The XboxCast

#NuNews: The Rhythm of Muppets

According to Lee, Kyle sounds like a Muppet. 
We don't need you to all agree at once, but it is just something we thought you should know. 
 
News has happened! The charts are changing (kinda). Things are going up. And down. Even sideways! And the game that shall not be named is not in this week's charts. There is much rejoicing from the peanut gallery... 
 
The ABK acquisition is still providing endless entertainment with the EU tipped to approve the deal. All thanks to Microsoft inking the 10-year COD deal with Nintendo. That was a very smart move, if we do say so ourselves. Xbox got a new controller to celebrate! It's bright. It's green. And it's very, very green. In fact, its so green, it's a feature. And we even have new games on GamePass to discuss! 
 
Kyle's Game Thing is going through some rough times. You see, there's going to be 100+ new games coming to Xbox in the next 3 weeks. And we can't guarantee they'll all be good. So in an effort to keep Lee awake, Kyle introduces a new challenge - find the noteworthy, sleeper hit game out of this weeks' list. 
 
On a side note - we're trying to get our YouTube watch hours up. And you can help! Just put us in in the background and let it play. You don't even need to be in the same room! In fact, we recommend listening to us this way. 
 
If you'd like to support the podcast, but don't know how, then just leave a review on your podcast platform of choice. It takes 2 seconds and helps in more ways than you can imagine. 
 
--
For everything about the podcast, check out our official website! 
Follow us on Twitter, find all our links on LinkTree and support us on Patreon. 
 
--
Your hosts are:
 
Kyle: XarCrius on Xbox and Twitter
Lee: Leehoward on Xbox and Twitter 
Simone: GymBeanNZ on Xbox and Twitter 

#GameFace! The April Achievement Intro for Newbies

Yes, yes, we know. It's not quite April yet. 
But that hasn't stopped a lot of people asking about this year's April Achievement Challenge! 
 
Because of all the newbs joining us for 2023, and because its been a year since the last one, and because we have some new stuff to go over, we're jumping into the April Achievement Challenge hype early. 
Simone is kind enough to go over all the ins and outs of this year's second biggest event. The first one being that time Kyle got that haircut one time. 
 
As promised, here are all the links for The XboxCast's April Achievement Challenge 2023: 
The Event Calendar on Our Website
The April Achievement Challenge Sign Up Form
TrueAchievements (To make sure you have an account we can track)
Our Discord so you can talk smack
Apart from the AAC taking up all our brian space, it's been a very quiet week when it comes to games...
 
Lee is stuck in Hogwarts Legacy and I doubt we'll see him on another game until this is done. Kyle jumps into Atomic Heart, and is still confused by American Football. And Simone has had too much going on with organizing the masses for AAC, that she has to delve into the archives of game stories... 
 
If you'd like to support the podcast, but don't know how, then just leave a review on your podcast platform of choice. It takes 2 seconds and helps in more ways than you can imagine. 
 
--
For everything about the podcast, check out our official website! 
Follow us on Twitter, find all our links on LinkTree and support us on Patreon. 
 
--
Your hosts are:
 
Kyle: XarCrius on Xbox and Twitter
Lee: Leehoward on Xbox and Twitter 
Simone: GymBeanNZ on Xbox and Twitter 

#NuNews: The Potato Conundrum

It may be our Destiny to get back into Destiny 2... 
 
The new expansion for Destiny 2 looks amazing. A cyber city on Neptune that just watched the chaos unfold from afar is now opening their gates to the guardians. Which begs the question - where were they for the rest of all the action? 
The Outer Worlds is getting a big upgrade. Which is a new version. For the Series X and PS5. You have to pay for it, and it has a different achievement list, but that's the price you pay for prettiness. Will this be enough to pull you back in? 
 
Hogwarts Legacy is massive. It's bigger than you think! Generating over $850 Million in revenue, it's on its way to challenge Skyrim's billion-dollar record. Could this be the new Skyrim? For the sake of our charts, we hope so. And to top it off Elden Ring is getting an expansion! Even more death! Yay! If that's your thing of course. 
 
If you'd like to support the podcast, but don't know how, then just leave a review on your podcast platform of choice. It takes 2 seconds and helps in more ways than you can imagine. 
 
--
For everything about the podcast, check out our official website! 
Follow us on Twitter, find all our links on LinkTree and support us on Patreon. 
 
--
Your hosts are:
 
Kyle: XarCrius on Xbox and Twitter
Lee: Leehoward on Xbox and Twitter 
Simone: GymBeanNZ on Xbox and Twitter 

#GameFace! Even Boys Can Spin

#FriendlyFeb has come to an end. 
As sad as we are to see it go, we're ready for #MurderMarch! 
 
We're still talking about how moist New Zealand is after Cyclone Gabriell, but lucky for us, Lee has power. And with this power, he's only managed to play one game! How very un-Lee-like!  
 
