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[Steverulez]

That's awesome and yet scary that NeoGAF has a huge influence on the actual industry at large.

Gaf is a place where there a lot of people that meet the definition of "core" gamer (a horrible phrase i'll say too) come together and discuss whats going on. Im not surprised he read it because that is where you will get people who already have an XB1 discuss it and people who are interested in an XB1 but don't have one yet will tell them what they need.

 

[rrc1594]

What the hell is that?

A new MS studio that popped up a month ago

 

[Nightengale]

What the hell is that?

Logo for an internal MS Studios team. ( part of existing studio or new studio altogether, we don't know )

LXP, aka Leap Experience Pioneers.

Aside from the fact that they're based in US, we don't know much else.

 

[RoyalLaFlame]

A new MS studio that popped up a month ago

Some studio Microsoft tradmarked called LXP

Wow, didn't know about that. No news since then I suppose.


Thanks for the info guys

 

[ironcreed]

This guy just plain gets it and knows what Xbox is supposed to be... which is what it used to be, with even more added on the side. That is, gaming first and lots of other neat features as a side dish.

 

[Anion]

is one of the other studios and then there's a mystery team.

That's a pretty cool logo. Hopefully they rustle my jimmies

 

[Always-honest]

It feels like they are one year behind, but at least its the right direction now.

Yeah.. Kinda have the same feeling.
Still, i wonder what they will bring. But they still have to deal with the same box...

 

[mohsinkhan]

He definitely seems like the right guy for the job.

 

[Steverulez]

Phil mentioned two unannounced new studios on twitter last night:

@Steverulez Lift London is another. A couple unannounced.

Presuambly one is LXP and the other I have no idea about. I did ask if they were developing smaller titles or AAA stuff but I didnt get an answer

 

[mocoworm]

What a guy!

Love his approach and passion. He is a true gamer and comes across as totally genuine. I believe him and I really hope he is successful.

 

[ClearData]

Though I personally think Phil is an alright guy what do you guys think of his track record as head of MGS?

Bungie and Epic have moved on and people seem to have lost the taste for Halo after 4. Gears Judgenment was disappointing to many and now the series is with Black Tusk. Forza is still solid.

The studios as a whole have really failed to sell a definitive Kinect experience IMO. Fable is transitioning with Heros.

So, I guess I like the attitude change with Phil, but I don't think he has done nearly as good a job as Yoshida or Nintendo through the last two generations with platform exclusives or output. Phil stated that as a major area of improvement at the outset of this generation with 16 year one exclusives. So I am waiting to see if he delivers.

 

[E92 M3]

What a guy!

Love his approach and passion. He is a true gamer and comes across as totally genuine. I believe him and I really hope he is successful.

Yes, we may finally have another Allard. I truly hope they are very financially successful with this methodology.

 

[Chill Penguin]

It's a great interview. I personally wonder if MS will be going first with their conference again. Sony took advantage of that last time, surely, with aggressive price cuts and ditching the PS4 Camera. It'll be interesting to see what Phil decides upon, if it's up to him to decide.

Pricing is a pretty big decision that involves a lot of financial analysis. I really doubt any major decisions were made within the minutes/hours after MS's conference and between Sony's.

 

[DoktorEvil]

Gaf is a place where there a lot of people that meet the definition of "core" gamer (a horrible phrase i'll say too) come together and discuss whats going on. Im not surprised he read it because that is where you will get people who already have an XB1 discuss it and people who are interested in an XB1 but don't have one yet will tell them what they need.

There's also a good number of people who are GAFfers who also don't necessarily fit the core gaming demo. I'd like to think NeoGAF as the moderate to heavy power users of video games. The mainstream wont try and come onto these forums and comment or begin topics unless they were reasonably informed on the industry at large, but power users don't necessarily know what the best interests are for the sake of good business. We don't know the information Phil knows or other Game Execs know to even keep the business viable, and I don't want him kowtowing to the whims of a heavy user base forum.

 

[On Demand]

Considering TLoU 'Outsourced Edition' is (apparently) summer instead of fall, not likely.

The releases for Sony's titles are slightly more parsed than MS's at the moment. It fills the gaps more, but seems to lack a blowout season.

Sony hasn't said anything at all about future games coming besides The Order. Its like Sony and MS switched places. Last gen we knew of a lot of games that were coming to PS3 while MS kept quite about everything.

I hope Sony doesn't changing their first party output. In 2011 i think they released something like 8 games that year on PS3.

 

[djshauny]

Great video. Im confident in Phil to turn this thing around

 

[Dragon]

I like Phil but find the concept of a PR person at the same company interviewing another employee bizarre. I know other companies do this but ugh.

 

[EBE]

phil knows what hes doing. by god, HE KNOWS WHAT HES DOING.
so glad hes the new head of xbox.

