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[Pantz]

I still like my Xbox, but it feels like they don't like me.

 

[GHG]

Do you think he's never heard that they need games? The guy is very connected to everyone and the community, and talks to everyone.

This is incorrect.

He does not speak to "everyone". He speaks to those on the MVP/VIP/Ambassador programmes, it's literally written in the description of those "initiatives".

He's created an echo chamber for himself upon which he can't escape from. This is the same with a lot of Xbox communities and sub-communities.

 

[FrankWza]

The Activision Blizzard merger collapse destroyed this man.

1000%
and he'll be there beating his chest when they make their next big publisher purchase.

 

[feynoob]

I still like my Xbox, but it feels like they don't like me.

Its xbox one mistake all over again.
Its the one thing I was worried that they are going to make.

After this interview, alot of people will leave xbox to PS.

 

[Punished Miku]

What's their problem compared to the competition?

I don't know. I'm not an insider.

 

[Gaiff]

Absolute nonsense. They didnt fail in every way. They succeeded in the main aspect which was to provide VIDEO GAMES. Yes, they fucked up with the $599 price tag and shitty architecture, but by the end of 2007, just one year in NOT the majority, they already had a great line up of exclusives which continued to grow year after year. That told gamers that Sony is interested in making VIDEO GAMES and by 2009, the console was selling for $299 and the convuluted architecture no longer resulted in awful ports. In 3 short years, they had fixed all the issues while offering AAA exclusives like Uncharted 1, 2, KZ2, MGS4, LBP, Resistance 1 and 2, Motrostorm and Motorstorm PR, Socom Confrontation, Warhawk, Heavenly Sword, Infamous, Ratchet and Clank Future Tools of Destruction, and ended the last 4 years releasing GOTY contender after GOTY contender.

All Phil had to do was follow the same model. Release games while fixing shit like taking out the Kinect and reducing the price of the console. He did everything except for releasing games. Don Matrick had Titanfall, Ryse, Quantum Break, Sunset Overdrive, Coalitions New IP, Scalebound and Fable all lined up. All Phil had to do was continue that work. Instead, he cancelled Coalitions New IP, Scalebound and Fable. Then cut ties with Respawn, Remedy and Insmoniac instead of investing in them like Sony did with Sucker Punch, GG, Media Molecule and Evolution Studios.

This whole mindshare argument is mind numbling dumb considering MS WON the mindshare from Sony in the 360 era. Every single third party game sold better on the Xbox. Thats where the hardcore went. MS lost the mindshare when they went full kinect in 2010 and never looked back. Every single E3 conference was kinectimals, kinect sports, douchbags pretending to play star wars, jumping around like they are playing football. Every single one. That is what turned the mindshare. Those same Xbox owners looked at that trash and saw sony showing GOW, Heavy Rain, TLOU2, KZ3, Uncharted 3, Infamous 2, Beyond, and thats when MS lost the mindshare. Thats how the PS3 caught up to the 360. because MS refused to release games people want to play.

Literally the same thing we have seen play out since Phil took over.

100% this. I distinctly remember when things started changing. I first bought an Xbox 360 in 2007 or 2008 and at the time, it was a no-brainer compared to the PS3. I had Fable 2, Halo 3, Gears of War, the better performing version of GTA IV, terrific Xbox Live Arcade games and a bunch of good stuff. Sony seemed like a desert at the time.

By 2011, I acquired a PS3 and sold my Xbox the next year because of the draught that was going on. On Playstation, I had inFAMOUS 2, Uncharted 2, and then 3, Warhawk, Starhawk, Killzone 3, Little Big Planet and a few others. Xbox had fuck-all in the pipeline except for Kinect bullshit which I wasn't interested in. Phil should have returned to the ship to its proper course and keep doing what made the Xbox 360 successful.

What did he do instead? Nothing. Why hasn't there been a Fable in over 10 years? What has he done with the Rare IPs like Banjo or Conker? Bungie was let go. Lionhead was closed. Titanfall was a damn good game but it didn't meet their expectations and they subsequently abandoned the partnership.

Phil has been nothing short of an incompetent buffoon no better than Mattrick. it's been almost 10 years and the Xbox brand is exactly where it was when Don stepped down. What a joke.

 

[buenoblue]

Well there it is. Phill doesn't believe in making THE THING THAT SHOULD BE No.1 PRIORITY......GREAT GAMES. I think he is done now. Shame I was a massive Phill Spencer fanboy years ago and really believed he was gonna deliver something special

 

[MALpractice311]

Yeah, true.


I think you are right. Once Sony released uncharted 2 it started to change.

