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I think it's time for Don Mattrick to come back to XBOX

thelastword

Banned
Looking at how things have gone with XBOX for this entire generation, the many pitfalls. I think Mattrick had a much better understanding of what a console was, choosing the right games for the brand and setting a trend of success. The creator of Stunts ensured that the 360 grew from 2007 when he became the one in charge of XBOX and PC gaming at Microsoft. I think he chose great games and made some deals to keep 360 alive, even if the division already had an anchor around the neck called rrod, but he was able to meander through it... I think Mattrick showed then that he had the proper acumen to weather the storm and he did....

Mattrick was never one to continuously make promises and not deliver upon them or make too many bad decisions, he brought some good games and excitement to XBOX, which transcended beyond the core XBOX buyers, something which we can't say about Phil Spencer for the last 7 years....Looking at Mattrick's statement about "we have a console for you, buy a 360", I think people misunderstood what he was saying. That statement was not about arrogance from Mattrick, he was just trying to sell the console and feature set his company was pushing and was just being plain honest and upfront. Moreover, to this day, I think Mattrick had little say in XBOX's TV TV TV approach or their DRM policies, I very much doubt an established game developer like Mattrick would be at the forefront of such features, he had didn't twist DRM to make it sound palatable, he was raw about it, you don't want it, there's an offline console....So i think the person who was really pushing DRM and TV TV TV was given the reigns, that's Phil Spencer, it's why he is so much into services too and I think it was their way of trying to expand XBOX and so their studios and first party games and investments thereinto have suffered....

Don't get me wrong, Phil Spencer was/is not solely responsible for 2013 or TV TV TV and DRM. I think that push comes higher up the food chain at MS, it is how they always pushed XBOX OG or their vision for it eventually. They always envisioned a set top box that would dominate the living room just like Windows, but adoption of the brand never really got to the heights or saw the worldwide adoption that would guarantee that...

Still, I think XBOX as a brand has lost too much air and identity. XBOX OG went from Ninja Gaiden, Doa, Perfect Dark, Sega Games to a multiplayer behemoth in the 360 days ushered by Halo and Gears, to a console pushing too many stylized games, indies and games for lower age demographics.....This is not the traditional XBOX we know.....The messaging under Phil Spencer has been too flip-floppy, too much hype without delivery. It only serves to disappoint till even the most hardcore XBOX fan's and their zeal is eroded away. The last two shows from XBOX has been very flat and underwhelming, especially on top of them always reiterating "the most powerful console" which is sadly not sustained relative to what they show......Mistakes like, no next gen games till 2 years in, a lower end console, cutting off this gen for a while already (first party), the hardware cutoff was just the last nail to say MS is done with current gen owners. Pushing a gamepass service where it's profitability is not quantifiable, since subs can be had for $1-2 on sales/promotions and MS would eventually lower the budget for their games hitting gamepass on day 1 to offset too huge of a loss overall....


There is more about how XBOX has been mismanaged or where they focus on the wrong things and are still not course correcting, even heading to a cliff..... Look at Halo Infinite, it does not look like what you expect from a 12TF hyped box with RDNA 2 and VRS. When was the last time an MS console launched without Forza, games which should have been in development for a while, even Fable is not going to make launch. So of course MS is going to dig into the virtues of BC, because it seems their software houses are just not ready for next gen after all these years and hype from the media recently that XBOX was ahead of the competition relative to readiness for next gen, with all the studio purchase et al.


There's been too many bad decisions and pitfalls. TBF, my XBOX is my PC. It's where I've played all the Forza Motorsports, Horizons, Gears etc.....But MS is failing to even breath in new lifeblood or revitalize these old franchises in any way, so I say we need a man who knew games....Bring back Don Mattrick to the XBOX fold....

05-21Mattrick_Web.jpg
 
Looking at how things have gone with XBOX for this entire generation, the many pitfalls. I think Mattrick had a much better understanding of what a console was, choosing the right games for the brand and setting a trend of success. The creator of Stunts ensured that the 360 grew from 2007 when he became the one in charge of XBOX and PC gaming at Microsoft. I think he chose great games and made some deals to keep 360 alive, even if the division already had an anchor around the neck called rrod, but he was able to meander through it... I think Mattrick showed then that he had the proper acumen to weather the storm and he did....

