• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Phil Spencer on If Microsoft Will Ever Launch AAA Titles on Steam Again

xbox-e3-2016-schedule.jpg


From the Giantbomb stream. My quick, approximate, transcript is below but be sure to check out the recording - it's a long answer so I certainly missed or mistyped a couple things and others don't come across the same in text.

Definitely could. I look at Steam today, it's on an incredible growth trajectory. It's a massive force in gaming, a positive force, I think it'll be bigger a year from now than it is today and five years later it'll still be bigger again...My role, well we say it's head of Xbox, actually inside of Microsoft they think of me as the head of gaming. I look at Valve as an important ISV [independent software vendor] for us on Windows. They are such a critical part of gaming's success on Windows. I don't think Valve's hurt by us not having our games on their store right now; they are doing incredibly well and I think we're going to learn by doing of putting our games in our store.

I wanna build a store, there's no doubt about that. Gabe and Scott and Eric and I talked about this and I think Gabe says it very well there are going to be areas where we co-operate and areas where we compete and it's, the end result, is better for gamers. So I definitely want to have, inside of Windows, a healthy store and in order to exorcise the issues that we talked about in terms of some of our early launches I think I have to put my first party stuff there. We adopted Xbox Live before anybody else on console. We're there at launch on consoles doing things that third parties won't go do so I think we need that.

I get the same sentiment that you hear of "hey if you don't put it on Steam then it's not really a Windows game". Steam has earned that, Valve has earned that with the way they treated customers and they've been there and I understand the GFWL 2.0 meme and how "hey maybe we'll forget how to spell Windows again and just try to trick everybody into buying an Xbox". I get that perception from people and I'll tell you as long as I'm in this job I think about Windows and our work on Xbox as core to what we are trying to do and I want to learn from putting our games in our store and the process of doing that because I want to have a healthy store ecosystem. But we will ship games on Steam again and the I think the partnership between us...we had the leadership of Valve over before the show and showed them Scorpio and said "hey here's what we're doing". They're a great partner, I know those guys incredibly well and I think they're doing well without Quantum Break in their store right now.

I don't know what the future holds completely but I have no aversion to shipping games on Steam again but I do think we have to do work on our own and learn from that.
 

Granjinha

Member
Yeah, that sounds like something (or some games?) will eventually come. I'm pretty sure i saw a post from a State of Decay 2 dev where he didn't deny a Steam version.

Big titles no, smaller titles maybe.

He didn't say that. Although i can see where the skepticism comes from.
 

BeforeU

Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.
This E3 is all about Phil, isn't it. lol

dude is all over the GAF, but seriously, saw the interview today earlier. Jeff did great job.
 

willbsn13

Member
Great interview. I think that whole interview needs to be posted. Would clarify a lot of things for a lot of people.
 
Considering a large chunk of Microsoft's exclusive content is from second and third party developers, I'd argue that steam releases will show up now and then. Dead rising for example may get one, a bit further down the line.

But Microsoft's stable of Halo, gears and forza will never see a steam release.
 

SwolBro

Banned
What's Sony got to do with it? Why must everything be seen through the lens of console wars here?
Why are you pretending he wasn't responding to a shit post with a shit post?

anyways, i think this is ridiculous. not sure what microsoft is thinking with this. Titanfall needs to be on steam for it to succeed on PC, yet it's not but i know that's because of EA.

It just seems dumb to limit your sales. Origin or the windows store will never be steam.
 

Somnia

Member
I recommend everyone watching the interview at the link the OP.

One of the best interviews I've seen in a long time.
 
and areas where we compete and it's, the end result, is better for gamers

In theory, yes.
If competition is about prices, service, features, then bring me more competition.
If competition is about fragmenting people's libraries because your store and policies are shit and the only way you can drag attention is with exclusives... good luck with that.

Also, lol at calling out GFWL 2.0 meme. As if it a way to look down the argument. This company killed a service 2 years ago. Not 20 years, 2 years ago.
 
I recommend everyone watching the interview at the link the OP.

One of the best interviews I've seen in a long time.

Yeah, started listening to have something on while tinkering with a TV and ended up listening to the whole thing. Really good stuff.
 

WaterAstro

Member
They won't be. There's no point posturing.

Microsoft bosses are forcing them to put their games on Windows 10, they will definitely tell them to make it exclusive to Windows Store to promote their store.
 