I think what Phil is trying to say now is exclusives wouldn't really shift the needle for xbox right now as the majority of people would go pc. I think they do need great games and I think they are hopefully going to deliver that soon but its ultimately not going to make xbox win in the console space.

And who's fault is that exactly? That was MS's choice to make games Day One on XSS, XSX, PC, and Gamepass. They created a cheap rental service that can be accessed from many locations/machines and now they're shocked that some consumers have decided to not buy their consoles and games.

 

[FunkMiller]

I don't know. I'm not an insider.

If a major, otherwise successful company with an extremely large war chest is completely unable to compete with competition that has less resources, then the problem must inevitably be the people in charge.

 

[PisswasserYellow]

He really fucking said that? Wow.

 

[FrankWza]

Notice how it's zeroed in on that one tweet highlighted by their mascot.

Marching orders, sir!

 

[Tommi84]

Who is Welma? Why is Mattrick one of the kids?

Welma is this guy:

Hermen Hulst Q&A: Interview with Head of PlayStation’s Worldwide Studios

What's next for Guerrilla, upcoming TV and film projects, and the guiding principles that drive PlayStation’s network of world-class game studios.

blog.playstation.com

Mattrick is there as he made some questionable decisions (like he wanted online-only console) and then said that if you don't like, you can stick with x360

 

[Dr. Kitty Muffins]

I wouldn't be shocked if Microsoft sold Xbox after hearing this tone.

 

[Ansphn]

Becoming more and more convinced Phil is an undercover Sony agent

No he's not lmao. Don't try to push blame to Sony somehow someway.

 

[feynoob]

What's their problem compared to the competition?

Their problem is they fucked their first party studios and wanked their chest.

You dont get big games, if you dont have the studios. That is what started this mess.

From MS to Xbox management since OG xbox.

 

[Stare-Bear]

So…I’m getting the feeling Microsoft was banking this generation on the Acti-merger and now they don’t have much to show for…

A Phil wouldn’t say that games don’t matter if he knew there was a killer lineup coming this year.

 

[bentanchorbolt]

Absolute nonsense. They didnt fail in every way. They succeeded in the main aspect which was to provide VIDEO GAMES. Yes, they fucked up with the $599 price tag and shitty architecture, but by the end of 2007, just one year in NOT the majority, they already had a great line up of exclusives which continued to grow year after year. That told gamers that Sony is interested in making VIDEO GAMES and by 2009, the console was selling for $299 and the convuluted architecture no longer resulted in awful ports. In 3 short years, they had fixed all the issues while offering AAA exclusives like Uncharted 1, 2, KZ2, MGS4, LBP, Resistance 1 and 2, Motrostorm and Motorstorm PR, Socom Confrontation, Warhawk, Heavenly Sword, Infamous, Ratchet and Clank Future Tools of Destruction, and ended the last 4 years releasing GOTY contender after GOTY contender.

All Phil had to do was follow the same model. Release games while fixing shit like taking out the Kinect and reducing the price of the console. He did everything except for releasing games. Don Matrick had Titanfall, Ryse, Quantum Break, Sunset Overdrive, Coalitions New IP, Scalebound and Fable all lined up. All Phil had to do was continue that work. Instead, he cancelled Coalitions New IP, Scalebound and Fable. Then cut ties with Respawn, Remedy and Insmoniac instead of investing in them like Sony did with Sucker Punch, GG, Media Molecule and Evolution Studios.

This whole mindshare argument is mind numbling dumb considering MS WON the mindshare from Sony in the 360 era. Every single third party game sold better on the Xbox. Thats where the hardcore went. MS lost the mindshare when they went full kinect in 2010 and never looked back. Every single E3 conference was kinectimals, kinect sports, douchbags pretending to play star wars, jumping around like they are playing football. Every single one. That is what turned the mindshare. Those same Xbox owners looked at that trash and saw sony showing GOW, Heavy Rain, TLOU2, KZ3, Uncharted 3, Infamous 2, Beyond, and thats when MS lost the mindshare. Thats how the PS3 caught up to the 360. because MS refused to release games people want to play.

Literally the same thing we have seen play out since Phil took over.

 

[Ar¢tos]

1000%
and he'll be there beating his chest when they make their next big publisher purchase.

Nah, it's all staged.
"oh dear FTC, CMA and EC, look at how humble and honest we are, we lost the war, we lost all hope, all we have left, all we can cling to, is xCloud, but even that we are at risk of losing if the merger continues to be blocked".

I could swear I heard a sad violin in the background when I read the part about Sony making deals they couldn't compete with.

 

[Kacho]

I still like my Xbox, but it feels like they don't like me.

