Xbox’s Phil Spencer: “High quality and diverse first party is what Xbox deserves”

Reviews for Sony’s God of War came out yesterday and, to little surprise, the game was met with critical acclaim and currently sits at a 95 on Metacritic based on over eighty reviews. It’s been hailed as one of this generation’s greatest games, and it left Xbox fans wondering… where’s theirs?

[Heelix]

"Our hardware took time, our service/platform/BC took time and continuing to grow our 1P will take time. A high quality and diverse 1P (yes, with SP) built the right way is our goal and what our customers deserve. We can have similar results to what we've seen in hw and platform."

I'm curious to see what's in store though.
Maybe more info @E3
I want Xbox to continue to do well and improve.

[AspiringProGenji]

Here the issue with MS:

“our service/platform/BC took time and continuing to grow our 1P will take time.”

Service/4K/BC first, 1st party games last. They got their priorities twisted. Without 1st party content there’s nothing to show off the capabilities of your platform’s features.

Phils once said “you don’t need studios to make good games.” I’m glad that has caught up with him. Next is his downplaying of SP games...

[-Foxtrot]

Phil says a lot of things lets be honest and never really delivers. I'm basing it purely off experience now and because I'm someone who learns from past experiences. You can do the same old "bu bu but you really hate Phil Spencer" crap but seriously what do you expect at this rate, he's doing nothing for Microsoft to help them. That's not worthy of praise regardless of the company.

How many times are we honestly going to go through this cheap talk, it's been like 4 years now and he's said on two separate times about how first party games are coming but "they take time" and "we don't want to announce things too early". In the end it's just BS talk to sting people along, then in a few years he'll say the same thing. Rinse and repeat.

These kind of articles always come up mostly when Nintendo or Sony are releasing a big game which has done well in reviews. It comes across like "Shit...first party single player games have done it again, all eyes are on us, lets say something quick"

I mean lets be honest every time he does say something it's what people want to hear...then you pause for a second and think "hang on a cotton picking minute, if you actually believe this then why haven't you done it?"

[RpgSama]

“our service/platform/BC took time and continuing to grow our 1P will take time"

They've been in the home videogame console business since November 15, 2001, but I guess they need more time to grow their 1P /S

[Eldyraen]

You realize they’re listed that way based on what is “done” or at least well received (online service) first and then what is next on the roster?

I agree the games should be first, but Xbox arguably has the better online service still, Game Pass and Play Anywhere are both incredible, etc. Full BC going forward for both One games and older 360/OG One games will be fantastic on next gen systems as well.

Now they basically have the one thing they need most to really work on: the games. Which sadly they should have worked on much sooner as well. So they better nail that between now and next gen as X proves they can nail the hardware but they need to support it and their services with the games that we deserve.

Im also hoping e3 proves their point on going back to first party focus somewhat, even if most probably won’t be ready for a while. Or good second/third but exclusive even (as Fable reboot is rumored to be by Horizon’s second team—they’re not owned by MS but very close ties).

[stokedAF]

You really don’t need studios to make good games. They have worked very well as a publisher in the past. The beginning of the 360 had amazing 3rd party exclusives. The problem is that they don’t have first or 3rd party exclusives anymore lol.

[blitz0623]

1st Party games were never a priority with MS. Phil is just spouting this nonsense to appease people. Their one and only priority is to transition Xbox to a software service platform that is found in every home. They're trying to be the Netflix of video games

[Aceman18]

I'm tired of Phil's double talk, and until they can actually back up the BS he spews I ain't buying what he says and I definitely not jumping back in on that console.

M$ is put up or shut up time this E3 if you want my $$$$$ again.

[neutralgamer1992]

aspiring

phil is the king of PR people right before E3 him and major nelson will talk a big game

what we do know at this year's E3 sony will have:

spiderman
days gone
the last of us 2 demo
death stranding gameplay
kingdom hearts 3
possibily a new title similar to dark souls/blood borne
sucker punche's new IP(which has been in development for over 4 years)
yakuza kiwame 2

we could get a trailer for shenmue 3
we could get a blockbuster announcement of another PS classic remake by bluepoint

for ms to have a decent chance at a E3 where their brand could gain some momentum they have to bring their A++++++ game otherwise sony is going for the mortal kombat style finisher

[Bobafret]

They listened way too much to the internet chatter about the power differences between Xbox One and Ps4, and bet largely on that. This is why they are in this calamity. If you are constantly reacting to your opponent then you have already lost.

