dedicated the community is that is still playing “Just Cause 2.” He promises for longer and better support for games moving forward, because of the incredibly dedicated community. He talks about “Square Enix Collective” and the games that it has supported so far, promising more to come. He then welcomes Roland Lesterlin from Avalanche Studios to talk more about “Just Cause 3.”

He emphasizes the desire to create a huge, open-world game and redefine the open-world genre with “the greatest game in the franchise.” Lesterlin talks about what has been added, such as the additional grapple lines, and what has been brought back, such as the wing-suit, to create the ultimate sandbox game to entertain players. He then announces the worldwide Dec 1, 2015 launch date is revealed for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. A new cinematic trailer shows off more of the over-the-top action signature to the series. It says the map has over 400,000 square miles to explore. A narrator discusses the story line about an evil dictator bent on world domination and Rico is going to save the wo- OK, seriously though, you get to blow stuff up. Jetpacks, parachutes, grappling hooks, wing-suits, rocket launchers, hand grenades, rifles, and unlimited C4. Everything you ever wanted to chain together awesome kills.

The vehicles are very detailed in models and features a lot of individual parts, crumple zones, and explosive areas. Combine this with the enhanced physics engine around other explosive items and you get “amazing moments of unpredictable chaos.” The world is packed with all kinds of side activities – such as wing-suit races – and littered with collectibles. Rico will have unlocks and upgrades. Basically, this game is everything you ever wanted from a “Just Cause” game.

Yosuke Saito, Business Division VI Director, takes the stage to reveal a new work-in-progress title. It’s early in development and the trailer is supposed to be just to reveal the artwork. It’s developed by Platinum Games, the team behind “Bayonetta.” The team is also packed with loads of other talent who have worked on games from “Tekken” to “Metal Gear.” It’s then revealed that it is going to be “Nier 2.” The whole trailer was cinematic, so not much was revealed, but more details will be announced fall 2015. It looks beautiful, but development has “just begun, so don’t expect it to launch any time soon.” They’re only calling it “Nier New Project” for now, obviously a working title.

Platinum Games says they never imaged such a game would be possible, but that they were instilled with “new strength” after being asked by Square Enix to work on the game. The staff is full of fans of the first game, and they are thrilled to work on the game. We’re reminded that “it will take a while before it’s ready,” so it’s obviously going to be a few years away.

Time to switch gears to “Rise of the Tomb Raider.” Although some details have already been revealed, more gameplay is shown in a trailer. It focuses on more of the puzzles and exploration elements. It also gives us a much better look at the world we’ll be exploring, compared to the almost exclusively snow-filled are shown yesterday. Brian Horton, Game Director, takes the stage to talk more about the game.

He talks about how they want to make Lara seem as “human and believable as possible.” Crystal Dynamics have built Lara from the ground up, focusing on details as small as pores and eyelashes, and how particles would interact with those elements. They even have added scars from the previous game, to enhance the detail. She’ll get muddy when it’s wet out and snow will actually accumulate on her jacket when it’s falling from the sky. “At Crystal, we look at every granular detail to deliver a believable lifelike Lara.” Horton talks about how they’re focusing more on the “Tomb” of “Tomb Raider” and promises more announcements coming in the following months.

Patrick Naud, Head of Studio in Montreal, takes the stage talking about “Hitman Go” and “Hitman Sniper.” He then switches gears and says this mobile concept is being brought to a new franchise – “Tomb Raider.” The art style is more cartoony than “Rise of the Tomb Raider,” but it looks adorable and has a nice soundtrack. “Lara Croft Go” appears to take a lot of inspiration from the “Hitman” game of the same name, and it’s being released “soon” for tablets and mobile.

A quick montage of Square Enix games showcasing everything from “Final Fantasy” to “Dragon Quest,” and it’s time for “Kingdom Hearts?” Unfortunately, the translation didn’t work at this point; but Shinji Hashimoto, a Square Enix Executive, introduced a trailer for “Final Fantasy Remake,” confirmed for “PlayStation 4.” It’s the same trailer that was revealed yesterday, promising “More to Come This Winter” and that you can “Play It First on PlayStation 4.” Hashimoto returns to say that more detailed information will come in the future. Also, the original “Final Fantasy VII” PC release is delayed, however it is coming to iOS this summer, as well. OK, now it’s time for “Kingdom Hearts.”

