Microsoft Closes Redfall Developer Arkane Austin, HiFi Rush Developer Tango Gameworks, and More
- Thread starter wshowers
- Start date
She didn't really say anything again, just like their business update thing it's all a lot of words that mean nothing.
Will have to watch later, gonna go see planet of the apes
I effed up my ticket purchase somehow. It was for planet of the gapes.
Would explain why the screening was located at a adult bookstore.
Dang, she did not want to be there. Her body language, eyes, breathing, twitching in her cheeks just signaled so many things, like she was flustered and knew they were gonna ask said questions, again, she definitely didn’t want to be there. At fan fest she was casual and open and just a player with power, but humble and even did a shout out to her dad, who was in the audience, to thank him for getting into gaming, I think he too may have been in the gaming industry.
I wonder if with their new game store, on mobile devices, would work like pc and console cross progression, saves and achievements…oh and I guess avatars? Maybe we could see some of their mobile games come to Xbox and pc? Kindle and vr too?
It was basically a non answer. Lot of words that didn't really answer the question. Even though hifi rush was winning awards, it did not sell well enough period but they didn't want to blatantly say it like that to undermine Gamepass and the numbers. Tango was pitching hifi rush 2 sequel and they would need to hire so MS decided it wasn't worth it in the end.
I haven't watched the full video yet, but the shorter clip doesn't look good. It felt like a political response and she looked uncomfortable.
I don't know that there really is a good answer to that question but you would think she would have been better prepared for it
Don’t they usually send out a list of questions to them before they do said interview? I feel like she was going through something like I when doing a presentation in class in middle school.
She kinda came off like matrick when they asked him about offline gaming. She was like “I’ve answered most of these already” or “I’m not the one who can fully answer them”
As a person I feel bad for her, but as a someone in said leadership role, she could’ve done better. But that probably was the time or place.
I do feel like someone needs to address it, in a proper interview. Otherwise I don’t know if they show up to fanfest. Phil did, last year, and mention the interview where he “wore his heart on his sleeve”.
She and the rest of Xbox higher ups probably under a lot of corporate pressure now so her tone and everything seems different from that other time.
Her tone changed a few times during the interview. She seemed excited, her posture even changed a few times, like she was excited to mention some things. But honestly how can you spin a positive with what happened? At least she mentioned that they’re gonna be helping those effected by it
Shoot, I meant to say, “that probably wasn’t the time or place”
I feel for Sarah, I do but you're apart of Xbox leadership so you gotta take this one on the chin. Phil Spencer obviously should have been the 1st one to address this and it does, to me anyway, come off as scapegoating Sarah for what more than likely was not her call. At the same time I don't know if there is anything Phil, Sarah or anyone at Xbox could say that would be sufficient as far as explanations go. Would not surprise me that if they didn't give anymore interviews until after the showcase.
Even Destin who's been pro Xbox for a while is wondering why Sarah doesn't have a good response.
It doesn't need to be about sides. I think that's where some get annoyed.
You can have an opinion about a system and still like it.
I like the Xbox system and I, too, think her response in that short clip is poor. Doesn't make me hate Xbox or side with PS.
I think it's okay to call a spade as a spade, why get annoyed over that ? I admit I'm a bigger fan of PS games but I still play Xbox games too, doesn't make me any better or worse than any other gamer. We are all adults here. Not to mention many posters already categorize others into one side so much that they start to target the poster and not about the news.
It was not intended to differentiate into sides but like you, Destin is a big Xbox fan, and he also doesn't like her response.
Last edited:
“
Happy Friday. People have asked me what I think about the Xbox strategy and all this press. Publications have asked me questions about Xbox.
I 100% love Xbox and think Xbox can find a path to great success for their teams and players around the world. 100%. 110%!
To answer some questions:
Xbox has always been accountable for its business. Even when it was small, or in the red, pressure exists and always will. I see some articles today with anonymous ex-Xbox'ers talking about the Board....I don't see this as "the Board" doing something different. It's not the function of a Board to be operators that dictate to business units and teams what to do day to day. Sure, pressure and stakes are always high and only get higher as you grow. I've never seen Satya dictate something top down - he questions and pushes but empowers his teams. He is a fantastic leader.
