What you need to know
- IGN’s Ryan McCaffery interviewed Phil Spencer and he spoke at length about the past, present and future of Xbox.
- More games are coming to more platforms.
- Sales of third-party games have doubled every year for the past five years, and there are currently more gamers on Xbox consoles than ever before.
- An Xbox handheld would, in theory, be native. No streaming device.
- Phil Spencer has played through Elder Scrolls VI.
The Xbox Games Showcase has come to an end and it’s honestly one of the greatest showcases I’ve ever seen from the team at Xbox, and Jez Corden agrees. In what many considered a bad year for gaming, Microsoft delivered what mattered most. Games. Bravo for putting a smile on the internet!
With titles like Fable gaining traction, Perfect Dark finally being shown off, or the triumphant return of a studio like GSC Game World that has been battling not only in the game design field but in their own backyards, it’s safe to say that the show was a success. heavenly. Looking back, it’s been an uphill battle for Xbox to get to this point.
From studio closures to battling the CMA and FTC, it’s no secret that Xbox has clawed its way to where it is today. With some games heading to competing platforms, some fans around the world have questioned the direction the ship is sailing. Spend enough time on social media, and you might go crazy being surrounded by so many different opinions.
I’ve seen dedicated fans ultimately change their fandom because of their emotional investment in Xbox. At the same time, others have doubled down on their love for the platform in celebration of some recent decisions surrounding Xbox’s multiplatform push. But as a social media user myself, when I’m surrounded by these feelings, I’m reminded that it’s an echo chamber built by the vocal minority.
The objective measure of success is measured in different ways elsewhere. This measurement is best made by whoever is in charge, which in this case is Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming. He sat down for an interview with IGN’s Ryan McCaffery to discuss the past, present, and future of Xbox, how it relates to these decisions that have been made, and what’s in store for fans in the future.
Where is Xbox going?
When asked about the current motto at Xbox and the direction the compass points, Phil Spencer had the following to say on the subject.
“Maybe our message has not been consistent. I will say from the beginning, ‘If everyone plays, we all win.’ How do we get to a place where everyone can play video games? We’ve made several advancements in PC, and now PC is a huge business for us. We’re excited to have so many PC players, more than ever before. Our consoles are doing well.”
“I think if you sit back and try to frame this industry through the lens of the tradition of ‘who sold a console today’ and that the only solution is to make gaming better, I think Xbox is doing something different than that . many questions. “Hey, if I’m an Xbox owner, what does that mean?” I think it comes across so well in the show today. You saw a great collection of games coming to Xbox. They’ll be on Game Pass on day one. Game Pass came out so well if you buy the game on our console play it on PC; the cross-entitlement stuff is all there.”
“We are focused on future hardware with forward compatibility. Our commitment to our Xbox customers is that you will have the opportunity to purchase or subscribe and see more of our games on more platforms. We see that as an advantage for the franchises we are building, and we see that in the players. And the players love being able to play.”
It’s clear that Game Pass is the monster we all wanted it to be. Eighteen games in the showcase will come to Game Pass on day one. Again, that’s eighteen games, and almost every game is a game I want to play. So much for the idea of Game Pass filler, huh?
Phil also stated that more games were coming to more platforms. The only question he didn’t answer was which one. With the recent rumor that a Halo: Combat Evolved remake is in the works and being discussed for PlayStation, I think fans simply want some clarification on which titles will be jumping across the battlefield, so to speak.
He clarified a few things when talking specifically about Doom. He said it wasn’t entirely his fault, or even anyone above him. Instead, it came down to those who created the experiences themselves.
“Well, with Doom, it’s definitely one of those franchises that has a history on so many devices. I think they’ve got Doom running on a lawnmower somewhere. I think it’s a franchise that everyone deserves to play. And I asked what Marty wanted to do, and he wanted to ship it on all platforms, and I said, ‘Let’s go do that.'”
One notable benefit for players on Xbox, even if some games move to PlayStation, is that all first-party titles are part of a massive ecosystem on Xbox hardware and PCs. Buy one copy and play anywhere: it’s an easy sell, especially when it comes to something like Doom. Play casually on your Xbox in the living room, for example, but when the going gets tough, hop over to your PC to dominate the hellions.
If you buy the game on PlayStation, you don’t have that freedom across devices. Instead, you’re stuck with that specific unit. The “play anywhere” thing when it comes to Xbox is growing quickly and in an exciting way.
What about an Xbox handheld?
At one point Ryan asked Phil if a handheld was in the works. While Phil didn’t want to answer the question directly, he did say that Ryan should talk to Sarah Bond instead, but ended with: “The future for us in hardware is pretty amazing. The work the team is doing around different form factors and different ways to play Today was about the games, but we will have time to come out and talk about the platform.”
Ryan asked for a theoretical clarification on whether a handheld would be native or require some form of internet connection to stream. “I think it’s very important to be able to play games locally.” That’s really all you need to know for now, right?
Success is measured in more than one way
Spencer also spoke at length about the success Xbox is currently experiencing, especially on Xbox consoles. It’s higher than I think any of us thought!
“Right now we have more Xbox console users than ever before in Xbox history. The impact of Game Pass because that’s what I look at, and I love Game Pass. But we also want people to be able to buy games. So I’m going to let’s see again. What happened to third-party game sales? We’ve been up double digits every year for the past five years on Xbox consoles.”
They are getting closer to the old adage of doubling a dollar every day! The idea of third-party sales doubling every year in five years is unheard of given today’s gaming market. The trend started before the pandemic in 2019. That means these sales continue to duplicate even as the post-pandemic gaming economy has become fairly flat.
That’s not the only success Phil talked about, as Ryan also touched on Fallout’s recent cultural explosion thanks to the series on Amazon Prime. In doing so, he questioned Bethesda’s future developments on Fallout. If Todd Howard were the one to direct a potential Fallout 5, or if he was more comfortable giving it to another studio.
Phil said: “Todd has acknowledged the success of the TV show himself. He doesn’t need that [tell him that]. For us in particular, Fallout was great, and yes, Todd does look a bit at the plans of what he does. I will say that Todd himself has recognized the success and is thinking about what that means.”
Well, Todd, Obsidian is a studio I’ve witnessed that can handle countless projects. Heck, maybe a coalition between the two studios? Todd had said he loved the work they did when it came to Fallout: New Vegas, so maybe there’s a chance we can all see our dream come true by creating a co-written experience between these two giant studios. Why not bring in the whole Xbox Studios family? They all seem to be very hot!
Ryan: “Have you seen the Elder Scrolls VI lately?
Phil: “I will refrain from commenting.” he said smiling.
Then came the only boos Phil deserves today. We know damn well he played it. That lucky bird!