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Phil Spencer: I don't know if Xbox One can beat PS4

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Lashley

Why does he wear the mask!?
Funny how things work, Phil himself said "we want to be number one" or some such ish, but now that reality is setting in he suddenly realizes that he was wrong... please... you keep your fanboy war accusations out of this, he brought this upon himself. Makes him look like a hypocrite.

what?
 

Duster

Member
They probably couldn't, remember when Albert Penello came on here calling Europe a country? That is probably the first problem right there, when your Senior Director of Product Planning and Management thinks Europe is a country, then says he will be sure to let his team know that Europe isn't. Those were good times right there.

That comment was so ridiculous I never actually focused on the fact he was going to let his team know, imagine getting that email or even worse sitting in that meeting.

Damn Spencer was right, one stray comment really can stick, not just for Microsoft either when you think of the second job comments about the PS3 or Nintendo's "please understand".
 

SwolBro

Banned
To me ps4's gaming features are untouched this gen. MS delivered on their all in one promises but it doesn't seem to be heavy on gaming features. Shareplay, Remoteplay, and even the new communitys are better than any x1 gaming feature imo.
can you explain to me what those features are.
 
I think by the end, they will get out of the generation at 50mil plus, with a reasonable market share. Of course in terms of business, what matters the most is how much profit they make, if any.

This gen won't be as long as the last one because the hardware is too weak on both consoles. That's a help for Microsoft for sure. New generations wipe the slate clean for the most part, and the fair fight from the beginning starts again.

Both MS and Sony have now goofed generations, and with that in the knowledge bank it makes it less likely the same mistakes will be made. both companies will be gunning for the top spot with the best product, and that will be awesome for us consumers.

I believe this gen is the weakest and most underwhelming of them all, maybe the next one might be the best yet!!?
 

Mastperf

Member
That comment was so ridiculous I never actually focused on the fact he was going to let his team know, imagine getting that email or even worse sitting in that meeting.

Damn Spencer was right, one stray comment really can stick, not just for Microsoft either when you think of the second job comments about the PS3 or Nintendo's "please understand".
Penello was a treasure trove of comments on here. From "We created DirectX" to "We'd never give up 30% (performance) to Sony"
MS seems to have some very vocal boneheads compared to the usual game company.
 

Futurematic

Member
That comment was so ridiculous I never actually focused on the fact he was going to let his team know, imagine getting that email or even worse sitting in that meeting.
Oh god, I can imagine. "Alright which of you idiots knew Europe wasn't a country?" "The technical fellow told me that the Xbox ran on 30% magic!"

Best of luck to Spencer though, having PR training is a huge leap over the last team and I still have fond memories of the Xbox 1 (original version). Hopefully he can make some money for MS off the Xone, I'd be mildly interested to see the Xbox Two.
 
Phil Spencer makes honest responses as always.

That's one way to see it. You might also suggest that lately he suspiciously often points out the very obvious or just says something which is just common sense, and this is something which might be confused with "being honest", right? In other words, from my point of view, it's all PR to get a positive word-of-mouth. Don't get me wrong here, because I also think that this is just a part of his job description. So I'm not blaming him.
 

Purest 78

Member
It's not really a good and reasonable opinion when it's based on ignorance ;-)

Based on Ignorance? I think ps4 has brought forth better gaming features, how exactly is That ignorant? His response was game sharing Not really a big deal imo you could do it on Ps3 and ps4. Streaming to windows 10 on the same network. I can stream from the vita in another state. I don't know what gamehub is so I can't Comment On it.
 

New002

Member
That's one way to see it. You might also suggest that lately he suspiciously often points out the very obvious or just says something which is just common sense, and this is something which might be confused with "being honest", right? In other words, from my point of view, it's all PR to get a positive word-of-mouth. Don't get me wrong here, because I also think that this is just a part of his job description. So I'm not blaming him.

This dude can't say anything without it/him getting criticized. Not saying anything would also open him up to critcism. I would not want to be in his shoes, but that's why he makes the big bucks.
 
