Live Blog: Ubisoft’s E3 2009 press conference

That got legit applause. And the press conference ends.

He can now shoot darts from his wrist bands.

Trailer is highly rendered goodness, definitely not game footage. Impressive, though.

Great looking cutscenes, Carnivale moments with ladies in skimpy outfits. Lots of fireworks. More blurry visions. lts of blood and knives and hooded outfits.

November 17, 2009, release date. Trailer being shown.

Renaissance-era game – Assassin’s Creed 2 – re-teased.

Next new title/project – mentions Rez, Lumines – Tetsu Yamaguchi (sp?) is working on an unnamed project, code named “Eden.”

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle being made by Ubisoft.

The French cannot say “Cowabunga.”

Trailer for game – includes Splinter, Shredder and scantily clothed April. Yep, it’s a fighting/brawler game like Super Smash Brothers. Coming Fall 2009.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smashup game.

North America president takes stage to talk about TMNT 25th anniversary.

Seacrest jab #15.

Game froze for a second. WiiMote motion controls to knock stuff around, like engines off of planes which you then use to drive your cart. Game playable at E3.

Can steal the pants off your opponents. You collect and destroy stuff (to collect them). Much like a minikart game with stunt moves. Van pimp our cart.

You also get to accessorize the Rabid. I’m guessing this is the home base avatar that you pile with earned items. Then you can put him in the game as-is. Use shopping cart to collect stuff and build the giant pile.

Rabid in a genie-type room they are calling the WiiMote. Shows the WiiMote’s control abilities but also lets you abuse the Rabid (man these French are into torture, aren’t they?)

Shopping carts are key to the game, very slapstick animated trailer. Lots of nearly naked cartoon people. Coming out for the Wii. Live demo begins.

Rabids Go Home trailer – very cute intro.

Rabids decide to g home (the Moon) and try to take stuff with them (Katamari anyone?) to build a giant hill to the moon.

Good lord, yet another Ryan Seacrest jab.

Rabids Go Home – Raving Rabids’ Adrien Lacey. Wow a giant bunny in a shopping cart.

More lame unfunny host jokes.

First Wii game to use a camera. Uses USB port.

Movement tracking (and live encouragement). Game being released for Wii 9even though no WiiMote).

Camera looks like a web cam. Scans body, do a fitness test and pick settings for goals and time.

Your Shape game name – Camera to be released Christmas 2009. Trailer,

Camera means no controller, no wires.

Real-time feedback on your moves by in-game coach and tracks your shape. (Insert camera adds 10 pounds joke here).

Felecia Williams takes the stage – talking about the camera for Fitness category of games. You are in the game with real-time moves, and get real-body diagnosis..

Fitness is the fastest growing genre.

Style Lab – latest tween brand. Experiment with personal style within the game. Use of DSi features. Online features. (Might be a good example for other game makers as well).

Now soem cute Petz avatars. Balancing on balls, wearing backpacks, being cute.

More charts.

Petz – DS games – and can upload to the web. Petz Nursery to raise animals and transfer between other Petz games (that’s prety cool). Style Lab – take photos with DSi and put face in the game. Style Lab Jewelry Design – Uplaod to a web site and purchase the real jewelry to wear. (interesting). Under the name Tween Games 2.0

Looking to go beyond the traditional borders, “2.0 experience.” Integration, interconnectivity and invention. now for some tween game footage.

Tween brands are huge, Imagine logo on the big screen. Now for a bunch of stats. Imagine ranked second, Pets ranked fourth in sales.

Tony Key, marketing guy (not French). Media jerks are yelling out game titles.

Sorry, RUSE (all caps).

Now that game table would rule.

Another mix of live footage and game footage. Two guys are sitting at a table at a world map, launching boats from their fingertips and tapping the table to fire cannons.

Ruse – command massive armies. Now for a trailer.

To be released Fall 2009 exclusively for Xbox 360 and PC.

Break the line of sight and the enemy will search Sam’s last area (so you can flank them).

Light & Shadow filter – when Sam goes into the shadows the view gets darker.

Mark & Execute feature – for “dynamic stealth.” Can be done from anywhere within the environment. Mark an enemy allows Sam to take down more than one opponent. Can infiltrate in any order (nice).

Camera flips around for best view – could either be really cool or uber annoying. As he gives up info, the camera pans to the areas he’s talking about (nice for planning stealth movies). Can use objects as weapons (piece of a broken mirror shown as weapon). Objectives are shown (“projected”) within the environment. Sam is speedier than previous games.