Mattrick was never one to continuously make promises and not deliver upon them or make too many bad decisions, he brought some good games and excitement to XBOX, which transcended beyond the core XBOX buyers, something which we can't say about Phil Spencer for the last 7 years....Looking at Mattrick's statement about "we have a console for you, buy a 360", I think people misunderstood what he was saying. That statement was not about arrogance from Mattrick, he was just trying to sell the console and feature set his company was pushing and was just being plain honest and upfront. Moreover, to this day, I think Mattrick had little say in XBOX's TV TV TV approach or their DRM policies, I very much doubt an established game developer like Mattrick would be at the forefront of such features, he had didn't twist DRM to make it sound palatable, he was raw about it, you don't want it, there's an offline console....So i think the person who was really pushing DRM and TV TV TV was given the reigns, that's Phil Spencer, it's why he is so much into services too and I think it was their way of trying to expand XBOX and so their studios and first party games and investments thereinto have suffered....

Don't get me wrong, Phil Spencer was/is not solely responsible for 2013 or TV TV TV and DRM. I think that push comes higher up the food chain at MS, it is how they always pushed XBOX OG or their vision for it eventually. They always envisioned a set top box that would dominate the living room just like Windows, but adoption of the brand never really got to the heights or saw the worldwide adoption that would guarantee that...

Still, I think XBOX as a brand has lost too much air and identity. XBOX OG went from Ninja Gaiden, Doa, Perfect Dark, Sega Games to a multiplayer behemoth in the 360 days ushered by Halo and Gears, to a console pushing too many stylized games, indies and games for lower age demographics.....This is not the traditional XBOX we know.....The messaging under Phil Spencer has been too flip-floppy, too much hype without delivery. It only serves to disappoint till even the most hardcore XBOX fan's and their zeal is eroded away. The last two shows from XBOX has been very flat and underwhelming, especially on top of them always reiterating "the most powerful console" which is sadly not sustained relative to what they show......Mistakes like, no next gen games till 2 years in, a lower end console, cutting off this gen for a while already (first party), the hardware cutoff was just the last nail to say MS is done with current gen owners. Pushing a gamepass service where it's profitability is not quantifiable, since subs can be had for $1-2 on sales/promotions and MS would eventually lower the budget for their games hitting gamepass on day 1 to offset too huge of a loss overall....


There is more about how XBOX has been mismanaged or where they focus on the wrong things and are still not course correcting, even heading to a cliff..... Look at Halo Infinite, it does not look like what you expect from a 12TF hyped box with RDNA 2 and VRS. When was the last time an MS console launched without Forza, games which should have been in development for a while, even Fable is not going to make launch. So of course MS is going to dig into the virtues of BC, because it seems their software houses are just not ready for next gen after all these years and hype from the media recently that XBOX was ahead of the competition relative to readiness for next gen, with all the studio purchase et al.


There's been too many bad decisions and pitfalls. TBF, my XBOX is my PC. It's where I've played all the Forza Motorsports, Horizons, Gears etc.....But MS is failing to even breath in new lifeblood or revitalize these old franchises in any way, so I say we need a man who knew games....Bring back Don Mattrick to the XBOX fold....

05-21Mattrick_Web.jpg

Did your mum ground you for making shit threads?
 

JonnyMP3

Member
'Head of Xbox in charge at the time is not responsible for time in charge!'

Super Saiyan levels of MAGA right there...
 
LOL Don would have forced a Kinect 2 bundle with every Series X driving the price of the console up 100 more and he would make everything all digital no disk drive and he would show TV lmao you cannot be serious with that.
 
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Hell no. I think you're radically misdiagnosing the problem.