[darthv72]

@genji, you make it seem like MS has to do the same thing the others do but in fact they do not. Therefore you don't know if their priorities are twisted. You say that based on comparing them to the others and, while I get that reasoning, you must also consider they are doing things how they want to do them.

It may not jive with how we want them, and it will come back to bite them in the ass, but it is their decisions to make.

[TheCommentator]

"Next is his downplaying of SP games..."

Next is try reading his tweet, where Phil specifically highlighted the need for single player experiences:

https://twitter.com/XboxP3/...

[rainslacker]

@darth

Except Phil is legitimizing the fact that people's complaints are valid, and they don't have any real response except to say that it takes time. This isn't some kind of assumption, it's an admittance by Spencer that they don't have what they know people seem to want. That they dicked around when they had something to offer, and spent years promoting things that weren't important.

If he believes that the Xbox player base "deserves" these kinds of things, then he should deliver them, not deliver things that they aren't actually asking for. BC, Play Anywhere, X1X, GaaS. None of these things were things people were asking for in droves. They were, and always have, asked for games. Even when MS had them, they still wanted more. It's only in the last couple years that people have become content with MS output.

Phil's been saying for years that he wanted more of these things for Xbox. 3 years later, and he's still only promising, and still only delivering on things that his predecessors started. Is it really that hard to just give a taste of what they're working on if they are really working on something. Pride of not announcing too early isn't a good enough excuse anymore....and the notion that people wanted them to wait until closer to release wasn't even something their fan base was really asking for either.

MS is great at delivering on things no one really asks for. But all spencer seems capable of doing is talking about the things that people actually do want.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Xbox has to deliver some kind of solid road-map for 1st party / exclusive games at E3. They need both games announced for this 2nd half of year and for 2019 that are beyond just the expected sequels to Gears, Forza and Halo. I think many of the bets MS laid over the past years didn't pan out or just flat out got canned and that really took a toll on their current road-map. MS was forced to really double down on services and hardware because they knew there was a big hole in their software road-map coming with the delays & cancellations they made. That is poor management, and yes Phil needs to own it but also do something about it and show its more than lip service now. E3 really feels like a make or break moment for MS with this generation. And I mean that not in a "they can still win this gen" (they can't / won't win it...its Sony's) but in a way of "they can finish strong this gen" if gamer's can see a brighter future for games to what has been there the past year and a half or so for first party/exclusive games.

[blackblades]

Phils once said “you don’t need studios to make good games.” Wow! he really said that

[UltraNova]

Gotta love the timing on these "comments"...

[LordJamar]

100% positive thats out pf context.

[bouzebbal]

We just got the PR moment of the weekend..
Tomorrow everything back to normal.

[GrubsterBeater]

It seems almost as though XBox fans defending MS at every turn, while pretending to be content with MS' s game offering just to not deal with "I told you so's" from Sony fans has bit them in the ass. MS keeps seeing XBox fans praising all these draconian policies, PR, "single player games aren't important", etc., and not Spencer is like "cool, this is what they want, and they are happy with what we are giving them, so let's keep up with GaaS, Forzas, etc.

While I'm not saying it's the reason this is all happening, it does lead one to wonder if all the blind loyalty, pretending to be happy with the lack of games, etc, is a factor in why they are continuing down this off route for gaming.

[IamTylerDurden1]

And Phil's downplaying and criticism of sp games is coming back to bite him. Since his comments games like Horizon, BotW, Super Mario Odyssey, SotC, and now God of War have done exceptionally well. Yakuza 6 hits this month, Detroit in May, and everyone is hyped over Spider-man. Phil miscalculated when he dismissed sp games. Just look how Sony's sp game God of War is a bout to dismantle Xbox's GaaS game Sea of Thieves.

[RpgSama]

He always says the right things, is the follow through with what he says that's the issue, MS has been in the home console business since 2001, how much more time do they need?

[Rachel_Alucard]

Theyve had plenty of time they just minimize risks like crazy. Anything that doesn't pull Halo or Gears numbers never gets a sequel or gets forgotten. They drop good IPs like flies and never invest in well received games, only if they sell well. Crimson skies, voodoo vince, mechassault, and many, many others are stuck in the forgotten realm of IPs MS ditched once the 360 released. They've turned almost every IP they have ownership over into a service game rather then a one off single player experience with no bull like Shadow of the Colossus or God of War because thats not profitable for them. They've failed to see the repricussions of their actions and now nobody wants to be associated with them. Consumer and developer alike.