That's what so disappointing. I love my Series X. It's a great console. It's just missing great games that keep me engaged in their ecosystem. I'm also not confident about their future in the console business so I'm reluctant to spend more money. I'm not interested in a service-based, cloud focused future.

 

[ComputerBlue]

That’s exactly what this fucker is doing.

So many people in here refuse to believe that there isn’t an angle with this. It might not be a Activision but it’s something else.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

It could be, we will see by the end of the year. Maybe he is just softening the blow for the announcement. Maybe he knows Starfield doesn't have a chance in hell of moving the needle at this point. Maybe something more sinister is in the wings for Xbox in general. Phil has not been able to right the sinking ship that started with Xbox One. Microsoft has more money and more resources than any company has any right to, and they cannot compete. Maybe there really is only room for 2 players in the market that already cover the majority of needs (Nintendo, and Sony, seem to fulfill the necessary spectrum of games). One major player (Valve) ruling PC (even if is just distribution). Phones for everybody else. Maybe this is some kind of Karma payback for taking Sega's place in the game world. Sad, but it might just be the reality that 3 players in the console market is too much choice and too much money for consumers to allocate for.

We've already seen from the mobile phones market that in general there's room for 2 players in these tech company markets. Developers don't mind supporting 2 platforms but when you get to 3 it becomes difficult from a resources standpoint and developers just don't want to do it. That's why every thing always seems to trend towards 2 competitor markets. iOS and Android, Intel and AMD, Nvidia and AMD, etc. The market always finds a way to naturally reach just 2 viable competitors.

 

[Del_X]

He has a point about people having established digital libraries on PlayStation. Those licenses don’t carry to other platforms. How many normies will jump ship because a few shooter-narrative games get 9/10 scores?

Makes sense to focus on service + PC, game quality notwithstanding (their flagship IPs need ti be 9/10s)

 

[Ansphn]

Honestly if I was in charge I would just make Xbox go 3rd party, keep making consoles and hardware for the hardcore fans but put your games on all platforms (you're literally one platform away from that).
The brand just isn't strong as Playstation or Nintendo worldwide (and that's all on MS because they've been neglecting a lot of countries for generations now).

Exactly. They were actually make money from paying customers from the PlayStation and Nintendo bases. Their base don't buy shit but controllers and cheap subscribers.

 

[Azelover]

Trying to recreate the business model with Gamepass, and being the leader in that was the best thing they could have done. Trying to beat Sony and Nintendo at their own game is not the solution. It's always a gamble, and sometimes it doesnt work. The best thing they can do now is keep trying, and get more games.

 

[FunkMiller]

Nah, it's all staged.
"oh dear FTC, CMA and EC, look at how humble and honest we are, we lost the war, we lost all hope, all we have left, all we can cling to, is xCloud, but even that we are at risk of losing if the merger continues to be blocked".

Hmmmm.

Maybe if that's the way they want to play it, they probably shouldn't have crowed about their cloud business growing 22% in the last earnings call...

 

[MALpractice311]

Their problem is they fucked their first party studios and wanked their chest.

You dont get big games, if you dont have the studios. That is what started this mess.

From MS to Xbox management since OG xbox.

This right here. In the last 10 years they killed their own studios, they refused to use their own homegrown IPs, they refused to use the IPs they obtained in prior acquisitions, and the Bethesda merger has been a bust so far. Now they want Activision too? Why? So Activision can sit on a shelf and do nothing as well?

 

[Thirty7ven]

You know a few years ago others and I got laughed at for saying this whole digital library PS4 generation was an absolute loss for Xbox and Gamepass wasn’t helping matters and now we have Phil Spencer saying they lost the worst generation to lose because of digital libraries.

 

[onQ123]

Yet look at the splits. Great exclusives drive people to your console in which they are more than likely to purchase third party on as well. But when you condition your base to sub instead of buy the last 5+ years... well...

In a world without Playstation cool but when there is nothing unique about Xbox consoles nowadays it's always going to hit a snag after the 1st few years. Series S was their best bet but Switch is eating the market that would pick up Series S & the $399 PS5 is right over it's shoulder. If they released a Series S bundle with a new Kinect today it would have no competition & boost sells again .

The GameCube is all the proof you need that good games is not enough when going head to head with Playstation. You're gonna have to do something different or get a headstart on the market.

 

[ComputerBlue]

I still like my Xbox, but it feels like they don't like me.

They don’t, neither does Sony, or Nintendo, they like your hard earned money though.

 

[VAVA Mk2]

Thats one way to end the Console War.