The problem is that building absolute top tier, industry leading first party development teams can take upwards of 10-15 years of continual investment and software failure. Mattrick presided over the complete gutting of their entire arsenal of first party development in favor of pursuing Kinect, TV, advertising, and third party exclusives like Call of Duty. It worked in the short term, but the sad fact is that the damage he inflicted set them back almost 15 years, and it's going to take that long to repair the damage. Phil isn't really doing anything wrong. He's buying studios, funding them, and letting them do what they want. That's all he really can do at this point other than wait.

Nintendo is the leader in this with continuous continuity of employees from almost the birth of video games in the early 80s. They have layers and layers of experienced employees that have made bad games, then good games, then great games, then revolutionary games, then transitioned into mentor roles, then transitioned into manager roles. If Nintendo were to start firing employees, it would be the kind of thing that could never be replaced, and would take 15-20 years to get it back.

Sony is just now starting to reap the benefits of investing in first party development. They pretty much sucked on PS1 and PS2 entirely, with the exception of God of War and Gran Turismo I guess. They had Uncharted take off a bit and some other signs of life on PS3. But it wasn't until PS4 they truly started to hit their stride and produce industry leading games. Naughty Dog was funded while they made mediocre games for 2 entire generations. Same with Sucker Punch. Same with Insomniac. Same with almost all their studios. Naughty Dog made entire trilogies that more or less sucked, and had to slowly increase their output from bad to good, to great, to revolutionary. Guerilla Games made mediocre Killzone games for 2 whole gens before finally putting out 1 really good game.

Xbox, if they receive funding for the long term, will absolutely join these two as well. They bought a bunch of studios. But the later you start in this process, the harder it is because HD AAA development now is even harder, and takes even longer. Instead of putting out 3-4 games on PS2 and learning, you now can maybe put out 1-2 games an entire gen. So it may take them even longer.

If they hire back Mattrick, they just start all the way back at zero.
 

The Alien

Banned
At first I thought this was gonna be a troll post.

But that wall of text (that I didn't read) convinced me that some effort may have gone into the post.

Regardless, Donny D's complete mismanagement, disorganized leadership, and shitty messaging got him exactly what he deserved (a chance to run Zynga into the ground).
 
Nah, Phil is doing better. It takes time and resources something MS seems to be able to donate at the moment to save that dumpster fire of long term goals pre Phil. I see all these hot takes about how shit needs to be fixed yesterday and honestly that is beyond unreasonable for an expectation especially given how long development takes.
 

mango drank

Member
Either that or sell Xbox to Samsung, Amazon or Google so they can actually compete with Sony.
I dunno if I can imagine any those companies taking over the Xbox brand and doing well, honestly. Samsung might do even worse than Google at managing a gaming brand, hah.

Which got me thinking: has a big-name brand ever been sold off and then went on to do really well in the hands of its new owners? Usually when you hear about a brand being sold off, it's a death knell.
 

wipeout364

Member
I don’t know how anyone who actually owned a 360 and was there watch to Mattrick destroy Microsoft’s development studios and force that shitty Kinect Garbage upon us could type the OP. Great troll thread, I am sure you will enjoy your preordered PS5.
 
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I dunno if I can imagine any those companies taking over the Xbox brand and doing well, honestly. Samsung might do even worse than Google at managing a gaming brand, hah.

Which got me thinking: has a big-name brand ever been sold off and then went on to do really well in the hands of its new owners? Usually when you hear about a brand being sold off, it's a death knell.

Usually it's that case. But then there is also Sega. Goes out anyway without getting sold. At least Xbox has mind share in the U.S.
 
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Why would I buy this console? There is no USP.

Phil is a nice guy but he isn't the right man.

1) Well, the box is well designed and should make all third party games shine.
2) All first games and many others are included in Game Pass, which is an entirely new service created this gen with incredible value.
3) Over time, their first party games will get better.
4) Superior, more comprehensive backwards compatibility

I think Phil steered the ship the right way on basically every front. The only problem is he can't snap his fingers and make first party studios the best in the world overnight. All he can do is invest and wait. And while you wait, all the games are included day one. It's pretty much the best possible correction I can imagine after Mattrick drove the entire company off a cliff.
 
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Bolivar687

Banned
For anyone writing this thread off, keep in mind that Don Matrick stewarded Xbox through its most successful years. He is responsible for the 360 era.

