That's good. I myself would love to see their games run at higher frame rates and higher resolutions but each to their own.
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Spencer: Xbox Has to Mean Quality Games; We’ve Got Work to do There, Our First Party Output Hasn’t Been the Best
- Thread starter RevengeTaken
- Start date
If they put their games on PC why not just go full multiplatform? Also I would not buy another PS as it would be inferior for every single game. Exclusives matter. The only reason I buy one now is because they make a lot of my favorite games.
That's ok, I'll just wait until they hit PS Now and I think Sony will be pushing that more in the future.
Your comment doesn't seem to hold water, Sony sells a ton of games that are multiplatform. In fact some of them sell better than the exclusives.
So I can assume you won't be buying Scarlett then since you can just play their games on PC with Gamepass day one for cheap? Somehow I doubt that from what I have seen you post in other topics. And of course they sell plenty of multiplatform games. But here is the thing if I'm not buying a PS for those exclusives I'm also not buying any multiplatform games on PS nor am I subscribing to PS+.
You're missing the fun drinking-game aspect of these redundant Microsoft quotes that have shown up during each E3 for at least three years now as Phil makes the interview rounds. (This 'Fortune' interview was from E3 2019.) Phil has replaced one bad-look quote for another.
"We know we have work to do on 1st party content" is the new "We know we have work to do to show PC gamers we're committed to gaming on Windows."
But at least those terrible PC-related quotes that Microsoft execs made each year between 2005-to-2015 got sorted rather emphatically in 2019.
I also totally mean it every time I announce to lose some weight.
Cool, you just proved people like buying console versions even if the majority of those games exist on PC. As well as paying extra to gain acces to the multiplayer.
It really isn't going to be vital to them.
Sony still wants to sell consoles. Exclusive games sell consoles.
So basically you are buying Scarlett no matter what while trying to persuade other people to weigh their options? Very enlightening. We're done.
Who said I am buying Scarlett, I never even bought an Xbox One. I just bougth a brand new GPU. The only one done is you because you just proved you don't play games on the PC and just use the old excuse Microsoft puts their Xbox games on there so why buy an Xbox. Not everyone wants to play on the PC, which explains why Sony does not see it as a direct competitor. This also explains why crossplay and PS Now can co-exist and not cause ruffles with the higher ups at Sony.
I feel like he's been saying this for the past few years now. And then when one of their first party games comes out to mixed or negative reception he gets quiet about it for a bit.
Seriously. What do people expect, Phil says 1st party needs to be better in 2018 then multiple Microsoft GOTY candidates are released in 2019 because he willed it to be so? Xbox was in a dumpster fire state when Phil inherited it. Pivoting the brand is like turning a cruise ship. Shit takes time. It's clear that Microsoft is focused on beefing up Xbox Game Studios, but it will be at least a few years until those efforts really start bearing fruit in the form of quality exclusives.
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Oh they definitely see it as a competitor. Just not as strong a competitor as consoles. That's why their games are never available for purchase on PC outside of a few notable exceptions. PS Now is a lukewarm compromise. And I have played on PC and may again in future. I'm not against it. Like I said earlier I would drop PS like a rock if they took Microsoft's approach and put all of their games there so that would be the surefire way to get me back into immediately. Microsoft's first party games improving tremendously would also be a good push.
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Hasn't Spencer been in charge of MS studios since like 2011?
And also Spencer has been saying the exact same thing re the first party studios needing to increase in quality since 2016 at least. Right now we should have at least seen one trailer for a game that would get us interested/excited. Funnily the most interesting Xbox games that I've seen from them this generation both got canned (Scale bound and Shanghaist)
scale bound looked like a pre pre pre pre alpha game. it never looked good outside of its cinematics. shanghaist was literally nothing. you can project whatever expectations you want onto it.
phil was head of game studios but now is head of xbox.
I think it's more like you can't do everything at once (because money and time) . Priority one was fix the hardware perception - that got us the x1x.
Not sure what the time lag between studio acquusition/creation and the x1x launching was, but does that correspond to when xbox was put under windows? (terrible idea that led to abominations like cortana instead of the xbox voice commands).
