Despite A Quiet 2022, Phil Spencer Says He's 'Incredibly Confident' In Xbox's Future

He should control the studios somehow, at least the ones that are a mess like The Initiative. He gives too much freedom and chaos prevails.

He's not very well going to come out and say that the future of Xbox is bleak and that he has no faith in the future of the brand, now is he?

@Ralizah not when they went from like 5 studios and 3 Ip’s to almost 30 Studios he shouldn’t. They are in the best shape from a 1st party perspective in the history of the company, throw in GP and well built hardware and I’d say he has reason to believe the plan is falling into place.

"I feel really confident about Halo [Infinite]"
-Phil Spencer, Fall 2020

I'm not cross posting, it's just the most relevant response on 2 topics

@NEStalgia Sometimes employees show the bosses what they want to see and not the reality of a situation. I'm guessing either that happened or he was just saying what people wanted to hear.

@NEStalgia on his defense: the Infinite did receive very positive reviews from media and players on both, campaign and MP, but they dropped the ball with essential post-launch content for both.

@themightyant I totally disagree. Halo Infinite is a great game because it has a great campaign and gameplay in both solo and multiplayer modes and it deserves the reviews it got. You can't change that because of questionable cosmetic DLC. It's true that development was rough and they needed assistance but that's another story. On the other hand, it's precisely Sony's exclusives the games that get artificially bloated scores because of the hype and marketing.

How he can say he wanted to ensure solid dates? One of the four titles we were promised did not have a date at all, just an admision it had slipped and would not be coming within the 6 months we were promised at the last show.
Its laudable that hes taking responsibility, but hows about less talking BS to media outlets, and more going into his studios and getting them to be productive? That would be taking postive action and not simply throwing up smoke and mirrors and unkept promises.
The developer direct was a really positive start for them this year, even with the delay of motorsport, and Id love them to build on that and have a solid year. Phil can help this by spending less of his day trying to grab headlines and instead maybe getting his staff to generate working code... just an idea! 😁

Im not keen on Phil (can you tell?), but I want him to succeed for the good of xbox, and gaming as a whole.

He can say all he wants, but with Xbox actions speak a lot louder than words, and so far we’ve seen VERY little action with their first party games, and have endless delays instead.
I expect to see Forza in the second half of the year and Starfield in the first half. Red Fall and HiFi Rush aren’t really AAA games IMO.

And even then I think it’s still not enough, for Xbox to really prove their worth they must get Stalker 2 out this year as well. Although it is completely understandable why this games delayed.

Microsoft need to stop with all the glitzy demo reels and only announce games when they are ‘actually’ ready for launch.

I DO like Phil, but for him to prove his worth to me he needs to perhaps stop with the nice guy act a bit and start putting pressure on all the studios they now own, and get content made and out. I also question the whole idea of The Initiative considering the mess it was in. Phil needs to manage more and promote less.

@themightyant Yes, it's subjective, that's why I said "I disagree". However, most people I know complain about multiplayer maps and cosmetics. I say this because you are saying that your bad opinion about Halo Infinite matches the majority of players. Also, if you publicly say that reviews of Halo Infinite are high because of the hype and marketing, it's only fair to reply that that's more usual with PlayStation exclusives.

@themightyant that is not really logical, monetization complaints aside, no new content didn’t hit the game perception until a month later. No game should need reviewers to wait over a month past launch to review.

And the campaign is still considered good, lack of co-op at launch aside (something that was noted in the reviews that cared.)

Edit: these days, for a MP game to continue to bring in a continuously growing base, they need to have a constant injection of content. That means new maps (Fortnite regularly tweaks and eventually entirely replaces their mega map, for example) and earnable cosmetics, a rather regular cycle of seasonal content and a reason for players to jump in every new season.

Without that cycle, you get the player base simply be taken away by the competition to do their seasonal content out of FOMO, and they might not come back once until they feel something fresh is there to lure them.

That’s where the game dropped the ball and that will never be part of a game review month one.

@Sebatrox In retrospect, we know he meant “we believe in nickle-and-dime you for next gen upgrades”

Not to be funny, but what else is he supposed to say?

