The Interviews Of Phil Spencer - To P3 And Beyond

that article is not liking Phils approach to how he is dealing with gaming with cross-gen. I think this article keeps forgetting that it will only last for 2 years and that is it. They want to make sure that they don't lose anybody or get ripped off.
 
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that article is not liking Phils approach to how he is dealing with gaming with cross-gen. I think this article keeps forgetting that it will only last for 2 years and that is it. They want to make sure that they don't lose anybody or get ripped off.
2-14 months from the release of Series X, per Booty.
 
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*edit to add below


TLDR

Phil reiterates that they want more first-party power in the "E for everyone" sector, as well as geographically more diverse studios. He says they'll keep growing first-party just as Xbox and Game Pass grows. He also makes a good comment on the whole "acquisitions are bad!" kind of thing.

He also says very boldly the Xbox brand today is in the best position ever with hardware, first-party, service etc. -- still says it's early in this whole journey.

Massive opportunity in the PC gaming sector.

Congratulates Sony on their new studios.

Phil knows they need to get better at localization etc. on their own games they ship.

Remembers Robert A. Altman; he would've been proud of the teams and the showcase.

Excited about Avowed. "We want to give Obsidian the budget and time to build the best game they can build."

Ryan kind of wanted Phil to push into a "Halo Infinite is the franchise do or die" moment, and Phil doesn't agree. He believes in the team and the game and does not like the idea of putting that pressure on the team. Halo will be here in 10 years. Halo Infinite aims to be a fantastic Halo game first and foremost, team is fully focused on getting that right, really happy with the reception on multiplayer.

xCloud gives the opportunity to not leave Xbox One players behind. Native hardware will be the best experience, but it's a great bridge opportunity.

Chip shortages will stay a problem for quite some time. Apologizes. "The demand for Xbox hardware never was higher than it is today."

Xbox team is a crucial part of Microsoft with influence on other areas and teams. Broad impact on Windows etc., proud about that, Xbox never was in that position before, Satya embraces that opportunity.
Click to shrink...
 
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Speaking in an interview in the latest issue of Edge magazine, the head of Xbox was asked if he thinks Xbox is still engaged in a traditional console war despite the likes of Game Pass and xCloud changing the landscape.

“I spend zero energy on ‘how do I make other gaming platforms smaller so that Xbox gets bigger’,” Spencer said. “I’m more interested in the growing pie of gaming than I am our slice of the pie-eating into someone else’s.

“And it’s why we focus on things like cross-play and cross-saves. I think about these scenarios of why you and I maybe can’t play a game together, and it shouldn’t be because of the console you bought versus the console I bought.”

He added: “That doesn’t help the industry grow, when we put artificial barriers up on those things. Whether that means we’re doing something different than the other guys, you’d have to ask them.

“But I’d say for us, it’s not about somebody else getting smaller so that we get bigger.”

Spencer stated last year that Microsoft now views Amazon and Google as its primary competitors in the games business.

Speaking to Protocol, Spencer claimed that Xbox’s traditional rivals Nintendo and PlayStation aren’t set up to compete in the race to take gaming truly mainstream via the cloud.

“When you talk about Nintendo and Sony, we have a ton of respect for them, but we see Amazon and Google as the main competitors going forward,” Spencer said.

“That’s not to disrespect Nintendo and Sony, but the traditional gaming companies are somewhat out of position. I guess they could try to re-create Azure, but we’ve invested tens of billions of dollars in cloud over the years.

“I don’t want to be in a fight over format wars with those guys while Amazon and Google are focusing on how to get gaming to 7 billion people around the world. Ultimately, that’s the goal.”
 


In an interview in the latest issue of Edge magazine, Spencer was asked if Game Pass is the sole focus for Xbox going forwards.

“No, it’s not,” he replied. “And I know it’s easy – I’m not picking on you when I say that, but you know, the thing I get a lot is ‘it’s all about X’, or ‘it’s all about Y or Z’.

“And when you’re running the platform, it’s all about X, Y and Z, right? It’s all of those things.”

He added: “Do I want, or do I envision, everybody who’s on Xbox being a Game Pass subscriber? I don’t.

“I want people to make their choice. Some people want to buy all the games we ship and create their own library.”

In the same interview, Spencer reiterated his belief that Game Pass made good business sense, something that has been questioned by the likes of Sony Interactive Entertainment boss Jim Ryan and former PlayStationexecutive Shawn Layden in the past.

“Subscriptions give you a good continual revenue stream,” Spencer told Edge. “And that’s an important thing for any business, on top of the spikes that you’ll get around certain retail releases.

“That’s why I talk about it really being a mix of things. It’s not about one muscling out another.

“The business doesn’t hinge on any one number. The retail sales number, the console sales number, the Windows engagement, Game Pass, xCloud engagement… it’s really all of these things coming together.”

This isn’t the first time Spencer has stressed that Game Pass is sustainable, but not the company’s sole focus.
 

 


In discussing some of the intellectual properties owned by under Activision Blizzard, Spencer's excitement may have mirrored the enthusiasm of a "Starcraft" player noticing the long-dormant franchise's logo in Microsoft's acquisition announcement.
"I was looking at the IP list, I mean, let's go!" Spencer said. "'King's Quest,' 'Guitar Hero.' ... I should know this but I think they got 'HeXen.'"

"HeXen," indeed an Activision Blizzard property, is a cult hit first-person game about using magic spells. Microsoft's pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard also means owning the rights to many creations from gaming's past, including Crash Bandicoot, the original Sony PlayStation mascot. There's also the influential and popular Tony Hawk skateboard series, and beloved characters like Spyro the Dragon.


Toys for Bob, one of the studios working under the Activision Blizzard banner, successfully launched games like "Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time," but later get folded into supporting Call of Duty games. Spencer said the Xbox team will talk with developers about working on a variety of franchises from the Activision Blizzard vaults.
"We're hoping that we'll be able to work with them when the deal closes to make sure we have resources to work on franchises that I love from my childhood and that the teams really want to get," Spencer said. "I'm looking forward to these conversations. I really think it's about adding resources and increasing capability."