News by: Corey Owen

Monday, May 10 – Microsoft kicked off E3 with a bang in front of a packed house at the Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium. When Microsoft comes, they come big, and this year was no different. They had plenty of big announcements and several great in-depth looks at some of the upcoming blockbusters. All the big boys were there, including Jay Allard, Peter Moore, and Robbie Bach, each with a specific area of Xbox's future to discuss. So without further ado let's explore the future of Xbox.

They got off to a quick start, showing great-looking trailers for Fable,

Microsoft got to kick off the festivities of the new, slimmer, slightly more disorganized E3. While there were no bombshells, the presentation was slick and aggressive. Journalists got to see new trailers, game demos, and some new information about release dates. Microsoft seems to be repositioning for a battle with Nintendo's red-hot Wii system, now that Sony's all but taken itself out of the race. This means a sudden change of emphasis onto appealing outside of the traditional gaming audience with which Microsoft's always done well. One of the few totally new games announced at the conference, for instance, was

During Microsoft's E3 2009 Media Briefing, it not only revealed that Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm are coming to Xbox Live, new Netflix and HDTV features and controller-free gaming, but also showed off a slew of titles such as Splinter Cell Conviction, Crackdown 2, Forza Motorsport 3, Halo: Reach and a bunch more.

The Beatles Rock Band

The show opened up with a demonstration of the newest entry to the Rock Band franchise, starring the original pop foursome themselves, The Beatles. The game's opening cinematic was a long and surreal trip through every thinkable Beatles reference, and then we got a demonstration of

"Halo 2" is the sequel to the highly successful and critically acclaimed game "Halo: Combat Evolved." In "Halo 2," the saga continues as Master Chief, a genetically enhanced supersoldier, is the only thing standing between the relentless Covenant and the destruction of all humankind.

Pushing the Xbox hardware to its very limits and utilizing Xbox Live in a way that Bungie believes will redefine online play, "Halo 2" will expand on everything that made the original game great. At its heart a compelling and captivating story, "Halo 2" makes revolutionary advances in design and technology.

Released in November 2001, "Halo:

Microsoft Corp. is introducing a series of enhancements for its Xbox videogame system, including music software and online-gaming options that underscore the software giant's plans to use videogames to move more broadly into digital entertainment, Tuesday's Wall Street Journal reported.

Presenting to members of the videogame industry assembled for a convention here this week, Microsoft described software that can let consumers record, mix and organize digital music on the Xbox. The company also announced enhancements to its online-gaming service, called Xbox live, that lets players set up online games and check scores from their personal computers and cell phones as well

Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. the world's leading third party video game accessory manufacturer, today announced a partnership with Microsoft to develop and manufacture the exclusive microphone and microphone adapter for Microsoft's Xbox(TM) Music Mixer, due for release November 1, 2003. A live demonstration of this product will be at the Mad Catz booth, located in the South Hall, booth #1524, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo May 14-16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Xbox fans can turn their living rooms into karaoke clubs as they practice their vocal skills with the Mad Catz microphone and microphone adapter. The microphone