[Omnislashver36]

Eh, Xbox can't build a studio or nurture an IP. Lionshead, Mistwalker, and Platinum all had new or continuing IPs that got cancelled. Let's be honest, if Scalebound didn't look like the MC was comprised of Mountain Dew, Doritos, Vaping, and Dubstep it could have been the next Drakengard for instance. That was something worth investing in big-time, if MS would have just changed a few parameters- EVEN if it went to X2 it could have been an awesome game.

[fiveby9]

I am surely a Playstation fan and owner. I also own an X1. My first Xbox ever. I also hope MS improves though. I don't think it serves the gaming world well if they were to exit. Not that I think they are planning an exit. I think the opposite. Although perhaps another company would fill that void if they did. But looking at MS it sometimes feels like they are so risk averse that they make creative decisions based on financial metrics alone. Phil's comment on SP games being risky and less profitable was enlightening. Why can't MS and other's do both? SP games with great stories provide a 'soul' for the product. They create emotional attachments to a product and thus brand loyalty. MP games are less apt to provide that connection. Perhaps MP GaaS offerings make more money but they don't drive brand loyalty as much. MS can and should do better. I'd only change Phil's comments to 'High quality and a diverse first party is what Xbox FANS deserve'. It's the fans who deserve it. They're making strides but XBox still feels a bit soulless.

[Rachel_Alucard]

@gamerzero

And that happens when Japanese developers don't make games for it. They failed in the Japanese market from the get go so 3 things occurred.

1. Japanese developers don't make games for it since Japanese people aren't buying it
2. Western players who like japanese games don't buy it since all those games they want are on Playstation and switch
3. The only audience left playing on the Xbox are western players who either do not like Japanese games or are indifferent or biased. Anyone who's positive towards those games would've just bought a PlayStation anyway.

Failing that market set off a chain of events that affects more then just sales in the region.

[Omnislashver36]

@gamerzero

It's stuff that nobody wanted in the game. And MH isn't selling on Xbox because PS owners have no incentive to buy one! It requires more than a single game, and a trio like Scalebound, Mistwalker, and Fable is a good start to get some of the RPG fanatics from PlayStation...

[crazyCoconuts]

I'm with @Foxtrot. Timing of these articles is so transparent. PR at it's finest...

[lelo2play]

Phil Spencer is all talk... but very little to show for.

[SuperSonic91]

Like Sol Badguy said " All Show But No Go.

[Kryptix]

Everything takes time, but it takes more when you mismanage and fail to optimize.

"We can have similar results to what we've seen in hw and platform"

He's blatantly saying that they can, but they haven't even started doing it yet which is a shame for those who waited for the Xbox One X and have to wait for more, or may I say more E3s, the true long running joke.

[Bruh]

You won't see sh*t, if anything maybe for next-generation, but for Xbox, this cycle is done and they're only gonna try and wrap up their franchises for existing story lines and push for next-gen soon.

[spwittbold]

To say Phil has done nothing for Xbox is shortsighted. Sure, he hasn't quite delivered in the manner most of us want, in terms of 1P - and I too am getting tired of all the promises. However, from where Xbox was, he has thus far: 1) Moved focus away from Xbox being a "media center," with Kinect and the TV integration garbage 2) Driven the Play Anywhere - PC or Xbox if you have them, which is great for me and I'm sure alot of others 3) The BC is pretty god damn sweet - this is the one thing Sony is annoying AF on....Microsoft is updating last gen games - for free - to look famazing which is an A+ instead of "remastering," and then "reselling" them to us when we a

[generic-user-name]

I feel like anyone would have done a better job than Mattrick, Phil is all talk. If backwards compatibility putting xbox exclusives on PC is all he has done, then he hasn't done much.

[CP_Company]

BC is matrick baby and not spencers. So i don't understand why someone trying to mislead public and give a credit to a wrong man.

[RandoCommenter]

Microsoft’s in desperation mode that is the ONLY reason they’re being consumer friendly. Don’t forget that. While Sony is on top & they’re still cranking out AAA single player games left & right. I have both XBone & PS4. XBone literally just sits in my trunk/coffee table until I have a hankering to play Dead Space from last gen or Quantum Break. Microsoft continues to deliver way too rarely. It’s very disappointing.

