Keeping to traditions set in years past, the first event of this year's E3 Media & Business Summit is the Microsoft Press Conference (technically, it's actually before the Summit even starts!).

Ignant is there in person, frantically taking notes, but we're awake way past my bedtime, and are warming up the LiveBlogging software so we can bring you the latest news as it happens on the other side of the world.

What do you think we'll see? Early gossip suggests details on Gears of War 2, some information about Halo Wars, and apparently there's a couple of very decent surprises tucked in there, too. Mmm. Come join us!

LIVE BLOG:
(most recent event first)

4:36am: I'm off to try and digest some of that news and polish it up into nice little bite-sized pieces for you, thanks for sticking around!

4:36am: ...and what a note to end on! Now, to see what Sony have up their sleeve in about 24 hours.

4:35am: "Joins a long list of former PlayStation franchises that are finding a new home on the Xbox 360". Ouch.

4:35am: They're taking the most recent Final Fantasy title and releasing it on Xbox 360 as well. That'll upset a few people - but I'm sure it'll make a few more very, very happy.

4:34am: ...FINAL FANTASY XIII on Xbox 360!

4:30am: Yoichi Wada has one more big announcement to share... he's showing another video.

4:30am: "With Xbox 360 there is no better way to deliver fun and entertainment to your living room."

4:29am: Don Mattrick is back on stage now to wrap things up.

4:29am: The Last Remnant will also be available on Games for Windows, too!

4:28am: It's very pretty in that certain Square Enix kind of way. Looks quite promising :)

4:27am: The Last Remnant is the third title that Square Enix have worked on together with Microsoft, and we're being shown some footage of that now.

4:27am: Star Ocean - The Last Hope will have assets available via Xbox Live Marketplace.

4:26am: Infinite Undiscovery will be released in September. It's an RPG we've mentioned here before.

4:25am: He has an announcement to make. They've been aiming to provide a new generation of gaming entertainment, through working with Xbox 360.

4:24am: One final guest... the president of Square Enix... Yoichi Wada.

4:23am: Xbox 360 is "The world's first true music gaming platform," apparently.

4:23am: More than 100 songs will be available on launch - and you can play all your original Rock Band tracks with the new game, as well as exporting your music so you won't need to disc-swap.

4:22am: Music from one of the most titanic bands in history - AC/DC will be appearing for the first time in a video game - and apparently they're one of the most, if not the most, requested band for the game. They're contributing Let There Be Rock.

4:21am: Bob Dylan has contributed Tangled Up In Blue!

4:21am: Guns 'n' Roses are debuting tracks from Chinese Democracy, which is "coming soon"... heh.

4:20am: The entire Rock Band 2 disk soundtrack - 84 songs on the disk, each one master recordings. This is the biggest, and the most compelling soundtrack they've done to date.

4:19am: ...he's stopped dancing now, and we're now seeing Alex from Harmonix talking about Rock Band 2.

4:17am: However! Through the wonders of technology, we're not actually able to see Duffy singing - it's "Blocked Content", apparently. In the meantime, we're treated to a video of Dancing Master Chief. Thanks, Microsoft!

4:15am: ...and we've just had Duffy introduced to the stage, to sing her new single, which I'm assuming is included on the game.

4:15am: Ships this holidays with a collection of songs already included from a range of regions and a range of genres.

4:15am: The mics light up according to your performance - and they're motion sensitive, which adds some interesting interaction.

4:14am: You can plug in your Zune (or your iPod) and sing along with your favourite songs, straight from your collection.

4:14am: Keiichi Yano is on stage to explain what the game's about.

4:14am: From the creator of Elite Beat Agents, this will be available this holiday season.

4:13am: Wireless mics, too. This is, of course, Lips, as rumoured.

4:13am: While I'm disappointed it appears to not be Whistle Hero (the opening of the trailer was a whistling solo), all of you who like a bit of karaoke look like you're no longer limited to Sony consoles.

4:12am: "Brand new music party experience" exclusive to the 360...

4:11am: ...guess what, Metallica is joining forces with Guitar Hero, to offer their brand new album via Guitar Hero 3 at the same time as the record hits shelves - and it'll also be available for Guitar Hero On Tour when that's released later.

4:11am: With the launch of Guitar Hero: World Tour you will be able to download a new REM track pack featuring brand new songs not available anywhere else.

4:10am: There are 85 songs on disk.

4:09am: And now, Kai Huang, president and founder of Red Octane has taken the stage to talk about the new Guitar Hero.

