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What would you want Phil Spencer to do first as head of Xbox? Explain why (mandatory)

D

DenogginizerOS

BenjaminBirdie's Thomas Jefferson
Now we know Phil Spencer is in charge, what would you like to see as an Xbox owner or potential Xbox owner come first? Price reduction on the Xbox One? More exclusives? Less emphasis on multimedia and more on games?
 
G

Guevara

Member
Kill Kinect.

That would go a long way with rebuilding good will with me.

_________

Edited to conform with new thread title: Kinect adds unnecessary expense without gaming implications (for me anyway). It's just a bullshit way to interact with apps and tv and I don't care about those features. I'm not buying an "all in one" device for my living room. I'm just buying a way to play games.
 
Castef

Castef

Banned
New console price: 399$
Do not remove Kinect, just valorize it.
Then, focus-on-the-games. Just this. A good output of games, lots of good exclusives strategically selected.

(ah, and Phantom Dust 2, thanks...)

EDIT: also: NO VR. Leave VR alone.
 
A

Aquamarine

Member
Xbox definitely needs price parity with PS4 if it wants competitive marketshare. That's pretty much a baseline kind of thing he could do to really rev Xbox up.

Outside of that, he just needs to continue focusing on products that would entice me into the Xbox Ecosystem. Experiences I can't find on PlayStation that would appeal to me as a somewhat-core gamer. That's really the important thing here. I'm not going to purchase two current-gen systems for a while now, so the decision on which ecosystem to stick with is critically important.
 
pants

pants

Member
Policy Shifts.
- Unobtrusive DRM as far as possible
- InHouse Exclusives,
- No buying third party exclusives
- Give up on Kinect
- Challenge Sony on pricepoint
- Cut out this TV bullshit
- Since xbox is playing the underdog, cut fees for live
- More experimental games

Would be a good start for me
 
K

kmax

Member
Release a kinectless SKU, lower the pricepoint, and take the Xbox brand far away from the TV-TV! branding as far as possible.
 
G

GarthVaderUK

Banned
Make Kinect optional again, sell a cheaper Xbox One SKU, ramp up internal development.

Making Kinect optional would allow for the cheaper SKU to be a reality, and the cheaper SKU would surely help push Xbox One sales. New IPs and returning to old fan favourites could make me and many other gamers happy, again helping sales and creating good word of mouth/positive buzz.
 
R

RPGamer92

Banned
Release Kinect-less SKU at $349- A $349 SKU ($349 because Xbone's specs are less than PS4's would go a long way to boost sales)
More internal-developed games- Games like Dead Rising 3 are great but internal games are good because it's hard to predict where a third-party exclusive partner will go after their game releases
Update for 360 BC on Xbone- gives people incentive to buy an Xbone by selling their 360s
Go crazy and drop XBLG paywall- This is a dream but would be a great way to 1-up PS4 after Sony made online be under PS+
 
M

mdubs

Banned
panda-zebra said:
I would Phil Spencer to do first as head of xbox: grow a beard and wear glasses - people will be less inclined to want to smash things into his incredibly smug face (maybe).
Click to expand...

It's as if no one remembers the look on Tretton's face at e3 last year (he had good reason to be smug but still)
 
B

BLACK AMERICAN PSYCHO

Junior Member
pants said:
Policy Shifts.
- Unobtrusive DRM as far as possible
- InHouse Exclusives,
- No buying third party exclusives
- Give up on Kinect
- Challenge Sony on pricepoint
- Cut out this TV bullshit
- Since xbox is playing the underdog, cut fees for live
- More experimental games

Would be a good start for me
Click to expand...

This would be the dumbest thing ever.
 
CassidyIzABeast

CassidyIzABeast

Member
pants said:
Policy Shifts.
- Unobtrusive DRM as far as possible
- InHouse Exclusives,
- No buying third party exclusives
- Give up on Kinect
- Challenge Sony on pricepoint
- Cut out this TV bullshit
- Since xbox is playing the underdog, cut fees for live
- More experimental games

Would be a good start for me
Click to expand...

So your first order of business is getting fired
 
N

Neuromancer

Member
Apologize on behalf of all of MS for the always online/DRM fiasco. That would be a good start.

Explanation: I'm still angry about it, and I think a lot of other people are too. The best way to mend fences would be an honest, sincere apology. Not the usual 'we're sorry we were looking so far into the digital future and you guys weren't ready for it.'
 
HoodWinked

HoodWinked

Gold Member
Phil Spencer probably the most level headed person they have at ms so this is great. I was afraid that Yusuf Mehdi was going to take over.

lol edit should contribute: sell a $399 kinect-less bundle the funny thing is that this would have a bigger impact than if they just did a $100 price drop WITH the kinect despite the kinect being a better value due to perception. This also needs to happen relatively soon otherwise sony will just counter with their own price change.

but if its soon enough sony actually cant counter because they would be hurting their own mindshare by having a price drop so soon after release, whereas XB1 value still holds due to perceived cost of the kinect. But this doesnt mean kinect is being dropped make people WANT to buy it give them a reason give a bunch of free kinect stuff the day the kinectless sku is announced. Try rewarding the people who have already bought the $500 kinect console.
 