This dude can't say anything without it/him getting criticized. Not saying anything would also open him up to critcism. I would not want to be in his shoes, but that's why he makes the big bucks.

Agreed, if he said nothing he'd be "dodging" or "lying by omission" or "in denial" or what have you. I imagine the most frustrating thing is wanting to talk about the brand or exciting stuff coming down the pipe only to be constantly asked about how feels about Sony from fanboy/clickstarved journalists.
 

cireza

Member
That's one way to see it. You might also suggest that lately he suspiciously often points out the very obvious or just says something which is just common sense, and this is something which might be confused with "being honest", right? In other words, from my point of view, it's all PR to get a positive word-of-mouth. Don't get me wrong here, because I also think that this is just a part of his job description. So I'm not blaming him.
Honestly I don't read that much into it. Guy makes an answer, his answer could be total shit too. We had this kind of stuff so much some years ago.

At least now, we have more "humble" people (attitudes) at the head of the video-game consoles, and that's fine by me.
 

etta

my hard graphic balls
Agreed, if he said nothing he'd be "dodging" or "lying by omission" or "in denial" or what have you. I imagine the most frustrating thing is wanting to talk about the brand or exciting stuff coming down the pipe only to be constantly asked about how feels about Sony from fanboy/clickstarved journalists.

It's a good thing he doesn't get bothered by it or care about those specific people, then.
 

Aceofspades

Banned
can you explain to me what those features are.

Shareplay: Share Play lets any friend who owns a PS4 console join you on a virtual sofa. Let them watch you play your favourite titles or experience the action for themselves, or jump into a local multiplayer game and play together – all with a press of the SHARE button.

Remoteplay: operating/playing your PS4 using PSVITA/smartphone from anywhere in the world through Wifi.


Controller take over: let your friend take over your game online and help you overcome difficult areas.

Request to watch: watch your friends playing session.

Communities: having the ability to create communities based around shared interests, like games, genres, and more.
 
Honestly I don't read that much into it. Guy makes an answer, his answer could be total shit too. We had this kind of stuff so much some years ago.

I'd normaly agree, but there is a reason why this very thread started as follows:

Phil Spencer thread number 342353 this month

Nevertheless, compared to the bullcrap we heard in the past from some of his colleagues his statements are really refreshing.
 

Doffen

Member
I dont think its a case of ignorance, but rather misplaced and outdated beliefs.

Microsoft believed for a long time IMO, that as long as the US was won, the world would follow. This logic was not exactly faulty, as this is the case with several different products in diverse forms like entertainment, electronics, and even fashion.

However, I think in modern times this outlook has become obsolete, as many people in the world dont have the same feelings about the US that were once the normal.

That being said, I do believe the company is in a transitional period moving away from US-centric views and more focused on a worldwide presence, but it will be some time before its the same everywhere for everybody.

Microsoft actually had a solid push in the beginning for Xbox 360 in Europe. Even Kinect had a good release here. Something changed during 2012.

Now when it comes to other products like entertainment, electronics, and fashion. These all got different strategy for becoming relevant in Europe. I can't think of any that has thrived without being present in the market.

Personally I don't see any proof that Microsoft are changing to a WW focus. The resent hardware event with no info regarding Surface Book, Lumia and Band 2 release in Europe is not encouraging.
 
Personally I don't see any proof that Microsoft are changing to a WW focus. The resent hardware event with no info regarding Surface Book, Lumia and Band 2 release in Europe is not encouraging.

Well, this may change in the future. I mean, when PlayStation started 20 years ago the old players like Nintendo and SEGA laughed at Sony because they not only lacked experience in designing a home console, they also had no idea about producing or publishing video games. Today we all now how that turned out.

MS could actually do the same. But putting all and every effort into the US and UK markets, e.g. by focusing on US-tailored TV applications and media contracts, while putting most other countries like Japan and Europe (pun intended) into a "tier not-US/UK" basket was just utterly stupid. As was the idea of implementing all those restrictions like DRM and communicate those as a cool feature...
 

