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Phil Spencer admits defeat in console space, and doesn't think great games would help Xbox's market share.

graywolf323

Member
Agreed. Give them to id and see what they can do with it. Not Machine Games, especially after Youngblood.
I mean I’d be fine with Machine Games as long as they didn’t make it like Youngblood, hopefully they’ve learned from their mistakes on that (we’ll find out when the next Wolfenstein or maybe this Indiana Jones game gets revealed)

the problem was 343i clearly had NOT learned from mistakes and were finding new & creative ways to make even worst mistakes…

This period is full of game releases and you still talk about that interview...Are we sure this is still a gaming forum? Certainly doesn't look like
it’s an interview from less than a week ago that is highly relevant to gaming… what’s your point?
 
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XXL

Member
It's been clear to me for a while concerning how Xbox does business since the mid-Xbox 360 gen when they pivoted away from core gaming towards Kinect and the casual gamer.
Completely agree.

The second they gained marketshare with the 360 they did a HARD pivot (leading into the X1) and its been a shitshow since then trying to recapture that marketshare.

Ironically, the 360 had some great games that helped them (with some other factors) gain on Playstation.
 

Topher

Gold Member
This period is full of game releases and you still talk about that interview...Are we sure this is still a gaming forum? Certainly doesn't look like

Why are you not talking about game releases then?

Confused Hanna Barbera GIF by Warner Archive
 

graywolf323

Member


Timestamp 18:28. SkillUp's response to the infamous Phil comment on great games. What i find crazy is that now people are agreeing with him when everyone was/would be saying the opposite before Phil had the interview.

I’m at work so I can’t give it a watch, what did he say?
 

Topher

Gold Member
Ryan McCaffrey weighs in....



Says it isn't Phil Spencer's fault......except he is too nice.

Says talent isn't the problem.

Says resources isn't the problem.

Calls out the "collective Xbox team".

Says Xbox fans are tired of being told the "great games are coming. Just wait. Year after year".

Says Xbox fans deserve better.
 
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sachos

Member
I’m at work so I can’t give it a watch, what did he say?
He tries to explain what Phil truly meant to say and that he agrees with him and kinda implies everyone else is taking it out of context or assuming the wrong thing. Its only a minute, you can then go and listen for yourself in case im also taking him out of context and misunderstanding.
 
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DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
He said they would "continue to focus on making the console experience as great as it can be like the home page refresh and some stuff". And he said that while shaking his head. I mean......the guy asked him specifically about improving the console and Phil's answer was flippant at best.

That new dash looks slick. Glad ms continue to build and evolve based on feedback.

I'm feeling somewhat optimistic for next month...somewhat lol
 
Ryan McCaffrey weighs in....



Says it isn't Phil Spencer's fault......except he is too nice.

Says talent isn't the problem.

Says resources isn't the problem.

Calls out the "collective Xbox team".

Says Xbox fans are tired of being told the "great games are coming. Just wait. Year after year".

Says Xbox fans deserve better.


So he said nothing at all...😀
 

graywolf323

Member
Ryan McCaffrey weighs in....



Says it isn't Phil Spencer's fault......except he is too nice.

Says talent isn't the problem.

Says resources isn't the problem.

Calls out the "collective Xbox team".

Says Xbox fans are tired of being told the "great games are coming. Just wait. Year after year".

Says Xbox fans deserve better.

He tries to explain what Phil truly meant to say and that he agrees with him and implies everyone else is taking it out of context or assuming the wrong thing. Its only a minute, you can then go and listen for yourself in case im also taking him out of context and misunderstanding.
that’s a shame, somehow nothing is ever Phil’s fault even though he’s had more power than Mattrick ever did…
 

RickMasters

Member
Cautiously optimistic. I think the pressure is on for Microsoft to really put on a great show.
I’ll be honest they have sucked the excitement out of the brand for me. No longer gonna have any expectations for them. At this point I wouldn’t mind if they came up with a way to migrate my digital library from my Xbox over to Playstation. That’s the best thing they can do for Xbox owners seeing as they have given up and clearly don’t give a shit about consoles. My next console wil be a PlayStation. Tired of playing the waiting game with Xbox. I’m gonna buy a switch and wait for a pS5 pro or pS6.



We can’t even get gradius collection on Xbox…. Look at all the games that are slipping Xbox. They don’t mind their own Xbox customers not having these things on xbox. Shoot…. They don’t even mind us not buying the console. So why bother?
 

Thirty7ven

Banned
It’s only normal for the discourse to shift to a more positive light. The excuses are in, Phil gets another life line and now the focus will be on the Xbox showcase and Starfield later this year. They have to hit it out of the park.
 

Thirty7ven

Banned
The problem is these talking heads are all too close to Xbox. Imagine if this was Jim Ryan saying this. They wouldn't be apologizing for him.