N

Novak

Member
Buy bunch of good studios and make them first party. Pouch talents from others (sony 1st party)

I dont know how much would that help but meltdowns would be fun to read. :)
 
S

Septic360

Banned
GlamFM said:
Make use of Kinect.
Click to expand...

Yes this!

There is still potential in Kinect 2.0.

3qsd3q.jpg
 
N

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
Okay from this post on (as noted in the title), you have to explain your reason.

If you're not here to make a serious post, feel free to leave now.

Edit: I'll give a bit of leeway for people who were obviously making their posts while I posted this.
 
K

kittens

Unconfirmed Member
Pressure 343 to take Halo multiplayer back to its balanced, competitive roots.
 
U

Ubiquitar

Neo Member
Get rid of Kinect and enable voice commands through a mic built into the controller. Why? Because the only thing the Kinect seems good for is voice commands. And if that's it's only redeeming factor than keep the voice commands but get rid of the superfluous peripheral.
 
L

LilWayneSuckz

Member
-Announce that all of MS first party studios are working on controller based AAA titles for the Xbox One
-Have 343i continue working on the Halo series but have a subset start on a new IP
-Have RARE work on a new Banjo-Kazooie and a new Conker downloadable game
-Drop the price of the XB1 to $399 and increase the HDD to 1 TB
-Remove the app paywall
-Have Games With Gold on XB1 start with Ryse, Lococycle and Max: The Curse of the Brotherhood
-Have Lionhead begin development on a sci-fi WRPG
-Go on a publishing spree and publish games from devs like Ninja Theory, Crytek, Klei, and Mistwalker. But also a ton of indie games.
-Have Twisted Pixel start working on a revival of Battletoads
 
P

PanicFreak

Member
  • Reduce the price of the Xbox One to be 400 or 450 with two game downloads. I would keep Kinect because if the PS4 and the Xbox One were at price parity but the XBO didn't have Kinect, it would just be a weaker PS4 at the same price.
  • Continue to foster relationships with small developers with big ideas. They published State of Decay and they are going to fund Undead Labs next couple of games after the success that SoD had. That is the template I would use going forward.
  • Improve AAA in-house development through acquisitions or building a new studio. I would personally attempt building because you don't have to pay a premium to acquire the company.
  • Improve Games with Gold.
 
M

MR BLACKMAGIK

Member
Kill Kinect
Kill any notion that the Xbox division is going to be sold

Not that he can guarantee the second, but put forth the effort to making that a reality would go a long way for me. Also I don't mind random Kinect games here and there but they need to take it's priority down. Trying to win over casual audiences and forcing non-Kinect games to include voice and other gimmick features needs to go.
 
A

alr1ght

bish gets all the credit :)
Remove Kinect from all future models, replaced with microphone array on the console.
- Self explanatory. Anytime anyone champions Kinect, it's the voice commands.
Create more first party studios, stop the moneyhats
- Stop paying to block releases on other consoles. Funding third party games is a different story.
Remove paywalls
- Stop gimping the console for roughly half of your customers.
Add value to XBLG, similar quality to PS+ games
- Don't care if they're "rentals" if they're better games.
Eliminate parity clause
- Everybody wins
Stop the bullshit with the DRM "messaging" problem
 
S

SkeptiMism

Member
Kill the launch day parity clause.

It can be really annoying both for the customers (both for XB owners as they don't get certain games, and for owners of Wii U/PS4 as their games can get delayed) and for indie devs (who might not have the resources to put in the work required to ship all the versions at once).
 
P

Pociask

Member
Nirolak said:
Okay, leeway over.

Your post may be deleted if you don't follow the title guideline.
Click to expand...

Too late to post do the Banderas for the lulz. Damn.

I think with all the speculation regarding Microsoft's commitment to the market, he needs to be taking a look at Microsoft's short and medium term plans for Xbox, and prioritize owning E3. Actually, put game scheduling and public relations management second on the list. First on the list is summoning manufacturing and prioritizing reducing costs in an orderly, planned way. Microsoft has done a fantastic job getting maximum money from its early adopts, but it's going to get slaughtered if it says $100 over the PS4 for the duration of the generation.
 
T

TomShoe

Banned
Since it's near impossible to get rid of Kinect, at least make it worth the premium.

More games that show off the tech, demos like the playroom,recognition technology, things like that would be great.
 
G

gigantor21

Member
Kinect-free bundle at <$400 by Christmastime.

The original Kinect sold millions of units despite launching well into the 360's lifecycle, and they were already dragged into allowing system use without it by the E3 backlash. Multiplats are going to make up the bulk of worthwhile titles for both new consoles, which means that they're not likely to be built around the Kinect anyway. And any game that validates the peripheral in a big way will have people flock to it whether it's included or not, so I don't buy the whole "guaranteed install base" canard.