Elios83

Member
Sony must be begging for Quantum Break on Ps4.

Whaat?And the role of Sony in this would be?
I just found the example funny because of the poor sales of the game, it's obvious that Valve is not crying over it : D
He could have said Halo or other successful games from their studios.
Btw Microsoft position on this is perfectly legit, they have the right to build their store and give Valve a bit of competition.
Indeed I really don't get those who say that they refuse to buy from the Windows store if they're interested in a game.
 

Guess Who

Banned
Whaat?And the role of Sony in this would be?
I just found the example funny because of the poor sales of the game, it's obvious that Valve is not crying over it : D

That's the joke. People should really watch the whole interview in context, both Phil and Jeff were kind of using Quantum Break - particularly the PC version - as kind of a punchline throughout the interview. There's a lot of levity here that doesn't really come through in just a transcript of one segment.
 

Crayon

Member
If they just wanted to sell their games, they would sell them on steam.

They want more than to just sell their games.
 

Metroidvania

People called Romanes they go the house?
I don't think Steam would change the fact that QB sold poorly.

Lol u serious?

Not saying it would have done gangbusters, but it would have definitely made a difference to some degree
 

scitek

Member
Whaat?And the role of Sony in this would be?
I just found the example funny because of the poor sales of the game, it's obvious that Valve is not crying over it : D
He could have said Halo or other successful games from their studios.
Btw Microsoft position on this is perfectly legit, they have the right to build their store and give Valve a bit of competition.
Indeed I really don't get those who say that they refuse to buy from the Windows store if they're interested in a game.

Because the experience is so much worse. You only have to look at Rise of the Tomb Raider and its patches weeks after Steam and missing graphical features to understand.
 

JaggedSac

Member
If they just wanted to sell their games, they would sell them on steam.

They want more than to just sell their games.

Of course, he even mentioned that in the quote in the OP:

I wanna build a store, there's no doubt about that. Gabe and Scott and Eric and I talked about this and I think Gabe says it very well there are going to be areas where we co-operate and areas where we compete and it's, the end result, is better for gamers. So I definitely want to have, inside of Windows, a healthy store and in order to exorcise the issues that we talked about in terms of some of our early launches I think I have to put my first party stuff there.
 

willbsn13

Member
That's the joke. People should really watch the whole interview in context, both Phil and Jeff were kind of using Quantum Break - particularly the PC version - as kind of a punchline throughout the interview. There's a lot of levity here that doesn't really come through in just a transcript of one segment.

Yeah agreed. It's hard to get context from one small part of a bigger thing. The whole interview should be posted at some point, all three of them were great.
 

Granjinha

Member
Also, lol at calling out GFWL 2.0 meme. As if it a way to look down the argument. This company killed a service 2 years ago. Not 20 years, 2 years ago.

He's not looking down on the argument. He agrees with it.

You should really watch the interview. I mean, not like anything would change your mind seeing that every store is "fragmenting" the userbase for you. You only buy stuff on Steam and complain if it isn't there, even when the alternative is decent, like GOG or Origin.

Windows Store sucks, though.

Lol u serious?

Not saying it would have done gangbusters, but it would have definitely made a difference to some degree

To the point of the game turning into a sucess?

It wouldn't. It would have sold a lot better, though, with that i agree.

Way more people willing to take a chance buying the game on Steam, not to mention the sales. I'd love to see a Steam-like sale on the Windows 10 store at some point.

True. It would still have sold poorly considering it's budget, though.
 

Gren

Member
Assuming they get to the point where they can offer Windows Store keys through other storefronts like Steam, would Valve even agree to sell them?

Yes, they'd make money, but at the same time I wonder if Gabe/Valve would be willing to entertain any notion that could eventually lead to MS having the keys to the kingdom. I mean, they went & tried to develop their own OS as a contingency in the event something like that might come to pass.
 

Fredrik

Member
Titanfall needs to be on steam for it to succeed on PC, yet it's not but i know that's because of EA.