I agree it was likely Microsoft that saddled him with Kinect & TV. Xbox's original goal was to own the living room the way they own the office and it was a three-console strategy: get your foot in the door with the original Xbox, broaden your market share with 360, then dominate with the Xbox One. This was supposed to be the moment when corporate could step back in with all the non-gaming garbage they wanted there in the first place.

They have definitely inverted their culture during the Mattrick 360 years from being a company that underpromised and overdelivered.
 
For anyone writing this thread off, keep in mind that Don Matrick stewarded Xbox through its most successful years. He is responsible for the 360 era.

I agree it was likely Microsoft that saddled him with Kinect & TV. Xbox's original goal was to own the living room the way they own the office and it was a three-console strategy: get your foot in the door with the original Xbox, broaden your market share with 360, then dominate with the Xbox One. This was supposed to be the moment when corporate could step back in with all the non-gaming garbage they wanted there in the first place.

They have definitely inverted their culture during the Mattrick 360 years from being a company that underpromised and overdelivered.
He showed up after 360 launched. 360 was the hardcore gamer system with multiple Japanese exclusives (Lost Odyssey, Ninja Gaiden 2, Tenchu Z, Last Remnant, Infinite Undiscovery) and multiple western exclusives like Mass Effect and the only functioning console version of Oblivion, and a cheaper price than the PS3, and better multiplatform games, all before he walked in the door. The system coasted on a strong launch and decisions already made.

Mattrick presided over the 2nd half of the 360's life, where they transitioned entirely away from that into Kinect, TV, closing all first party studios, and moneyhatting third party exclusives. His primary achievement is Kinect, and says so right in his wikipedia article. Mattrick then allowed the PS3 to slowly climb back for the entire 2nd half of that gen on PS+, better exclusives, free online, price drops.

And then Mattrick launched the Xbox One, and the rest is history.
 
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Northeastmonk

Gold Member
Bring back J Allard and the “tribal culture” of Xbox. I have no real way to answer this. It’s like bringing back a corrupt politician. The man made his millions and probably doesn’t have much more to add to the brand.
 

thelastword

Banned
Anyone but Phil at this point. As long as Don stays traditional and plays by established rules. It's only good for gamers.

Either that or sell Xbox to Samsung, Amazon or Google so they can actually compete with Sony.
Yes, I think Don has a better game mind.... He would pick the diamond from the rough much better than Phil.....Phil cancelled games that looked promising and greenlit games that stayed in development limbo for years to paltry reviews and low sales. Then he had no choice than to put them on gamepass, only then to try and suggest that these games are doing very well because of gamepass subs mostly a low cost of entry.....That revenue and profit is gone. The excitement to buy a game you value as good and worth your $60 is gone....The quality of games suffer if gamepass is the new conduit..


As for google etc....Well google tried their own stuff which didn't pan out....I think the only way Sony can get some competition now is if Nintendo releases modern hardware and try to relieve the GC era with a modern looking Zelda, Eternal Darkness type games, RE4 type deals etc....and of course many new IP's from them beyond Mario etc..

It's hard to believe that Xbox is in a worse position than it was for Xbox One reveal.

This new Xbox:

Name is terrible and confusing.
The box looks utter trash
Messaging all over the place

Why would I buy this console? There is no USP.

Phil is a nice guy but he isn't the right man.
Absolutely. I think Phil probably loves to play mello games like Ori, Everwild etc.....but these games are not traditional XBOX games or games that would push XBOX consoles in any case.......And looking at the show, a number of games they showed are already playable now.....At least GTA is a 98% game that still tops charts worldwide and it's getting the full remaster treatment instead of your standard BC uprez + framerate...
 

benjohn

Member
I think financially speaking Phil is successful but when it comes to delivering promises and giving gamers what they want, he's under delivered. The man is only a big mouth. At this point I really hope for a new management.
 

