12:30 The press conference starts with a live action trailer for Halo which leads into gameplay of Halo 4.
12:33 Master Chief is still battling the Covenant.
12:34 Getting a big Halo: Combat Evolved vibe from it.
12:35 Chief picks up a dropped gun. Cortana notes it looks "Forerunner." Maybe Halo 4 will illuminate them some more?
12:37 Tagline at the end, "An Ancient Evil Awakens."
12:38 Don Mattrick steps on stage. He's just as awkward as ever.
12:40 Mattrick steps off stage and we go straight into game footage of an unknown title.
12:41 Oh snap. It's a new Splinter Cell! Titled "Blacklist."
12:42 This just jumped to the top of my must have list.
12:43 The gameplay looks fluid as ever. The executions from "Conviction" are still here, but Sam now moves much like Ezio and Altair from Assassin's Creed.
12:45 The game looks great in action, but I can't tell if Michael Ironside is still doing the voiceover. (edit: I did some research. Actor Eric Johnson is doing the voiceover and acting. A little disheartening that Ironside won't be voicing Sam again.)
12:46 The end announces it's shipping Spring 1213.
12:47 EA Sports comes onto stage and they lead with FIFA 13, not Madden. Interesting.
12:48 The game has Kinect functionality. This could be very interesting. No more pausing the game to make subs or change formations.
12:49 They trot Joe Montana on stage for Madden. This should be sufficiently awkward.
12:51 Joe is obviously working from a script, but the Kinect stuff could, like most Kinect stuff, be cool.
12:52 It hits stores August 28th.
12:52 Fable: The Journey is up next. No demo and it still looks lame.
12:53 Phil Spencer steps onto stage to discuss Microsoft games.
12:54 World Premiere trailer for the new Gears game.
12:55 Gears of War: Judgment is the title and Baird is the protagonist. That was a bit anticlimactic.
12:55 Footage of the new Forza is up now.
12:57 Oct. 23rd Forza Horizon is releasing. There was a lot of variety of environments shown in trailer, not just boring tracks.
12:58 Kinect voice-searching features are being shown now. Until stuff like this is instantaneous I'm never going to use it.
1:00 They announce partnerships with Machinima, Univision, and Nickelodeon.
1:01 The NBA League Pass and NHL Game Center partnerships are announced with Microsoft.
1:04 Xbox Music is being detailed. The trailer for it is just a bunch of shots of hipsters dancing. They literally showed nothing in it. Wow.
1:06 Now they are moving onto "the future of fitness." Ladies and gentlemen, this is the casual portion of your show. A guy from Nike steps on stage.
1:08 Oh geez. The just used the tagline "If you have a body, then you're an athlete." ... come on, Nike.
1:09 Nike announces a partnership with Microsoft.
1:11 Mark Whitten, head of Xbox Live, steps on stage.
1:12 Xbox SmartGlass is announced. It's similar to PS3 play on the go with Vita.
1:15 SmartGlass is meant to immerse you in your media. TV and tablet connection is featured.
1:16 Now they are showing how it will enhance games. Picking plays in Madden on your tablet and going from single player to multiplayer in Halo 4 are shown.
1:18 Internet Explorer will be available on Xbox 360.
1:20 Unlike a Smart TV, SmartGlass allows you to use your tablet as the remote; you're not waving your hands in the air like an idiot.
1:21 SmartGlass launches this Fall. I'll have to keep my eye on it.
1:22 Tomb Raider is back and it is looking pretty slick.
1:23 They should just call this game 'Untombed.'
1:24 It's a really gritty version of Uncharted.
1:27 Uncharted jokes aside, Tomb Raider looks pretty decent. Still not close to release, however. A DLC partnership with Microsoft is announced as they walk off stage.
1:29 A trailer for Ascend: New God is shown. It looks pretty crazy with a medieval Asian aesthetic. Coming in 2013.
1:31 2 quick trailers for LogoCycle and Matter are shown.
1:32 Devs from Capcom are on stage next with gameplay from Resident Evil 6. I always feel bad when these guys come on. They can't speak a lick of English.
1:33 The gameplay features Leon and it's a lot more fluid than I ever remember RE being.
1:37 They still have the "giraffe getting dome from a human" logo. Really need to change that.
1:38 Qwirky girl from the Xbox Live team comes on stage to demo Wreckateer. A Kinext enabled game where you are blowing shit up and scoring points like Angry Birds.
1:40 A trailer for a new South Park game is up. Titled "The Stick of Truth."
1:41 Trey Parker and Matt Stone are on stage now. These guys can actually talk in front of large audiences with out oozing awkwardness.
1:43 It follows the premise that you are a new kid in town and are trying to join the gang.
1:44 Trailer featuring Usher for Dance Central 3. Umm... wait. Usher is actually at the show and he's dancing on stage now. Come on, Microsoft. Really?
1:46 I must've hit my remote somehow because now I'm watching an Usher concert.
1:47 Ahh, they are finally showing footage of the game in the giant screen behind him.
1:48 You know he's thinking "why the hell am I here?".
1:48 Mattrick is back. We literally just went from major league (Usher) to single-A (Mattrick).
1:50 Black Ops 2 is up to finish off the show and it is firmly within the uncanny valley now. There is some creepy photorealism in it.
1:52 If these games could just nail a thrilling, "realistic" story they would be one of my favorites. The gameplay is so visceral and intense.
1:54 I think they made the right choice going into the near future. No one wants to play in the past. The stuff they are showing looks to be a blast.
2:01 I didn't buy Black Ops or Modern Warfare 3, but what they showed could get me to buy Black Ops 2.
2:02 The show ends as the demo ends with you in a F-38 or something, blowing the crap out of things.
2:04 Much like every year in the game industry, if you love to pretend to kill things, there's a lot stuff for play.
