Current Events > Phil Spencer on the console war mentality and Xbox's shift away from the box

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/07/16/phil-spencer-console-war-mentality-xboxs-shift-away-box/

This idea that in order for the industry to grow, some companies must succeed and others must fail it doesnt help gaming reach the potential it should, Spencer tells The Post. We should be driven to help gaming as an industry grow, for creators to take the biggest risks they can. When a great game comes out, we should applaud it, whether its for PC, or PlayStation or on a Switch.

Spencer said he doesnt imagine movie executives hope for another studios project to fail.
We should focus on this industry that we love and see it continue to grow. And we should protect it from the issues that it does have, said Spencer, adding that recent conversations around accessibility, inclusivity and addressing toxic, harmful communities have highlighted what truly undermines the industry. If were going to spend energy, lets go spend it on those things, not my piece of plastic is better than your piece of plastic. I dont think thats a productive conversation.

Spencers view on this isnt new. After all, hes spent the last half-decade moving in that direction, and thereby distinguishing the Xbox brand from the rest of the competition. The upcoming Xbox Series X is a big deal, but its no longer the only star of Microsofts gaming strategy, and its going to take some time for its fans to adjust. Microsoft is less interested in ruling a single platform like consoles, and more about bringing the Xbox to as many platforms as possible.

The Xbox is basically trying to bring adaptability to games the way app users enjoy services. An Instagram user with an iPhone 5 from 2013 will still use their same account in 2020 with a newer iPhone 11.

Bringing up an analogy like Instagram is so great as an example, Spencer said. Gaming in a lot of ways has been disconnected from the social norms that people on every other platform can have. Imagine in Spotify, if I was on my PC to create a playlist, and I booted it on my phone, I didnt see the playlist. Of course a login name means that all my favorites and playlists come with me across every device. Gaming has advanced for sure, but were a little behind some of the apps and other platforms in terms of that capability.
Expanding the importance of Xbox Game Pass, which in April marked 10 million subscribers, means Xbox is adopting a new role as a games curator, not unlike the Netflix algorithm that suggests the next show or film.
Spencer outlined a bit of the philosophy behind the conversation in choosing which games to promote on the subscription service. He thinks of how shows like Tiger King mightve not been green lit by major studios, and hopes Xbox Game Pass can provide similar explosive potential for newer game concepts.

To be fair I think the Disney execs were happy with Amazing Spider-man 2 flopping.

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He's right

Personally I love the idea of bouncing between console, PC and streaming to my phone (or away from home) in a convenient way. Gaming is a lot less convenient than stuff like Netflix and Spotify.

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He's right in a way. All 3 console manufacturers are kinda in their own corner and if the rumored pricing model for the Series X is accurate, I see that being even more so the case. MS seems to want an entertainment box with at least one subscription attached in every house regardless of what it is used for. It's more a focused PC than anything. Which I think has it's own place next gen.
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Yeah they really are all doing their own thing at the moment

PS5 - Traditional (although PS Now and some PC ports are a factor so they might continue to dip their toes in)
Switch - Portability/Convenience
Xbox - Ecosystem across many platforms

It's funny when gamers on here take the console wars more seriously than the actual businesses. Microsoft is in The Last of Us 2 credits. Microsoft are selling servers to Sony for PS Now. Executives for all three go to ESA meetings together. Often in the same car. They all benefit when they're succeeding overall.

Except for Sega. Playstation outright killed them.

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Console war shit among gamers becomes even more dumb when you own all of them. Its very clear they're doing their own thing successfully.
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Console war stuff I hope disappears at some point but for some reason people love to cheer for their team. What I will never understand is why fanboys WANT one of these 3 companies to fail. A world where its only Nintendo and Sony or any version of the 3 would be INSANELY anti consumer.

That being said, I find comfort in that every gen the message board fanboys become less and less.

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Jiggy101011 posted...

Console war stuff I hope disappears at some point but for some reason people love to cheer for their team. What I will never understand is why fanboys WANT one of these 3 companies to fail. A world where its only Nintendo and Sony or any version of the 3 would be INSANELY anti consumer.

That being said, I find comfort in that every gen the message board fanboys become less and less.

Probably boils down to people wanting to be sure they paid $300-$500+ to the 'correct' company. Gamers would really not be happy if there was just one company making consoles.
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It's one thing to try, it's another to succeed.
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I haven't really looked up the context behind this. What's he saying all this for?
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Slayer_22 posted...

I haven't really looked up the context behind this. What's he saying all this for?

Many things once were game system specific due to technological requirements and limitations. Now, they are more standardized and generic.

tl;dr: technology for games has changed; game system developers need to change, too.

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Slayer_22 posted...

I haven't really looked up the context behind this. What's he saying all this for?

They're having their showcase in a week and they just announced xCloud will be included with Game Pass Ultimate.

The console war stuff he has been saying for a while now. He even went on Reggie's podcast a month or so ago and reminisced about stuff lol.

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I remember there was that 'xCloud on Switch' rumor a year or so ago. I wonder if that will pan out.

It sounds nice but I don't think the WiFi chip in the Switch is good enough for it. The button layout will be annoying too.

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Darmik posted...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/07/16/phil-spencer-console-war-mentality-xboxs-shift-away-box/

To be fair I think the Disney execs were happy with Amazing Spider-man 2 flopping.

Yeah I was gonna say I'm pretty sure Disney wants everyone else to fail.

He's right about the other studios though.

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Darmik posted...

Yeah they really are all doing their own thing at the moment

PS5 - Traditional (although PS Now and some PC ports are a factor so they might continue to dip their toes in)
Switch - Portability/Convenience
Xbox - Ecosystem across many platforms

It's funny when gamers on here take the console wars more seriously than the actual businesses. Microsoft is in The Last of Us 2 credits. Microsoft are selling servers to Sony for PS Now. Executives for all three go to ESA meetings together. Often in the same car. They all benefit when they're succeeding overall.

Except for Sega. Playstation outright killed them.

The companies fan the flames of console wars because it's good for their bottom line. Behind the scenes they're all friends laughing about the free advertisement they're getting.

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If the other companies thought this way itd be great. Imagine only needing a PC to play everything.

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Darmik posted...

To be fair I think the Disney execs were happy with Amazing Spider-man 2 flopping.

And the X-Men sequels after DoFP flopping

i cant imagine giving a shit about console warring this currently gen of consoles. so much is interchangeable outside of the switch as always with nintendo (and the switch's library is so sparse that people literally never stop begging for ports)

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ultimate reaver posted...

i cant imagine giving a shit about console warring this currently gen of consoles. so much is interchangeable outside of the switch as always with nintendo (and the switch's library is so sparse that people literally never stop begging for ports)

It is dumb.

It's to the point where they're just arguing that their business models should all be the same.

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