Top Five Biggest Microsoft E3 Moments, One’s A Megaton

When it comes to big surprises at E3, no one does it like Microsoft.  The software giant has stolen Nintendo and Sony’s thunder in the past, so don’t be astonished if it does it again.  We’ve seen many an announcement on the platform holder’s stage, haven’t we? Everything from the new Xbox 360 Slim unveiling when Microsoft gave every journalist in the room a console, to the reveal of Kinect, back then known as Project Natal.  Those were all memorable – but below the break you’ll realize the top five biggest moments Redmond’s had at E3, and yes, one’s a megaton.

5: The Announcement Of Project Natal – In 2009, Microsoft surprised everyone when it announced Project Natal, a motion camera it said would “change the way we play” forever. Not many expected the move, since in the past both MS and Sony denounced Nintendo’s Wii as taking the industry backwards instead of propelling it into the future, and for that, the crowd was stunned.

We now know Project Natal as Kinect, a device that’s now the fastest selling peripheral of all time, moving well past 10 million units in weeks. It’s a decision that’s paid off big time for Redmond, and the announcement at E3 was one of its best.

4: E3 2010: Project Natal Is Kinect – The year prior, Microsoft presented what it called Project Natal to the world, but didn’t have much to show. Last year the firm came ready with many games, showing the crowd what Kinect was capable of. Games like:

Kinectimals
You can play with virtual animals. Lol cat Kinect!

Joyride
A racing game where players steer with their hands.

Kinect Sports
Boxing, bowling, beach vollyball, track and field, soccer and table tennis.

Kinect Adventures
River rafting with friends.

Dance Central
A dancing version of So You Think You Can Dance. – just to name a few, were present. It’s still one of MS’s most successful showings ever.

3: Grand Theft Auto IV Announced For Xbox 360 – E3 2006 - It was always thought that Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto would be a PS3 exclusive, but when Microsoft’s Peter Moore took to the stage, saying he was about to announce something massive concerning Grand Theft Auto, the crowd went quiet….

“Major announcement about one of greatest franchises of all time, he said. It was such a big announcement that he had a tattoo and one arm showing Halo 2 and on the other arm –GRAND THEFT AUTO IV.

12:25: “Microsoft and Rockstar have entered into an exclusive deal to provide episodic content via Xbox Live Marketplace,” said Moore. “Grand Theft Auto IV will be updated with regular fresh content, more details later.” Crowd stunned, gasps all around.

2: Metal Gear Solid Comes To Xbox 360 – If you were paying attention to the moments leading up to 2009′s E3 event, you’d remember the countdown sites Hideo Kojima had up teasing everyone that he was about to reveal two big games. One turned out to be Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, and the other, well, the other was the biggest piece of news to come out of E3 that year: Metal Gear Solid had gone multiplaform, and the countdown clock stopped exactly when the MGS overlord took to Microsoft’s stage.

It was big, but it wasn’t a megaton. This one was:

1: The Megaton: Square-Enix Announces Final Fantasy XIII For Xbox 360 – E3 2008 – Back in 2006, Square-Enix announced Final Fantasy XIII as a PS3 exclusive, so when Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada visited Microsoft’s press conference in 2008, people were somewhat surprised… What was he there for? And why are MS talking up something big from Square-Enix? Well they all soon found out…

Final Fantasy XIII was announced for Microsoft’s platform, and that was the biggest moment Microsoft’s ever had at any gaming event. Do you think they could top it this year? It would take a massive, massive announcement to top this one. Maybe Xbox 2 or something. Or this. BOOM!