W.S.

Member
Well it's my opinion It's not a fact not sure what accuracy has to do with it.
Well you said MS doesn't seem to be heavy on gaming features which led me to believe that you were unaware that they had them.

Some function differently than the PS4's and they don't have something akin to Shareplay (does this work with every game?) but it's not a case of the X1 simply not having them.

Edit: To further add, backwards compatibility is going to be a big feature for the platform as well for a variety of reasons.
 
Oh he cares, you can bet your ass that if X1 was in the lead it would be plastered all over its advertising. At the end of the day they are in competition with each other. They are just not petty about it.
agreed.

but like, what kind of shit would they have to say to come off as petty?
 

Trup1aya

Member
When a former MS Vice President writes an opinion piece on The New York Times titled "Microsoft's Creative Destruction" and then proceeds to explain how internal political bickering killed a lot of those projects, I think my observation of voting rights in MS is well justified. Consider the following excerpt from the article:




Regarding postmortems, while the vast majority of the public might not care for such a thing, the enthusiasts and early adopters do care about it. These enthusiasts and early adopters are usually the same people that Joe Public would ask a quick Yay/Nay question from before deciding on whether to purchase a product or not. The interview that the OP linked to talked at great length about the sense of "betrayal" that MS's fans and supporters felt at the time of the launch. These are the very people that would benefit from having a postmortem report to give a heads up to their friends that haven't jumped on any platform yet. The problem is that it is now (almost) 2 years since the launch so having a postmortem now isn't as effective as doing it maybe a year earlier.


Finally, regarding the business world's refusal to point fingers at execs, this is exactly the sort of problem that makes people distrust companies. I don't think I have to remind you about the various Wall Street banks and funds that really haven't been punished for their recklessness in the run-up to the 2008 Financial Crisis. The fact that current presidential candidates are even proposing to buff up the Volcker Rule is even indicative of this distrust, not to mention this rather damning summary (albeit for London's financial sector). Honestly, instead of buffing the Volcker Rule, I'd prefer that our congresspeople reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act because a lot of companies seem to willingly suffer from Corporate Amnesia.




It is okay for you to have your own preferences, just be careful with how you choose to express your preferences. A lot of juniors have been banned for expressing their preferences in the vein of what you just did. =/

None of what you posted suggests Phil Spencer would have the power to vote against and successfully stop MS from attempting to launch the Xbox in its originally intended manner...

That's just a bunch of speculation on your part based on an article that is more about internal creative sabotage of new ideas than it is about power structure and product launches of already established product lines.... Xbox wasn't akin to some tablet concept...

I'm not sure where you make the link... If the guy in charge of Office can intentionally keep it from working well on tablets out of spite... Then the guy in charge of MS' game studios can vote to stop MS from launching an underpowered console with DRM...

Sorry there's no correlation

As far as post mortems go, early adopters have already adopted... And enthusiasts are on websites like this, so they know that MS has turned a lot of things around... Publicly directing blame isn't going to get anyone anywhere.
 

rokkerkory

Member
I don't really care as long as we get plenty of quality content.

X1 is underpowered and the early messaging was wacko for sure.

Phil is the man however to fix this ship and realistic to understand that it's likely Sony will win this gen.
 

Melchiah

Member
Agreed, if he said nothing he'd be "dodging" or "lying by omission" or "in denial" or what have you. I imagine the most frustrating thing is wanting to talk about the brand or exciting stuff coming down the pipe only to be constantly asked about how feels about Sony from fanboy/clickstarved journalists.

Welcome back to the first years of last gen, where many interviews with Sony executives went the same way. I don't recall the journalists being called fanboys back then.
 
Welcome back to the first years of last gen, where many interviews with Sony executives went the same way. I don't recall the journalists being called fanboys back then.