Bolivar687

Banned
He showed up after 360 launched. 360 was the hardcore gamer system with multiple Japanese exclusives (Lost Odyssey, Ninja Gaiden 2, Tenchu Z, Last Remnant, Infinite Undiscovery) and multiple western exclusives like Mass Effect and the only functioning console version of Oblivion, and a cheaper price than the PS3, and better multiplatform games, all before he walked in the door. The system coasted on a strong launch and decisions already made.

Mattrick presided over the 2nd half of the 360's life, where they transitioned entirely away from that into Kinect, TV, closing all first party studios, and moneyhatting third party exclusives. His primary achievement is Kinect, and says so right in his wikipedia article. Mattrick then allowed the PS3 to slowly climb back for the entire 2nd half of that gen on PS+, better exclusives, free online, price drops.

And then Mattrick launched the Xbox One, and the rest is history.

He also walked into the Red Ring situation, after Peter Moore resigned having just implemented the warranties.

2007-2013 is nearly the entirety of the generation. He built up the lion share of Microsoft's current base.
 
He also walked into the Red Ring situation, after Peter Moore resigned having just implemented the warranties.

2007-2013 is nearly the entirety of the generation. He built up the lion share of Microsoft's current base.
Any decision he would make at that point would take years to materialize. His decisions steered the ship for the 2nd half of the generation primarily, and the launch of Xbox One.

Many of the things that led to the 360 doing well were set in place before he got there.
- easier to develop for
- cheaper system
- key early exclusives lined up for hardcore gamers
- xbox live

I'm sure he did a few things that weren't outright awful, but the vast majority of his decisions led to significant decline.
 

quest

Not Banned from OT
I think financially speaking Phil is successful but when it comes to delivering promises and giving gamers what they want, he's under delivered. The man is only a big mouth. At this point I really hope for a new management.
Considering he got the ceo to open up the checkbook for all the new studios he has done fine. Just because he is not a magician and makes games develop is nothing anyone could fix. Im getting my RPGs so im happy with new direction of the studios. Big mouth delivered with a lot of new studios and teams. It takes time to make games. I did not see any naughty dog or sucker punch games at the Sony video. Because games take time to develop. In 2-3 years when avowed, fable and hell blade come out the series x will hsveba strong diverse line up. Sure they could of made exclusive gears 5:dlc as a game yippy instead.
 

thelastword

Banned
Don Mattrick was the beneficiary of a solid foundation. He then proceeded to destroy it in a short few years after his hiring.
Not exactly. RROD plagued XBOX very early on, people had multiple machines die on them and for some reason Don was able to keep 360 hardware sales trending regardless.
Bring back J Allard and the “tribal culture” of Xbox. I have no real way to answer this. It’s like bringing back a corrupt politician. The man made his millions and probably doesn’t have much more to add to the brand.
Well these guys would be my go to, but sadly I don't see how the old gang would ever come back to XBOX. Yet Xbox surely need a man who can decipher what games to greenlight, one that would not cancel something like scalebound, which would have decent combat from Platinum in the name of lesser franchises or potential ones......I'm looking at Booty too and though I think it's early on for him.....I'm not seeing that new drive for next gen for the games that will elevate the brand....They need somebody with an eye....Hey, I'd even give Itagaki the reigns to run XBOX over these current guys at the helm......

Yet Mattrick is a business mind and also a dev, so best of both worlds...
 

jakinov

Member
I agree. Don Mattrick put out decent games for the launch. He understands gaming better than Phil.
To be fair, the CEO wasn't a fan of the Xbox division; wanted to sell it off. He inherited what was left over after the Xbox One fiasco. And games are complex and can't be fast-tracked. So unless Microsoft paid for exclusivity for a game that was likely going to go multi platform; they aren't going to pop out big AAA games with only 2 years of development from studios with prior engagements. And it's not like they could have started earlier if the CEO wasn't a huge fan of the division.

The biggest game Sony has is a stand-alone expansion to Spiderman. They have Ratchet and Demon Souls too but they probably aren't going to bring in crazy numbers either. Ones a fancy remake also. Insomniac recently became a first party but if you think about when these games were likely started, all the games weren't originally developed "in-house". Without Insomniac, Sony probably wouldn't have been able to output anything from their first-party as they would have been all games with contracted third-party resources. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Just pointing out that resources are finite and you can't really expedite things. I think the old Microsoft would have tried to do the same thing if they couldn't output enough from first-party for console lauch. They kind of did that with the Xbox One, where they got Crytek, Insomniac, Remedy, Capcom and Respawn to make them an exclusive game for Xbox One (and PC).