Kyle is experimenting with Ultimate Team in Madden '23. And has gotten himself super confused. How does this game even work? No one knows. But that doesn't stop him from loving the game! And we're even educational - uncovering the meaning of RAC. And bringing back so many fond memories for Lee - when he sat in London with only Chanel 4 for company in the wee hours of the morning.  
 
Simone is finding Frostpunk super easy, barely an inconvenience. Completely opposite to how Kyle found the game... Maybe he's not that great of a gamer. We'll never know though... Simone gives us some top tips of the week when it comes to this harsh city builder. And should Lee start Frostpunk? Let's all peer pressure him into playing it and seeing where on the ladder he falls. Will he send children to the coal mines? 
 
And speaking of Lee - he's been focusing on Harry Potter. Or rather Hogwarts Legacy. He speaks more Harry Potter words at the other two, which leads to some very blank stares. The stares don't come through in audio, but its a good excuse to check out our YouTube! Have you jumped into Hogwarts Legacy? What do you think of it? And what does your wizard look like? We're super eager to know! 
 
On a side note - we're trying to get our YouTube watch hours up. And you can help! Just put us in in the background and let it play. You don't even need to be in the same room! In fact, we recommend listening to us this way. 
 
If you'd like to support the podcast, but don't know how, then just leave a review on your podcast platform of choice. It takes 2 seconds and helps in more ways than you can imagine. 
 
--
For everything about the podcast, check out our official website! 
Follow us on Twitter, find all our links on LinkTree and support us on Patreon. 
 
--
Your hosts are:
 
Kyle: XarCrius on Xbox and Twitter
Lee: Leehoward on Xbox and Twitter 
Simone: GymBeanNZ on Xbox and Twitter 

#NuNews: Le Xbox Caste

Earthquakes in New Zealand are just part of the weather! 
 
Lee claims there's not much news. Now where have we heard that before? Normally he says it right before a 3-hour podcast... 
 
We're back into the charts, and games are going up and down like they do. Could there be any surprises this week? Or is COD still number 1? You'll have to just listen to find out. City Skylines got a remastered version and a Series X update. Bringing 4K60 to the console and other exciting things that you want from your city builder. 
 
Could Xbox be forced to sell Call of Duty? If the ABK deal goes through, it could be a possibility. And it looks like the tide in the industry is turning against Sony. So we'll be very interested in the future of these franchises... Microsoft has agreed to bring COD to Nintendo day-and-date for the next 10 years should the deal pass, so thats a win in our books. With all the stuff going on, would you be interested in a roudup podcast? From the first anouncement to the latest news - we could sit down and go through it each step of the way. Only if you want it, of course... 
 
LG has a new TV thats wireless. Kinda. No wires to the TV apart from the power cable. But a really ugly box to plug everything into. So swings and roundabouts... And it joins a brand new Xbox controller - Stellar Shift. It looks super nice and shiny. But Lee maintains his is better. Typical. 
 
If you'd like to support the podcast, but don't know how, then just leave a review on your podcast platform of choice. It takes 2 seconds and helps in more ways than you can imagine. 
 
--
For everything about the podcast, check out our official website! 
Follow us on Twitter, find all our links on LinkTree and support us on Patreon. 
 
--
Your hosts are:
 
Kyle: XarCrius on Xbox and Twitter
Lee: Leehoward on Xbox and Twitter 
Simone: GymBeanNZ on Xbox and Twitter 

#GameFace! The Words Cannot Hurt Me

Before we get into what games we're sprinkling on our breakfast, we have a very important announcement. 
 
Hawke's Bay (where we're based) was hit by a cyclone earlier this week. Power and fiber lines were cut, roads were washed away, massive flooding and a lot of devastation was left in its wake. If you're interested in seeing the fallout, check out this link. And if you feel like you want to help out with the relief efforts, feel free to donate here. We're not expecting you to, so don't feel bad if you can't. 
 
Now back to the games! 
 
#FriendlyFeb continues with Lee playing The Grand Tour, and when he's not under water, he's having a whale of a time. Yelling at the other Top Gear hosts, racing around, doing all the things that The Grand Tour does. Including lots of car things. 
 
Kyle is knee deep in The Witness, and supplementing the puzzels with Madden '23. From a peaceful puzzle game, to a peaceful NFL game. Kyle has some choice feedback for Madden as a new player. And if you want to join him and teach him how to play, that would be greatly appreciated. 
 
Simone is washing away the thoughts of #FriendlyFeb with Powerwash Simulator, and friend of the podcast - Chillidawgs - ended up cleaning the firestation without a ladder... Not to be outdone, Simone decided to clean everything with the smallest hose. Because why not! Jump in, wash the world and listen to this podcast. It will help you feel relaxed as, bro. 
 
