I'm a MASSIVE Rare fan and I love what they did with KI but even I know for a fact that Killer Instinct and Crackdown are not even on the same planet of the stuff Sony has been pulling. Come on, it's just not the same.
I'm not saying Spencer didn't take any action, just that most of what he's done so far has been stuff anyone with a tiny bit of good sense would have done as well. He made the console's perception go from 'utter shite' to 'alright'. I don't think that's enough. He should be blowing our minds considering the position Xbox is in this generation. But it looks like he is very satisfied with that distant 2nd place.
Project Spark, risky? That was barely a game, and was sent out to die. Does anyone even talk about it anymore? They clearly didn't invest enough in it. They almost never do unless it's a proven franchise. The Conker disgrace they pulled made me feel embarrassed of being a fan of Rare for the first time in my life. Absolute garbage and zero commitment or care for the IP. They dug the poor squirrel out of his grave, took a piss on his corpse and then buried him even deeper. I guess we can thank Spencer for that.
I agree that Sony has an easier task with some things, but if you're not willing to compete then why are you even in this industry? Sony gets a lot of japanese exclusives by default for absolute free, I'm sure if MS cared they could convince those devs to release the games (that aren't super niche of course) in the west, and it would not take a truckload of money to do it. They could have a support team to help with the porting or something. They should be committed and aware that the only thing that can make them gain some ground is the games library. A library that appeals to everyone, not just dudebros.
Backwards compatibility is nice and puts Sony and their shenanigans to shame. I'd say the consistent system updates and features are other great things about Xbox this gen. But let's face it, this stuff is never going to get me and many others to buy the system.
And it really was just Halo, Gears, Forza and Fable during the last 3 years of 360. I'm sorry, but I shouldn't even need to explain why the Kinect stuff doesn't or at least shouldn't count. Those games are all shit. I don't care what anyone says.
Out of the those 4 big main MS franchises I mentioned, I really like the first three, but it's been too long since that is almost literally ALL we get from their first/second party studios in terms of core games. There has been a slight bigger push this gen with KI, Max and Ori, but they are all small, low budget, low risk projects. Two years into the new gen and their AAA internal stuff continues to be those 3 or 4 franchises. It's just pathetic.
You mentioned The Coalition, which is a new studio that was never given a chance to make their own thing and were turned into a Gears factory. And Mojang, which was purchased with a very specific strategy in mind, almost as its own brand separate from Xbox. It's a very different beast than studios like 343, Turn 10, Rare and Lionhead. They don't make games, they just nurture Minecraft at this point. Minecraft serves to print its own money and as a marketing tool for Microsoft as a whole. I don't think these are the best examples of expansion to what I was refering (core games, new games), but ok.
Btw I just want to make it clear that there's no animosity whatsoever in this post. I actually consider you one of the best posters at Neogaf. For reals.