4:08am: ...moving on from movies, we now look at music games.

4:07am: Oh, by the way, You're In The Movies will ship with the new Xbox 360 camera when it's released later this year.

4:06am: It gets better. Once you've acted out a series of mini-games, you can add them together into a "short film", starring you and your friends. It's all so deliciously cheesy - I'm not sure about the longevity of this, but the novelty value's there in spades.

4:05am: It's like... Rayman Raving Rabbids, but without the need for a controller. I don't want to say it looks cool, but... really... it kinda does.

4:04am: "Pretend you are surrounded by hornets! Swat those suckers!" ...so you're standing in front of your tv, miming that you're swatting away a bunch of bugs - and, on the screen, a little character with your face is doing exactly what you do.

4:03am: ...from what I can see, using the camera, you perform little skits to match up with a certain scenario on screen. The camera puts your image into the game that you are watching.

4:02am: You're In The Movies features games and improvisations that are then turned into little movies. We have a few people on stage to demonstrate this.

4:01am: Scene It: Box Office Smash is the first retail game that brings your avatars into the game, and they answer questions on screen!

4:00am: Scene It: Box Office Smash features new questions and all sorts of new content. Apparently you can play it in electronics stores (this will be obvious when you see the trailer!).

3:59am: The original Banjo-Kazooie will be launched on Xbox Live Arcade, too!

3:59am: Viva Pinata - Trouble in Paradise - now includes Pinata Vision, which is a set of scannable cards that introduce new pinata into your garden.

3:58am: Looking at some of these games for Everybody: Banjo-Kazooie - Nuts & Bolts - so cute!

3:56am: A lot of the games that are being released are rated either E for Everybody, or T for Teen - making this a really family-friendly console.

3:55am: The first Grand Theft Auto IV downloadable episode due "by the end of the year", btw.

3:55am: Hello, Shane Kim. He's welcoming everybody to the party, and is about to talk about games lineup.

3:54am: You'll be able to share what you're watching - movies, videos etc - with your party, comprised of people on your Friends List. Pretty cool.

3:50am: Next - the first true sequel for Galaga - Galaga Legions from Namco Bandai (who did Pac-Man World Champion Edition). Will be available next month.

3:49am: New Xbox Live Arcade titles - firstly, from Bizarre Creations and Activision is Geometry Wars 2!

3:48am: Looking at the new Uno game now, UgLyPuNk is commenting that it looks fairly similar to something you might see on a certain Japanese company's 'cute' console...

3:47am: Now we're looking at the Games Channel - and there's a new Uno game! Hoorah!

3:47am: Instead of just checking to see what's on TV this fall, you'll log on to see what's on Live.

3:47am: Apparently you'll be able to win "real prizes" ...but no mention of what those may be ;)

3:46am: Xbox Live Primetime has a deal with Endemol (those behind Big Brother), to create what looks like world-wide game shows online. The first is 1 vs 100.

3:45am: The new handling of friends-lists looks kinda cool, too. He's showing off the ways to interact with other people, including Parties.

3:44am: I'm not going to say the "home" word, but... you know what I'm thinking. I'm also not going to say "mii", but... if it works for them, it'll work for MS too, right?

3:43am: ...but it looks really great, I have to say, even looking at this tiny little copy I'm seeing on the feed. Very interested in seeing how this pans out - the old Blades system is no more.

3:42am: Not accusing them of jumping on any bandwagon or anything, but their inclusion of avatars is a little... familiar :)

3:42am: Due by the end of the year, this is an all-new dashboard. It looks - unsurprisingly - like the Vista windows switcher.

3:41am: ...a whole new interface for the Xbox 360. "Welcome to the new Xbox Experience!"

3:41am: For the first time ever, a consumer electronics device will be completely redesigned through software.

3:40am: "What's next?"

3:40am: John Schappert is now on stage, talking about innovation. He's said that word a few times.

3:39am: MGM International and Constantin have also joined the European Xbox High-def partnerships to bring new content to that region, too.

3:38am: In news that won't really affect us, Xbox has just announced media partnerships with both NBC and Universal Studios, to bring high-def movies and television episodes to the console. Would be nice if we got to see any of that, but we live in hope, right?

3:37am: Over the past year, Xbox 360 third-party game sales outpaced the Wii, and the PlayStation 3 combined!

3:36am: Since they launched Xbox 360 (2.5 years ago), consumers have spent more that US$1billion on Xbox Live. That's either impressive or scary, I'm not sure which.