If you'd like to support the podcast, but don't know how, then just leave a review on your podcast platform of choice. It takes 2 seconds and helps in more ways than you can imagine. 
 
--
For everything about the podcast, check out our official website! 
Follow us on Twitter, find all our links on LinkTree and support us on Patreon. 
 
--
Your hosts are:
 
Kyle: XarCrius on Xbox and Twitter
Lee: Leehoward on Xbox and Twitter 
Simone: GymBeanNZ on Xbox and Twitter 

#NuNews: Don’t Question Skyrim

Our intro was written by ChatGPT. 
And our outro was too. 
The bots look like they've arrived
What, oh what, are creatives to do? 
 
The bots are really coming for our jobs... But I think we have a little more time before it becomes a reality. So, tell us! What do you think? Do you think ChatGPT does a better job than we do? Would you want a podcast composed entirely by a bot? (The correct answer is no, of course.) 
 
What were the top 100 Xbox games for 2022? Luckily you asked, because we have the answer. And we don't think you're going to like it. Because Kyle did not like it at all. Can you guess the number one game? Are you like us and disagree with this list? 
There's new controllers - left and right, everywhere you look! This one is purple and that one has a screen on it. Oh my! 
 
Ubisoft+ is flinally headed to Xbox, at least according to a bunch of rumors. But is it going to mean that all the current Ubisoft games get pulled from GamePass, or will it be a value add like EA Play? We hope its the latter, as there are some amazing Ubisoft games we want to jump into. And we dont want to lose access to the games aready on GamePass. 
And to top it off, we have a story about ourselves! Or more like a story about Lee. From Lee. Seems he may just enjoy talking about himself. But hey, content is content, so we're not going to argue. 
 
And our very first change for Season 7 is that the Nu & Noteworthy game section is now called Kyle's Game Thing. Please all welcome Kyle's Game Thing as a segement to the NuNews format. Tell us if you like it, hate it, want it changed back to just happy that we're back to putting out podcasts. 
 
If you'd like to support the podcast, but don't know how, then just leave a review on your podcast platform of choice. It takes 2 seconds and helps in more ways than you can imagine. 
 
--
For everything about the podcast, check out our official website! 
Follow us on Twitter, find all our links on LinkTree and support us on Patreon. 
 
--
Your hosts are:
 
Kyle: XarCrius on Xbox and Twitter
Lee: Leehoward on Xbox and Twitter 
Simone: GymBeanNZ on Xbox and Twitter 

#GameFace! You’ve Hit a Tree, Jim

Welcome to Season 7! 
Can you believe it? Because we can't. 
 
We have a lot of games to catch up on from our Christmas break and #FriendlyFeb, so what better way to start than to talk absolute nonsense. Starting with #FriendlyFeb we go over who is paying what and how a certain someone has already failed that challenge... 
 
We have some questions from the peanut gallery. I mean fans! We have some questions from the fans. If you think you can ask better questions, then jump into our #Discord and throw us a few curveballs. We love to answer anything you ever wondered, so keep them coming. 
 
If you'd like to support the podcast, but don't know how, then just leave a review on your podcast platform of choice. It takes 2 seconds and helps in more ways than you can imagine. 
 
--
For everything about the podcast, check out our official website! 
Follow us on Twitter, find all our links on LinkTree and support us on Patreon. 
 
--
Your hosts are:
 
Kyle: XarCrius on Xbox and Twitter
Lee: Leehoward on Xbox and Twitter 
Simone: GymBeanNZ on Xbox and Twitter 

The Year Ahead Podcast Special

What's in store for us this year as we enter Season 7? 
You'll just have to listen to find out.
 
In true XboxCast form, this was only ever supposed to live on YouTube. But our adoring fans (read: us) wanted it out in the wild for your listening ears and to help keep us accountable. 
Now we have to live with every claim we've made as we look ahead to 2023 and what it holds for us. From what games we're looking forward to, to our yearly events - we hope to keep the surprises coming. 
 
If you've been sitting on the sidelines, this is the year where we encourage you - join our events, join the Discord, and lets make this year a great one for gaming! 
 
--
For everything about the podcast, check out our official website! 
Follow us on Twitter, find all our links on LinkTree and support us on Patreon. 
 
--
Your hosts are:
 
Kyle: XarCrius on Xbox and Twitter
Lee: Leehoward on Xbox and Twitter 
Simone: GymBeanNZ on Xbox and Twitter 

The Game Awards Episode ’22

It's time to play the music
It's time to light the lights
It's time to reveal our game awards tonight
 
It's time to put on makeup
It's time to dress up right
It's time to raise the curtain
On the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, XboxCastational
Game Awards tonight
 
2022 was a massive year for us. Lockdowns ended, we met some of you, some of you met us, we recorded the most episodes ever in a year, and most importantly all of our stats went up. That’s what really matters here. So we're going to end off the year with us celebrating the best and worst games we played. And we even have some help from the listeners again!
 