I mean, what? Ocarina of Time, Earthbound, DKC, Mario Galaxy, God of War, Uncharted, TLOU. What a shitty take if you think Sony or Nintendo have just now started making top of the line games. Looking at your avatar, you honestly have to be joking right?
Yes, but as is the case with a lot of companies, even in high up positions you're still beholden to the vision or lack thereof of your superiors - and forced to operate within the means of whatever budget is given to you.
For a while Spencer had to operate under Balmer and Don Mattrick, where trimming fat, maximizing short term profits and chasing trends were the name of the game. This is when a lot of Microsoft's first party developers were shut down, instead choosing to make a shift towards contracting out to 2nd party and 3rd party studios. Then the Xbox division was rolled under Terry Myerson's division, who was universally despised at Microsoft and didn't give two shits about Xbox. The division's budget under him plummeted dramatically, and with the previous guard having shrank Microsoft's internal capabilities - there wasn't an opportunity to have much of a first party gaming presence.
It's not an accident that when Phil got a promotion to the head of gaming and started reporting directly to the CEO, and Xbox seemingly became an important pillar of Microsoft's future vision - allowing the division to tap into the company's war chest - that Xbox began to see some momentum.
September 2017, Phil's most recent promotion, is honestly the beginning point from which you should hold him accountable. That was the day he was given reigns to the vision of the division, and the freedom and budget to make it happen.
Well that's why they looked interesting because they were still in the concept phase. But a sly game in Shanghai sounds much more interesting than Gears 4 or Gears 5.
And as a head of MS studios it was Spencer's job to ensure that the games they were producing were top notch. And sure maybe the old guard wanted Halo, Gears, Forza but then it was Spencer's job to ensure that these three IPs would continue in excellence. And apart from Forza he failed.
He became head of Xbox in 2015 I think. That's 4 years. Again even with the long development times and all, we should have at least one interesting game on the horizon. But so far we have nothing. I don't doubt that Ninja Theory and Obsidian will do good for MS once they're done their multiplat games,but still these are companies producing games in the 80s on metecratic. He needs to hit that 90mark for us to finally say there's a comeback.
Let's look comparatively at Sony. To be honest the law era didn't really have any high profile first party games. Come ps3, Sony was in a dire situation so decided to focus on the first party when third parties went multiplatform. It took 3 years until 2009 for Uncharted 2 to launch and I think LBP was the same year.
Lol.
Its amazing to see Phil finally getting all the support he needs right from the CEO and CFO obviously being in the senior leadership team at MS means you've got direct access to the CEO and have a major say when it comes to making decisions. Phil said they would improve on hardware , live /services and first party. And so far he is doing just that. Hardware build and quality has been amazing this gen , Xbox X, Xbox S, controllers and accessories have been top notch... Regarding features, live and services they have been amazing too with BC, Game pass, and the numerous Xbox live features.. and now we got 1P investments and we can see all the acquisitions being made with more in the pipeline and they've got top industry talent joining all their 1P studios. They are going for some of the best industry recruiters to help bring in even more top of the class talent and they are developing a proper Xbox division in Asia to nurture new talent and foster better partnerships with devs across Japan , Korea and China and the Xbox indie scene which started out badly this gen has quickly turned around..most of the best indie devs are now onboard and MS has been partnering with many of them too. Phil is definitely walking the walk and hopefully we will see the results next gen.
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Most of their output has been mediocre and been too many public cancellations of games this gen but it's a learning curve, hope to see them back to the original Xbox and Xbox 360 quality again next gen.
Their games wouldn't be the same if built for multiple platforms. They exist to sell PlayStations, that sell their services. As long as they keep delivering I couldn't really careless about them continuing their strategy.
They relied on Halo, Gears and Forza, all of which appeal to a similar type of gamer, for so long that it's difficult to get away from the perception that there's nothing more to Xbox than that.
They want more than Xbox fans, they want previous fans back and fans from other platforms as well.
MS is a PC software, OS, service company first. Their move to rip down the walls between Xbox and PC is the most logical thing ever, I'm surprised it didn't happen already back at the OG Xbox launch. Their move to put games on Steam as well doesn't mean that they'll lose money, lots of people literally refuse to buy games on Windows Store just like on EGS so even with the Steam cut it's actually likely that they'll make more money now.