It looks like it’s going to be a “Kingdom Hearts” mobile game – makes sense, continuing with the trend of games just announced, but it probably isn’t quite what everyone was expecting. It looks great, features a completely different visual style from the other “Kingdom Hearts” games, obviously because of its mobile platform. No release date revealed, just a message that it is “now in development.” “Kingdom Hearts Unchained Key” was released in Japan and is now being brought to North American markets.

Finally, “Kingdom Hearts III” is announced with a special message from the Walt Disney Animation Studios. They talk about the partnership between Disney and Square Enix to create an exceptional product. It sounds like “Tangled” is going to be joining the cast, meaning we’ll likely see other new Disney characters as well… could this mean “Star Wars” in “Kingdom Hearts III.” A cinematic trailer rolls, introducing the story before transitioning into gameplay. This is the “Kingdom Hearts” everyone is familiar with, and it looks stunning. Awesome action adventure, exhilarating soundtrack, and lots of Disney-infused goodness. “The future, it’s already been written.” “Who’s to say I can’t change it?” No release date again, just “now in development” for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

One more project to discuss from Hashimoto, “World of Final Fantasy” which was introduced yesterday during Sony’s E3 Briefing. The trailer plays, showcasing the very different visual style. It’s kind of like “Final Fantasy” meets “Animal Crossing.” It takes place in a completely new universe which no other “Final Fantasy” game has been in. Hashimoto then introduces Hiroki Chiba, who will be the Game Director. Chiba says the game will be accessible to people of all ages. He discusses new game mechanics and how the players and creatures in game work together to create “towers” which players will use to defeat enemies and solve in-game puzzles. The game will launch in 2016.

Christian Elverdam, Creative Director at IO-Interactive, takes the stage to talk about the new “Hitman” game, simply titled “Hitman.” It looks like this will be a reboot. The game releases December 8 with the tagline “Enter the World of Assassinations.” Elverdam talks about how it will be filled with new experiences, such as targets that will be limited to real-world time frames. He says that Hitman players will have to work together to figure out these puzzles. It will take place in various locations, such as Paris, Italy and America.

Everything will be completely open to the player – how to strike, when to strike, where to strike. A sneak-peek trailer plays. It’s cinematic, but certainly looks breathtaking. Agent 47 is the “world’s premiere assassin” and “no target is safe.” 47 is shown planning his takedown on a prime villain target name Viktor. It shows off various methods of execution, including brutally murdering him with an axe in the middle of a dance floor, dressed as a fireman, or poisoning him while disguising yourself as the bartender. It leads into the advanced Contracts mode, where players can mark their own targets and share them with players online. It’s releasing Dec 8 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

Another game montage including the likes of “Hitman Sniper and “Final Fantasy” again before a reveal for a new Square Enix & Tri-Ace project. It looks like a teaser for “Star Ocean 5.” It’s discussing the history of other “Star Ocean” games, hinting at a “new entry” complete with “unexpected encounters and heart-wrenching farewells.” “Star Ocean Integrity and Faithlessness” has already been announced for Japan, but is now being confirmed for North American release, as well. The announcement is followed by a gameplay trailer which showcases the new location and enhanced graphics. It also shows a lot of an already-familiar battle system, although it’s later warned that it’s just a work in progress and could change. The trailer then reveals a 2016 release window for North America and Europe. It’s being referred to as an “old-school Japanese RPG.”

