Microsoft led off E3 with the first press conference from the three console manufacturers. And just how did they do? There were some new game trailers, the announcement of the Halo 3 Limited Edition Xbox 360, and some new games/controllers announced (click here for more in depth coverage).

So what did everyone here at Loot Ninja think of the press conference? Read on to find out.

drunk pandas: Microsoft came into E3 as the dominant console manufacturer in the US. The Xbox 360 is selling lot hot cakes, despite the hardware issues. The games have been there to prove the system, and Xbox Live is their killer-app. So what does Microsoft do in this situation? They sit back and let the competition take over. I just really don’t understand the marketing mindset at Microsoft right now. They need to keep pushing to gain even more ground. It seems like they’re content with being ahead now, and with deal with whatever comes in the next couple years once the competition is biting them on the heals.

At their E3 press conference, there was nothing big going on. We saw some on-stage demos for Madden 08, Rock Band, and Assassin’s Creed. Ok, not like we haven’t seen these before. They had announcements for Scene It!, which I admit is a very cool home game to play, with new controllers for the game. Not a big announcement, but I found it to be somewhat cool. Other announcements included a Halo 3 Limited Edition Xbox 360, which seems pointless for anyone who already has a 360, and some neon pink and blue controllers, which make me want to throw something at the wall. Who needs or even wants neon controllers?

I fully expected Microsoft to come out firing at E3, show off some great footage from some of their AAA tiles coming later this year, and announce some new games that would leave people drooling. Oh, and maybe some more in depth Halo 3 footage or even a playable single player demo. The game is only 4 months away… most of the work should be finishing up at this point, and a playable level at E3 would have been expected.

Overall, I think Microsoft was the worst of the big three in terms of press conferences. They could have blown everyone out of the water, but they sat back and didn’t take advantage.

taz8080: MS really saddened me during this press conference, I stay up late to watch this when I could have gotten some sleep. I thought for usre that MS would come out of the box and announce some kind of price cut or new hardware, but neither happened. MS took the stance of superiority and did nothing but announce their holiday lineup. They focused solely on the holiday lineup and what movies were available on the Marketplace.

The highlight for me was the announcement of the SEGA Vintage collection with Sonic and Golden Axe downloadable that night, other than that it seemed like old hat. The Rock Band debut was horrible, the sound was bad and Peter Moore should never sing again. The anticlamatic end was of course Halo 3 related, the announcement of the Halo 3 painted console (you could hear a pin drop in the auditorium) and then some more screens of Halo 3. Look MS I know Halo 3 is coming and you already have my money, let’s move on to other games now please.

fierce Scuba: I DVR’d the MS conference and watched it no less than five times before making my final opinions.  I was hoping I had missed something.  Overall, I was kind of bummed out.  I liked the focus to be on everything that is coming out before the year ends, except for Res Evil 5, which is awesome, but nothing great happened. Its like finally nailing a chick you stalked for a year and it turns out it was so-so.  Halo was the focus, but did not impress graphics wise since the beta looked very very similar.  The rest of the huge titles are all multi’s so I can’t get that crazed over it.  The downloadable chapters for GTA will be awesome I’m sure, but the game will end up being almost 80 bucks with the add-ons if you bought the regular edition. I liked MS’s confidence saying how they are at the top, but that could have been a sales meeting for stockholder stuff, not for people who sat on a cement slab wanting to see demos and trailers, not histograms and pie charts.  It seemed like MS was content with being the best right now, not the best a year from now and that attitude sucks with Sony gaining steam. Mediocrity is the nemesis of excellence. Deep Thoughts right thurr.