Yea, but memory is a terrible record. Plus, the media isn't exactly the same as back then. I'm not saying its all anti MS or anything like that, but well known people in the media have stated that Objectivity is "silly" or "old fashioned". It goes both ways. Though I have had thought that many of the young people doing the writing now might have been getting into gaming about the time the ps2 was coming into its stride, which may explain some of the free passes sony gets from the larger sites.

Perfect example was polygon's (I think?) interview with Peter Moore. The guy was basically hounding Moore with portbegging EA Access for the PS4, it was pretty shameless and Moores epic smackdown of it was priceless.
 

Melchiah

Member
Yea, but memory is a terrible record. Plus, the media isn't exactly the same as back then. I'm not saying its all anti MS or anything like that, but well known people in the media have stated that Objectivity is "silly" or "old fashioned". It goes both ways. Though I have had thought that many of the young people doing the writing now might have been getting into gaming about the time the ps2 was coming into its stride, which may explain some of the free passes sony gets from the larger sites.

Perfect example was polygon's (I think?) interview with Peter Moore. The guy was basically hounding Moore with portbegging EA Access for the PS4, it was pretty shameless and Moores epic smackdown of it was priceless.

They were hard on Sony due to their blunders, now Microsoft is in the same situation. Both reap what they sowed, in good and bad. I don't see how it's supposed to be uncalled for, or being partial, now. Not to mention, that many of the journalists may have started gaming on XB/GC as well.
 
Yea, but memory is a terrible record. Plus, the media isn't exactly the same as back then. I'm not saying its all anti MS or anything like that, but well known people in the media have stated that Objectivity is "silly" or "old fashioned". It goes both ways. Though I have had thought that many of the young people doing the writing now might have been getting into gaming about the time the ps2 was coming into its stride, which may explain some of the free passes sony gets from the larger sites.

Perfect example was polygon's (I think?) interview with Peter Moore. The guy was basically hounding Moore with portbegging EA Access for the PS4, it was pretty shameless and Moores epic smackdown of it was priceless.

Nah, I don't think the media has any pro-sony leading. I still see plenty of clickbait articles perpetuating the ps4 has no games narrative.
 

Loakum

Banned
The Xbox One is outpacing the very successful Xbox 360 in terms of sales. Stop worry about what Sony is doing. Both console makers are rolling in the dough.
 

Kssio_Aug

Member
The Way theyre handling the XB1, they are beating it for me. Thats what matters, keep bringing the nice stuff and I am a happy consumer.
 

ZhugeEX

Banned
The Xbox One is outpacing the very successful Xbox 360 in terms of sales. Stop worry about what Sony is doing. Both console makers are rolling in the dough.

Just like how the 3DS was tracking ahead of the DS.....

A lot of people forget that the 360 sold like shit in its first couple of years. The fact that the Xbox One is outselling the 360 isn't an achievement. And the same goes for the PS4 compared to PS3. If these consoles were selling worse than their predecessors then console gaming would be on a major decline and the industry would be collapsing.
 
Haha, I'm not familiar with the ffs14 debacle :p
there's a thread around here somewhere about it apparently yoshida and our own kagari say that the reason ffs14 isn't on xbone is because mS refuses to allow crossplay with playstation (sony seems open to it) but phil spencer claims that the reason ffs14 isn't available is because there's a deal in place between sony and square enix.

he lied.
 
I have a PS4 but barely ever turn it on. Xbox Live Gold and the friends list keeps me on the One. Halo 5 continues to seal this. Maybe in a year or so that will change.
 

Josh7289

Member
I absolutely love the candor of both Phil Spencer on the Microsoft side and Shuhei Yoshida on the Sony side. Lots of respect for both of them.
 
Just like how the 3DS was tracking ahead of the DS.....

A lot of people forget that the 360 sold like shit in its first couple of years. The fact that the Xbox One is outselling the 360 isn't an achievement. And the same goes for the PS4 compared to PS3. If these consoles were selling worse than their predecessors then console gaming would be on a major decline and the industry would be collapsing.
I thought the Ps4 was outpacing even the Ps2?
 
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