From our lovely Patrons, to our Listener Choice Awards - you know what's coming. But we even have even more podcast stats for you. Where are you listening from? What are you using to listen to us? We do a deep dive into these types of very exciting stats. And introducing our personal stats! Games played, achievements won, and games finished.
 
But of course the main event of the show - #TheGameAwards for 2022! And with our typical XboxCast twist. If you missed what categories we covered, then you're in luck - we have them in our Discord.
Remember - these awards are games we played in 2022 and not necessarily games that came out in 2022. Because why limit ourselves? And we're also casual gamers. So... 
 
We'll be joining our friends at Hall of Gamers to help out with their Game Awards show! Join us as we try to derail their podcast. We'll be there on Monday the 12th at 6:30 PM AU time! 
 
If you'd like to support the podcast, but don't know how, then just leave a review on your podcast platform of choice. It takes 2 seconds and helps in more ways than you can imagine. 
 
From the whole team at The XboxCast - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! You guys have been great. 
 
--
For everything about the podcast, check out our official website! 
Follow us on Twitter, find all our links on LinkTree and support us on Patreon. 
 
--
Your hosts are:
 
Kyle: XarCrius on Xbox and Twitter
Lee: Leehoward on Xbox and Twitter 
Simone: GymBeanNZ on Xbox and Twitter 

#NuNews: Controller Swag

Let's get technical.
And spend some time discussing our audio setup. 
 
Starfield is being compared to No Man's Sky. Again. Because clearly the gaming media have a bug bear about this. Lee is dubious about Starfield. Kyle is optimistic. Lee is going to dad-build it. Kyle is looking at what clothes will be available. At least it will make for entertaining #GameFace! episodes... We hope. 
 
The Activision Blizzard deal is still making headlines, with more waves being made by the FTC now. But with all the complaining from the competition, has team blue managed to sour their relationship with the COD maker? It certainly seems that way. And Xbox offering a ten year deal to Sony certainly has a lot of regulators leaning towards approval. 
 
Is your controller getting cold? Does your drink need some Xbox swag? Lucky for you, theres the Xbox Puffin Drinkwear 'The Hoodie' to keep your drink cool while looking cool. Who doesn't want one! Thats Christmas sorted. 
 
We'll be joing our friends at Hall of Gamers to help out with their Game Awards show! Join us as we try to derail their podcast. Keep an eye on our Twitter for where and when this will be! 
 
We're getting ready for our annual Game of The Year Awards show! And you're invited to contribute. How you ask? Just fill out this form with your answers and tell us all about your Games of The Year! Let's get HYPED! And you're welcome to jump into our Discord and chat about your nominations there too. 
 
If you'd like to support the podcast, but don't know how, then just leave a review on your podcast platform of choice. It takes 2 seconds and helps in more ways than you can imagine. 
 
--
For everything about the podcast, check out our official website! 
Follow us on Twitter, find all our links on LinkTree and support us on Patreon. 
 
--
Your hosts are:
 
Kyle: XarCrius on Xbox and Twitter
Lee: Leehoward on Xbox and Twitter 
Simone: GymBeanNZ on Xbox and Twitter 

#GameFace! Murder is Good

Are you ready for the last #GameFace! episode of the year? 
Don't be sad. Instead join us for our Game Awards show! 
 
Kyle and Simone got their Halo Achievement! And all it took was Lee to sit in party chat and 'encourage' us! Look at what we can do when we work together. The power of friendship prevails. 
 
Simone gives us an update on Pentiment, some controversial takes and all. She has made a friend. Some one with rickety fingers. But then he died. Oh dear...  
 
Lee has completed Geometric Sniper, and is saying its his Game of the Year. High praise from someone who played 60-something games this year! And then jumps into Gungrave G.O.R.E. A game about shooting. You shoot things and get points and get to shoot more. How crazy is this game? Probably crazier than you think. 
 
We're getting ready for our annual Game of The Year Awards show! And you're invited to contribute. How, you ask? Just fill out this form with your answers and tell us all about your Games of The Year! Let's get HYPED! And you're welcome to jump into our Discord and chat about your nominations there too. 
 
If you'd like to support the podcast, but don't know how, then just leave a review on your podcast platform of choice. It takes 2 seconds and helps in more ways than you can imagine. 
 
--
For everything about the podcast, check out our official website! 
Follow us on Twitter, find all our links on LinkTree and support us on Patreon. 
 
--
Your hosts are:
 
Kyle: XarCrius on Xbox and Twitter
Lee: Leehoward on Xbox and Twitter 
Simone: GymBeanNZ on Xbox and Twitter