 Microsoft just wrapped up its 2014 E3 press briefing. If last year was all about next-gen consoles, this year is all about next-gen games. From the very beginning of the conference, Microsoft seemed like it was trying to make up for straying from the Xbox's core function, gaming. It was a cavalcade of teaser trailers and demos with clips from Silicon Valley stars talking about how much they love gaming, and Phil Spencer talking it up as the fastest-growing medium. It wasn't just about getting games on the Xbox One, it was about getting games there soon, around the holidays, not next year or later. Microsoft's strategy for selling the Xbox One is, essentially, reminding people of how much they like to play games on the Xbox 360 or even the original Xbox, and then telling them they can play those games again. The biggest news of the conference might have been the Master Chief Collection, a remastered version of the entire Halo series that includes every single multiplayer map. Halo was big news last year, too. Ridley Scott is also directing a digital series that will lead up to the next installment, Halo 5. And along with the latest Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed titles, we also got a look at a new crackdown game and a remake of action strategy game Phantom Dust. It was mostly a year of big-name sequels, with a focus on co-op multiplayer to set the new titles apart. Assassin's Creed, Fable, and more can all be played with friends, but Xbox also gave a nod to indie developers in its ID at Xbox program. That included a trailer for Inside, a new game from the creators of Limbo. It might not have been as technically impressive as Call of Duty, but it was one of the best-looking games at the show. So what wasn't there? In a word, Kinect. Today is the first day you can buy an Xbox without one, and Microsoft didn't even show it off during the press conference. Nobody shouted orders or used voice commands. The only Kinect-based game we even saw was a New Dance Central, which got a couple of minutes as an afterthought to Harmonix's Fantasia game. More surprisingly, we also didn't hear anything about Halo developer Bungie's new game Destiny. But since a demo is coming to the show floor, we'll be learning a lot more soon. This was just the first of several press conferences on the first day of E3, and we barely got a taste of most of the games. It's way too early to say what will actually be good, or what most of these games will even look like when they come out. But we'll spend the rest of the week finding out what we can about the rest of the year's gaming lineup.
 Microsoft just wrapped up its 2014 E3 press briefing.
 If last year was all about next-gen consoles,
 this year is all about next-gen games.
 From the very beginning of the conference,
 Microsoft seemed like it was trying to make up
 for straying from the Xbox's core function, gaming.
 It was a cavalcade of teaser trailers and demos
 with clips from Silicon Valley stars
 talking about how much they love gaming,
 and Phil Spencer talking it up as the fastest-growing medium.
 It wasn't just about getting games on the Xbox One,
 it was about getting games there soon,
 around the holidays, not next year or later.
 Microsoft's strategy for selling the Xbox One is,
 essentially, reminding people of how much they like
 to play games on the Xbox 360 or even the original Xbox,
 and then telling them they can play those games again.
 The biggest news of the conference
 might have been the Master Chief Collection,
 a remastered version of the entire Halo series
 that includes every single multiplayer map.
 Halo was big news last year, too.
 Ridley Scott is also directing a digital series
 that will lead up to the next installment, Halo 5.
 And along with the latest Call of Duty
 and Assassin's Creed titles,
 we also got a look at a new crackdown game
 and a remake of action strategy game Phantom Dust.
 It was mostly a year of big-name sequels,
 with a focus on co-op multiplayer
 to set the new titles apart.
 Assassin's Creed, Fable, and more
 can all be played with friends,
 but Xbox also gave a nod to indie developers
 in its ID at Xbox program.
 That included a trailer for Inside,
 a new game from the creators of Limbo.
 It might not have been as technically impressive
 as Call of Duty,
 but it was one of the best-looking games at the show.
 So what wasn't there?
 In a word, Kinect.
 Today is the first day you can buy an Xbox without one,
 and Microsoft didn't even show it off
 during the press conference.
 Nobody shouted orders or used voice commands.
 The only Kinect-based game we even saw
 was a New Dance Central,
 which got a couple of minutes as an afterthought
 to Harmonix's Fantasia game.
 More surprisingly, we also didn't hear anything
 about Halo developer Bungie's new game Destiny.
 But since a demo is coming to the show floor,
 we'll be learning a lot more soon.
 This was just the first of several press conferences
 on the first day of E3,
 and we barely got a taste of most of the games.
 It's way too early to say what will actually be good,
 or what most of these games will even look like
 when they come out.
 But we'll spend the rest of the week
 finding out what we can
 about the rest of the year's gaming lineup.