@Banjo- Generally in the current gaming landscape all games take 4-5 years to release, considering that most of what Xbox revealed in 2019 and 2020 was probably very early in
development. Most of these games are releasing between 2023 to 2025. I don't think the whole "it is chaos because Spencer is too chill" is really a thing, there are devs under Xbox like 343, Rare and Initiative which are clearly a mess, but it is more problem of those studios and less problem of general XGS. It is just that people want these games to release as quickly as possible and they are searching for reasons why it isn't happening.

There are annual franchises like CoD, AC and others. But to have that you essentially reskin the exact same game again and again. This is exactly what has led to other problems for those companies, a large part of why Ubisoft is in deep trouble now is because they made all their franchises essentially have the same design and gameplay backbone, which enabled them to release a ton of huge games very quickly but has now fully backfired on them.

For me, there is a huge lag between him buying studios ( some of which had exclusivity deals which had to be honoured), but now (especially if Activision/blizzard goes ahead) there are a massive amount of studios all working on games which should mean at some point we start to see a steady stream of games coming through

@brilliantbill totally agree. All "triple a" games being released as an annual franchise now are just constant reskins and it's only really FIFA and cod that seem to be getting away with that now. Sony are in danger of falling into that trap now, constantly trying to create sequels to the same 4-5 games

@themightyant Again, if you publicly say that Halo Infinite was hyped and well marketed to get high reviews, it's only fair to publicly reply that that's the case with not one but most Sony PS exclusives. I said that because it's more usual with Sony's exclusives, it's a fact. I'm not a "fanboy" for saying that.

Hype was natural and marketing was not that important in this case, people were genuinely excited about Halo after many years. Feedback made 343 Industries asked for help, which is a shame for a huge studio with a huge budget. I'm not even a Halo fan but the game is really good. I didn't start any "console wars" so don't repeat that.

I read my first comment again just in case and it's perfectly balanced and honest so no need to blame me. Your opinion is fine but it's not what the majority of players/reviewers think according to players/critics reviews, unless you know every player in the world and thus can disregard them. The comments that refer to the game after your comment also say that the campaign is good: "Halo Infinite was a solid and extremely fun game", "The campaign is still considered good, lack of co-op at launch aside (something that was noted in the reviews that cared." Perhaps your opinion doesn't match the majority of players, after all.

Your opinion about Halo Infinite is your opinion and I respect all opinions but don't accuse me of anything as you do every now and then when all I do is either say mine or just provide context to your inaccuracies.

@BrilliantBill I agree but a new studio like The Initiative, the one I mentioned, seems to be a group of artists with no hierarchy and no hierarchy means chaos. Crystal Dynamics is heading Perfect Dark's development, go figure. Sea of Thieves is one of the best multiplayer games available but I agree, Rare and 343 Industries (as mentioned right above) seem somewhat lost, because of Everwild's aimless development and because 343 Industries needing external assistance to fix Halo Infinite's campaign. All that is because those teams are not managed correctly internally and lack efficient staff and it's Phil the person in charge of Xbox Game Studios the one to step in. He doesn't have to develop anything but he has to fix and replace what doesn't work. I like Phil, I'm just saying what his job is.

Regarding development times, I have never complained about that, as you can see in my comments, but about wasted resources and wasted time. I also complain because after having so many studios, Phil should request projects that Xbox need because there aren't any. E.g., we have lots of shooters, first and third-party, and there isn't any platformer, there isn't any Banjo-Kazooie game since Xbox 360. Perhaps it's time for somebody to make it? Even Bubsy got a new game... What about Jet Force Gemini? Conker? Viva Piñata has a bigger potential than Animal Crossing, it's more fun. These are only a few examples.

@Banjo- i’d say Sony exclusives get such good scores because they really are on another level. Not all but majority of people love single player, story driven games. Sony are masters at these games. Sony do make movies too so maybe that’s why they’re so good at this type of game. I read a few days ago Xbox wanted to follow suit an release single player, story driven games. If they do this an they can make games as incredible as games like TLOU, Uncharted, God of War, Spiderman, Ghost of Tsushima, etc, Xbox will do very well from it.