Now it’s time for some “Deus Ex” news from Eidos Montreal. “We’re not compromising on quality, and are striving to meet the expectations of fans.” The game takes place two years after “Deus Ex: Human Revolution,” and the world has changed greatly. Those enhanced are mostly shunned, living in the ghettos. Task Force 29 is created, and Adam Jenson joins them. He works as a double agent, teaming up with “hacktivists” to take down the Illuminati, believing they are behind the creation of Task Force 29. Players will have a range of new tools to use in the game, and the choices’ consequences are “at the heart of the experience.” The first in-game trailer for “Deus Ex: Mankind Divided” begins, looking beautiful. It introduces the story and environment, which is full of drama and chaos. A lot of new augmentations are shown off as Jensen exterminates enemies left and right. It’s releasing early 2016 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

President and CEO, Yosuke Matsuda, takes the stage to thank everyone for coming. He then introduces the “Final Fantasy Portal App” coming this summer. It’s going to be the main resource for everything “Final Fantasy.” But wait, there is one more announcement. Matsuda is talking about Square Enix’s partnership with past developers, and announces a new project by a “re-established studio” The studio is called “Tokyo RPG Factory.” A bunch of concept art is shown off, featuring lots of small villages, covered in snowfall. It’s called “Project SETSUNA” and it’s already in development, although not much else can be shared. It will launch sometime in 2016.

Matsuda recaps the conference, recognizes partners, promises a strong future, and thanks everyone again. A montage of everything revealed today plays as everyone who was represented today is invited back on stage. One more thank you, and everything is wrapped up.

[06.15.15] Everything you need to know from the 2015 Xbox Media Briefing [E3 2015]

Microsoft

It has been quite the week leading up to E3 2015 with a steady stream of incredible reveals, leaving you wondering, “What exactly will there be to announce at E3?” From the “Fallout 4” reveal, the return of rhythm gaming, and YouTube taking on Twitch; the gaming industry is charging full speed into its biggest week of the year. Fortunately, the fun hasn’t stopped. After a great E3 kick-off courtesy of Bethesda, Microsoft starts off the console wars with their incredible lineup of announcements, and here is everything you needed to know about the 2015 Xbox Media Briefing, live from E3 2015 on Monday, June 15.

The conference begins kicks off with a montage of games, including Tomb Raider, Halo, Forza, Gears of War, and many other games. Bonnie Ross, Studio Head at 343 Studios, welcomes everyone to the conference. She starts off with, none other than, “Halo 5 Guardians.”

A new reveal trailer plays, featuring voice-overs from many characters. It introduces the storyline from many different angles, including Master Chief’s, Buck’s, and even the Covenant. It then moves into a gameplay demo. The player is playing as part of the ONI team, fighting off the covenant. Taking the role of Spartan Locke, they gather intel on the area, finding Master Chief’s assault rifle. Lots of explosions, running through the facility – everything is very much “Halo,” just prettier. The player shows off the ability to command other team members to attack a covenant ship followed by the Spartan’s new unique abilities.

Some new characters are shown, including a soldier version of the Promethean race and the gameplay demo ends. It then returns to a montage of game highlights, including a brief glimpse at the new bosses. The launch date of Oct 27, 2015 flashes on the screen and Josh Holmes takes the stage.

Holmes says this is the most ambitious “Halo” game yet. A massive, two story campaign and multiplayer maps 4 times the size of anything previous. “Halo 5” multiplayer goes by a new name – “War Zone.” The multiplayer demo will be on the show floor this week and looks to be a much larger scale team game, 24-player possibilities.

Now it’s time for an Xbox Exclusive World Premier. From Keiji Inafune and the makers of “Metroid Prime,” a unique looking adventure game. A desert environment is shown and the protagonists has a robot dog following it around. It has a very Pixar-like style. The female protagonist and her dog face off against some robot spiders, and the dog detonates himself to save the girl. All that is left is a crystal power core, which she then places in another dormant robot, bringing it to life. She possibly indicates it’s the same “dog” she just had, but in a new body. The title “Recore” is revealed with a Spring 2016 launch window. It will likely be an Xbox exclusive

Phil Spencer takes the stage, confirming that “Recore” will be an exclusive, new, first-party franchise for Xbox One. He discusses the vision for Xbox One and how Xbox continues to invest in delivering the best experience for Xbox gamers. He’s also wearing a shirt under his jacket which is just barely visible. He then reveals Xbox One has backwards compatibility! Something that wasn’t previously thought possible, now available Natively on the Xbox One. It’s part of the vision for creating the largest game library on Xbox One.

