320°

Phil Spencer, long cast as Xbox's saviour, may be remembered as the man who killed it

Nathan Brown: "Phil Spencer spoke to the press at GDC last week, offering some context/spin on Microsoft’s recent manoeuvres, while dropping a few now-customary hints about the Xbox division’s future plans. I take one issue with this: I am no longer sure Xbox has much of a future to speak of. Moreover: I think Phil Spencer, for so long cast as Xbox’s saviour, may ultimately be remembered as the man who killed it."

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gold_drake63d ago

his decisions over the years were definitely questionable at best.

but MS let him be the head of xbox for this long, so they either dont have anyone else for the job or .. we'll i dont rly know any other reason haha.

-Foxtrot63d ago (Edited 63d ago )

Basically when we had that awful Xbox One reveal in 2013 and Don Mattrick was thrown under the bus as the companies scape goat Phil was pretty much the only one they had who wasn't a typical looking "corporate suit".

Despite the fact him being the head of Microsoft Game Studios and gladly going along with the lack of games nearing the end of the Xbox 360 life where it was basically Kinect, Sports, TV along with the same 3-4 IPs like Halo or Gears he was the best person they had for the job.

They didn't have anyone else basically and from that day onward he was seen as good guy Phil turning the studio around when all he was doing was reversing the silly decisions made and going along with whatever the higher ups or the board wanted for Xbox. Didn't make a difference in the end because everything they "reversed" with the awful Xbox One reveal ended up being implemented in small different ways surgically in recent years with Gamepass.

The guy apparently is such a huge gamer yet played Crackdown 3 and Redfall, thought they were good and released them anyway in those states.

PapaBop63d ago (Edited 63d ago )

Not a typical looking corporate suit? The guy straight up looks like a used car salesman lol. To be fair, after Mattrick, I think anyone with half a brain could succeed him and look semi decent, whenever I think of his name, I immediately remember that "this is how to share your games" video from Sony.

S2Killinit62d ago

when I look at him, its cringe. The guy dresses casually to fool people. But he is as corporate as it gets.

fr0sty62d ago

His cocky smirk I've always found to be incredibly annoying...

MrDead62d ago

I would say his "why bother making games when others are already" decision is what has lead them here. MS does this, but they just buy companies that they want to do a thing then asset strip it and dump it, you can't do that in gaming.

RNTody62d ago

He's the head of Xbox because Microsoft isn't a gaming company and they haven't done anything for gaming in more than a decade. They're a parent company looking to buy more kids to raise as investments. They will profit off ownership, off their games releasing on other platforms, because they can't create anything themselves. Slowly they'll make Xbox as a console completely irrelevant under the mantra of play anywhere. That's why Phil is still there. He shares their corporate vision of making bucks and doing nothing for the gaming industry.

SubtilizZer63d ago

“If they don’t have a story these days they’ll make one”
Drake.

RhinoGamer8863d ago

Phil's top skill is keeping his job, growing his net worth to over $25million, all while underperforming...

SeTTriP63d ago

Gotta respect it, he went from a gaming studio head to making 70billion dollar deals...he is the main character I gotta admit.he looks fun to hang around too.

MrDead62d ago

...why do I feel like I need a shower after reading that? One of the grossest thing I've heard, S tier blowing bubbles grovelling.

jznrpg62d ago (Edited 62d ago )

I don’t respect moves that make gaming worse long term

XBManiac62d ago (Edited 62d ago )

(Phil 'wait for next year' Spencer)
Microsoft made the 71,933 millions deal because it was already started and, with Microsoft, it is not possible to go back and stop it. Does anybody think that deal would be an option in 2023 or 2024, with the nowadays sitiation of the industry? And in 2022? No, nobody would pay that money for Activision-blizzard-king... because it would not be recovered in more than 20 years of really hard and good work. Everybody are selling for less, not buying for more (Embracer, Tencent...). But bad decisions in a company like Microsoft are impossible to fix. It is like a very big Ministery, where if something starts, it can't be stopped. It happened before and Microsoft will do the same again, as they have enough money to burn... well... I hope, because if Microsoft dies... it will be the end of our known world. What could substitute it?

_Decadent_Descent62d ago

I mean, that does take a certain skill. lol

FinalFantasyFanatic62d ago

I guess he has skill as a salesman, look how long he managed to get people to wait on Xbox.