[shuvam09]

I don't understand his statement...
The hardware was stellar from the very beginning (from OG XBox to XB1X, barring XB1), so were their services/platform/BC...
What time taking process is he talking about???
If I know right, their priorities have gone backward since inception...
OG XBox and the 360 had some amazing exclusives...
They faltered from the beginning with XB1...
And with the push for Cloud and GaaS, it's hard to believe him going back to the roots...
They are going the MS way rather than going the XBox way...
With Nadella at the helm, he would rather use XBox to push the Windows ecosystem rather than reviving the XBox brand...

Don't get me wrong...
I want to see a healthy competition between all the hardware manufactures...
It's just that I don't see the signs from MS yet, nor am I expecting it to change in a positive way...

[YOUDIEMOFO]

Games presented at E3 are going to be years off. I'm sorry, but MS just might be done....

I'm pretty pissed at my X purchase as of right now. Especially since sea of thieves is sick joke!! I was really looking to something big with that game....

[TheKingKratos]

Phill, shut the f up please
You are all talk and nothing else

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

Phil needs to stop talking about high quality games and start making them. Unfortunately, I don't think the suits are going to allow Microsoft's remaining studios to have creative freedom like Sony does with their developers. I just think they have the ability to do so much better only if the suits would allow Spencer to run Xbox gaming without interference.

[butchertroll]

We believe in Phil, right?

Let's see what Phil said....
2013
Microsoft investing $1 billion into games on Xbox One
https://www.engadget.com/20...
"Microsoft Studios boss Phil Spencer told OXM Rare is returning to one of its older franchises (Killer Instinct, anyone?) and Black Tusk Studios is hard at work on Microsoft's next big franchise. Lift London is working on smaller cloud-based games, while Microsoft Studios Osaka has a project under way - something Don Mattrick says will illustrate how Microsoft is "committed" to Japan. Finally, Press Play and Twisted Pixel are in Microsoft's bullpen, working on "weird, unique" games for Xbox Live."

2014
Xbox boss would rather invest in first-party exclusives than Street Fighter V
https://arstechnica.com/gam...

2015
At E3, Phil Spencer wants to focus on first-party and exclusive Xbox games
https://www.polygon.com/201...

"I really focussed on our first-party investment, and you see it showing up in 2015 and 2016."
https://www.eurogamer.net/a...

2016
"I’m sure Last Guardian, when it ships this year, will be great, but I just look at the lineup and the quantity and the quality that our team’s been shipping and I feel really good about that."
http://www.playstationlifes...

2017
Phil Spencer: "Microsoft is committed to growing first-party Xbox content and studios"
https://www.windowscentral....

Let's play a game : Phil says.....a lot of things.

[Nyxus]

Sounds good, but the way he talks about it makes it sound as if it's still a ways off...

[RpgSama]

They're always about the future when talking about games, Phil Spencer makes it sound as if this wasn't the third Microsoft console generation, but their first foray into consoles, they have been in this business since November 15, 2001, how much more time do they need?

[S2Killinit]

Thats all i hear from MS, verbage, no game news comes out, just vague or broad statements and adjectives (“huge, big” etc.) but no game news. Why not talk about a game youre working on right now?

[Eldyraen]

Unfortunately. Fable rumor is likely 1-2 off even if it’s real. If the Horizon second team is true since they’re still hiring key positions there. So hopefully they can get a couple out before next gen but probably not many new ones yet.

[NeoGamer232]

Yes, it is probably at least 2019.

Sony has been developing the new GoW since 2014. That is after the story and idea. So, probably started in 2013.

Phil spent the first two years to 2016 cleaning up crap. So assuming 4 years in devt is what it takes for a 95+ metacritic SP game. We are looking at 2019 at the earliest and more likely 2020.

[KickSpinFilter]

But that's probably the end of this generation in 2020 or at least for Sony. 2013 is when they both launched, I'm sorry but by this time there should be an overflow of well scored exclusive games. That's just not the case with MS. Ya at the start of a console life you expect it to be a little barren as developers are ramping up with final console specs. (excluding Switch).

[kneon]

That's 4 years only if you already have a studio capable of that level of quality, getting a studio to that level can take a decade or more. Most never get there.

[Bruh]

People at this point really don't understand that Microsoft gives NO SH*TS about this generation anymore? For this company the most important part is the bottom line and as they know they lost, for them its about trying to just earn some good user base love ( B.C, other software related features) and pushing into next gen

[LordJamar]

So what if it is? Just get angry like the rest call him a lier and get a sony box

[AizenSosuke]

Sounds good but please deliver and please follow your word if not that's a bunch of BS.

