It's been over 10 years now since Phil Spencer became the head honcho of Xbox, and in another ten years, he will have reached retirement age in the United States. Sorry Phil, we swear we're not trying to make you sound old!
With this in mind, he was asked by interviewer Destin Legarie over the weekend about his aspirations for the Xbox brand before he reaches that age, to which he gave an impassioned speech about the importance of innovation.
Here's part of what Spencer had to say in his response:
"I don't want us to be afraid to innovate. Some of the things will work great, some of them won't, but let's stay nimble. Whether it was backwards compatibility, which we weren't supposed to do because it was going to hurt game sales on the next-gen, whether it's Game Pass. I remember the debates about whether we should allow free-to-play on console. Let's make sure we stay as a team that's willing to take risks, learn from the things that work and don't work, and take those risks and be rewarded.
We're not perfect there, but it's something I aspire for with the teams, and if I could enable anything in my time here, it would be that - we continue to innovate, not be defined by what was yesterday, but looking forward to what creators and players want tomorrow."
Beyond this, Spencer also spent a fair bit of time discussing his overall love for gaming as a hobby, stating that he believes it's the best form of entertainment in the world and sharing his joy for how it brings communities together.
There's no set date in mind for Spencer's retirement, of course - here's hoping it's still a long ways off yet. For what it's worth, he was asked about this in an interview back in 2021, mentioning that he still had a lot more work left to do as the head of Xbox. It's a busy time for the brand right now as well, so hopefully he sticks around for many more years!
Do you think Xbox has done a good job at innovating over the years? Let us know down below.
[source youtube.com]
Comments 34
Innovate="find different ways to make money".
@armondo36 Well, that's essentially the main thing they care about, rightly so 😅
On the topic at hand, I think Phil's done good. I don't think Xbox has been in a stronger position since the dawn of Xbox One, and that says a lot imo.
I do wonder what his successor does, and how he/she behaves in regards to the future of the brand, but it sounds like we have Phil for a good while yet and I'm totally okay with that.
I’d be happy with him saying: let’s make sure Xbox survives as a brand. These days I have mixed feelings about Phil. Loved the guy at the beginning of this gen, but he did straight up lie on a few occasions. That might be due to the fact he’s no longer pulling the strings (Satya is), but it is clear we have him to thank for righting the ship when it almost sank. I hope when he retires Xbox will still be making consoles and at least churning out great games like it has done with Indiana Jones.
@JorutoHayabusa You can always buy nobody is forcing gamepass on you!🤷
@JorutoHayabusa Hahaha 🤣 let's be friends 🤯
@Isolte Yeah I suspect you don't get to spend 70 billion of business daddy cash, then spend more fighting legal battles around the world without strings getting attached.
@JorutoHayabusa Well I'm here waiting on your reply no pressure 🤗
@JorutoHayabusa You can buy as many games as you want to. Nobody is stopping you.
@Isolte I feel this is a common misconception. He has not taken a step back imo. I think he’s been onboard with this all along. His biggest success is tricking gamers into thinking he is one of them while being a corporate stooge. If he really didn’t like the direction they are heading, he’d have stepped down, it’s way past the time for him to believe he could have any influence to change things and he’s still there.
Trust me, he’s fully onboard with MS top brass.
@Ricky-Spanish
You can always buy nobody is forcing gamepass on you!
Don't bother mate. It's a new account made today for trolling an Xbox article.
@JorutoHayabusa
Can be gotten much cheaper if you buy digital?
Quick Resume?
Better VRR range?
@Fenbops I mean don't discount the fact that he wants to continue getting his pay cheque each month even if he isn't doing much.
Totally my opinion but I think Phil was totally genuine when he took over and into the next few years but I think the gamepass model was too long term and a bit too utopian and it wasn't having the desired effect on hardware sales.
And when you buy Bethesda and Activision someone is going to notice and I think they completely baulked at the idea of cannibalising the insane sales of COD etc with gamepass. Obviously it was taken out of their hands anyway...
Now I think it is just a case of seeing all these titles as a constant revenue stream that they want to widen out as far as they can.
They should make online play free on Xbox
@JorutoHayabusa I haven't played a GPU game in a month & it was only to try it out. Demos would honestly be enough. Like Nintendo offers 2 hours to play games before release sometimes & that's typicallly enough gameplay for me before I decide if I wanna buy. GPU has lost a lot of value for me personally as I mostly play Hunt Showdown which I bought before the GP release. I'll just do Core and buy games. My backlog would take me years to beat anyway
Oh, no! Xbox offers me a suscription service just like the one Sony does!
