Microsoft Promises Massive Announcements at E3

E3 is coming up, and it looks like it is going to be an important one for each of the so called ‘big three’- for Microsoft and Nintendo, this E3 represents a crucially important chance to recover lost momentum with some big name announcements. For Sony, this is the chance to solidify status quo, and their position as the leader of this generation. For Microsoft, it is also a chance to return from the humiliation they suffered at the hands of Sony last E3.

Phil Spencer, the new head of Xbox, is accordingly teasing a grand E3 conference on his Twitter: “Yes, we’ll announce both new IP and new sequels at E3.”

Of course, that wasn’t all he said- he went on a massive tweeting spree, and Gamespot has been kind enough to compile everything that he promised into one list for all of us–

• Microsoft is focusing on hardcore gamers for the show.
• Some announcements will be made in May, ahead of E3. “Yea, you’ll get a couple of things before. May should be a good month for news. Took me a month to get plans set,” Spencer said.
• Microsoft will announce new studios it’s working with.
• Spencer is not allowed to talk about anything related to what Halo studio 343 Industries is working on.
• Microsoft’s overall goal for 2014: “I feel like what we will show this year is stuff we are committed to, from top studios, for this year and future.”
• Don’t expect a Microsoft-made gaming handheld anytime soon. “I don’t think we’ll do a dedicated handheld gaming device, rather just focus on [Windows Phone], tablets, maybe with controller support someday,” Spencer said.
• Spencer wants Microsoft’s E3 2014 showing to be more “fan focused.”
• Microsoft thought about using the voice of Cortana for their E3 show, but Spencer did not like this. Asked if the Cortana voice search functionality could come to Xbox One someday, Spencer said, “I like [Windows Phone] feature but don’t want to overdo it.”
• Gamers won’t need to wait until the Tokyo Game Show (September) to learn about new Japanese Xbox One games.
• Microsoft is close to finalizing a release date for the Xbox One version of Minecraft.
• The Lost Odyssey rights are “a bit complicated,” but Spencer would like to see the 2008 role-playing game come to Games on Demand some day.
• Details about external storage support for Xbox One are coming later.
• Why there hasn’t been a Battletoads sequel: “Just time, lot’s of things we want to build, all the teams are full right now and a long list of what they’d want to do next. You want to spend time because you want things to be as good as they can be, I don’t want to do cheap ports,” Spencer said.

We still don’t know when Microsft’s press briefing will be, but judging by precedence, it will probably be held on June 9, one day before the expo proper kicks off. We’ll keep you posted.