Mike Ybarra, Head of Platform Engineering, shows off backwards compatibility, including over 100 titles coming this holiday. It will support both digital downloads – which should automatically start showing up soon – as well as retail games. He then plays “Mass Effect” on Xbox One, showing that the game plays like the Xbox 360, but will utilize Xbox One features – such as screenshots or game streaming and DVR. It’s available immediately for preview members and will be available this holiday for others.

Spencer returns to the stage to talk about the “Xbox Elite Wireless Controller” coming this fall. It will have “swappable” components and “limitless customization,” essentially creating the ultimate first-party “pro” controller designed for Xbox One and Windows 10. It’s absolutely beautiful.

Todd Howard, Bethesda Game Studio’s head, takes the stage, yes on Xbox’s conference. Howard is discussing “Fallout 4,” possibly hinting at exclusive content? He’s discussing the importance of freedom in the game and is revealing more gameplay content. He goes over much of the information revealed at Bethesda’s conference, just more summarized. He also reveals a new weapon, a type of musket, and more survivors are discovered. It gives off a very “Walking Dead” kind of vibe… only futuristic and with powersuits. Howard calls it the “most ambitious game-world we have ever created” while a montage of action sequences and environments are shown off. Howard than teases a big announcement, revealing that PC Mods can be shared and played, for free, on Xbox One.

Peter Moore, COO of EA, takes the stage, mentioning his happiness with backwards compatibility and then talking about EA Access, the $5/month service only on Xbox One which gives you early access, and many games for a low price. Like always, EA titles will be released early for members and games in the vault will be rotated and can be played unlimited, and players will get discounts. All of this is repeat news. Moore announces that “Titanfall” is coming at the start of summer, “Dragon Age: Inquisition” will come later this fall. This week, All Xbox Live Gold members get free access to EA Access, only have to download the free app.

Moore than announces “Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2.” He promises “this will be the funniest, craziest, most over the top shooter experience you’ve ever played.” After revealing it’s coming next spring, a trailer begins. It looks like the zombies have taken over and the game will now be in “Zomburbia.” A multitude of new plant and zombie characters are revealed, although the entire trailer is CGI. This time around, it looks like the plants are coming to the zombies’ house to invade.

A teaser for “Forza 6” begins, and the new GT is lowered onto the stage form the ceiling. Henry Ford III takes the stage with Dan Greenwald of Turn 10, introducing a trailer for “Forza 6.” The game looks beautiful as ever. There will now be 24-car multiplayer and it’s coming Sep 15.

Another world premier begins, from Bandai Namco and From Software, Inc. A dark and dreary environment with lots of monstrous characters is shown, and it looks like a new “Dark Souls” game is coming. A massive titan guard with a giant sword is shown, and “Dark Souls 3” flashes, with an “early 2016” release window. It will not be an exclusive

A premier trailer for “Tom Clancy’s: The Division” is shown, re-hyping what is already known about the game. It shows off, what appears to be, lots of in-engine graphics and the game looks great. It appears to take place in the heart of New York City and will require lots of teamwork. There’s plenty of explosions and awesome guns, as is expected from a Tom Clancy game.

Laurent Detoc, president of Ubisoft Americas, takes the stage to talk more about it. He reveals that it does take place in New York, and will feature a variety of special operatives. He then reminisces on Ghost Recon’s initial launch on the first day of Xbox Live launching. He reveals that the beta will be exclusive to Xbox One, before moving on to “Rainbow Six Siege.”

Detoc emphases the destructible environments of “Rainbow Six Siege” and reveals that “Rainbow Six Vegas” and “Vegas 2” will come free with “Rainbow Six Siege,” all playable on the Xbox One (thanks to the backwards compatibility). A gameplay trailer then begins for “Siege.” Again, it’s nothing revolutionary for the game, but does appear to be mostly in-engine, as well. It actually feels very similar to “The Division,” but in a less post-apocalyptic environment.

An Xbox One and Windows 10 exclusive from Motiga is revealed, and it appears to be the long-forgotten “Gigantic.” The trailer reveals a variety of characters as well as gameplay features. It’s an arena shooter which appears to focus on battling large “guardians.” The beta will launch this August and will be free to play, like the game.