It just seems dumb to limit your sales. Origin or the windows store will never be steam.
I don't see the problem with it honestly, I've got games on Origin, Uplay, GOG, Steam etc, they all run fine and can be started from the desktop. Why must everything be started through Steam?
Without any competition we'd see pricing like on the console stores on Steam. Especially GOG has been great for PC gaming with their own season sales and no DRM. If anything it's Steam that needs to be more open, Steam Link is too locked up, it don't even let me play all Steam games and won't let me play games from the other stores either. Why? Same reason as why MS want their own store. Money.
 

MUnited83

For you.
I don't see the problem with it honestly, I've got games on Origin, Uplay, GOG, Steam etc, they all run fine and can be started from the desktop. Why must everything be started through Steam?
Without any competition we'd see pricing like on the console stores on Steam. Especially GOG has been great for PC gaming with their own season sales and no DRM. If anything it's Steam that needs to be more open, Steam Link is too locked up, it don't even let me play all Steam games and won't let me play games from the other stores either. Why? Same reason as why MS want their own store. Money.

What

Steam Link works with every game you have, including non-steam games. They don't lock you out of games.

Origin is also not competition at all. Selling basically only exclusives where they control the price completely is not competition.
 

SwolBro

Banned
I don't see the problem with it honestly, I've got games on Origin, Uplay, GOG, Steam etc, they all run fine and can be started from the desktop. Why must everything be started through Steam?
Without any competition we'd see pricing like on the console stores on Steam. Especially GOG has been great for PC gaming with their own season sales and no DRM. If anything it's Steam that needs to be more open, Steam Link is too locked up, it don't even let me play all Steam games and won't let me play games from the other stores either. Why? Same reason as why MS want their own store. Money.

It's like keeping your music off Itunes. it's the number 1 platform for selling games on PC. It is what it is.
 

Unai

Member
I don't see the problem with it honestly, I've got games on Origin, Uplay, GOG, Steam etc, they all run fine and can be started from the desktop. Why must everything be started through Steam?
Without any competition we'd see pricing like on the console stores on Steam. Especially GOG has been great for PC gaming with their own season sales and no DRM. If anything it's Steam that needs to be more open, Steam Link is too locked up, it don't even let me play all Steam games and won't let me play games from the other stores either. Why? Same reason as why MS want their own store. Money.

That part about Steam Link is not true at all.
 

RowdyReverb

Member
The interview as a whole is really, really good. Jeff, Brad and Phil did a fantastic job with the segment.

Great interview. I think that whole interview needs to be posted. Would clarify a lot of things for a lot of people.
I recommend everyone watching the interview at the link the OP.

One of the best interviews I've seen in a long time.


I'm having trouble finding the interview at the link provided. All I get is intermission followed by a Cliffy B interview.
 

Lingitiz

Member
The interview is really fantastic. What Phil said is probably what most people assumed, although the relationship with Valve is less contentious than it would seem on paper. They look at Steam as both a competitor and ally, depending on the situation. They want to build their own store and improve it over time, and launching first party games exclusively on there is the only way it's going to happen right now.
 

hawk2025

Member
That's a lot of words.

They will launch games on Steam again if they feel like the walled garden plan has failed, and thus expected profits from getting a 70% share on digital sales of their own games is greater than whatever they expect to sell in the off chance that the Windows 10 games store truly takes off.

The problem is that the second option value is simply massive. They will keep leveraging their own games to try and launch the store for the foreseeable future.
 
Say what you want about all the project scorpio talk, Phil Spencer comes off as a genuinely great guy. I enjoy reading all of his interviews.
 
The whole interview was fantastic, kudos to Giant Bomb and Phil Spencer.

Deserves a thread when it goes up - the ultimate E3 2016 Phil Spencer interview, lol.
 
He's not looking down on the argument. He agrees with it.

You should really watch the interview. I mean, not like anything would change your mind seeing that every store is "fragmenting" the userbase for you. You only buy stuff on Steam and complain if it isn't there, even when the alternative is decent, like GOG or Origin.

Windows Store sucks, though.



To the point of the game turning into a sucess?

It wouldn't. It would have sold a lot better, though, with that i agree.



True. It would still have sold poorly considering it's budget, though.



False. I buy where its cheaper and when the policies are good. It's true that I avoid GOG for their shit curating policies and I avoid Origin exclusives, but I can buy a game on Origin or Uplay instead of Steam if it's a lot cheaper. Of course, I'd prefer to have my library at only one place and I'm not the only one considering the attempts from some people to unite the stores under one client.
 
Top Bottom