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50°

ARK: Survival Ascended Premium Mods on Consoles Q&A - By 2030, Time Spent on UGC Will Be Way Bigger

ARK: Survival Ascended has introduced Premium Mods on consoles. Wccftech talked to Studio Wildcard and their partner Overwolf about the rising importance of user-generated content, especially for live service games.

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250°

Neil Druckmann clarifies true intent of new Naughty Dog game comments

Following a recent interview with Sony, Naughty Dog head Neil Druckmann claims the original intent was “unfortunately lost” in the process.

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just_looken6d ago

He can take dog shit put it in a oven with seasoning then call it waistland cookies the sony fans will pay $40 a cookie give them a medal of cooking.

No mater what trash this sobs puts out/talks about it will sell.

The true fact in the 8 years sense uncharted 4 his first time in the main seat to a point all this "amazing" team did was get 2 dudes to fuck in a van then destroy a franchise they never created.

But being a port studio they are decent at they should keep in there lane at being just that a glorified port studio.

fr0sty6d ago

Salty Bots... gotta love it.

just_looken6d ago

@frosty

Over what? naught dog under his command is a glorified port team tlou2 was mostly tlou 1 asset's with the same game play loop but forced a trans down your throat.

I would gladly help pay for this blight and his team to get removed from gaming in general.

fr0sty5d ago

Seeing a LGBT person exist in a work of fiction isn't "forcing them down your throat". Nobody is forcing you to play it. Nobody is forcing you to agree with it. If you think that just seeing a LGBT person exist is "force", it sounds like they make you very uncomfortable, and maybe you need to be doing some serious reflecting on exactly why... looks to me like you're suppressing something with all that fear.

just_looken5d ago

@fro

When i think of the last of us i think of a group of survivors crossing the apocalypse wasteland with a growing bond between 2 people that end up with Joel making ellie his new daughter.

Then you fire up the 2nd one bang joel is dead oh that comic series? bang dead

Oh you want to continue all that we grew in the first one? na f that toss it in the trash

Now here is a trans woman so strong superboy would blush go out there kill all what made tlou1 then halfway get a forced sex scene that you can not skip between 2 dudes.

The gameplay? just like the first game the combat/backpack system crafting sytem? 0 changes/improvements.

I could go on but lets face it they copy pasted that tlou 1 assets bin a shit ton of times.

There is nothing on the box or the ads or anything before the game that said you would going to spend most of the game controlling a new trans character that has no ties to anything of the first game the only existence was to kill what the first game made.

Oh but hey there is a mp mode coming out before 2022 wait what is that? oh we made it its own game then cancelled it now go but the game again as we port it a few times.

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

mkis0075d ago (Edited 5d ago )

What has Straley or Henig released since they left ND? Not a thing! stop scapegoating! Which of them is credited with co-writing a majorly successful show?

just_looken5d ago

@mkis007

You bring up Bruce Straley really? someone that gave us 4 generations of amazing games and was there in the creation of 4 legendary franchises but was tossed in the trash for the pos niel druckmann not 7? years ago

So yeah in those 7? years you right all he has done is get 2 awards one is a game award for a puzzle game he made oh boy right like for fuck sake's all niel has done is one game that was a overhyped fan boy orgasm underneath all that ps jizz was just a typical 5/10 game.

Then you drag Amy Hennig that poor woman was also kicked out then became this century's Brendan Fraser with her sexual misconduct information coming out.

We all know how horrible people are treated behind the scenes she might have been sexual attacked groped or something.

So yeah all she did after was battlefield hardline forspoken now that new marvel 1945 game but hey Brendan Fraser was a great actor till he also said he was sexually attacked just now he is allowed back in no doubt she also had to take a leave of absence out and or was forced out on ice.

Man there are way to many out there that look at niel at the new gaming jesus when all he had done is some work on uncharted 4 then tlou2

Oh also the tvhshow? for real all they did was use stuff from the 2013 game its like saying GOT was a 10/10 but never watching past season 3

-Foxtrot5d ago

@mkis007

That's highly unfair to them both

Amy Hennig got messed around working on projects that got cancelled by the publishers (EA) and then ended up on a awful game (Forspoken) where you had 4 other writers working on it which is just a recipe for disaster. She is now working on Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra. Not her fault she was pushed out of NaughtyDog, something both Nolan North and Richard McGonagle have both said in interviews.

