To hell with subtlety. When the Project Natal officially premiers at E3 with a brand new name, a price, a release date, and hopefully some hands-on testing, it will be accompanied by all hoopla that you would expect to find at a red carpet debut of a big Hollywood movie, including live TV coverage.
E3 has long been a time for manufacturers to display their new wares, and with increasing coverage, the need to “wow” has never been greater. A few years back, all you needed was the occasional booth babe and a flashy sign, but the stakes have been significantly raised. So much so that last year saw the two remaining Beatles being joined on stage by the widows of Lennon and Harrison, and it was not even the headline event.
When the Natal was previewed last year, it stole the show and quickly became the talk of the gaming world following E3. Now with stiff competition coming from the expected announcement of Nintendo’s 3DS, and possibly a sneak peak at a rumored PSP2, Microsoft is determined to keep the buzz going in its favor.
To this end, 1Up is reporting that Microsoft will feature Cirque du Soleil as part of the stage show, and the broadcast will air live on Spike TV on Monday June 14th at 1:30 EST. Besides the Natal, the show will also debut any new games, hardware, and Xbox Live projects that are coming soon.
MTV will air a commercial-free broadcast of the show the following day. Nick at Nite, mtvU, MTV Hits, and Logo TV will also air the broadcast later in the day.
E3 will be held in the Los Angeles Convention Center on June 15 through the 17.