The idea of 'the market isn't growing' is a PR excuse. As a team, it's your job to drive your own growth even if the overall market isn't growing at the anticipated rate. I think it's more 'the strategy isn't working as expected'. Which is OK - strategies have to continually shift in a market that moves as fast as gaming does.
I'll say again, this all comes down to making great games. If you make great games, consumer demand will follow and your business can do well even in low market growth years. A great game is a $500M-1B+ profit generator for the business (across platforms). Given the size of Studios, you need to get to a world where a few of the teams are delivering against this at the right cadence (you don't need all your Studios doing big, huge games... and shouldn't as the risk profile is too large). After all, your install base is big right now given where we are in this console generation (and of course big on PC as well) so the opportunity exists for success.
If you aren't making great games then your hardware isn't selling, and your subscription is flatlining .... the clarity of strategy or execution is broken somewhere and needs to be fixed inclusive of ensuring leadership and team capability to drive great game development and growth. They 100% have teams who can make great games. It just isn't consistently happening.
I see two paths here: If your North Star is the Game Pass subscription, you have to take that exclusive to your services and HW and be all in across games, HW, and services in an exclusive 'go big' plan. Pumping regular 90+ rated games into this will drive consumer affinity and satisfaction. That said, it is high risk/high reward and takes a strong desire to win. If you're not willing to do that, then you're on another path: you're a Publisher across all devices and you need to embrace that 100% and be clear (likely means out of HW, I fundamentally believe if you don't have great exclusive content your HW is doomed as people won't understand 'why' they need it.). Being the world's largest publisher of games is a great spot to be in - as long as you can make great games. If you can't, you'll be right back where you started. You have the pick your lane and go hard at it for success, with clear communication to your players. If you play in the middle of these two paths, IMHO you'll hurt your teams and you'll have constant churn and chaos.
It starts and ends with a strong desire to win and making great games that exceed player expectations. That is what is fragile now and needs to be addressed as soon as possible.
These are all hard decisions, it's certainly no easy task given where things stand today, and both paths have dramatic implications. But I fundamentally believe in Xbox, its fans, and the opportunity ahead for great HW, services, and games OR as a publisher of games and services across any screen. I'm cheering for Xbox and it pains me to see all the negative swirl. So for those asking, keep the faith in Xbox but ask for clarity on what the path forward is for the brand and product. Then make your own decision on what is best for you and your valuable time and money.
For those who think I'm one of the people talking to publications anonymously about Xbox, I am not. I was not a founding member of Xbox and I think by now you all know I won't be 'anonymous' if I have something to say
. These are just my opinions. This is the last I will talk about this here on X. It's easy to say what you think when you're not in the trenches living the reality of the challenges. I wish great success for Xbox now and into the future - it's good for gaming overall and I care deeply for Blizzard who is now part of the Xbox team.
”
“
Happy Friday. People have asked me what I think about the Xbox strategy and all this press. Publications have asked me questions about Xbox.
I 100% love Xbox and think Xbox can find a path to great success for their teams and players around the world. 100%. 110%!
To answer some questions:
Xbox has always been accountable for its business. Even when it was small, or in the red, pressure exists and always will. I see some articles today with anonymous ex-Xbox'ers talking about the Board....I don't see this as "the Board" doing something different. It's not the function of a Board to be operators that dictate to business units and teams what to do day to day. Sure, pressure and stakes are always high and only get higher as you grow. I've never seen Satya dictate something top down - he questions and pushes but empowers his teams. He is a fantastic leader.
The idea of 'the market isn't growing' is a PR excuse. As a team, it's your job to drive your own growth even if the overall market isn't growing at the anticipated rate. I think it's more 'the strategy isn't working as expected'. Which is OK - strategies have to continually shift in a market that moves as fast as gaming does.