Phil Spencer isn't enough of a shark though. He tries too hard to be the good guy and hasn't done and great business moves like the old Xbox division was during the 360 days.
 
I’m not much of an XBox player, but who was most responsible for the success of the XBox 360? Was it Seamus Blackley? Hire that person.
 
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benjohn

Member
Considering he got the ceo to open up the checkbook for all the new studios he has done fine. Just because he is not a magician and makes games develop is nothing anyone could fix. Im getting my RPGs so im happy with new direction of the studios. Big mouth delivered with a lot of new studios and teams. It takes time to make games. I did not see any naughty dog or sucker punch games at the Sony video. Because games take time to develop. In 2-3 years when avowed, fable and hell blade come out the series x will hsveba strong diverse line up. Sure they could of made exclusive gears 5:dlc as a game yippy instead.
He's been the head of xbox long enough to be judged. no more hiding behind Don Mattrick mess! Phil always promises big and delivers small. He's a perfect choice for PR not for actually doing things. That's all my opinion though. If you are happy with him being the head of Xbox division good for you.
 
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quest

Not Banned from OT
He also walked into the Red Ring situation, after Peter Moore resigned having just implemented the warranties.

2007-2013 is nearly the entirety of the generation. He built up the lion share of Microsoft's current base.
Peter Moore ripped any non eastern exclusive out of Sonys hands getting games same day. That evened the playing field versus Sony. The guy fought off the xbox 1.5 taint Sony tried. Moore set up the 360 for success the guy is probably the best there is at launching a console. I like Phil but they should of brought Moore in to help launch the series x.
 

Ozzie666

Member
Not sure it's entirely Phil's fault. He has to sell whatever the big bosses want, or he had to sell something to them to keep the console alive. Game Pass and subscription model is what they big bosses want, it's an extremely long end game. They know they can't compete with Nintendo and Sony on physical boxes and game quality (overall). Game Pass is their plan.

I'm just not sure if Phil is a mouth piece at this point, or the one driving the Game Pass plan. If Phil was replaced, I'm not sure their game plan would change much, I'm beginning to believe it's not his vision, but higher ups.
 

jakinov

Member
I think financially speaking Phil is successful but when it comes to delivering promises and giving gamers what they want, he's under delivered. The man is only a big mouth. At this point I really hope for a new management.
The new CEO didn't really support him until last few years. There was a lot of reports that the new CEO wanted to sell off Xbox. And it already wasn't doing great anymore when Don Mattrick left. People give him a lot of shit for saying positive things. But do you know of a lot of companies that say "We got somewhat exciting news", everything is always hyped up. As long as they aren't lying I don't really care.
 
He's been the head of xbox long enough to be judged. no more hiding behind Don Mattrick mess! Phil always promises big and delivers small. He's a perfect choice for PR not for actually doing things. That's all my opinion though. If you are happy with him being the head of Xbox division good for you.
Well he took over during Xbox One, a system he didn't lead design in.

He basically presided over a failed system already set in motion. His only major big decisions so far:

1) Buying a ton of studios
2) Game Pass
3) Backwards compatibility investment
4) Insisting on XSX being more powerful
 

quest

Not Banned from OT
He's been the head of xbox long enough to be judged. no more hiding behind Don Mattrick mess! Phil always promises big and delivers small. He's a perfect choice for PR not for actually doing things. That's all my opinion though. If you are happy with him being the head of Xbox division good for you.
He has had 2 years with a legitimate budget. If you think that is enough time lol. I know your guy of choice would develop 1000 AAA games in 2 years lol. Phil had zero budget his first years the division was with in inches of being sold or axed because of previous management. He took over a sinking ship with no money for repairs until 2 years ago. I know Sony develops games in 2 years amirite?
 
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