This week the gaming focus switches from Tokyo to Barcelona as Microsoft host their X06 event. Kicking off tomorrow (Wednesday) evening and running throughout Thursday, X06 will showcase a stack of upcoming Xbox 360 games plus some Games For Windows (Microsoft's attempt to brand PC gaming) titles. Of course, the real excitement is likely to be found on the 360 - unless you have a particular love of Flight Sim X - with the second wave of titles due to be shown. You can bet that Halo 3 will be there in some form, but I'm also looking forward to having another play on Gears of War, ideally single player this time, and Pro Evo 6 (obviously). Blockbusters aside I like the look of Alan Wake and Alone in the Dark - the 360 is in dire need of something a little more sophisticated, so let's hope these psychological thrillers deliver. Wake in particular looks hugely promising, with a lovely Twin Peaks ambience. At the other extreme I still hold a little soft spot for Viva Piñata after a passionately delivered demo at E3 showed the game having more potential than the "Xbox kids game" I'd written it off as.
Previous X0 events - always lavish affairs - have seen expensively booked DJ's (ie Mylo) doing their thing in front of a handful of drunken revelers while PR types try in vain to encourage the rest of the industry from the bar. But you can't doubt the importance of the event. The press conference start around 6pm UK time tomorrow - Microsoft are cranking up the hype by promising big announcements - and I'm planning to blog impressions later in the evening.