 

[Hitokiri03]

I think Xbox division is in good hands now.

I wonder if he would get promoted if the original plan was a success, or was Marc Whitten or Yusuf Mehdi next in line after Mattrick's departure.

 

[DopeyFish]

That's a pretty cool logo. Hopefully they rustle my jimmies

Looks better in motion

 

[Nightengale]

I hope Sony doesn't changing their first party output. In 2011 i think they released something like 8 games that year on PS3.

Well, to be fair to Sony ( or not, depends on if that platform matters to you ), there's also output for Vita.

And besides, we'll see where the apple drops in a few months time. (E3/Gamescom) If Demonnite is to be believed, they've got a healthy list of unannounced, even after the 'restructurings.'

It's about fair time to hear about 2015 and some drips of 2016 this year.

 

[p3tran]

"cool guy Phil" 8)

but will he deliver the promised goods?
soon we will find out

 

[ironcreed]

I think Xbox division is in good hands now.

I wonder if he would get promoted if the original plan was a success, or was Marc Whitten or Yusuf Mehdi next in line after Mattrick's departure.

Ready for E3.

 

[Lord Carnarvon]

Oh yeah, this is refreshing. I'm so excited

 

[Exploratory]

Phil seems like the guy to do it.

 

[Doug Heffernan]

Ready for E3.

The Phil Spencer gifs will be epic.

 

[MrBud360]

If he is reading, i will post it again.........

Shenmue 3
Crackdown 3
Banjo
Perfect Dark
Kameo
Conker
Voodoo Vince 2
Blinx 3
Viva Pinata 3
Bloodwake 2
Midtown Madness 4
Project Ghotam 5
Rallisports Challenge 3
Age of Empire 4
Phantom Dust 2
Kotor 3
Crimson Skies 2
Psychonauts 2
Deathrow 2
Amped 4

Please..........

XBox winner of generation......

 

[Nightengale]

The Phil Spencer gifs will be epic.

Hopefully by E3 Spencer, House and Layden will be on gifs more.

I like Kaz, but he's graduated from gaming... it should be House's face on GIFs more. =(

 

[Camilos]

I don't have anything against Larry personally, I really don't. But I can't stand his face.

What about his hair? How do you feel about his hair?

 

[adamsappel]

I like Phil but find the concept of a PR person at the same company interviewing another employee bizarre. I know other companies do this but ugh.

That interview felt like, "Remember those questions we came up with at the meeting this morning? I'll ask them and you give the answers we agreed upon." There was no spontaneity to Larry's questions, nothing Phil said veered the conversation in other directions. He certainly said everything I wanted to hear, but it seemed artificially designed that way.

I like Phil. He's very personable, and he likes videogames, which I value highly in the head of the Xbox division. I think Microsoft will have a fantastic E3, though I expect it to have a lot of the same "manufactured" quality as this interview, since they are very aware of what not to say.

 

[-MD-]

All about the games huh? That hasn't been the case with MS for years so we'll see.

Not getting my hopes up.

 

[E92 M3]

If he is reading, i will post it again.........

Shenmue 3
Crackdown 3
Banjo
Perfect Dark
Kameo
Conker
Voodoo Vince 2
Blinx 3
Viva Pinata 3
Bloodwake 2
Midtown Madness 4
Project Ghotam 5
Rallisports Challenge 3
Age of Empire 4
Phantom Dust 2
Kotor 3
Crimson Skies 2
Psychonauts 2
Deathrow 2
Amped 4

Please..........

XBox winner of generation......

Jet Set Radio Future

and HELL YES for Crimson Skies 2

 

[Steverulez]

That interview felt like, "Remember those questions we came up with at the meeting this morning? I'll ask them and you give the answers we agreed upon." There was no spontaneity to Larry's questions, nothing Phil said veered the conversation in other directions. He certainly said everything I wanted to hear, but it seemed artificially designed that way.

I like Phil. He's very personable, and he likes videogames, which I value highly in the head of the Xbox division. I think Microsoft will have a fantastic E3, though I expect it to have a lot of the same "manufactured" quality as this interview, since they are very aware of what not to say.

I dont disagree but I think its quite hard for Major Nelson to talk to him any other way on camera, might have just been better if he had gone on his podcast. Its also difficult for Phil because its not a situation where theyre going to announce things so it was just his way of reaching a certain audience and letting people know the sorts of things he's hearing feedback about.

He was on the IGN Xbox podcast this week too where he did a telephone interview and said similar things.

I would expect something with a bit more substance when the time arises to actually announce things.

 

[PoloBlue28]

If he is reading, i will post it again.........