Bruce Straley left after burn out, the rest of the story we don't know and will never know just like what happened with Amy Hennig. He decided to take a break and wasn't sure if he wanted to come back to gaming however he had an idea he wanted to make so he founded Wildflower Interactive, a smaller studio where they are currently working on a new game.

Tacoboto5d ago

@the obvious stain of a commenter

The trans character wasn't Abby. Try playing Part 2 instead of gatekeeping what you think Part 1 was about and meant.

Maybe try watching the show while you're at it, because you're terribly off with your opinion on that too

MajorLazer5d ago

Naughty Dog is better than all the MS studios put together.

derek5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

@just he has been behind 2 of the greatest games ever made. Tlou2 was easily the best non-vr game made last gen. Losers just can't get over Joel's death, mixed with the usual console war nonsense. The fact that you so casually call him a sob shows how deranged some gamers have become about Drunkmann.

derek5d ago

@frosty, for people like Just, including anyone that can be categorized as being a minority in any kind of media is "forcing it down his throat " lol. I to don't care for poor "checking box" inclusion for inclusion sake but that was not the case with tlou2.

fr0sty5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

The pathetic part about it is, you can tell just_looken never even played TLOU, because that was the game where Ellie's sexuality was first brought to light... No "that was forced down our throats" to be said about that.

Only terrified folks in the closet that use their hatred as cover from outing themselves fear LGBT people that much. They exist. They will exist in all aspects of life, including popular media. Get over it.

just_looken5d ago

@all

Once again you drag out something like its a big win

Here is my old channel a clip of me playing TLOU on ps3
https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Search my channel for more clips

Proof its my channel? look at this profiles banner that is 7yrs old then look at other vids on that channel like my bf3 clips to see my psn id. But knowing this group that is way to much work.

Also elle being a lesbian is another trump card? one dlc is all we got of that a dlc that took over a year to be tossed out.

Rainbowcookie5d ago

Hey at least we have cookies to eat 😄

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Rangerman12086d ago

Glad he clarified it but i'm still somewhat skeptical. Plus, his comments about how Ai will revolutionize storytelling were still pretty iffy.

anast6d ago

No need to bow down, Stan your ground. The AI comments were gross though.

S2Killinit6d ago

Pretty excited as I read these. I just cant wait to see what ND is up to.

Export6d ago

put a chick in it and make her gay !

shadowknight2036d ago

Next they need a diverse couple, and perhaps some climate activists

StormSnooper5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

I would love that if only to piss off all the lunatics. Lol

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170°

Naughty Dog Boss Neil Druckmann Says AI Will 'Revolutionize' Development

Druckmann claims the tech could 'push the boundaries of storytelling in games.'

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Jin_Sakai8d ago

I’m more interested in what else he said.

“Neil Druckmann says new Naughty Dog title could ‘redefine mainstream perceptions of gaming’

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H97d ago

It will be something like "we erased gameplay all together it's just a movie now"

purple1017d ago

every time naughty dog make a game, you play it and get the feeling "this is not possible'

from the boulder running towards you in crash, on ps1,
to the massive open world of jak and daxter, on ps2,
to the QuickTime events sequences of uncharted on ps3/4

and now we will see what they do with ps5,

H97d ago

Press X for doubt at "PS5"

-Foxtrot7d ago (Edited 7d ago )

Arrogant asshole who sniffs his own farts bigs up next game…sounds like typical PR to me

You know what I find interesting? Almost every site reporting this as the main title where the REAL interesting bit of the interview is Neil praising AI and saying it will be used to help push story, characters, dialogue and more.

It’s super shitty to big up AI especially when it comes to story telling and other creative elements.

senorfartcushion7d ago

Just because someone says this type of stuff, it doesn't mean that it's guaranteed to be good news.

You can say this about microtransactions. MXTs revolutionised the gaming industry.

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Levii_927d ago

Geez how full of themselves are these guys.

Einhander19727d ago

He also said it has "ethical issues we need to address" but of course that doesn't get the clicks.

CrimsonWing697d ago

I’m all for it. Cuts the time to make a game. Look, Hellblade 2 took 5 years to make, if AI can do that in half the time, as a consumer, I support it.

Chard7d ago

Things will get far sloppier brother

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