ThanosReXXX

Well, call me Thanos, or Mad Titan, but I went with the gold one. Fits perfectly with my golden helmet...

Well, that and I kinda have a soft spot for Charlize Theron, so when I saw her being mentioned in relation to the purpose of the golden console's auction, that locked in my vote.

"Get A Taste Of Marvel's Avengers With The Open Beta This Weekend"

Aka "Get A Taste Of Marvel's Avengers Without Spider-Man This Weekend"...

@NEStalgia Hermit is getting close to crossing that virtual line there...

@Porridge2215 "I'm getting too old"
Yeah, I know that feeling, all to well. Been on this Earth for half a century now...

@Jaxx420 Mind you, I'm still curious as to what they're up to, so I'm open to being pleasantly surprised, as long as it's not just the regular old Game Pass that we already know, because that doesn't interest me at all.

@Thretosix Yeah, I'm also usually always late with both games and even with adopting systems. I'm almost never a release day buyer, save for a handful of exceptions over the years, so I can relate to that.

@gcunit Well, "thanks" ever so much for putting that picture in my head.

@Porridge2215 Well, to each their own, of course, and it's good for the people that DO enjoy the service, but it's just not for me. I simply don't have enough time to spend on games that will only be playable for a set amount of time.

Ohboyohboyohboy!

@NEStalgia Well, this might just be something for you, in case you want a break from all of those train sims...

Well, to be honest, I couldn't care less about Game Pass, even if I tried, so those would have to be some pretty stellar announcements for them to make me even remotely interested.

I'd much rather simply keep my Games with Gold and my own games to play, whenever and wherever I want to, thank you.

@KelticDevil On a side note: I can vouch for @Octane: he's not a troll. Maybe a bit weird sometimes, but definitely not a troll...

@KelticDevil Yeah... Negative Nancy's, aye? And another thing: Phil Spencer hasn't even been fully involved for that long yet, because he first had to clean up the mess that Mattrick made. And every move and decision he's made ever since, has only been to the benefit of the Xbox brand.

Oh, well. Haters gonna hate and all that.

@KelticDevil Ah, that makes sense, I suppose. Especially when games are supposed to be a getaway from the real world, not a reminder...

@KelticDevil Blizzard Mountain is definitely less accessible than the Hot Wheels DLC, but once you get to grips with it, it can still be more than entertaining enough in its own right.

@BANJO You're welcome. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

@BANJO I can highly recommend both DLC packages, especially the Hot Wheels add-on.

@Tharsman All true, but even when those codes are all gone, you still have the option to get a physical version with all DLC included.

Those were also available for previous Forza games, so it'll probably also be true for Forza Horizon 3.

I already have the game, since it came with the console bundle that I bought. And later on, I also bought all the DLC, so I'm good.

So, basically nothing Earth-shattering on the news front, then. I think it's safe to say that most of us already expected for many months that the official name for Lockheart would be Series S.

How do I feel... ?
Hm.... let me think. I feel like this company stooge is sorely missing the entire point of why this actually IS an issue, and seeing as he's just regurgitating company speak, it is probably never going to dawn on him anyway.

@Tasuki No, that's not what I meant. It's pretty simple: Spider-Man BELONGS in the Marvel universe, and is an INTRINSIC part of many of the Avengers' story arcs, so he shouldn't be missing in any version of this game, regardless of platform.

The situation with Soul Calibur was completely different, because as I already mentioned, there was a COMPLETE roster of characters in ALL versions of that game, and the unique characters for the respective consoles (GameCube, Xbox and PS2) each were a specific EXTRA character, so added on top of an already complete game/list of characters. It's not like any of the other versions of the games were inferior or less complete, roster-wise, compared to each other.

Having basically two versions of this game definitely IS like having an incomplete game on PC and on Xbox, because it makes it mandatory for those two versions to change the story line so it doesn't mention/reference and/or contain any Spider-Man connections or appearances, which is simply stupid.

@Grot I completely agree. These Avengers simply look "off", so it's more like an uncanny valley version for me, so I was never going to get the game anyway.

Still a d*** move by Sony, though...

@AlexSora89 I do, and good times indeed, but this is not the same. Back then, each console had the complete roster of characters in a game, and the console exclusive one was an added bonus.

Seeing as Spider-Man is both a standard and integral character where the Avengers story/universe is concerned, this is a pretty childish move by Sony.

Hm... Sony up to their old exclusion shenanigans again?

Not that I'm interested in this uncanny valley version of an Avengers game anyway, but this is petty as f***.

Phew! We REALLY dodged a bullet there. And a very ugly one at that...

@Dezzy70 I don't think that hoping to get something that you would find interesting or enjoyable is selfish, so no problems with that, but in general, I do have an issue with people having completely unrealistic expectations.

I completely agree with everything that @NEStalgia has said on the matter so far. That enormous wow factor is a thing of the past: never more will we see ginormous jumps in tech and/or graphics like with the move from 2D to full 3D or from SD to HD consoles, so like I already mentioned in another thread on here and on NLife, it's all about the details and subtleties from here on out, which is exactly where HDR, dynamic lighting and 2020's version of ray tracing come into play.

