New Media Partners + Video/Music:
Machinima, Paramount, Univision and Nickelodeon content are coming to Xbox live, as well as Xbox music - which appears to be a rebranding of the Zune marketplace.
Nike+:
Apparently we're all athletes, at least according to the representative from Nike who took the stage to show us Nike+ Fitness, a Kinect-based personal training application that ties in to Nike+ and the new FuelBand. There's nothing more fitting for a room full of game journalists, I suppose.
Internet Explorer:
Microsoft had to remind us that Bing exists, right? Soon you'll be able to do full web browsing via your 360 + Kinect, and unfortunately it'll be powered by Internet Explorer. Great news, or greatest news? You be the judge.
Xbox SmartGlass:
Out of all of the new technology bits that Microsoft had to show off, SmartGlass was by far the most impressive. Taking a cue from Nintendo's WiiU, Microsoft has developed a tablet/smartphone extension to the Xbox that will allow you to receive additional interactive content on your Windows 8 or iOS based tablet, whether it be supplemental information based on a program you're watching or even some potentially exciting extensions to the game you're playing.
Conceptual demos for both Madden '13 and Halo 4 were shown, with the former allowing you to design plays and control the Xbox using your tablet, and the latter unlocking content in a Halo Waypoint tablet extension. It'll certainly be interesting to see how things pan out. It has the potential to be very exciting, but only time will tell.
Wrapup:
It's a transitional year for Microsoft, with plenty of rumors swirling about a their new console being announced next year. Most of the major game trilogies of this generation have wrapped up, and you can bet most of the A teams of developers will be hard at work on what's coming next. While the games were light, MS definitely banked on the value of the 360 being a media box.
We'll have more details about all the games mentioned above and more as the week progresses.