by John Constantine

You’ve got to hand it to Microsoft. In the weeks leading up to E3, the discussion surrounding the house of X was focused on precisely what they didn’t have. Where was their fall line-up? Where were the exclusives that have defined the console? Microsoft had them and then some.

Opening your show with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr instead of closing with them is the probably the most impressive show of corporate confidence in history. With the reveal of Project Natal, Microsoft’s new hands-free controller-camera, the house of green showed that this was no mere act of baseless hubris. They came to play.
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The newest game in the "Halo" franchise is here. But it's not a first-person shooter; it's a real-time strategy game. Do you know what to do? The makers of "Halo Wars" suggested 10 things you've got to try in their "must-do" list: Read more...

In a span of two days, layoffs have been confirmed at Sony, Microsoft, Electronic Arts and Sega, with some companies cutting thousands of jobs. Read more...

Is your Xbox Live account safe?

I've filed a story over at MTVNews.com investigating security concerns raised with Xbox Live following my discovery that "Halo 3" multiplayer producer Joe Tung had his account compromise by a hacker.

Tung isn't the first person to lose control of his account.

Hackers have been taking advantage of a popularized technique called social engineering, where an individual (in this case, Microsoft customer service reps) is coerced into releasing otherwise private information. Social engineering isn't a new concept, but it's been a regular problem for Microsoft.

I contacted an avid "Halo" player and expert on the subject of social engineering to explain why this is such a dangerous technique and what steps you can take to prevent your account from being compromised.

And what did Bungie have to say about what happened to Tung? From my story:

Bungie would only tell MTV News that an outside party accessed Tung's account. "We can confirm that Joe's account was compromised," Bungie Studios writer Luke Smith said. "Representatives from Microsoft aided Joe in swiftly resolving the issue."

As for the implications of the compromise: "No comment," Smith said.

Read the rest of my story, which includes tips on protecting XBL accounts, over at MVNews.com: Reports Of Hacked Xbox Live Accounts Stir Concerns Over Gamers' Security

There were two things that I thought might be getting under EA CEO John Riccitiello's skin lately. So when I interviewed him in Los Angeles at EA's E3 booth, I asked him about them. We'd already discussed some other topics, like EA's Wii approach with "Boom Blox" and his view of licensed games (more on that in a later post).

I needed to make sure we hit the two, possibly aggravating, but important topics:

1. We may be living in a period of gaming history that has more successful platforms than any before it. For a company like EA that splits its attention across all viable gaming machines, is this a good thing or a problem?
2. Is the new EA, the company proud to back more original content than the old EA maybe ever did, getting stressed at the success of its more sequel-centric -- and larger -- rival publisher Activision?

Riccitiello gave a thorough answer to both and, for good measure, gave a quote about EA's relationship to Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo that made him sound like a character from "Metal Gear Solid 4." (To wit: "They make the war. We make the bullets. We'll sell to any of them. ")

Here's our give and take for both questions: Read more...

With the big press conferences at E3 over, Stephen does a quick wrap up for MTV News of what each company had to show. After a quick run though of the highlights from Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony, Mr. Totilo offers a little bit of insight into who's "winning" E3, and asks the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto about "Wii Music."

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Microsoft's 2008 E3 briefing kicks off on Monday. Today we’re looking back at their E3 event from last year to see what they promised and what came true.

It was all about Christmas for Microsoft at E3 2007.

There was nary a reference to what life as an Xbox 360 owner would be like in 2008. Capcom's "Resident Evil 5" was the only game that managed to sneak in with a trailer, along with brief logo shots of "Too Human" and "Fable II."

It was a stark contrast to how Sony approached their press conference that week. Sony bent over backwards to show PlayStation 3 owners why the future was so bright.

Let's remember the major announcements made at the show:

* "Mass Effect" dated for November
* "Scene It!" one button controller and game unveiled
* "Call of Duty 4" exclusive multiplayer beta announced
* "Halo" short film shown as consolation for "Halo" movie

So, what's happened in the year since then?

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At the 2008 Games For Change festival, Chris Satchell, Microsoft’s general manager of XNA, spoke about how the development platform can be used by garage developers to create socially conscious games.

He also told me that the 12 million Xbox Live users are ready for games about social issues. But will XNA be ready for gamers?

Satchell gave me an update on Community Games, the new Xbox Live feature which allows users to easily download XNA-created games. I asked him why it won't run into the same interface issues that XBLA currently has. He offered this solution:

"One thing we're going to have is we're also going to expose all of [the games] on the website as well. So if you want, you're going to be able to go and do a detailed search from a web browser and say, 'Oh, I want that game' and click, and have it downloaded on your console. ... you'll be at the office and go, 'Here are the games I'm going to play tonight' and go back home and just have them ready for you."

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XNA isn't just for up-and-coming game developers hoping to make the next "Halo."

Microsoft wants its free development toolkit to be used by people to create socially conscious games.

I spoke with XNA General Manager Chris Satchell at Microsoft's Expo Night at the 2008 Games for Change festival. The event, held earlier this week at Parsons School of Design in New York, showcased the work of students who used XNA to create games about global warming, malaria prevention and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, among other social causes.

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Microsoft wants to help you change the world. And the company wants you to do it with XNA.

"Imagine a world where we have no ability to influence the people that are going to lead and shape thought for tomorrow," said Chris Satchell, Microsoft's general manager of XNA.

"We have social causes we care about, but we don't have the media to connect with the people who can do something about them," he said. "We're not there, but its a world that's possible to see unless activities like we're doing here today really gain some momentum."

Yesterday afternoon, Satchell spoke at the 2008 Games for Change festival about how Microsoft's development platform XNA, a free toolset for independent developers, can help people create serious, socially responsible games. He said that young people are moving away from traditional forms of media and heading towards gaming, and they're also passionate about social themes.

"People will base their lives around gaming experiences, but equally gaming experiences will permeate their lives... everything's a game," Satchell said. He argued that the biggest game in the world isn't "World of Warcraft" or "Grand Theft Auto" -- it's "American Idol." Read more...