He's talking about quality games, whereas you are talking about AAA single player only games. Those things are not one and the same.
I get what you're saying. But Phil's has time after don left and it seems like it's the same excuse as always. 'Shit takes time' they've had more than enough time to get a few none halo forza big games out the door.
What do we get? Crackdown 3.
It does, it was pulled from this interview.
edit: beaten. That's why I should read the whole thread.
I appreciate that he admits it. We'll see if he can deliver (keeping in mind that it ALL isn't, respectfully, on him).
I love how Spencer readily admits what some people on this forum swear up and down is something only "Sony fanboys" who are "bias" would say.
I love it because I think it's good for Microsoft. I want Microsoft to be successful and have a healthy Xbox business, and the first step of changing is realizing that you have to change. Microsoft has a culture that can be a little...insular, so it's good for them to be humbled a bit and to have a leader who can see the truth and isn't afraid to say it, either.
I'm glad that they're re-dedicating themselves to first party game development, because for a while it seemed like they were kind of ambivalent toward Xbox. Of course, I'd prefer game announcements to studio acquisition announcements, but these things take time.
If Xbox One is their "PS3," I can't wait to see their PS4.
I love it because I think it's good for Microsoft. I want Microsoft to be successful and have a healthy Xbox business, and the first step of changing is realizing that you have to change. Microsoft has a culture that can be a little...insular, so it's good for them to be humbled a bit and to have a leader who can see the truth and isn't afraid to say it, either.
I'm glad that they're re-dedicating themselves to first party game development, because for a while it seemed like they were kind of ambivalent toward Xbox. Of course, I'd prefer game announcements to studio acquisition announcements, but these things take time.
If Xbox One is their "PS3," I can't wait to see their PS4.
I agree, except for Sea of Thieves, because it's a GAAS, so its quality at launch isn't really important. Rainbow Six: Siege has a metascore of 73, Destiny has 76. If Sea of Thieves becomes one of the best multiplayer game available, its metascore won't matter.
That's very honest of him and also very true. With exceptions though. I loved Sunset Overdrive, Gears 4 and Ori is just the best really. I hope we get to see some very nice big budget AAA games from MS that could directly "compete" with Sony's offerings. That's gonna take several years though.
Who knows what The Initiative has cooking and of course Playground's first open world RPG. Which still hasn't been confirmed that it's Fable.
Who knows what The Initiative has cooking and of course Playground's first open world RPG. Which still hasn't been confirmed that it's Fable.
If...Sea of Thieves...becomes?
I hate to break it to you, but SoT came out like a year and a half ago, and it didn't exactly light the world on fire the way Destiny or Siege did, and I never see anyone talk about it.
That ship has sailed. Maybe quality at launch is important.
I hope Rare isn't shackled to trying to turn that ship around (woo, naval puns) forever.
Nothing could make me less interested in Playground's open world RPG than Microsoft slapping the Fable IP on it. So I'm sure they will.
Why though? It would be understandable for MS to give Fable another chance. And who knows, it could be Fable only in just the name and have PG's own ideas and stuff.
I feel like Phil says this every year. I'll take it with a grain of salt till I see results. Sounds like PR speak to me.
It feels like Microsoft are righting the ship, and next gen will be a lot better for them should they be serious about giving their teams the time and investment needed to make things work.
For a good chunk of this generation it feels like they were suffering from cuts, studios being shut down, etc at the exact time when it shouldn't have happened. If the first party Microsoft of the late 2000s didn't go through cutbacks, they probably would be in the same position as they are now getting back to.
They've got talented teams now, it's just a question of what they make and if it resonates with us.
For a good chunk of this generation it feels like they were suffering from cuts, studios being shut down, etc at the exact time when it shouldn't have happened. If the first party Microsoft of the late 2000s didn't go through cutbacks, they probably would be in the same position as they are now getting back to.
They've got talented teams now, it's just a question of what they make and if it resonates with us.
It takes more than a couple of years to build high profile AAA games.
Phil has been head of Xbox since Mattrick got fired in 2014. 5 years is more than a couple of years, he's had enough time to fix the MS first party problem. I don't think he's lying but I'm not ready to believe him yet until I see results.
Steam Controller was this gen. Gyro, touch pad with roller ball haptic feel, and deep customization with steam input.