Shenmue 3
Crackdown 3
Banjo
Perfect Dark
Kameo
Conker
Voodoo Vince 2
Blinx 3
Viva Pinata 3
Bloodwake 2
Midtown Madness 4
Project Ghotam 5
Rallisports Challenge 3
Age of Empire 4
Phantom Dust 2
Kotor 3
Crimson Skies 2
Psychonauts 2
Deathrow 2
Amped 4

Please..........

XBox winner of generation......

For a lot of those games I think the smarter choice would be reboots rather than sequels. It's the best way to invite more people to jump into the franchises.

Also, barring covering funding/marketing, MS ain't getting KOTOR III as an exclusive. I think Phil could make it happen though.

 

[Hellshy.]

That interview felt like, "Remember those questions we came up with at the meeting this morning? I'll ask them and you give the answers we agreed upon." There was no spontaneity to Larry's questions, nothing Phil said veered the conversation in other directions. He certainly said everything I wanted to hear, but it seemed artificially designed that way.

I like Phil. He's very personable, and he likes videogames, which I value highly in the head of the Xbox division. I think Microsoft will have a fantastic E3, though I expect it to have a lot of the same "manufactured" quality as this interview, since they are very aware of what not to say.

This.
The interview is pure PR piece. The fact they mentions forums on there is a clear indicator that they saying what they believe core gamers want to hear. Spencers a cool guy and all but he still has a boss he answers too. MS wants to fix the xbox divisions image and judging by some of the almost orgamsic responses they picked the perfect guy for the job. One would have to be blind not to see that went with Spencer b/c his image is the exact opposite of Don Mattrick.

 

[Zatoichi's Cane]

hey look at that, if you don't behave as a pompous arrogant douche bag people actually respond to your positive message!!!!

Good job Phil.

 

[brandonh83]

This.
The interview is pure PR piece. The fact they mentions forums on there is a clear indicator that they saying what they believe core gamers want to hear. Spencers a cool guy and all but he still has a boss he answers too. MS wants to fix the xbox divisions image and judging by some of the almost orgamsic responses they picked the perfect guy for the job. One would have to be blind not to see that went with Spencer b/c his image is the exact opposite of Don Mattrick.

While that may be true, as someone pointed out above, it wasn't a great setup due to who they both are, but that doesn't mean it was a bunch of bullshit.

 

[Fedele]

If only he had to job back in 2008. Xbox would be an amazing place right now and 360 would have probably been better with exclusives at the end. Sigh.

Totally. Nice to see them changing their language, I just think it's too late for a big chunk of the consumers already. Including me, I know at least 5 other people who jumped the ship and now own PS4s.

 

[PoloBlue28]

This.
The interview is pure PR piece. The fact they mentions forums on there is a clear indicator that they saying what they believe core gamers want to hear. Spencers a cool guy and all but he still has a boss he answers too. MS wants to fix the xbox divisions image and judging by some of the almost orgamsic responses they picked the perfect guy for the job. One would have to be blind not to see that went with Spencer b/c his image is the exact opposite of Don Mattrick.

Every communication from a company and its personnel is PR. It's public relations. I'm not sure what you're expecting. Phil has given various interviews to other news outlets and has thus far said all the right things. Now he has to prove it.

 

[Yoda]

Hopefully its more than PR speak. I played the OG Xbox more than PS2 (got suckered cause I was a Shenmue fanboy). But they also had loads more of more exclusives, and you didn't have to ask yourself "is this a gaming box?" I knew it was gaming focus boxed without question.

 

[rogue_nine82]

I am excited that Phil Spencer is at the reigns of Xbox now, but I can't escape the nagging reminder that MS biggest achilles heel is the lack of internal development studios ready for pump out exclusives the X1 similar to what Sony has for the PS4. The man in charge of MS studios who allowed that part of the Xbox brand to atrophy was none other than .............Phil Spencer. So he is saying the right things, and I hope he pulls off the turnaround but I am going forward with one eye open.

 

[Syphon Filter]

So good,i have a good feeling about E3 for Microsoft this year.

 

[daman824]

This.
The interview is pure PR piece. The fact they mentions forums on there is a clear indicator that they saying what they believe core gamers want to hear. Spencers a cool guy and all but he still has a boss he answers too. MS wants to fix the xbox divisions image and judging by some of the almost orgamsic responses they picked the perfect guy for the job. One would have to be blind not to see that went with Spencer b/c his image is the exact opposite of Don Mattrick.

No shit. But they got rid of mattrick and replaced him with phil for a reason. And they no doubt know that he can't hold himself up on talk alone.

 

[Steverulez]

I am excited that Phil Spencer is at the reigns of Xbox now, but I can't escape the nagging reminder that MS biggest achilles heel is the lack of internal development studios ready for pump out exclusives the X1 similar to what Sony has for the PS4. The man in charge of MS studios who allowed that part of the Xbox brand to atrophy was none other than .............Phil Spencer. So he is saying the right things, and I hope he pulls off the turnaround but I am going forward with one eye open.