Max is playing. Few seconds of blanked out audio – guessing they edited out some vulgarities. They are showing interrogation activities – can use anything in the room to help.

New luring feature to attract opponents and then flank them. Ah, they are going to really play – but the host makes them talk s’more.

Live game demo at E3. Sounds like they are going to show some but, again, more talking that video.

Same footage we saw earlier. BTW: Fisher pays the piano. Faces in the cutscenes do look great.

Don’t want to force the stealth on the player – “use stealth b/c it is better to achieve your objectives.” Trailer footage.

Alex and Max take the stage for Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction.

Pele’s role was “mostly focused on children… to be a mentor in this game. Team spirit is also very important and to work with their families and give them a positive message.” End of Academy of Champions.

Getting a Harry Potter feel from moving paintings on the wall. Four-player teams (maybe five)? A lot of flipping movies and giant kicks. Reminds me of Shaolin Soccer (the movie). Coming in 2009.

Now for footage. Game is rated Everyone. Avatars are very French caricatures.

Pele avatar is on the big screen.( As much as I adore Pele, the conference is getting more tedious.) He’s glad to be connected to football even though he is no longer playing, and hopes to use the game as an educational tool for kids.

Children and education are important to Pele.

Pele appears to be talking in French (at least in part) to the translator. Promises to talk a bit about the game’s development. Pele said football (aka soccer) was so important to him and to kids as an international way of communicating.

Pele and the host cannot converse – Pele obviously knows a lot of languages. A translator comes on the stage to help out.

Academy of Champions is the game, Pele is the “instructor” technical difficulties prevent the game from being shown on the giant screen. Host vamps.

Soccer game – Pele takes the stage. Nice.

Uses new Wii board controller. Shaun White Snowbaording: World Stage is the official name.

Mentioned Shaun White Snowboarding and there will be a sequel. Live action footage of Shaun being kookie with a tree, feathers and ladders on a rooftop. Some footage of a new snowboarding game starring Shaun.

More “When the Ubisoft stars come out to play” slogan placement.

Will be bundled with the WiiMotionPlus at launch.

Running at 60 frames per second. New look to thegame – “blending realism with graphic novel approach.” Will be demoed/able to be played at E3 on the floor.

Dash (A+left stick)

Can block bullets with sword. Nice jump-and-slash move. I really like the slash effect (very lightsaber-esque). Quick jump to the level boss, who swings a giant hammer. (And even gives a “Come here” grab cry).

You can get a first-person view of a ground-stab kill. Left stick for movement, slash with WiiMote,. Nunchuck for shooting (?). “Hitting thing sis fun. Doors. Boxes. Your friends.”

Very nice particle effects. Measure swing speed – harder slash means more damage. Can also shoot at any time. That was the tutorial? Now into real combat. Fighting some Jackals.

Cutscenes. Lots of fire and shadows. Looks pretty good. Unclear exactly what he did in that part. now in the main game that is running very smoothly. Now slashing with the WiiMotionPlus. Sword mapped 1-to-1 with the WM+

Game set in the desert (extra hot and dry), plays the first level of the game. I cannot tell where his hair ends and his goatee begins. Plaing the game on the Wii. Looks far better than any Wii game I’ve played. A small stutter at the intro. Some first-person dragging across the desert ground tied to a motorcycle.

Creative Director Jason Vanderburg and “that guy” and lead designer. Jason has impressive hair and goatee. Dressed all in black.

Red Stee 2 trailer (finally some applause) – sandy dunes, wild dogs, live action and game video mixed to show how the sword controls will work. Screen shakes when hit. Looks like some pretty nice moves (uses Nunchuck attachment).

Red Steel 2 – WiiMotionPlus tech. with WiiMote for “realness”

Cracking more jokes that no one is laughing at. Except a quick “so many French people back stage.” Made a weak Lindsay Lohan joke.

Host is back.

“In closing” – look at the payable demo at the booth. “It’s pretty fantastic… one of the first times in a video game I’ve actually been afraid.”

Game will not contain any spoilers. Will be out before the movie.

Avatar will be the first major stereoscopic title. He’s talking so long I suspect he’s the main attraction of Ubisoft’s press conference. Of he’s just that excited about his own project.

He’s way over-explaining the story and production – moral themes.

He’s way over-explaining the story and production.

30 minutes in and no game footage of anything. It’s like James Cameron presents Ubisoft.

He’s way over-explaining the story and production.

Ubisoft got access to all CG assets and captures. They created their own vehicles and Cameron OKed them.

He keeps mentioning the visuals and has yet to show any.

