[PRIME] PAX '09 Microsoft Suggestions

Avid

Hey Paxers!
Last year was a blast, I had a great time meeting many of you and exchanging buttons!

As some of you know I'm an MS Xbox MVP and today I'm reaching out to you guys for comments on past Xbox booths, demonstrations and what you liked and disliked about Microsofts participation.

I personally enjoyed it back in '07 when they had the soft beanbag styled couches. I also enjoyed interacting with some of the people behind Xbox like Major Nelson, E, Trixie and others. They were always around the booth or speaking on a panel.

ACC3SS

Last year's Gears of War 2 multiplayer set-up was excellent. A nice taste of competition (and chainsaw bayonet) amongst a lot of single-player demos.

Getting a glimpse at the NXE was also a highlight. Major Nelson's vigorous shaking of a "No Cameras Allowed!" sign was rather comical!

Hopefully this year there will be another sneak-peek of something interesting...?

Onassi

Sneak peaks are always good, but with PAX being the socail behemoth, anything with a good multiplayer setup wins big, see the last years set up of Rock Band in the cafeteria area, tons of people were there relaxing, and watching people perform!

MissDizzyBee

Hmm, the only thing I remember from the Micr setup last year was meeting these two guys who won a game development contest...they showed us their game and chatted with us about where theyd like to go with it and what they fel could be improved from the version we were playing. It was *really* cool.

CuZZa

Only having been to PAX once, I only really have last years to judge on. The multiplayer setup of things was cool, the demo's they had were very well setup too with multiple screens showing off the demonstrated product. I think it all depends on the products they are showing off, the multiplayer Gears 2 demo was good for that game, so we might wait til E3 to see what they are bringing to PAX.

The previous years lounge area deal seemed cool, I think something like that with one or two big screens, two big 4 seater couches (green of course) and get some of the single-console social gaming going, like Scene It, Lips and that kinda thing, get a crowd around the couch. Something like that would be great. I think that promotes what Xbox360 and NXE are all about, turning your living room into an entertainment room. The standup, single player kiosks are good for showing off demo's and multi-console games like Gears or Halo, but the shared experiences around a couch are where it becomes a fun experience, like how the Left 4 Dead booth was last year (although that is a game based entirely around that shared experience.

Majornelson getting people to take photos of him with the 'NO CAMERAS' sign was a highlight for me hehe maybe having some more Xbox personalities there, like Stepto representing the policy and enforcement crew (maybe a closed 18+ session so he can bring out his LIST OF BAD WORDS that we keep hearing being bleeped out on the Major Nelson podcast! I'd be up for that. We could share notes!

Avid

Stepto rocks, look for a bald guy around the microsoft booth.
I think i seen him around there last year.

CuZZa

I tried to find e last year, he was there on the Saturday but I was busy and didn't get to say hi, when I went there on Sunday he was not there according to Major Nelson. I wanted to trade Civ Rev DS friend codes so I could play him sometime too.

FyreWulff

If they're going to do the lounge thing, they need to put it somewhere else away from the main door, like over in the corner so they can have a crapton of people looking at the demos without clogging the walkways.