But perhaps your perception of "being wowed" is different from ours. Personally, I simply know that I'll never ever be blown away again. I've simmered down to stuff pleasantly surprising and/or impressing me, but never in an "Oh, my God, I'm completely blown away" kinda way.

I own all the Forzas, and although I do obviously see the graphical improvements, and I certainly do enjoy them as well, I don't see the massive improvements that you seem to perceive between one version and the next. I just find that it looks slightly prettier and a bit sharper, that's all. Which is also completely within the ball park of what I expect it to be.

Hence also the reason that I wasn't disappointed, let alone MASSIVELY disturbed (apparently) by how the new Halo game looked. I thought it looked perfectly fine, and it looked like fun to play, so that's all that matters to me personally. Looks can only get you so far, after all...

I don't give a flying you-know-what about free online multiplayer. Most of my friends don't play online anymore, or if they do, they stick to one particular game that I don't like playing all the time (such as Destiny 2), and personally, I greatly dislike playing with strangers, so obviously I voted for keeping Games with Gold.

Yes, the games on offer have definitely become less and less interesting, but all in all I still welcome the initiative of being able to at least keep two of the four games that are on offer on a monthly basis, and no amount of other services can replace that, because things like Game Pass are just a rent-a-game service, and a highly restrictive one at that, what with games being pulled as fast as they are added, and no game ever truly becoming yours, unless you pay extra.

Definitely very interested. It was one of the highlights of the July showcase for me.

@NEStalgia So much truth, logic and sensibility right there. I'm afraid it's not going to convert the Nancy's, though: they've already made up their mind, and in their eyes, bad is bad, regardless of any actual truth you're offering them.

Hope they're not bending over backwards too much. Some of these complaining "individuals" are WAY too demanding, and are basically just being whiny Negative Nancy's.

Bit of a meager selection, I have to say. Oh, well. At least we'll actually get to keep two of the games for real, unlike with Game Pass, which just isn't for me.

Oh, my. This is going to look SO good with real time lighting and ray tracing...

Yay, Xbox! You go, Gabe!

@HotGoomba Well, I'm a regular there myself, so no worries.

@KelticDevil Might just give other developers the idea to leave game breaking bugs in their games: "no, really, it's just a part of the overall experience"...

What the actual f... ? Seriously? Sounds like immersion gone wrong, in my humble opinion...

What the heck is a "whine controller"? I know of certain users over on NLife that could definitely use the one that I'm imagining, though...

All kidding aside, all I see is one added button (video capture?) in the middle, and a different D-pad, so it's basically a deluxe version of the Xbox One controller, from the looks of it.

Not that this is a bad thing, mind you.

I chose Everwild, because I personally feel that this is finally something that's worthy of the name Rare again, but I want and am looking forward to all of them.

@NEStalgia All VERY true. So many unrealistic expectations in here, and apparently a LOT of graphics experts. It's almost laughable.

Actually, forget about almost...

@KratosMD I agree with you to some extent, but that doesn't take anything away from my personal sentiments on the matter.

I'm also wondering why people "that know nothing about the Xbox brand" would be watching, much less judging this live stream. Of course, there's always new adopters and/or people on the fence concerning any platform, but in general, those reveals are for existing customers/audiences, so while you do have a point, it is somewhat moot at the same time.

I also don't entirely agree that a presentation needs a whole bunch of established franchises, especially not if they want to move forward and go on to do new things, and make things better, like Phil Spencer is doing. Besides, they gave us Halo and Forza, so that's your check mark for the established series. And new is good: every established series was once a new one as well. Just imagine if we always adopted that stance, then no single new game would ever have been able to turn into an established IP.

I was also not interested in all that was shown, but titles like Everwild and Avowed looked great and very intriguing to me, and I also liked Exomecha, The Medium, As Dusk Falls, The Gunk, and those new Stalker and Phantasy Star games also looked very promising, as did Balan Wonderworld so all in all, I was pretty satisfied.

You'd think that people that hang around and/or are member of an Xbox website or community, are already in the know or fan of the system, and as such wouldn't be so underwhelmed with what was on show, because objectively speaking, it was a pretty decent showcase, with something for just about anyone.

And looking at the poll score as it is right now, I'd say that the general sentiment about that is the same. It certainly wasn't perfect, but it was a pretty decent showing, so I'd say a B minus, something I'd definitely sign for, back in college...

@mousieone Yes, it certainly did. Gonna pick Everwild as my personal favorite, though.

I'm just going to copy/paste what I already said in the Xbox thread on Nintendo Life. Saves me a lot of typing...

I don't get all this negativity at ALL. They showed SO much in this show AND the pre-show, that they already completely shattered anything that Sony has shown us earlier. It would almost seem that for some people, Microsoft can never win, apparently...

I for one was pretty satisfied about it, and also pleasantly surprised with how well some games are getting along, such as Everwild from Rare, which simply looks like a stunning game, the new Forza is also something to look forward to, that Exomecha game also showed promise, then there was of course Hellblade 2, a completely new Phantasy Star Online, Fable, Stalker 2, Grounded, Balan Underworld, Echo Generation, Avowed, and so on.