I'll say again, this all comes down to making great games. If you make great games, consumer demand will follow and your business can do well even in low market growth years. A great game is a $500M-1B+ profit generator for the business (across platforms). Given the size of Studios, you need to get to a world where a few of the teams are delivering against this at the right cadence (you don't need all your Studios doing big, huge games... and shouldn't as the risk profile is too large). After all, your install base is big right now given where we are in this console generation (and of course big on PC as well) so the opportunity exists for success.
If you aren't making great games then your hardware isn't selling, and your subscription is flatlining .... the clarity of strategy or execution is broken somewhere and needs to be fixed inclusive of ensuring leadership and team capability to drive great game development and growth. They 100% have teams who can make great games. It just isn't consistently happening.
I see two paths here: If your North Star is the Game Pass subscription, you have to take that exclusive to your services and HW and be all in across games, HW, and services in an exclusive 'go big' plan. Pumping regular 90+ rated games into this will drive consumer affinity and satisfaction. That said, it is high risk/high reward and takes a strong desire to win. If you're not willing to do that, then you're on another path: you're a Publisher across all devices and you need to embrace that 100% and be clear (likely means out of HW, I fundamentally believe if you don't have great exclusive content your HW is doomed as people won't understand 'why' they need it.). Being the world's largest publisher of games is a great spot to be in - as long as you can make great games. If you can't, you'll be right back where you started. You have the pick your lane and go hard at it for success, with clear communication to your players. If you play in the middle of these two paths, IMHO you'll hurt your teams and you'll have constant churn and chaos.
It starts and ends with a strong desire to win and making great games that exceed player expectations. That is what is fragile now and needs to be addressed as soon as possible.
These are all hard decisions, it's certainly no easy task given where things stand today, and both paths have dramatic implications. But I fundamentally believe in Xbox, its fans, and the opportunity ahead for great HW, services, and games OR as a publisher of games and services across any screen. I'm cheering for Xbox and it pains me to see all the negative swirl. So for those asking, keep the faith in Xbox but ask for clarity on what the path forward is for the brand and product. Then make your own decision on what is best for you and your valuable time and money.
For those who think I'm one of the people talking to publications anonymously about Xbox, I am not. I was not a founding member of Xbox and I think by now you all know I won't be 'anonymous' if I have something to say
These are just my opinions. This is the last I will talk about this here on X. It's easy to say what you think when you're not in the trenches living the reality of the challenges. I wish great success for Xbox now and into the future - it's good for gaming overall and I care deeply for Blizzard who is now part of the Xbox team.
Mike is calling out these influences, as should everybody. I think all companies should be off the social media and just focus the games.
I don't care if xbox is in third place, I did hope Phil would make xbox fans happy with the gaming focus and promises of giving us great exclusives and make us happy about choosing xbox before playstation. But now those promises isn't worth s*** since I could've bought a playstation and play xbox "exclusives" AND playstation exclusives...
Most likely not his decision, but here we are.
They are happy with performance? again they got money for a game they otherwise wouldn't have gotten because MS paid them to put it on the service, they have nothing coming out of Japan lol. They didn't say they have seen increased sales.
I'm sure he doesn't want to put games on PlayStation but if he had been able to get the teams they already had to put out quality titles that got people's attention and brought in new customers they wouldn't have needed to spend the kind of money they have on buying publishers in the first place. That insane amount of money they've thrown around is the reason they are being forced to be more like a 3rd party, there is just no path to recovering it let alone covering all of their costs without selling more games on every platform, they certainly haven't found a way to grow their own.
There is room for 3 viable console companies IMO it's just MS/Xbox have been a bit erratic and haven't really found a place they are happy with. They tried to shift during the 360 era to a kinect focus because they thought they could out Wii the Wii and that was where the downward spiral started, and they've never recovered.
I can't read it, he blocked me for questioning him on something once lol.
Yep, you don't have to hate something because you disagree with some part of it.
Last edited:
Not as well a reception hifi rush got apparently.
I think it's also because it was not a game MS normally makes or releases. Did they not have internal reviews over the game too like Redfall and Starfield ?