And sounds like from his answer, Sony is going hard grabbing 3rd party exclusive deals (I expect some big ones to be announced soon) making it even harder for Xbox to win.

But damn, he's wrong. Great games will solve literally everything. Give it a try.

The irony if that is true is Sony saying they can't by Activision because that's not fair they could get exclusivity to titles.

 

[FrankWza]

Nah, it's all staged.
"oh dear FTC, CMA and EC, look at how humble and honest we are, we lost the war, we lost all hope, all we have left, all we can cling to, is xCloud, but even that we are at risk of losing if the merger continues to be blocked".

I could swear I heard a sad violin in the background when I read the part about Sony making deals they couldn't compete with.

I agree. He did get crushed by the Activision deal though.
Theyre both true. They're going to do it again and buy up more publishers and IPs.

 

[Poltz]

Throwing in the towel when Sony bounced back from PS3 and Nintendo did from the Wii U is so odd.

 

[skit_data]

I’m starting to think the words of Chad Warden got to him after all these years, after all

 

[Gameplay Gods Bless]

Figured this should probably have its own thread, given the implications of what Spencer is saying.

Timestamped video from Kinda Funny Xcast:




Here, Spencer basically says there's no way the Xbox can compete with Sony and Nintendo, and then goes on to say that making great games wouldn't help Xbox compete.

I find this attitude utterly baffling, and I think we're now at the point where this dude needs to step away.

Whole quote here, provided by @Heisenberg007:

I mean he's right there is no world whee if Starfield is an 11/10 people will sell their PS5. The guy is talking business here and when it comes to business having a quality product isn't the most important variable.

 

[Physiognomonics]

Damage control for when they are going to announce Starfield for PS5 after some time exclusivity on Xbox.

 

[GHG]

The narrative is constantly shifting depending on which way the wind is blowing. We're seeing it in this very thread.

Narrative solidified:




What they fail to understand is that most people don't care who is "winning", they care about having the best possible products and games possible. "Winning" is just a consequence of consistency and high standards/quality. When that ("winning") happens to a corporation most consumers aren't even aware it's happening at the time.

 

[Spank_Magnet]

Is all this just a play to get the ABK deal through?
”Look! We‘re so weak and tiny compared to Sony.“

 

[Danwan224]

The team responsible for the launch of the Ps4 deserve all the praise they get.

Jimbo? Not so much.

You know he was part of that team right?

 

[SlimySnake]

Remember ps3 early days had baaad games and that didnt help shit with being second place for a long time. You had Haze and Lair and the B series Resistance/Killzone. Not even mgs4 move the needle much at that time.

I recall it was the moment Uncharted 2 became THE talk of gaming town was when sony got their wind back. And then god of war 3 hits, Uncharted 3, the fucking Last of Us. Great games that turn the brand around and momentum did the rest till this day. Great games do matter Phil.

For every Haze and Lair, they had Uncharted, Resistance, Killzone, Warhawk, Motorstorm, Ratchet and Resistance.

There is this really big misconception that sony only started to turn it around after Uncharted 2 hit which couldnt be farther from the truth. go look at the metacritic scores of KZ2, Uncharted, Infamous, Ratchet, LBP, MGS4 and Resistance games. All in the high 80s or 90s.

I remember exactly when the PS3 caught fire. It was E3 2007 when the revealed KZ2 and it looked better than anything out there. Then Uncharted Drake's Fortune and Ratchet came out and showed everyone that the cell wasnt some trash piece of hardware. It went toe to toe with Mass Effect and Bioshock, two of the best looking games on the 360, and this was in 2007. By E3 2008, Sony was showing 60 player multiplayer games like Resistance 2, revealing new IPs like Infamous and Heavy Rain. then MGS4 came out in summer of 2008 and got 10s from everyone except for Eurogamer and Edge which caused a lot of commotion, but it ended up winning several GOTY awards in a very competitive year. LBP released in 2008 to wide acclaim.

E3 2009 was one for the ages with GOW, GT5, Uncharted 2, Heavy Rain and 256 player MAG blowing everyone away. And thats the difference. Despite Phil's insistence, they havent had an E3 like that in a decade or decade and a half. They have given gamers nothing to get excited over. Instead they went out and bought Minecraft for $3 billion. GOW apparently cost $200 million. Phil couldve made 15 GOW quality games with $3 billion.

 

[Sethbacca]

You’re right, I agree. But they sold that thing at a loss, and there are many measures for success, series X is out selling the 360 yet here we are.

Of course they're selling more, the size of the base of people that plays games has grown over the years as those of us that grew up with consoles get older and our kids join the fun. The gaming industry has grown in the number of players and total revenue by an order of magnitude since the 360 era, the real problem is that MS has failed to maintain their share of the pie. Just the number of consoles is meaningless if they're not maintaining marketshare.