@jordan1992 I was hyped about The Last of Us because I'm a horror fan and I think that any Resident Evil game is better. However, The Last of Us is considered the holy grail and the best video game ever by many websites. Horizon Zero Dawn is considered some kind of open-world masterpiece by many websites and I think that it's mediocre and boring compared to Activision's efforts. I liked a bit more Uncharted, 2, 3 and 4 specifically, I disliked 1 and The Lost Legacy and didn't play the Vita entry but I liked them mostly because of the graphics and voice acting. They are quite mediocre in gameplay terms -the first one is awfully bad, The Lost Legacy is boring- but, again, they're considered better than Tomb Raider for some reason by many websites, when I think that the Tomb Raider games are much better. Sony's exclusives are overrated. Of course, you will disagree but just saying that if those games were third-party, they wouldn't be considered sacred and holy as they are. Exactly the same with Breath of the Wild and I'm a huge The Legend of Zelda fan since I was a kid but Breath of the Wild is a mediocre open-world game and Immortals Fenyx Rising is better, in my opinion. For some reason, Sony and Nintendo tend to get extra points, whether they're original games or games inspired by other games. The publisher's name gets those extra points.

Regarding the cinematic factor, I agree, Sony make awesome cinematic experiences, as long as you like the story and script, but this is not what makes me enjoy a video game so I had more fun with Xbox One than with PS4. And yes, Xbox needs not just family-friendly games but also more solo-focused adventures, that's what Perfect Dark and Fable will be, I hope.

@Banjo- True. I am still conflicted about 343 and even Initiative as well. Because for me, Infinite was probably the best Halo campaign I played since Reach (and Reach itself was pale next to 3). I don't play MP and most of the problems of that game are in lack of content, a problem that doesn't bother me since I don't play the MP. But turning to your comment about "or some reason, Sony and Nintendo tend to get extra points, whether they're original games or games inspired by other games. The publisher's name gets those extra points." You are absolutely right. This is a real thing and Xbox always gets treated more harshly. Genuinely, Gears 5 was probably a GOTY candidate game, great voice acting, fantastic graphics, great gameplay, amazing horde and escape mode and so on. Yet all it got was some decent scores and "Gears fans" calling it bad because there are colours other than grey in it and female protagonist bad. So if the fans and community treats the great games we get as "misfires" the press and content creators will follow.

I'm happy to read that you also see what I said about review scores and the extra points that Sony and Nintendo get but Xbox don't. Like you and the other people commenting after I chimed in, I think that Halo Infinite's campaign is great. The problem is that 343 Industries needed assistance to make it, in spite of having a huge budget and long development time. Same for The Initiative with Perfect Dark.

The Coalition is a great developer, it's one of the solid Xbox Game Studios. Gears 5 is technically great but the story and script are divisive. It's not because it's a woman but because many things have changed, the whole tone changed. She gives some bad vibes with her attitude. That's why many people didn't love it. You and many others did and the multiplayer is great. I consider myself a Gears of War fan because I've played them all on Xbox One and they hooked me. Honestly, I prefer 1, 2, 3 and 4. I'd say that 4, that is not brown 🤣 and includes Kait, is the best and although I didn't love 5 nor Judgement, the DLC of 5 is a blast. 1, 2, 3 and 4 are all awesome and I'm excited about 6.

@Banjo- opinions i guess. I considered Uncharted 2 my fav game until TLOU dropped. The thing with Playstation games is as a video game the game play is fantastic, then on top of that an amazing, captivating story that’s perfectly acted by the cast. TLOU 1 an 2, GoW an GoW Ragnarok, Uncharted 2-4, Ghost of Tsushima, Spiderman an Miles, Days Gone are some of my fav ever games. If games like that aren’t your thing that’s fine. But millions and millions love these type of games. Kind of an incredible HBO or Netflix series in video game form. Hence why TLOU HBO is smashing all records. The story an the characters are incredible, most people like it. Ya never gonna be for everyone but if ya for the majority ya winning.

@Kaloudz don't think we'll ever get another Buffy game I'd love a remake of chaos bleeds though that was really good

@jordan1992 Thanks. It's nice to share our opinions like this 😊👍🏻.

Still not confident enough to stop gouging on expansions or reveal WHEN other companies will start making the expansions. The secrecy around that Seagate deal is *****.

@Kaloudz aslong as they could get the original cast to do the voice acting I remember it bugging me that Sarah Michelle gellar didn't voice Buffy in the game lol