A montage of indie games begins, including a momentary tease of the also-forgotten “Cuphead.” It shows off some other original titles and some already-released titles, like “Goat Simulator.” It’s likely this is a lead in for the ID@Xbox program. Logo at the end of the trailer confirms.

Chris Charla, Director of ID@Xbox, takes the stage to discuss the program. Over 1000 indie developers have been making games for the ID@Xbox program, and it’s “really only the start.” Steve Gaynor of Fullbright takes the stage to discuss and preview Tacoma, coming 2016. Derek Bradley, from Aurora44, is next to discuss “Ashen,” a survival game and Xbox console exclusive. It looks like it will have a lot of emphases on exploration, puzzle-solving, and a dash of horror. Sherida Halatoe, of tiger & squid, enters to discuss “Beyond Eyes.” It’s a very unique experience, coming first to Xbox One and PC. It also appears to be a unique exploration/adventure game, and it releases this summer. Chad and Jared Moldenhauer of MDHR take the stage to discuss “Cuphead” – finally, it’s returning! They talk about their vision for a classic 1930’s cartoon that controls like a classic, 16-bit platformer. As a trailer plays, one thing is obvious – they nailed the style they were going for. The game looks incredible and the gameplay looks extremely fun and challenging, as would be expect from both the era’s the game takes influence from. It’s coming 2016 exclusively to Xbox One.

Charla takes back over announcing an early release program, similar to what’s on PC. The hook is that the games are required to give a free demo first, so you can decide whether or not you want to pay in. Starting today, both ”The Long Dark” and “Elite Dangerous” are available today for Xbox One Game Preview.

Charla hands off to Dean Hall, the creator of “Day-Z” to introduce a new IP coming to PC and Xbox One. It will make use of Xbox One Game Preview and PC access, and players will “be able to shape the destiny” of the game. The game takes place in space, but not much is revealed, other than the name “Ion.” It has a “Gravity” vibe to it.

Brian Horton, Game Director of Crystal Dynamics, demos the world premier gameplay of “Rise of the Tomb Raider” coming holiday 2015. A very beaten and tattered Lara lights her way through a cave with her signature torch… which is then blown out by a snowstorm. Suddenly she’s wearing full winter climbing gear and working her way up a mountain. The climbing mechanics are very familiar, only now she has Jonah tethered to her. Ice starts falling and she makes a leap across the cavern. She’s taking lots of risks while climbing, but makes her way to the top. She loses her grip and falls, saved by Jonah. He struggles to pull her back up and she swings over to the ice to regain her grip. The ice gives way, but she narrowly makes it to the top as an avalanche begins. She tells Jonah to return to shelter and continues her ascent. Non-stop action spliced with quick time events, it’s all very familiar – and very welcome to return. A montage of various game shots is tagged with a “Xbox Exclusive” banner, possibly indicating it’s no longer a “timed release” but a full exclusive? Then the hard release date of Nov 10, 2015 is finally revealed.

Another Xbox One exclusive begins, and it looks like a collection of games from “Rare” as Banjo and Conker both made an appearance, among others. “Perfect Dark, “Viva Pinata,” and Battle Toads” are just a few of the 30 games included in this 10,000 gamerscore collection. “Rare Replay” available August 4, 2015. Craig Duncan, Studio Head at Rare, takes the stage to announce this exclusive collection in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the studio.

He’s also announcing a new title from the company, “by far the most ambitious game Rare has ever created.” It begins in first person with Rare’s signature cartoony graphics. It takes place on an island, complete with tropical birds and… pirate skeletons. A sea shanty begins playing and a character runs out onto a beach where a pirate ship is waiting. Many characters have, what appears to be, gamertags over their heads, indicating what could possibly be a pirate themed MMO? “Sea of Thieves” is the title, no release date indicated.

Another Xbox One and Windows 10 exclusive trailer begins, which looks very much like “Fable.” It has the same art style and appears to be an RPG. It will be free to play on both Xbox One and Windows 10, and likes to use the word “legends” a lot. “Fable Legends,” it is.