God damn it, Xbox. How dare you not giving me the option to buy my games? How dare you letting me play games from past generations without having to pay said suscription service for a smaller catalogue?
In this interview, Phil Spencer guarantees: not all Xbox games will be released on other platforms: https://x.com/Xcension/status/1883944660298784816
@JorutoHayabusa Because you made a specific point about not wanting to rent your games as if the option to buy games for Xbox had been taken away from you. It hasn't so stop crying.
And if you prefer to buy your games on PlayStation, then go ahead. Nobody cares.
Just try to grow up and stop making stupid comments to try and cause fanboy arguments. It's boring.
@Kaloudz
Hey man! Welcome back! I think you were out for a while?
@TommyNL Hey dude!! Thanks!! How've you been? Yeah it's nearly been a year 😅
@__jamiie and I think I might be the only one debating selling my ps5 pro and just sticking with Xbox ( only thing putting me off is how many digital games I brought on ps)
I like Phil but he really has ballsed things up hasnt he...
@JorutoHayabusa I'm probably one of only dozens of people, but I still buy a lot of games on my Xbone. The main purpose is to support Xbox, even if I have a gaming PC that would be preferable for some of the games I've purchased.
Though with this recent news I'm really concerned on if I've just been an idiot.. who knows if this library will still exist in ten years.
(I bought pretty much all of the Square Enix offerings available on Xbone, lots of indies and JRPGs, stuff that's Play Anywhere... even some double dip purchases I already have on Steam if I really like a game enough.)
God bless you Phil and everything you've done for Xbox! Here's to another 10 years (I hope) with Xbox.
I’ve been with Xbox since the OG release so I’m definitely in it for the long haul…for better or worse I’m on this roller coaster with Uncle Phil to the bitter end, let’s rise to new heights of greatness or crash and burn spectacularly…either way it should be an interesting ride
The man who built and tore down the brand
I really appreciate what Phil Spencer has done for gaming in general. It seems like he has played a role in destroying the idea of console exclusives which is great for everyone. Xbox is also a great bridge towards a full move to platform agnostic gaming which is what I want to see as a gamer.
@Sol4ris Ah good spot mate have to keep an eye out for those sneaky devils
@fatpunkslim If you watch the full interview without the jump cut then the emphasis is on the past tense, not all games that have shipped will transition which makes sense. Future games will also be measured by success, if they are popular they will get the multiplat treatment. Overall however more games will be going over to PS and Nintendo and they will continue to support PC.
He then back this up by saying its why they want to be measured not by console sales going forward but instead use metrics like players and engagement.
Fact is MS is going the publisher route, their focus is now on the games. Consoles will exist, TV apps will exist, but selling games accross every platform is for now their focus.
@Ajfennell77 I use my PS5 solely for exclusives and I buy anything multiplatform on Xbox.
There should definitely be some kind of digital trade in or selling marketplace built into each store. It would actually be really simple for Sony and Microsoft to implement.
@Ilyn
1. Yes There will be more Xbox games on Nintendo and PlayStation
2. No. It won't be all Xbox games
3. Many games will launch on Xbox first, and then MS will decide if they port them to other consoles OR NOT
4. The biggest exclusive remains gamepass, of course !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KK8xil5Uy0&t=606s
I watched the entire interview and what he said is very clear. What you say about the path to becoming a third-party publisher is pure speculation on your part; he says the exact opposite. They are even going to release new consoles in the future, and here we have confirmation that they will continue to make exclusive games. Making more multiplatform games simply means 'making more multiplatform games,' that's all. One does not exclude the other!"
@__jamiie tell me about it as I'd rather have just 1 console and not 1 gathering dust and I seem to enjoy my xbox more ...seeing this is my 1st xbox I've ever owned ....tbh I wish I never listened to my partner and went all digital with my games
@Kaloudz
Yeah, I remember good conversations and suddenly you were gone haha. But you're back! Nice 😄
@TommyNL Aw thanks brother. Glad to be back and (surprisingly) glad to be remembered. How's life treating you these days?
@Isolte I have the feeling he was a bit too omnipresent for the "critical gamers" out there and toned it down a bit.
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