The media loves Phil Spencer and Xbox has the under dog aura. Do you see anybody worried about software sales on Xbox due to GP dominance? Not a whisper from the vast majority of media. Buy Bethesda and ABK? Great. Phil Spencer complains about PlayStation and he gets sympathy.

Nintendo can sell cardboard and people think it’s cute, remasters and remakes? Yes please.

Jim Ryan says something wrong and everyone drop kicks on his forehead. Complains about ABK? Crying Jim, whiny bitch. Do exclusivity deals? Anti consumer.
 

Beechos

Member
He's right only a historic sony fuckup at this point will do, like when nintendo chose cartridge over cdrom.

Only chance of that possibly happening anytime soon is the gaas push blowing up in sonys face followed by some lackluster single player games.
 
This period is full of game releases and you still talk about that interview...Are we sure this is still a gaming forum? Certainly doesn't look like
There are tons of threads about new releases and older games as well. Why arent you in those threads instead of thread whining in this one?
 

Arsic

Loves his juicy stink trail scent
The showcase next month has to be games coming out within 6 months.

We’ve had years of great looking stuff or wanted stuff with nothing to fruition. With how long they’ve owned these teams it’s time to see the fruits.

The amount of time HellBlade 2 has been cooking is absurd unless the game is going to be completely different from the first in scope, gameplay, and length. The first one I think was a 8 hour romp ? Little gameplay but still a fun experience.

If the sequel is a 2024 release and a 8 hour romp it’s another showcase for awful studio management.
 
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Was he on pills or something? I guess nobody expects to out-sell Playstation, but damn...those words seem to come from a broken man. Hard to explain.
We don't need that attitude, really. I mean, what the hell would be the reason for me to buy a console if not for what I'd be able to play on it?!?!?!
 
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Can’t believe it took this long for people to see this crap. It’s only been a decade ….

Season 9 Lol GIF by The Office


Well two things….

1. The June showcase will be a flop, after Redfall I have zero trust that the Xbox team even knows what a quality game is at this point. There is no excuse for that game to get such a big marketing push when it was clearly in a bad state.

2. I would hate to be Todd Howard right now, the amount of pressure all this crap puts on Starfield is unfair but his game literally has to save Xbox and if you think it’s not that serious, your still not paying attention. I can definitely see them going the 3rd party publisher route.
 
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bitbydeath

Member
The problem is these talking heads are all too close to Xbox. Imagine if this was Jim Ryan saying this. They wouldn't be apologizing for him.
Sony don’t have anyone like that in the media.
Microsoft probably planted/pays them is the only explanation considering how much more popular PlayStation is worldwide.
 

Crayon

Member
Sony don’t have anyone like that in the media.
Microsoft probably planted/pays them is the only explanation considering how much more popular PlayStation is worldwide.

If there is a sony analogue in the media, I'd like to know about it. I always see it going the other way. I don't think they get planted. I think those guys were on here ten years ago and probably got permed for console warring.
 

ZehDon

Gold Member
Cautiously optimistic. I think the pressure is on for Microsoft to really put on a great show.
A "great show" in the strictest sense. After the Halo Infinite disaster, followed by an entire year devoid of releases, followed by the Redfall disaster, a "good show" won't cut it. I hope they've got more than last year's delayed titles (Starfield Forza Motorsport).
 

Caio

Member
But 360 was the most popular in NA, and won there, it deserves to be mentioned ;) Furthermore, Wii lost its "magic touch" starting from 2010, and going down like a rocket in 2011 and 2012; this also shold be mentioned ;) So, it depends from the year, and Territory, Wii was not the most popular in all Territories and along the entire Gen.
ShadowkillXNA is laughing at my post, but does not have the brain or balls to quote and elaborate about the Topic...
 

Klosshufvud

Member

Why would you even buy publishers for 100bn dollars if third place was your goal? They obviously aim to seize a significant portion of the indusrry through aggressive expansion. Actions speak louder than words and Spencer's words have never been trustworthy to begin with. He's just saying what's most convenient at the time. Now that it's clear MS is failing to Sony this gen as well, they're undermining the need or even ability to be first. But the moment an Xbox product does well in revenue, you're sure to hear it everywhere. Words shaped by the wind...
 

Astray

Gold Member
A "great show" in the strictest sense. After the Halo Infinite disaster, followed by an entire year devoid of releases, followed by the Redfall disaster, a "good show" won't cut it. I hope they've got more than last year's delayed titles (Starfield Forza Motorsport).
I don't think MS ever had persisting issues in terms of putting on a good show, I think where they struggle is when they have to turn a great show into a set of great years for Xbox (or the larger gamepass ecosystem if you'd like).