 

[FunkMiller]

You know he was part of that team right?

Yes, but he was very much not in charge.

Which is a good thing, because he's a greedy little scuzzball. He should thank his lucky stars that Uncle Phil is a windbag full of empty promises, otherwise things would be very different right about now...

 

[FrankWza]

For every Haze and Lair, they had Uncharted, Resistance, Killzone, Warhawk, Motorstorm, Ratchet and Resistance.

No one bats. 1000. You have to try though. They're the ones that are actually able to take more risks but Their plans come off as not even wanting to try. It's obvious. They want guarantees.

 

[Gone]

I've said it here years ago.

Microsoft coule cure cancer and aids and end world hunger and their share wouldn't suddenly be bigger than the playstation. It's just how things are.

also, I think that some people here are overreacting. We already heard this before in one form or another (since the announcement of xCloud and Gamepass), and Phil "just" needs to start releasing good games for the people who chose Xbox to enjoy. If the year ends with Forza, Starfield and Hellblade II then that'll be a good start and maybe then they can keep them coming with Avowed, Fable, Contraband and so on.

 

[Esca]

This speaks volumes about their mentality in Xbox.
Absolutely disgusting
Xbox hasn't had much of good first party output since the last part of the 360 gen. They were happy riding three ips for the most part and much really hasn't changed over the past decade or so with them.

Games drive engagement and that translate to all good stuff for the brand. But because there is no easy and quick route available they are basically throwing their hands in the air flappergasted

They have a great piece of hardware with the X and there has been nothing to sell it. I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of series owners are mostly their loyal fan base that was in regardless.

This is a loser attitude and has no place here. MS needs to clear our management and leaders of the Xbox division before it effects anymore.

Oh and fuck him for trying to make people feel bad, brought this in yourself. Those fucking bullshit awards you been getting went to your head. This is the bed your made, you've had a god damn decade

 

[saintjules]

 

[Kacho]

Narrative solidified:




What they fail to understand is that most people don't care who is "winning", they care about having the best possible products and games possible. "Winning" is just a consequence of consistency and high standards/quality and when that happens to a corporation most consumers aren't even aware it's happening at the time.

Exactly. Xbros love crowing about how much money Xbox is making right now. Just imagine how much better it would be if they started delivering quality games on a regular basis. People wouldn't need to run damage control for them because quality games speak for themselves.

 

[solidus12]

I think it's time for all those influencers and shills to be held accountable for spreading lies to the fanbase.

That's why the waiting game has become a meme; it's always wait for next year the games will come, wait for the tools...

 

[SEGAvangelist]

This speaks volumes about their mentality in Xbox.
Absolutely disgusting
Xbox hasn't had much of good first party output since the last part of the 360 gen. They were happy riding three ips for the most part and much really hasn't changed over the past decade or so with them.

Games drive engagement and that translate to all good stuff for the brand. But because there is no easy and quick route available they are basically throwing their hands in the air flappergasted

They have a great piece of hardware with the X and there has been nothing to sell it. I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of series owners are mostly their loyal fan base that was in regardless.

This is a loser attitude and has no place here. MS needs to clear our management and leaders of the Xbox division before it effects anymore.

Oh and fuck him for trying to make people feel bad, brought this in yourself. Those fucking bullshit awards you been getting went to your head. This is the bed your made, you've had a god damn decade

DISGUSTING I SAY!

 

[RedC]

The only vision they had was trying to create a monopoly. Now they're just upset it's not going through.

We shall see about it not going through.

It ain't over till it's over.

 

[XOMTOR]

as a dedicated PC gamer, I'd say there are about 2500 reasons to get an Xbox Series X.
I got a Series X and I can't even think about upgrading my PC now.. it's the worst time ever to be a PC gamer.

I hear ya. I'm 50 years old and was away from gaming since 2016. Fall 2022, I decided I wanted to dip my toes back in the gaming pond, but my PC was an antique. Just didn't have the time, nor energy to build and maintain a PC, so a click on Amazon and a Series X was on my doorstep and hooked the TV within 2 days. Gamepass sub has been good to me; played a shitload of stuff I missed out on, plus I think I spent a grand total of $8 since (Red Dead Redemption).

So I admit, I'm a filthy casual now, but I can see why Sony is so popular here. If gaming is a serious hobby and you crave the newest AAA, first-party stuff, Sony for sure. That was me from PS1 through 3, but I'm certainly thankful Xbox/Gamepass is a thing.