Kena and Horizon where clearly my highlights!
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Yeah I can see that, the only thing from the Sony-thing I was interested in was the Horizon FW trailer. And…most likely since HZD is something I played and enjoyed. (Even though it is overrated. It’s a good Ubsioftesque open world game like a Far Cry with a good protagonist and interesting setting)
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I think you make a good point on the Sony side of things. I respected the game play being shown. I just wasn’t interested in the games they were showing the gameplay for. Which as you say is a big part of it.
By the way I loved the Fable trailer. The whole frog thing was great.
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I liked Horizon on the PS4 Pro I used to have too. Probably the one I enjoyed most of all. For all of the exclusives I tried though, I did often keep wondering, what if this was first person and not third person for a change… but thats maybe just me. Old PC preferences dying hard.
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I bought a PS4 very late just to play the handful of exclusives I was interested in. So far not very impressed tbh, good games for sure but not the second coming of Christ like I was told. A bit of a relief actually, to realize it aint much greener on the other side 
That’s when i became convinced there is such a thing as a PS-cult. Ah well, off topic.
I disagree in a number ways.
Yes the world itself was quite ubi like but the gameplay and story is fantastic.
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I had just played the Far Cry 3 remaster before HZD, and to me it was very similar hehe. Crafting, skills, towers, enemy camps with the same alarm mechanics etc.
The 3 reused NPC-models threw me off more times than I can remember, that was bad. “Oh you are a new guy, I thought I just talked to you…”
But yes, the story is very good and Aloy is awesome. The robo-dinos was great too. Best of all was the setting, post-post apocalypse is nice, and exploring and lore was fun.
The Frozen Wilds was much improved, and I liked that more than the main game.
When I review the Xbox May Showcase, it was a 7.0/10 for me overall but I added the following to my gaming list from the showcase -
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
- Bright Memory Infinite
- The Ascent
From the Xbox July Showcase, I rated it an 8.0/10 and added the following to my gaming list -
- Avowed
- Crossfire X campaign from Remedy
- Fable
- Gears Tactics
- Halo Infinite
- Stalker 2
- State of Decay 3
So overall, between both showcases, I ended up with a total of 10 games. My biggest complaint was the lack of gameplay, too many CGI trailers which I fucking hate and for the July showcase, too many Indies and filler/padding which is not what I want to see on a major showcase. My biggest complaint from the May showcase was Greenberg over-hyping the damn thing.
In general, I truly believe that sometimes less is more and better to just stay quiet, under promise and then over deliver especially when nobody is expecting it. But it all is what it is. 23 days away from 2021, I don’t really care about any of this shit anymore. I just want my Series X so I can start playing my games as I have a backlog already. UGH.
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It is mathematically the most powerful console. What happens in games is up to the devs and the state of the dev tools.
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Nearly every single thing listed in the OP traces back to the GDK issue. As does the delays of various games intended for holiday 2020.
I do think there is a problem but not with Xbox or even marketing ppl in general. The problem is gamers want every single showing to be a blowout of biblical proportions that will magically erase every conceivable component of the platform that the person feels insecure about. It’s the audience at fault here. Even the May showcase was accurately billed and if ya actually bother checking the tweets leading to it and see what was shown, you will likely be real surprised how close they are.
The way to get around the issue is to not give ppl the opportunity to form expectations at all. Just drop stuff a day or two an event happens or drop it outta nowhere like XSS and Bethesda news.
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Nope. I enjoyed what they showed as well.
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Nope, I was actually surprised by all the negativity online after the event as I was super hype after.
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Both Horizon 2 and Kena looked great as did Miles, Ratchet and RE 8. Like with Godfall though, I will wait for Kena to release on Xbox.
I enjoyed the July showcase and didn’t even know about all the Halo stuff until after the show was finished. Had the same issues/negatives with this showcase that I had with the Sony June showcase. Minimal gameplay. Too many CGI trailers. Too many Indies/filler/padding in the middle of the showcase which is not what I want to see from a major showcase and it killed the pacing.
I’m sure MS could show plenty of stuff that is not ready for primetime yet and then have the wrath of the online hordes bitching, moaning and nitpicking.
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You start the thread by saying it’s not for fanboys but then you start by saying it’s “untrue” that the Series X is the most powerful console.
When will people get that one thing has nothing to do with the other? These early cross-gen games that take ZERO advantage of the Series X’s horsepower is not indicative of anything. Not to mention what’s already known about the late and immature tools due to them waiting for fhe full RDNA2 feature set.
Can’t wait for things to settle and we start seeing what devs can really do with this system.
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I don’t really know what i was expecting from this thread when I saw the title, But I guess of all the things listed and the general point I think is trying to be gotten across. I can say that yes Xbox has a marketing/pr problem often. But I don’t think there is marketing campaign to be had in before every event saying “to set expectations low” (and there was obviously specific context there). I’ve also seen how fans get, of all 3 platforms before events, without any provocation or “being let on”, what rumors materialize out of thin air they believe and the circus tents that go up all often without any company saying anything.
Hi, I’m from the UK, so I only just woke up to see all these replies. I didn’t just peace out. 
Okay, so I’d like to say that I personally see Series X as more powerful than the PS5, because looking on paper it really is a decent 20% gap. I was talking about the media side, which thankfully a few people did notice.
[quote=“MaulerX, post:35, topic:5267”] You start the thread by saying it’s not for fanboys but then you start by saying it’s “untrue” that the Series X is the most powerful console.[/quote]
I think you need to re-read the whole paragraph and not spin it.
On one hand I didn’t like making this thread for some replies, but then there are rational replies like this that make it worth it. I agree - some of the reveals were awesome, I also got super hyper by avowed.
I enjoyed the show as well. There are dozens of us!
But seriously, I would agree that the Xbox advertising people badly needed to refine their messaging. I think they have now made improvements, but it’s an ongoing thing & they need to keep at it. Both PlayStation & Nintendo seem to have hit on reliable styles that suit them down to the ground & just work.
I’ve also been thinking for a while that Xbox needs more likeable “faces” to talk about upcoming games at events like E3. Again, both PlayStation & Nintendo seem to usually have good people introducing their new stuff. Phil generally does all the heavy lifting there.
Having said that, I also realise that a lot has changed at Xbox in a relatively short time. We’re kind of at a new start, where MS are now properly trying to build something big with Xbox, in these past couple of years. A lot of seeds have been planted recently, which should definitely bear fruit. Advertising & PR for gaming is probably a lot easier when a steady stream of great games are being delivered. That’s the next step for Xbox.
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Really games are what matters and as long as they are not ready, what can you do?
I mean with the start of next year all eyes will be on Halo. I really next year will be big for xbox.
I’d say all you can do is exactly what Xbox did with the July showcase; in a straightforward way, just let people know that Xbox has a good amount of talented studios now & games like Avowed, Fable & Everwild, etc are coming.
This is what I was saying, once the studios start producing the goods, the messaging gets easier because you just show the game & let people build their own hype.
I agree with you, I think big things are coming in the next few years.
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