It’s that time again techno-folks. The Electronic Entertainment Expo opened to the public this morning. While Nintendo and Sony both have their usual big shows this year, Microsoft is expected to top them all. In the run up to today’s E3 press conference, Microsoft was rumoured to announce wholesale additions to the XBox 360 including a new interface, integrated controls with other home theatre equipment, and a host of new games. PC gamers were expected to be largely shunned by Microsoft. So what did Microsoft unveil at E3? Find out after the jump.

They kicked off the presser in style with The Beatles: Rock Band. The live demonstration had three singers, a bass player, a guitarist, and a drummer all going at the same time. Ringo and Paul even came out to talk about the game. That set the tone for the majority of the Microsoft presentation. A lot of games were played live on stage for the gathered press. We got Tony Hawk talking about his new game Tony Hawk: Ride. Other big games unveiled included Modern Warfare 2, Final Fantasy 13, Left 4 Dead 2, Halo: Reach, and Alan Wake.

A lot of hype is surrounding Forza Motorsport 3. Once again, Microsoft is touting this as a Gran Turismo killer. It will have 400 cars from 50 manufacturers. There is a video editor that lets players create and upload their own videos in high definition. They also showed the new graphic engine which has detailed damage and debris from crashes. In other big gaming news, Metal Gear Solid will be coming to the 360. It has been long rumoured and Konami confirmed it on stage today.

Microsoft spent the last half of their presentation talking about improvements made XBox Live which seems to be the lone selling point left for the 360. Their first announcement was that Microsoft had partnered with last.fm to bring streaming music to the XBox which will be available to “Gold” members for free. There is a new partnership with Netflix to bring movies instantly to the screen without preloading. They’ve partnered with Sky in the UK to bring live TV to users including Premiership football and test cricket. Keeping with video, they will increase the availablity of Zune video to 18 countries in the fall and have videos available in 1080p HD. This will all come together with something called “Live Party” where you watch a bunch of avatars watching a TV.

There were bigger things, still, announced by Microsoft. The 360 will have connectivity and real time updates with Facebook and Twitter that will allow you to post screen shots and messages while playing. Another rumour was confirmed by Microsoft as they announced their camera peripheral. It uses a motion capture type technology to translate the player’s motion into action on screen. A case of anything you can do, I can do better. Speaking of which, a lot of emphasis on XBox Live avatars… Kinda like Mii’s on the Nintendo Wii.

Of note, there was no announcement by Microsoft about PC games so we’ll have to wait for developer news conferences for what’s coming to PC.