3:35am: Don says confidently that Xbox 360 will outsell the PS3 this year.

3:35am: Lots of numbers that are - really - too small to see on the feed (sorry!) ...we'll be chasing up some of these details when more people are awake :)

3:34am: Apparently, people will spend US$48 billion worldwide on games - bigger than movies, dvds and music. "This is a breathtaking achievement." ...and we're looking at graphs now, to see how Xbox 360 is doing it.

3:33am: Don Mattrick has taken the stage again, thanking everybody and hyping something up. He's talking about the moment when you were swept away by interactive entertainment... what's he getting at?

3:32am: This will all be arriving on November 7th - worldwide - exclusively for Xbox 360.

3:32am: There is a new mode - Fort - 5 player co-op where you can take on wave after wave of increasingly difficult locusts.

3:31am: The Brumak's made a (not-so) welcome return, as well.

3:29am: Move over chainsaws ...one of the locusts has a flame thrower!

3:27am: This is a new level, by the way. Cliff is playing Marcus and his friend (also working for Epic) is playing co-op, helping him blow stuff up and fight locusts.

3:25am: The locusts are back and they're sinking entire cities. Cliff (who would like not to be referred to as CliffyB) is about to demonstrate the game's co-op features with his friend backstage.

3:24am: (...and, of course, hello Cliff Bleszinsky from Epic!)

3:24am: ...now, in a slight change of pace, there is a body being dragged through the scene by a lumbering Marcus Fenix. Hello, Gears of War 2. He has a rendezvous with death.

3:23am: Out in October of this year (!), and there are playable demos on the floor at E3.

3:23am: He's now introducing us to his in-game wife, who apparently has "strange tastes". There is his son, who was born and will grow up in the game. You can experience your own unique world within the basis of Fable 2.

3:22am: Everybody's hero is completely unique, and their game is completely unique - inviting someone in to join you can make things interesting, whether that be hack 'n' slash, or just hanging out in pubs.

3:21am: As you walk through the world, you'll see purple orbs. These are your friends playing through their single-player campaign, and if you want, click on the orb and you can invite your friend to join in with your game, that's it - no mess, no fuss!

3:21am: Fable 2 is finished - so we're taking a look at the world of Albion and Mr. Molyneux's hero. Of course, he's accompanied by his dog (can't go anywhere without him) - but we're here to talk about playing Co-op through Live.

3:20am: Ahahahahahaha. The video was - literally - from a bird's eye view... and the bird does what birds do. "I hear that's lucky!"

3:19am: Peter Molyneux is discussing Fable 2 - he seems very pleased that they've finally gotten to this stage. He's showing the opening scenes from the game, with some suitably atmospheric accompaniment as the camera shows what the game is like, 500 years on from where we left it.

3:18am: Resident Evil is due out in US/Europe on Friday 13th March, 2009, and in Japan the day before.

3:17am: Not really that much that can be said about these demos, they're certainly impressive though. UgLyPuNk would like me to point out that Resident Evil 5 includes a chainsaw.

3:15am: While it's early days, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that most - if not all - of this gameplay footage will make its way to the Internet in the next few hours. Remember that Xbox Live is Bringing It Home again this year, with plenty of downloadable content, videos, streams and updates right on your Xbox 360 console.

3:13am: This is the first time that Resident Evil will be on the Xbox 360, and they have a playable demo that will be demonstrated on stage right now!

3:12am: Now, they're introducing a gentleman from Capcom - producer Jun Takeuchi - to discuss Resident Evil 5. He's speaking Japanese and our feed is ...less than fantastic, so I'll do my best.

3:12am: There will be scheduled downloadable content for Fallout 3 on the Xbox 360 - and it will be exclusive!

3:08am: ...and by "introducing", I mean "showing off gameplay footage", for the first time!

3:06am: Welcome to Todd Howard from Bethesda, who is introducing his new baby.

3:05am: ...first cab off the rank is a certain Fallout 3 game, with an old-fashioned black and white advertisement for Vault-Tech.

3:04am: "Fasten your seatbelts, let's get started!"

3:02am: ...and we're live! We are currently patting ourselves on the back because of how awesome Xbox 360 was in the past year.

2:51am: Awake, hot chocolate in hand, and ready for things to kick off in about 10 minutes. Stay with us, we'll be updating this the moment anything happens.

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Ignant has promised me some beyoootiful photos from the event, stay tuned and we'll update this post when we get 'em!