I see people say this and its true their internal development studios for developing games aren't that big (compared to Sony's) but if you look at whats been released and whats announced Microsoft have a lot more coming than Sony have at this moment in time.

Sony are currently in a position where they don't need to announce games coming a lot further into the future and will obviously announce and release more stuff this year and going forwards but I don't think right now theres any concerns to be had over Xbox One exclusives.

 

[brandonh83]

Just a random question but, one of the things I liked the most about the 360 were all the retro arcade titles and them having achievements. What's that scene looking like for Xbox One so far? Is there even a scene yet? I'll admit that there is a huge allure for me concerning those tough old school games and achievements. It's something that Nintendo and even Sony doesn't really seem to subscribe to despite having classics programs. That could change with Playstation Now I suppose, but that's still very much wait-and-see.

Is there a place to articulate these comments to Phil? Twitter's character restrictions are very restrictive for this sort of thing.

 

[Dark Octave]

Canned questions and rehearsed answers but still good to hear his vision and the direction he plans to take the company. I have faith in him.

 

[ironcreed]

This.
The interview is pure PR piece. The fact they mentions forums on there is a clear indicator that they saying what they believe core gamers want to hear. Spencers a cool guy and all but he still has a boss he answers too. MS wants to fix the xbox divisions image and judging by some of the almost orgamsic responses they picked the perfect guy for the job. One would have to be blind not to see that went with Spencer b/c his image is the exact opposite of Don Mattrick.

Of course they are going to try and do good PR in order to send a positive message. What else are they supposed to do? However, that does not take away from the fact that Phil is most definitely a 'games' guy who wants to have gaming at the core of the system. He recognizes that is what made Xbox and I sincerely believe he wants to remind everyone of that.

At any rate, it's a great move for Xbox any which way you slice it or dice it and they are not just going to use Phil as a smiling face to pander to gamers, while doing nothing to back that up. They are not that stupid. Nadella is a big supporter of Xbox and a guy like Phil was obviously put at the head of the table in order to right a ship that has veered off course.

 

[eshwaaz]

Though I personally think Phil is an alright guy what do you guys think of his track record as head of MGS?

Bungie and Epic have moved on and people seem to have lost the taste for Halo after 4. Gears Judgenment was disappointing to many and now the series is with Black Tusk. Forza is still solid.

The studios as a whole have really failed to sell a definitive Kinect experience IMO. Fable is transitioning with Heros.

So, I guess I like the attitude change with Phil, but I don't think he has done nearly as good a job as Yoshida or Nintendo through the last two generations with platform exclusives or output. Phil stated that as a major area of improvement at the outset of this generation with 16 year one exclusives. So I am waiting to see if he delivers.

Lots of good food for thought here. No one asked for a 4th Gears game after the 3rd wrapped things up nicely, yet they made one anyway and was the lowest rated entry in the series by far. Then they shelve Black Tusk's original new IP, which was apparently coming along nicely, for yet another Gears game.

I really hope Spencer understands the importance of truly new, exclusive games.

 

[Xenon]

If he is reading, i will post it again.........

Shenmue 3 - Sure MS' only reason would be goodwill, since it will be a commercial failure.
Crackdown 3 - Yes please
Banjo - Hell yes please
Perfect Dark - not sure if I want
Kameo - yes please
Conker - Nah it's had it's chance
Voodoo Vince 2 - meh
Blinx 3 - NO
Viva Pinata 3 - This series was such a waste of Rare and MS's time and money. NO!
Bloodwake 2 - No
Midtown Madness 4 - Yes
Project Ghotam 5 - Is the team still together?
Rallisports Challenge 3 - Sure why not
Age of Empire 4 - on Xbox one?
Phantom Dust 2 - YES!
Kotor 3 - YES!
Crimson Skies 2 -YES!
Psychonauts 2 - Nah...
Deathrow 2 - Sure
Amped 4 - dont care

Please..........

XBox winner of generation......

I know Im going to get torn apart for this but MS needs to show us why they put Kinect in the box. They need some Kinect games. I would especially like to see a light gun game that works with it.

.

 

[Nightengale]

I see people say this and its true their internal development studios for developing games aren't that big (compared to Sony's) but if you look at whats been released and whats announced Microsoft have a lot more coming than Sony have at this moment in time.

MS's list is pretty skewed towards 3rd-party developed titles atm. XB1 has around 20+ exclusives released/announced. 15 of those are 3rd-party developed. (inc. stuff like 3rd-party timed exclusives like Titanfall, Peggle2,PvZ)

Fundamentally, it doesn't matter whether or not games are first-party or second-party. But it does put a point for certain perspectives in the long-run. The long-run was what supported PS3's strong software output year-after-year.