Kudo Tsunoda, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Studios, takes the stage to talk more about the title. The game will run seamlessly between the two platforms. Anything bought will transfer between the two, and the game will also feature cross-play between PC and Consoles.

He then announces a new partnership with Valve VR, making Windows 10 the best platform with VR gaming. He mentions the previous announcement that an Xbox One controller will be included in with every Oculous Rift. It sounds like Microsoft is trying to lock down the VR market, including their previously announced HoloLens. He then introduces Lydia Winters, Brand Director from Mojang.

As she discusses the history of the studio, “Minecraft” is displayed behind her. She talks about Minecon 2015 and hints and an announcement there. She then introduces Michael Saxs Persson from Microsoft studios, to reveal a new version of Minecraft on the HoloLens. They play a live demo, and she is able to join in from her Surface. Persson then moves the game world onto a table and he can overlook the world in a type of “god mode.” He can follow around Winters throughout the world from the recessed perspective. It’s like playing with a real miniature model of your “Minecraft” world. He can also manipulate the world to discover what is underneath and map it for the other player. The whole environment can be controlled with gestures and even voice commands. Persson is able to detonate some TNT and Pigs by saying “lightning strike,” causing the TNT to explode and the pigs to turn into zombie pigmen.

Rod Fergusson, Co-Creator of ”Gears of War” and Studio Head at The Coalition, takes the stage to announce the “Gears of War Ultimate Edition.” It’s an HD remake of the original “Gears of War,” complete with multiplayer. The multiplayer beta begins today, exclusively on Xbox One.

He then begins revealing a new “Gears of War” game with a gameplay demo. New COG soldiers are shown off traversing a very dark environment. A storm is destroying the city they are exploring, literally crumbling the environment around them. The new character is referred to as “JD.” They enter a building and there is a new monster revealed. Something gooey and glowy, which JD is advised not to touch. He does anyway, and his flashlight is shorted out. Fortunately, he’s glowing – possibly imulsion? This form extends well beyond the room they were in and all over the outside environment. They follow it into a courtyard where more glowing pods (don’t touch!) are at. As they try to exit the courtyard, another new enemy type is revealed. It’s somehow similar, yet different to the locust. As JD becomes overwhelmed, the trailer cuts to a close. It’s “Gears 4,” coming Holiday 2016.

Phil Spencer returns, now revealing the shirt he was hiding was a Rare Shirt. Could this be another Rare announcement or is he just celebrating their accomplishments? He discusses and recaps all of the new experiences revealed today and reasserts the commitment Microsoft has to the community and Xbox Live. He then hints that here are “more surprises in store this week.” There will be reveals on the Xbox Daily Show, including “Quantum Break,” “Scalebound,” “Crackdown,” a new Xbox One interface, and new first-party games. He wraps up the conference (no more Rare, looks like it was just a celebration) by thanking everyone. The conference ends with another game montage, recapping everything revealed today.

[06.09.14] Xbox E3 2014 Media Briefing

Crowds gather at the Xbox E3 2014 Media Briefing at the Galen Center on Monday, June 9, 2014 in Los Angeles

Photo: Matt Sayles, Invision for Microsoft. Used with permission.

It's officially underway - The 2014 Xbox Media Briefing just happened earlier this morning as a part of the Electronic Entertainment Expo’s lineup for Monday, June 9, and this time around it's all about the games. All throughout the conference, there were videos that featured key gaming icon's favorite games as well as tweets for any presenter’s favorites. What exactly does Microsoft have up their sleeves, especially after the long string of announcements leading up to E3? Hopefully there is plenty of new information left to spill and they haven't run out yet. Take a look now at this year’s play-by-play recap of the entire Xbox World Media Briefing.

The conference launched with Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) giving a speech about how great it's been for the gaming community and made a nice nod to both Sony and Nintendo citing their achievements and proceeded to thank Xbox gamers for their involvement in shaping Xbox into what it is today. He then announced that this conference will focus entirely on games and nothing else. The mission: To make Xbox the best place to play games this generation.

