X06: Press conference liveblogging [update 28]

We're here live at Microsoft's premiere European promotional event, scheduled to start at 7 PM Barcelona time (1 PM Eastern, 10 AM Pacific). Continue reading and keep refreshing for all the announcements and updates straight from Microsoft.

All times are local for Barcelona

6:58 PM: [update 1] Still waiting for the start. Microsoft's live stream of the conference seems to be down at the moment, but keep trying if you want to play along at home. Or just keep it right here.

7:05 PM: [update 2] Starting things off with a promo video from Rare: Banjo Kazooie (!) looking in a secret door and finding... a new game B-K game from Microsoft Game Studios. Whoot!

7:07 PM: [update 3] Recap of past X0 events, how far Microsoft has come, blah blah blah. 1.3M sold in Europe, 5M worldwide as of June. 10M projected as of holiday season.

7:08PM: [update 4] Xbox 360 in South Africa this week, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland by holidays.

7:10PM: [update 5] Kane and Lynch and Crossfire trailers from Eidos on Xbox Live, will launch of 360 and Windows first.

7:11PM: [update 6] Sensible Soccer will be on Xbox Live Arcade. Applause from audience. America yawns.

7:12PM: [update 7] America wakes up: Doom on Xbox Live Arcade!

7:14PM: [update 8] Quick videos of Xbox Live Arcade titles -- Settlers of Cattan, Assault Heroes, etc. Doom will be available on XBLA worldwide tonight!

7:16PM: [update 9] Peter Moore re-confirms 1080p for HD-DVD movies. Lots of PR speak about how great Xbox 360 is (and it's out now... duh!)

7:19 PM: [update 10] CliffyB comes on to pick up where the E3 demo for Gears of War left off. Game still looks amazing... not much new that hasn't been seen yet. Game will be playable single-player, multiplayer and versus at X06. Check back here for impressions as soon as we get our hands on it.

7:20PM: [update 11] Emergence day for Europe is Nov. 17. Moore: "Five days -- not five months -- after the U.S. launch." Laughs, applause from audience.

7:26PM: [update 12] Xbox will be in 32 countries less than a year after initial launch. Video mashup of a bunch of games: Crossfire, The Darkness, Alan Wake, Mass Effect look especially impressive. Snippets from E3 Halo 3 trailer -- come on, where's our new stuff?! Team Fortress 2 is cel shaded... [ed: we knew that. We've covered it here, and here, and here.]

7:28PM: [update 13] Viva Pinata promo video... they are pushing this thing hard! Look, we have at least one family-friendly game! Whoo!

7:30 PM: [update 14] Blue Dragon will be available in Europe in 2007. Lots of pre-rendered video... where's the actual game?!

7:34PM: [update 15] Moore: "Expect to hear something news about Halo 3 before the end of this year" Boo! To hold us over, pre-rendered video for Project Gotham Racing 4. Looks, um... shiny.

7:36PM: [update 16] Grand Theft Auto IV to launch Oct. 16, 2007 in North America, Oct. 19 in Europe. Two new chapters exclusive to Xbox 360 available on Xbox Live soon after. Ouch for Sony.

7:39PM: [update 17] Assasin's Creed first ever public live demo from the the game's developer. Altier, the assasin, riding a horse into the center of town. Pushes crowd out of ways as he walks. Climbs the wall of a building a la Prince of Persia. Attracts the crowd's attention... d'oh.

7:42PM [update 18] Still the Assasin's Creed demo. Altier blends in with some monks to sneak up an assassinate target, then all hell breaks loose. Dynamic crowd becomes obstacles. One blow to the head = you're dead. Huge applause from audience on conclusion.

7:46PM: [update 19] Bioshock exclusive to Xbox 360 and Windows this Spring. Pre-rendered scenes of a modern city underwater. Voice over talks of betrayal, choices. Pressure-sutied man with a drill for a hand stops someone before he can beat a little girl with a wrench. D-A-R-K dark. Murmurs from audience. Very impressive, but again, where's the gameplay? [Ed: on the showfloor, Kyle. Get out there and play it!]

7:51PM: [update 20] Lost Odyssey will be coming to Europe and North America. Prerendered intro.: Bloody medieval battles with huge, lumbering mechanical war machines for good measure. Camera zooms in on one lightly armored guy who proceeds to kill, like, a hundred others without breaking a sweat. Smooth transition to gameplay, which is turn-based and... not nearly as exciting or good looking. Final Fantasy syndrome at its worst.

7:55PM: [update 21] Capcom's Lost Planet will be playable at X06. Resident Evil will be coming to Xbox 360. Some new footage from Splinter Cell: Double Agent. Hum dee dum.

7:58PM: [update 22] Moore: Next Splinter Cell will be exclusive to 360 and Windows. I suppose that means the one after Double Agent? Another big get for MS.

8:00PM: [update 23] 150 HD-DVD movie titles this holiday. Player in UK, France, Germany and North America in November 2006. 199 Euros, 129 pounds or $199. Comes with remote and HD-DVD version of King Kong.

8:03PM: [update 24] Looks like the embargo is up for some more announcements before they've been mentioned at the presser -- hit the main Joystiq page for more. Meanwhile, Games for Windows videos: Alan Wake, Flight Simulator X, Crysis, Age of Conan, Rail Simulator, Shadowrun, etc.

8:05PM: [update 25] Shadowrun to be first Live Anywhere-enabled game. Marvel Universe Online MMO coming to 360 and Windows from Cryptic (City of Heroes) and Microsoft Game Studios.

8:08PM: [update 26] Peter Jackson comes out to thunderous applause. Talk of "filmic game experience," the idea of film stories steered into games. New game in the Halo Universe, not Halo 3 or 4 or the movie world. New original IP after that.

[Update 27: Ed comments added.]

1:31AM, Sept. 28: [update 28] If it wasn't apparent from the abrupt ending, my computer crapped out with roughly five minutes to go in the conference. I blame Peter Jackson and his long-winded rambling about games and movies. The only thing left after last update was the trailer for Halo Wars, which we had already covered in more detail via the magic of embargoed pre-conference briefings. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the rundown and sorry to anyone who wasn't impressed with my knowledge of cel-shaded shooters.