Microsoft Corp. announced plans to bring live TV and YouTube to the video game console at a press conference kicking off the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the gaming industry’s annual convention.
The company says live TV would be offered by domestic and international broadcasters but no other details were revealed.
Partnerships with international broadcasters currently bring live TV to the Xbox 360 in the United Kingdom, Australia and France, but the service unveiled Monday would be the first such offering available on a gaming console in the United States.
Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3 already offer the ability to stream and download movies and shows.
Microsoft also announced several upcoming game releases which are optimized for its Kinect add-on, including Kinect Star Wars and Mass Effect 3. As Hayley Tsukayama explained:
Microsoft is expected to show off a Star Wars game that lets players wield a light-saber at it’s Monday E3 media briefing.
Microsoft and LucasArts posted the first gameplay trailer for Kinect Star Wars, showing players swinging their way through combat, and using gestures to control the Force, drive and fly.
In addition to Kinect Star Wars, USA Today reported that Microsoft and Disney will be revealing a new title of their own, Kinect Disneyland Adventures, which lets players recreate a trip to the theme park, with the added bonus of being able to fly.
The report also said that Microsoft would show off a Sesame Street-themed game aimed at non-gaming parents and their children.
For those who want to watch E3 2011 live, Faster Forward has a breakdown of the best places to catch it on the web.
Gamers are waiting to hear what the industry has to offer at next week’s E3 expo, but not everyone is able to attend. Luckily, we live in the age of the Internet.
While it would be impossible to have streaming video of every booth at every time, there are quite a few places where those who aren’t attending can watch the big announcements.
GameTrailers.com: GameTrailers.com is the go-to source for streaming convention video, according to E3’s official site. The coverage will start Monday at 11:30 a.m., Eastern, a day ahead of the official conference.
Xbox.com/Microsoft News Center: Microsoft will be livestreaming its pre-conference press event on the future of the Kinect Monday at GameTrailers.com, Spike TV and Xbox.com and the Microsoft News Center, to name a few places.
Nintendo: Nintendo is live-streaming its E3 presentation Tuesday, starting at noon, Eastern. The company will be showing off the Wii 2, so if you’re just dying to know how many of the rumors are true, bookmark e3.nintendo.com and set aside your lunch plans for the day.
PlayStation Home:If you want to chance it — just kidding, Sony! — the PlayStation Blog team is streaming the Sony press conference liveon its PlayStation Network starting at 8 p.m. Monday. The company will also have a virtual booth that will feature a 3D rendering of its next-generation portable.
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