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Microsoft adds Phil Spencer to its 16 member Senior Leader Team

rokkerkory

Member
Based Phil! Great news that qualms any xbox death rumors

He seems to be a cool cat prob working for him would be awesome
 

SparkTR

Member
Great for him but what has he done really? They're still getting pounded by Sony and now Nintendo. I mean yeah he's better than the last guy but that's not saying much.

He's helped fold the Xbox brand into Windows and united the former isolated Xbox division with the broader Microsoft and it's goals.

Nadella is a Windows and Office man to his core that believes in a united Microsoft, no shit he's going to reward the person who finally brought Xbox into the Windows fold.
 
He's helped fold the Xbox brand into Windows and united the former isolated Xbox division with the broader Microsoft and it's goals.

So he made Microsoft loads of money

Don't get me wrong Phil seems like a good guy I just never really got why gamers worship him
 
So he made Microsoft loads of money

Don't get me wrong Phil seems like a good guy I just never really got why gamers worship him

Eh, he's always been a bit trapped by his conditions. Obviously he knows how to play the PR and Corporate game, but compared to most of the industries' suits, Phil is definitely one of the most transparent, likeable, and relatable figures. His annual interviews with Giant Bomb at E3, and his interviews with Ryan McCaffrey are seriously fantastic.
 
But but.. I thought Microsoft was going to sell off thr Xbox division and abandon gaming after Og Xbox, 360, Xbox One, Xbox One X, etc.

/s

This doesn't really disprove anything. He could have easily been given this position because they want to keep him around after they shut the book on Xbox.
 

nekkid

It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plan.
This doesn't really disprove anything. He could have easily been given this position because they want to keep him around after they shut the book on Xbox.

Then why specifically state that he represents gaming?

It's an incredible reach to consider MS is moving away from gaming at this point.
 

Iced Arcade

Member
So he made Microsoft loads of money

Don't get me wrong Phil seems like a good guy I just never really got why gamers worship him
I wouldn't say worship him. He's just more down to earth compared to most executives. How many executives do you see online playing games with other gamers?
 
Then why specifically state that he represents gaming?

It's an incredible reach to consider MS is moving away from gaming at this point.

Come on, it's a rough day for any hoping for Taco Bell to own Xbox anytime soon. Let's just let them have this one. :p
 
Does this suggest Myerson was cock-blocking Spencer's first-party ambitions?

Gaming is still a part of the More Personal Computing (Windows&Devices) group.
So Phil still needs to report to Terry.
But now he is not really his boss anymore, as they're the same in hierarchy now.

This are all my personal assumptions tho
 
So now when Phil want's to green light the $250 million Conker sequel he goes to Phil to get permission for the budget.

It's happening!
 

Journey

Banned
So he made Microsoft loads of money

Don't get me wrong Phil seems like a good guy I just never really got why gamers worship him


Hmm, I see this both ways, many gamers throw a lot of hate his way for no good reason.

See latest reference:

"My name is Phil Spencer and I'll say anything to make me look like the good guy"
 
This shows that gaming is important to Microsoft. Xbox One X is the first system Phil had complete control over so lets see how that ends up.

People keep asking for exclusives but all indication point that Phil with Xbox is more focused on making Xbox the best console experience. The most Powerful console, great controllers, great online infrastructure, easy to use interface.

That isn't to say that Phil isn't a huge gamer and isn't also focused on bringing a more diverse lineup to Xbox because he also is working on that. But he said in a recent interview that Xbox should be about Power and that they kind of got away from that for awhile and he believes that was a huge mistake. I think in his mind he believes having versions of major games that played worse than their competitor was the biggest reason for loosing ground this generation, not exclusives. And to be honest I can't say that he is wrong.
From their perspective they lost to Sony right on the start when they had a really wide lineup with exclusives and diverse games. And it was clear the lack of power was one of the huge factors (not the only though).

I think xbonex is more about they fixing the last fundamental problem with their console rather than giving up on 1st party.

I wish they did something about Japanese publishers though, that's what's really hurting the Xbox lineup imo.
 

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
One thing that might be driving Microsoft's gaming ambitious (besides the potential revenue) is that the future of computing is Augmented Reality. OSes are moving from 2D screens to 3D environments, and the best developers for 3D environments are game developers.
 
Then why specifically state that he represents gaming?

It's an incredible reach to consider MS is moving away from gaming at this point.

Moving away from the console market is not the same as moving away from gaming completely. They're not going to shut down Minecraft any time soon, for example. Besides, titles and responsibilities can change at the drop of a hat.
 

Matt

Member
Gaming is still a part of the More Personal Computing (Windows&Devices) group.
So Phil still needs to report to Terry.
But now he is not really his boss anymore, as they're the same in hierarchy now.

This are all my personal assumptions tho

It’s not abnormal for company leadership teams to include people from various levels of the organization, so since gaming is still under W&D, Terry is still Phil’s boss, they aren’t on the same level yet.

But this is also my assumption, they could be doing something unusual.
 

Colbert

Banned
It’s not abnormal for company leadership teams to include people from various levels of the organization, so since gaming is still under W&D, Terry is still Phil’s boss, they aren’t on the same level yet.

But this is also my assumption, they could be doing something unusual.

The info I have is that Phil Spencer is a direct report to the CEO. P&L though still part of W&D as the teams contributing to Xbox. Looks like a matrix to me.
 

Matt

Member
The info I have is that Phil Spencer is a direct report to the CEO. P&L though still part of W&D as the teams contributing to Xbox. Looks like a matrix to me.
Certainly possible, I haven’t had a chance to look into it. Would be an even better sign if that’s the case.
 
It's not abnormal for company leadership teams to include people from various levels of the organization, so since gaming is still under W&D, Terry is still Phil's boss, they aren't on the same level yet.

But this is also my assumption, they could be doing something unusual.

I based my assumption on the fact, that (in the case you described) Phil would be the only "low level" non segment boss on the Senior Leadership Team
pretty hard to tell for sure...

you have:
DKRppiZWkAESe9M.jpg:large

Kevin Scott as CTO
Kurt DelBene as CDO
Jeff Weiner as CEO LinkedIn

and then:
VP Commercial Business
VP Cloud and Enterprise
VP AI and Research
VP Office
VP Windows and Devices

and last but not least now Gaming
one is not like the others and that would be Phil, if the VP of Windows and Devices is still his direct supervisor.




but it's not really that important, tho
 

Severianb

Member
I don't understand the congrats. This guy killed a number of games and is directly responsible for this year's underwhelming lineup of exclusive games. And people are still acting like this poor performance is not really his fault even though he has been in charge of gaming for many years.
Yep. He killed a legendary studio with Lionhead. You don't kill beautiful things like that, you fix them.
 

Head.spawn

Junior Member
Does this suggest Myerson was cock-blocking Spencer's first-party ambitions?

I always wondered how he fit into the conversation. everyone blamed Mattricks and he took the fall likely due to the way he goofed hard in public; but wasn't Myerson actually in charge to some degree the entire time?

Never really see it discussed on gaf or somehow I've missed it.
 
Does this suggest Myerson was cock-blocking Spencer's first-party ambitions?

Perhaps not that, but the overall direction of the division. Like, the xbox one, it was clear that a lot of the aspects of the console were driven by non-gaming executive's desires, instead of something the gamers in the division would come up themselves.

So basically, I think we'll never see another reveal like xbox one again :p
 
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