Tomorrow the game industry will be running up the walls in mass hysteria over the announcement of a new Xbox console. Microsoft has literally set the stage for a huge event on their campus located in Redmond, Washington. However, it would seem the festivities are far from over when Tuesday’s event has concluded. During Major Nelson’s podcast at the tail end of last week, he discussed all things Next Xbox (currently rumored to be called Xbox Infinity) with Microsoft exec Aaron Greenberg (Via CVG.)
During the interview, Greenberg explained that the reveal event will only be the first in a two-part plan detailing the last-to-be-announced next-gen console. The basic idea is that first event will detail the hardware and new features the console will boast, with a second event scheduled for E3 to be solely centered around software and major game announcements. In Greenberg’s own words, he said that “the best way I can describe it is, we’re really going to tell one story across two events. So we’re going to start on the 21 [of May] and really that’s about revealing the next Xbox platform and our vision for the future of games, the future of entertainment. We definitely have a lot of surprises planned.”
“It’s a lot of laying the foundation, and then just a couple weeks later we go to E3, and E3 is all about the games. It’s going to be tons of exclusives [and] world premiers.”
Greenberg also mentioned that the hardware announcement will focus on a more behind-the-scenes look of what it takes to build a next-gen console. This approach allows Microsoft to give attention to and celebrate the team that is responsible for creating the Next Xbox, an opportunity Greenberg expressed excitement over.
This news isn’t too surprising, as Microsoft was obviously going to withhold some information concerning the console so they had something to talk about during their E3 presentation. However, it does emphatically mark the end of a more traditional era in which E3 was the stage for new console announcements. Instead, each of “The Big 3” will be focused squarely on the games this time around. It will be interesting to see if this approach makes for a more entertaining E3 spotlight, as their won’t be any drawn-out charts or graphs with speeches about technical or hardware specifications. Of course, Nintendo won’t be hosting a traditional presentation this year, but they as well as Sony and Microsoft have all stated the Expo in June will focus heavily on software and major game announcements. If all goes well, perhaps this will be the start of a new trend; with more Nintendo Direct-esque presentations scattered throughout the year containing a constant flow of announcements to keep gamers interested, instead of stuffing everything into a few major convention presentations.
Tomorrow’s Xbox event will begin at 1pm EST/10am PST. It will be available for streaming through a number of providers, most notably directly through the Xbox 360 console itself. Additionally, Twitch will be hosting an exclusive broadcast featuring Major Nelson to break down everything that gets announced directly after the event.
Do you folks like the approach Microsoft is taking with the Xbox event? Are you excited that E3 will be all about the games? Share your thoughts in the comments below,and don’t forget to like IGXPro on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or give us the ‘ol +1 on Google+.