A trailer for "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare" starts playing and the announcement is made that, once again, all content will come to Xbox first. A drop-pod with multiple troops in it crashes out of the sky and into a skyscraper, showcasing the incredible visuals. The trailer also demonstrated the new exoskeleton suit soldiers will wear to help them traverse the battlefield more efficiently and all the crazy new weapons, including grenades with propellers attached to them.

Dan Greenwalt, the Creative Director at Turn 10, takes the stage to talk about "Forza 5". The Nurburgring has been recreated with extreme detail - down to the millimeter - and is now available free for "Forza 5" owners to download. He then passes the stage off to Ralph Fulton, Playground Game's Creative Director to talk about "Forza Horizon 2." Read more about that here.

A trailer for "Evolve" starts playing showcasing the incredible graphics. As expected, you'll be able to fight with a class-based system with traditional classes such as assault or medic. However, you can also play as the monster against a team of 4 as well. Finally, the Beta will be available exclusively on Xbox One and all DLC will arrive first.

Vincent Pontbriand, the Senior Producer at Ubisoft, debuts a trailer for "Assassin's Creed: Unity." Players will be Marquis De Bullion and will fight alongside the French Revolution. It will features 100's of quests and secrets to find. For the first time ever, you can create your own brotherhood and play with up to three others cooperatively.

A world premier trailer for "Dragon Age Inquisition" is shown, with an announcement of a release on October 7. Also, as probably expected by now, all DLC will be available first on Xbox One.

"Sunset Overdrive" takes the stage with a trailer that showcases the ridiculous game play, colorful visuals, and over-the-top humor which the game has become known for. The trailer gives a little of the back story, explaining how contaminated energy drinks have led to people becoming mutants and caused a war to erupt. Out walks Ted Price, the Founder and CEO & Insomniac Games. He provides a little more knowledge and a game play demo showing off the unconventional weaponry and arcade-like design, reminiscent of "Lollipop Chainsaw." He also explains that players will be able to fully customize their own in-game characters and proceeded to announce Chaos Squad, and 8 player cooperative mode.

Falling right in line with the wackiness comes the funniest trailer of the conference, the announcement of “Super Ultra Deadrising 3 Arcade Remix Hyper Edition EX α.” This brand new DLC for “Deadrising 3” is a nod to Capcom’s “31th” Anniversary and features four player cooperative gameplay and tons of Capcom-themed costumes for players to choose from. Best of all, it’s available right now.

Alex Rigopolous, the Creative Director from Harmonix, comes to the stage to talk a little bit about the upcoming game “Fantasia: Music Evolved.” He then proceeds to make the exciting announcement that the insanely popular “Dance Central” franchise will be making its return very soon in the form of a digital-only Xbox exclusive called “Dance Central Spotlight.” The game features an all original soundtrack and brand-new technology which is going to allow them to deliver new songs to the game faster than ever before. It will be available sometime this fall.

Also making its return soon is “Fable Legends” as announced by Lionhead’s Game Director, David Eckelberry. A small gameplay demo was shown displaying a very familiar gameplay style with cranked up visuals and a slight twist. Now, you have the ability to play as the villain. This turns the game into more of a top-down RTS tower-defense game where you set up and control every trap you want to make for the players. The beta for “Fable Legends” will be available this fall exclusively on Xbox One.

A playful trailer for “Project Spark” (currently available as a free Beta on Xbox One) is shown, centralizing around the immense creative power the game allows. It debuts two big announcements. Their will now be new galaxies for players to create and play in, adding to the list of themes already available. As the logo flashes on the screen, and all-to-familiar squirrel comes out with a chainsaw in hand and slices the logo in half. He then says “Almost 10 years without a game, guess we’ll have to make our own!” Available exclusively on Xbox One this fall will be a Conker pack courtesy of Rare.

A brief trailer for a new game and exclusive is shown. “Ori and the Blind Forrest” is a very pretty side-scrolling platformer out of Moon Studios. No word on release date yet.