What they need is a steady drip of 8s that eventually turn into 10s.
 

kyussman

Member
The showcase next month has to be games coming out within 6 months.

We’ve had years of great looking stuff or wanted stuff with nothing to fruition. With how long they’ve owned these teams it’s time to see the fruits.

The amount of time HellBlade 2 has been cooking is absurd unless the game is going to be completely different from the first in scope, gameplay, and length. The first one I think was a 8 hour romp ? Little gameplay but still a fun experience.

If the sequel is a 2024 release and a 8 hour romp it’s another showcase for awful studio management.
They seem to have gone all in on mental health awareness over there at Ninja Theory......I doubt they are working their people very hard,probably putting in a 3hr day.I think the game will be something you watch more than you play,it's gonna look wonderful but I don't think there will be a lot of game there.
 
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GHG

Member
Damn, leave it to people on twitter to dig this stuff



What's of note to me here is everything about phil's monologue in the build up to revealing the game, from the language used, the pacing of it in time with the music, etc. That's not by accident, it's by design.

They put more effort into all that crap than they do making sure the games they release are great. It's bizarre.
 

FunkMiller

Member


Timestamp 18:28. SkillUp's response to the infamous Phil comment on great games. What i find crazy is that now people are agreeing with him when everyone was/would be saying the opposite before Phil had the interview.


Spencer is a very good communicator. He can make the unreasonable sound reasonable. This is probably why he’s still in his job, despite the fact that he’s failed miserably at releasing video games.
 

JohnnyFootball

GerAlt-Right. Ciriously.
yep and this is why I don’t understand the cult of personality that Phil still has around him, after Halo 4 & 5 the fact he still had 343i make Infinite…
It's not just that. It's all of these studios. Phil is an excellent figurehead and a likeable guy, but is absolutely terrible at managing first party studios. The complete opposite of Jim Ryan, who is an unlikeable prick, but has managed Sony in a way that releases a steady flow of exclusive content. Not all of it is great (The Last of Us Remake was a terrible waste of resources), but it still exists and is an option. I've said it a million times, with all the resources and studios at their disposal, MS should by now have a steady stream of 2-3 big exclusives coming out each year. I am not talking about stuff like HiFi Rush, but God of War level exclusives. I keep getting the excuse of "MS just acquired these studios" they need time. BULLSHIT. These studios that MS acquired had projects in development LONG before MS acquired them. It's not like they were sitting dormant. MS should have been able to provide the leadership and resources so that those projects would start seeing the light of day right now.

Until I see otherwise, I am sorry to say that I believe it is far more likely that MS acquisition of Bethesda is more likely to hurt them than help them. Financial resources without leadership is just wasted money.
 
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skit_data

Member
One of the things that I keep thinking about was that he said in the interview that Starfield was ”earlier on in the development process”. How is that possible? Starfield must’ve been in development for quite a while now because it feels like I’ve heard rumors of Bethesda making a space RPG for a long time.
Compared to Redfall it must involve several years more of development in total, with all the art and game mechanics. It simply doesn’t compute IMO.
Or did he mean they (MS) intervened earlier in order to assist development compared to Redfall?
No matter how I try to interpret it I simply can’t make sense of it, Starfield must’ve been much further along than Redfall due to the sheer complexity of the game.

Edit: According to wikipedia it’s been in active development since 2015 and prior to that they’d trademarked the name in 2013.
This sound about what I expected.
 
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ToTTenTranz

Banned
Why did he frame it as "no one's going to sell their PS5 if Starfall is an 11/10"? I'm sure a lot of people are more than happy buying both consoles.

Because it wouldn't fit the narrative.
People will buy great games, period. If said great games are exclusive to one platform, they'll eventually buy that one platform.

The problem is Xbox management is leading to bad games. Phil is finally coming clean about this fact, but always without being fully honest about it. So instead he's blaming it on digital libraries from half a dozen years ago (i.e. Don Mattrick's ghost) and the fact that people don't sell current-gen consoles.



One of the things that I keep thinking about was that he said in the interview that Starfield was ”earlier on in the development process”. How is that possible? Starfield must’ve been in development for quite a while now because it feels like I’ve heard rumors of Bethesda making a space RPG for a long time.
Compared to Redfall it must involve several years more of development in total, with all the art and game mechanics. It simply doesn’t compute IMO.
Or did he mean they (MS) intervened earlier in order to assist development compared to Redfall?
No matter how I try to interpret it I simply can’t make sense of it, Starfield must’ve been much further along than Redfall due to the sheer complexity of the game.
It means they sent technical teams from Xbox to Bethesda to help with Starfield back in 2021, but for Redfall they did so later than that.
Or at least it's something he's just saying to keep people's hopes about Starfield afloat.
 
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