The "better specs at a lower price" argument for the PS4 is a millstone tied around the Xone's neck, especially outside the US and UK. A Kinect-free version can help alleviate that stress without abandoning the peripheral outright.
 
D

DenogginizerOS

BenjaminBirdie's Thomas Jefferson
For me, they have to lower the price and make it official. Right now the weaker third-party games and the stink around the hardware's shortcomings only exacerbates the already ridiculous price. Even with all the deals and TitanFall, there are still plenty of Xbox Ones sitting motionless on shelves. If they are serious about competing, they must acknowledge this and make a decision fast and reduce the price permanently. Then they can sell me on games. But a new Halo not made by Bungie or a new Gears not made by Epic is not what I want.
 
A

AdanVC

Member
Bring true exclusives to the console, again, something that makes people say: "I need an Xbone because of this game". It seems it worked quite nicely with Titanfall, even if it's on PC as well. Kinectless Xbone is something we would not see in the near future considering the main feature of the console is Kinect (the same applies to Wii U and those who want a Gamepad-less SKU) so the less they can do is drop the price as much as they can. In the end, it's all matter of having great games and of course exclusives do a very important role to achieve that.
 
K

Krusenstern

Banned
Ditch Live requirement for everything that's not online play. Or heck, even online play. He could go on stage at next's E3 and announce that.
He needs to deliver a "In your face!" moment to Sony.

Not that I care about Xbox though.
 
E

El-Suave

Member
Bring back Crimson Skies with a full SP campaign. MS abandoning those mid tier games is the main reason why I left them and why I won't buy their products for the forseeable future.
 
N

NerdEyeBlind

Member
Give GOLD members discounts on digital content (games, movies, tv shows, etc)

Confirm Crackdown 3 and Halo 2 HD anniversary

Allow XBONE UI to act as DVR to record content (say Xbox "Record That" when watching sports, tv, movies too)
 
E

EdgeXL

Member
Put apps like Netflix on the free side of XBL. It doesn't make sense to me to put that behind a paywall when literally every other service doesn't do this.

If MS is going to insist on Kinect then include a game that validates its existence and shows why Kinect is worthy. At this point they should make it a free download for existing Xbox One owners.

Drop or at least adjust the parity cause. I think it is bad for indie devs and gamers alike,

Broaden Microsoft's IPs. When I think about Microsoft games I mostly think about shooters, Forza and Alan Wake. They do a great job bringing us diverse titles on the Arcade, now diversify their retail offerings.

Let Rare make the games they want to make.
 
V

Vinc

Member
I'll leave the obvious image problems to marketing and I just hope he gets a lot of projects going for Xbox One games. Build and/or foster some studios from the ground up and develop a great culture at those companies so they can create and cultivate content for the platform and ecosystem for years to come, and consider having independant developers create exclusives for the Xbox One, much like Crytek did with Ryse. Please no more shoehorning Kinect or gimmicks that don't work into their games. No more buying games that were already in development and targeted at multiple platforms. No more moneyhatting exclusive content. Just give me games built from the ground up for the Xbox One, games that play to its strengths. Please and thanks!
 
M

MaximoffZero

Banned
1. Take the non-game apps out from behind Xbox Live Gold. The fact that they put these behind the paywall and Sony doesn't makes them look really bad. While they're at it, perhaps they could look into other ways to support the online infrastructure besides a subscription fee.

2. Keep the Kinect but lower the price anyway and just take the loss. If they lowered the price to equal the PS4s but included the camera, the console may finally be seen as a good deal.

3. Do with Rare's other IPs what they did for Killer Instinct. Have other, more qualified studios make new games for them and use the characters as mascots for the system. This would generate excitement amongst the old-school gamers and perhaps get them to think of the system more favorably.

4. Market the system and the company better. Microsoft needs to show gamers that they care about them and are willing to make up for past mistakes.
 
L

LuchaShaq

Banned
Stop the bullshit about the DRM being "poorly messaged" and gamers "not being ready/not understanding". No fuck off your plan was shit, and you sound like a sleezy scumbag when you keep crying about how noone wanted your shit.

Until he can even do that I give no fucks what xbox does with him at the helm.
 
Dr. Kitty Muffins

Dr. Kitty Muffins

Member
I think he should declare that first parties have the responsibility to push new IP'S in an environment where development costs are so high that third parties are too afraid to make anything other than sequels. I think 2/3rds of all first party titles this gen should be new IP'S.
 
nillapuddin

nillapuddin

Member
I would really want them to take back one piece of their original launch plans

Converting physical copies of games into digital licenses.

This could be a really awesome side grade that is pushing for the all digital route, but still keeping retail in the loop.

It would also be very pro consumer because they could take advantage of retail sales (Target B2/1F right now for example)
 
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