And then there were also a lot of interesting new games in the ID@Xbox trailer in the pre-show, which some of you might have missed/overlooked. Well, at least: I thought they were interesting.

Either way, even though nothing in there knocked me off of my feet, which I didn't expect anyway, I'm still quite satisfied with what they showed, and it makes me a bit more confident that Microsoft will be able to get more of a grip on the next generation than they did in this one.

@Tharsman Hm, interesting idea. I might just do that, depending on how things go...

@Jaxx420 Well, I guess we'll eventually all have to yield, especially what with Xbox Live Gold being removed, but I'm not liking it, not one bit. I just renewed my Gold for another year, so at least I don't have to worry about it yet.

@AJDarkstar Yeah, I feel the same way, but as mentioned to the other user above, I suppose we'll eventually have to, or just not play or buy online at all anymore, so we'll see how that goes in the near future...

@electrolite77 Well, in the near future, it'll more than likely be the ONLY option, seeing as Microsoft is removing Xbox Live Gold, and along with that, sadly enough, probably also Games with Gold, meaning all we're left with is this "Netflix for games" crap, which I'm simply not interested in. Not now, not ever.

Seeing as most of my friends have stopped playing online anyways, and the only one that still does is firmly lodged into his Destiny clans, so he plays nothing else, I primarily use Xbox Live Gold for the "free" games, so that sole remaining pleasure is going to be taken away from me as well, from the looks of it.

Unless of course, Games with Gold will still remain inside Game Pass Ultimate as well, in which case it might still be worth considering, but if it isn't, then I honestly don't know if I'll ever subscribe to it, after my current, newly acquired 12 month subscription for Xbox Live Gold ends.

Personally, I don't like and applaud the growth of Game Pass. To me, it's a sign of how one of my favorite hobbies is turning into something more and more of a completely disposable nature, relinquishing increasingly more rights to developers and publishers, taking them away from the consumer, and I truly don't understand how so many people welcome that with open arms, because it's NOT beneficial to the consumer at ALL.

I guess I'm just too old to conform to this lesser format of gaming, since I want to be in control of what I play and when I play it, not being dictated by what's on offer this week or this month, let alone having to rush to play a certain title, out of fear that it may not be available for a long enough time, seeing as games are being removed left and right, on a weekly basis.

@MaccaMUFC I understand that, but as an Xbox Live Gold member, you actually DO pay for these games. None of these games are truly free, obviously. So, even though we may not be paying full price, technically speaking, we've still bought the game, and it was never that expensive in the first place.

And they will have definitely received some kind of fee from Microsoft for putting the game on Games with Gold, so there's that as well. Either way, it was just a personal sentiment.

Hm, too bad. I already figured I wouldn't be getting this sequel since I got the first one through Games with Gold, but there is essentially no difference between that version and the one that people bought at a later point in time, so it's a bit of a bummer, nonetheless. And kind of petty, in my opinion.

After the last disappointing showcase, I have no "wildest" hopes, only tempered expectations. I do hope that we'll finally get to see something that will truly make us feel that we've entered the next generation of gaming, so even though I probably won't be blown away, I'd still like to be genuinely impressed by whatever they have in store.

@FraserG If Games with Gold is going to be integrated into Game Pass, then I'd sooner expect that there will be no free games at all anymore. Well, at least not in the way that we're getting them now in GwG, so there will be no more free OG Xbox or Xbox 360 downloads which are ours to keep, and instead, everything is going to turn into this lousy "Netflix for games" service, which isn't what I want at ALL.

I understand that Game Pass is a big thing, and good value for money for a lot of people, but I just don't have the time or even the taste to play games within a limited time frame, seeing as Game Pass is removing games left and right every week, so that would mean I'd miss out on too many games that I might potentially be interested in, but just don't have the time for.

So, on the one hand, Phil and his team are ticking all the boxes with the new system, but the loss of the true Games with Gold service would be a VERY sad day for me, because for my situation, that's a FAR superior solution compared to the mandatory play schedules of Game Pass.

If this is how it's going to be going forward, then that's VERY bad news.
I don't like or care for GamePass, at ALL. I'm not the Netflix type, so I don't like my options in games to be disposable and/or temporary either.

Even though I don't like Netflix, I'll grant that there at least the model fits, but for games it absolutely doesn't, in my humble opinion. I already see that in the weekly "these titles will be removed from GamePass" articles. It's stupid, ridiculous, and I want none of it. And don't even get me started on how this forces me to play games in a limited time span, instead of whenever I would want to, as it should be...

It might even kill any interest I now still have in Series X, because I'm never going to take a subscription to GamePass, if that'll be the only option going forward, so NOT good on you, Phil. Not good...

@Z3u5000 Well, that makes it slightly less worse, at least. No mandatory stuff so far, then.

Not that I used Mixer all that much: I basically only used it when Inside Xbox streams or other first party efforts were broadcasted on it, but that doesn't mean that I'll be welcoming Facebook Gaming.

I hate Facebook with a passion, Zuckerberg can go die in a hole (or rather: I hope he gets run over by a truck, friggin' psychopath), so I will DEFINITELY not be using that service, no matter what will be featured on it.