What a fun week it has been! Plenty of video games, and brand new toys upon which to play them! We chat through it all in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 285!
This week, Jon, Nick and Jesse are joined by the always legendary MVG to chat about the latest in gaming, and as per usual, there’s plenty of topics to cover if you’re an Xbox fan. On the games to play side of things, we’ve got plenty of content for you to devour, from our impressions piece on the recent Call of Duty Black Ops 7 beta, to the final, full Battlefield 6 Multiplayer Review.
We’re also headfirst into Microsoft’s big three for the month, with the absolutely lovely Keeper already out now in Xbox Game Pass. If you’ve , to be swiftly followed by NINJA GAIDEN 4 and then shortly after that, the awesome looking The Outer Worlds 2. We also finally got to talk about BALL x PIT, which has arrived on Game Pass too. That’s a lot of games, and what’s even crazier – that’s just some of the 50+ games coming to Xbox next week. Madness.
The biggest topic of the week is of course Microsoft and ASUS’s foray into Xbox-centric gaming handhelds. The ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are here, and I got hold of one thanks to the team at Xbox to bring you our verdict on the more powerful version of these two new handheld devices. Is it an Xbox? What does that even mean, anyway? If you’re keen for even more Xbox Ally X content, I hosted a quick Q&A for folks, so feel free to tune in and check that out here.
In sad news, this week also saw the passing of a video game industry legend – The father of Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive, Tomonobu Itagaki died, and quite rightly there was an outpouring of love and support on social media. Thanks for all the great games, Itagaki-san.
All this and more to listen in the XboxEra Podcast Episode 285! As always, if you value what we do, consider supporting us directly on Patreon. Just head to patreon.com/xboxera to make a difference and keep your favourite independent Xbox-focused publication alive – for now, at least!
Timestamps:
00:00:00 – Going live
00:10:56 – Intro
00:12:46 – Hi everyone and welcome back MVG!
00:17:35 – What have we been playing?
00:18:08 – Black Ops 7 Beta
00:19:10 – Silent Hill f
00:21:00 – Call of Duty vs Battlefield 6
00:24:25 – Keeper
00:30:16 – Ball x Pit
00:36:48 – MVG needs to play Arkanoid Eternal Battle
00:38:38 – The ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X is finally out!
00:53:04 – Jon decides to take us down an Xbox ded tangent
01:26:20 – Nick tries to get us back to ROG Ally discussion, is it an Xbox?!
01:34:15 – Jon distracts us again with Xbox ded
01:36:26 – Metroid Prime 4 has been pre-ordered and will win 2026 Game of the Year!
01:37:54 – Superchat about coffee and another about “This is an Xbox” (we discuss the second one) 01:47:35 – Very brief price discussion on the Ally X
01:49:45 – Brief performance discussion on the Ally X
01:59:15 – Halo CE Remake rumours discussion
02:05:36 – Game development legend Tomonobu Itagaki has passed away, age 58
02:09:35 – Jon decides to once again derail with a story about rubbish
02:12:10 – Patron Shout
02:14:59 – Community Question #1: Soundmage – MVG’s thoughts on Play Anywhere?
02:19:57 – Community Question #2: Good Old Collingwood – Did MVG go to the Rugby in Vegas? 02:23:40 – Community Question #3: Tiberius Monk – If you interviewed a horror game developer… 02:26:20 – Community Question #4: SJ – You seen Splinter Cell Deathwatch?
02:28:42 – Jez distracts us
02:30:38 – Community Question #5: ItzFinn – Favourite/Most disliked candy?
02:36:50 – Community Question #6: PoderickPayne – I liked Battle field 6, then I got my ass kicked 02:40:30 – Community Question #7: Hytham G – My thoughts on the future of Xbox
02:44:13 – Community Question #8: 99ruken – Would you rather movie tie-ins or book tie-ins for games? 02:46:53 – Community Question #9: DidactBRHU3 – Do we think the Ally X will be able to play our whole Xbox library in the future?
02:49:01 – Wrapping up
02:52:25 – Ciao for now!