Suddenly the Halo theme fills the air and a trailer for “Halo 5: Guardians” begins. It continues on right from where he was left in the previous trailer, floating around in space with a giant mine. A closer look is taken at the all-new character featured in the promotional art for “Halo 5: Guardians”. The trailer ends with the words “Your Journey Begins” as 343’s Studio Head Bonnie Ross takes the stage. She explains that “Halo 5: Guardians” will focus on a self-reflective journey for Masterchief as he tries to discover who he really is. Ross then makes a big announcement and passes the stage off to Dan Ayoub, the Executive Producer behind the next game in the Halo franchise.

“Halo: The Masterchief Collection” has 4 games packed into one. “Halo CE,” “Halo 2,” “Halo 3,” and “Halo 4” will all be available in one place on the Xbox One sometime this fall. It will feature one seamless interface in which the entirety of the Masterchief campaign will be unlocked and available. You can pick any of your favorite levels to play and they’ll all feature both HD visuals and the original graphics which can be toggled at the push of a button. The best part about having all of them unlocked and in one place is that players can put together a custom playlist of levels featuring all of their favorite moments in the Halo series and play them back-to-back, crafting their own unique cut of the Halo story. For the ten year anniversary of “Halo 2,” it’s getting the full anniversary treatment. All of the original multiplayer will be available exactly as it shipped ten years ago. On top of that, 6 of the iconic maps will be updated with HD visuals, including fan-favorite Ascension. “Halo: The Masterchief Collection” will also come with over 100 multiplayer levels out of the box, featuring every single map that has ever been released across all four of the games. This will be in 1080p and 60 FPS. The game will also tote 4000 potential Gamerscore because of its size. Also included in the package is the “Halo Nightfall” live action series produced by Ridley Scott. Last, those who purchase “Halo: The Masterchief Collection” will gain access to the “Halo 5: Guardians” multiplayer beta this fall.

From this point on, the conference focused solely on titles in the 2015 and beyond portfolio and was rather rapid-fire.

Playdead Studios is back after four years of development with their new side-scrolling platformer “INSIDE.” It’s a very artsy game, similar to Limbo. This one will be available early 2015.

Chris Charla, the Director for ID@Xbox, took the stage with a very long trailer showcasing the massive number of indie games currently being worked on for the Xbox One.

A brief teaser-trailer announced the return of Lara Croft in “Rise of the Tomb Raider.” Much like “Halo 5: Guardians,” this looks to be a very self-reflective journey for Lara, albeit not much is revealed beyond the Holiday 2015 release window.

John Mamais, Executive Producer on “The Witcher 3” takes the stage with a brief gameplay demo. The game looks great, no other information is given.

Ken Lobb, creative director behind the Xbox One exclusive reboot “Killer Instinct” takes the stage with the announcement that he’s ready to reboot another favorite and cult-classic from the original Xbox. “Phantom Dust” is getting fully remastered with all new gameplay and visuals.

Ryan Barnard, the Game Director for “Tom Clancy’s The Division” shows off an all-new gameplay video to give a peak at the new direction of the game. The graphics look fantastic and the squad-based combat is very smooth as expected from a Tom Clancy game.

Platinumgames Inc. Creative Director Hideki Kamiya comes to the stage with an announcement for an all new Xbox Exclusive out of the company that made Bayonetta, MadWorld, and Anarchy Reigns. “Scalebound” will be a fantasy game in which players take on dragons and other creatures using magical powers.

Last, David Jones, the Creative Director at CloudGine announced the return of “Crackdown.” Not many details were given, but much of the original team is working on it and it promises a revolutionary multiplayer experience thanks to an army of dedicated servers. If the game winds up being anything close to the teaser shown, it will stick close to the crazy, over-the-top gameplay the series is known for.

To cap off the conference, Phil Spencer took the stage one last time to thank everyone for coming and voice his excitement for the future of Xbox One. To continue the evolution that Xbox has made over the last year, he announced “Xbox Feedback,” a one-stop shop for users to voice concerns, input ideas, and vote on what they want the future of Xbox to be. Last but not least, the Xbox One without Kinect is available today for $399.

If you didn’t get a chance to watch the Xbox World Media Briefing, it is available now to watch on demand here.