“Games derive from movies historically have kinda sicked. I didn’t want anything associated with Avatar to suck.” Game will follow its own story line, not the movie. Exist in parallel including embellished vehicles and settings.

“At Ubisoft got the best of both worlds. the perfect balance.” Game’s pitched themes match the movie.

“Fully immersive cinematic experience. Not like watching a movie. like taking a journey.”

December 18, 2009, release date. Taking longer than Titanic to make.

(Get to some clips, James!)

He’s over explaining the story. Jake Sully is main character – a wounded in combat marine. As an Avatar he can walk again. Caught between military and Pandora’s native inhabitants (Navee?) and falls in love. Must choose sides. Promises a hotties, battles, ships and giants.

Continues to describe the creatures (still not video). Involves genetic human hybrids, aka Avatars.

Takes place in 22nd century, mostly on Pandora (large moon of a gas giant planet). Earth-like, rainforest environments.

“It’s pretty cool to be here to tell you about the Avatar game.” He wrote the treatment 14 years ago. Studio sais “If we make this we’re doomed. The technology doesn’t exist.” he saw photo-real CG characters and resurrected it four years ago along with new tech for performance capture .

James Cameron comes to the stage – nice.

Yves returns to the stage.

A lot of talking and no video. Bummer.

Mentioned book and online as other extensions of Ubisoft’s confluence. becoming a “full 360 degrees content provider.”

Or really take place in the Assassin�s Creed universe.

Have pre-render tech to extract 3D environments within a game engine, and use the same effects in a live-action movie. “A massive undertaking” that will result in Assasin’s Creed movies.

Ubisoft is working on 100 shots for Cameron’s movie (Avatar). “The result is truly spectacular.”

Ubisoft Digital Arts – hybrid tech with Hollywood blockbuster talent to “bring together tow different talent universes… they share a vast and complimentary” skills. Teases Avatar to be shown at E3 (but not at the press conference?). Collaborative effort with James Cameron.

Montreal Studio director comes to the stage.

Word of the Day: confluence

He says this will help being games to the mainstream audiences. “Game industry still has steps to do.”

Voice command system offers new way to play games, hints 2D and 3D cameras with microphones – “we will go even further.” They are going to help “make the interface disappear” by using the body and voice.

Latest interfaces – WiiMote and DS Stylus – “have opened world of gaming to new audiences.” Sees a lot of promise there. mentions Red Steel. WiiMotion Plus will let you “physically experience the fights.”

Want to create games and movies. Already created bridges with Lightstorm and Fox.

(Avatar the Game slide on screen.) Ubi will work with Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg and Katehrine Kennedy.

Four service elements: UShare, UWin, UHelp (for midgame help) and UShop.

Hired FX company and talent from movie industry. UPlay – new online destination to extend world and experience and create interactive content and share with friends.

Talking about media convergence, including portable devices. Important to Ubisoft is the convergence of the content. Frm finite works (print) to “fully interconnected ones.” Strategy is to put in place bridges between creative talents, enrich each other’s experience. aka Confluence. Create games and movies at the same time.

And he wants you feeback – get your email fired up.

Yves Guillemot comes to the stage. Says E3 is key for showing the “next level.”

Ubisoft collaborating with one of the most famous directors in Hollywood. He gives lamely unhelpful hints. Mentions stars, superheroes, armed and dangerous animals and “Ubisoft is where the stars come out to play.”

Says everyone at Ubisoft is an equal – a free flow of ideas and everyone contributes. Sounds like a queue for a mock video. made a sets-your-house-on-fire joke (bad taste, man).

He’s not getting many laugh. “I am a gamer. I love them. I haven’t had as much time to play them recently b/c I have two kids and I regret that. They are distracting me from my gaming time…My gamer tag is Seacrestslayer311.”

Host announced, E’s The Soup, Joel McHale. “Good evening fellow nerds. welcome to the coolest place in Hollywood… someone is going to pay me to talk about video games. Yes.”

Lots of cheering at the TMNT section and I think I saw an anime Big Red in there.

Starts with a montage of game moments with a very U2-esque song playing over it.

And it begins.

Announcer just asked people to turn off their cell phones and get ready.

The Ubisoft stage is very blue, thanks to several large screens with the Ubi-blue logo on a blue background.

I’m watching the G4 broadcast which is nicely commercial-free this year (they finally learned ow to do it right and not cut in with Code Monkey breaks or awkward bantering). So blame delays on TiVo rewinding so I can get the names right.

Minutes from the press conference’s start.