[fiveby9]

We shall see what MS promises and what they deliver. I’d be happy to see them bolster their offering with some new / strong first party produced games but that takes years to cultivate. GaaS can’t be your only strategy. A platform holder needs a diverse robust games lineup. At this point it’s Sony who has done the best overall job. MS needs to step up or they’ll risk slowly fading away. I think their customers have been more than patient.

[AspiringProGenji]

That’s the problem witb Xbox: talk talk talk, then always asking for more time when things don’t end up well. What happened to the 1 billion investment in games? The cloud?

[SuperSaiyanGod41]

I think time is not the issue, it's more being confident in your new IP and not throwing in the towel after it's first outing because of bad sales, u build on it and make it even better in the next outing and the fanbase starts to grow with each outing.

[Rude-ro]

That is kind of Microsoft’s delima..
Not a bash, but every ip they bought a studio for, and now they do not work there. Not all obviously, but all their risk ips from yore.
They rely on what they will spend money on per marketing. So if it failed in sales, they no longer see the desire to spend money on both the game and the marketing.
They need to become a gaming company and stop focusing on what they can market.

[KickSpinFilter]

First good example of cloud computing is the ocean in Sea of Thief's (no matter what you think of the game)

[AspiringProGenji]

And there’s barely anything to do in that ocean. Gues that tech isn’t anything game changing then

[badz149]

in 2013 they said...

https://www.vg247.com/2013/...

and 3 years later...

http://www.techtimes.com/ar...

now, even 50mil is looking very distant for them before next gen starts, hopefully, in 2020

[Bhai]

Oh the cloudy dreams... the delusions hahaha ... that shows how disconnected and distant the whole xb team is from gaming reality :O

[TheNextGeneration]

He’s right in the sense that they have delivered on other fronts and they’re beating Sony in some of those areas but Sony has run away with the games race and its time Microsoft turn talk into action, show us the games!!

[xX-oldboy-Xx]

But they assured their fanbase that they had invested heavily into xbox exclusive 1st and 2nd party. When will the yearly rhetoric without results be enough for xbox owners, xbox owners are a resilient, loyal and faithful bunch.

[The_Jackel]

dont forget to add dumb as fuck too.... for obvious reasons in your comment

[AlphaCentyros]

I used to be a 360 fan though. Really glad I realised MS lost their passion for high quality games a long time ago. Switching to PS was the best decision I ever made.

[LordJamar]

Not every one is a angry fanboy intent on selling there console cause "no games"

[Pastemaniak]

Yeah, how ironic that "Sony has run away with the games race" in a games business. In this moment, Xbox has the same personality than a Nvidia Shield. It's more obvious every day that they're just hardware manufacturers.

[Seafort]

Microsoft aren't hardware manufacturers at all though. They have always been a software development studio but not with games but corporate programs like Office or Windows Server and still are to this day. That's where they make most of their money.

The Xbox division is just a small part of what Microsoft is. They don't seem to have any passion for making games for their console or want to invest in it in case it fails. They've always had one foot out the door so they can run at the first chance of failure.

It's coming to the stage where MS needs to put up or get out of the games industry as they are not investing in their console and the customer will lose out in the long run with their dithering and lack of commitment.

It's been 17 years since they first got involved in the console industry and what do they have to show for it? Hardly any first party studios and no real top tier games apart from Forza. Gears and Halo is going down the drain and wasn't even theirs in the first place. They just bought the IP from 2nd/3rd party studios.

Coming back to the PC was a mistake as well. We didn't ask them to return and produce a lacklustre games platform with Windows Store as it's an Xbox and app store really. Just retrofitted to include PC games.

Microsoft needs to decide where they want to invest and do it. Stop with the half hearted commitments and shut down parts of the company that isn't working out. If that is Xbox then so be it then at least their customers know where they priorities lie.

[KickSpinFilter]

I think MS might be in for a unpleasant surprise next gen. If Sony comes out with PS4 BC at the start of the PS5 in 2020, at $449.99 or less, with TLOU2 compatible to both PS4 & PS5 on one disk at launch MS might see them self in second place again. But if Sony comes in all cocky at $500, no BC and no Major exclusives at launch might look really different landscape. MS is pretty much were Sony was 2 years left of this gen, what cha gonna do? Hold all major games back till launch of XB2 or win some kudos by launching an Epic IP's near the end of XB1 to pay forward to the new gen.

[DarkZane]

Yeah, that won't matter. The 360 launched a year earlier and $100 cheaper and it didn't matter. If the 360, which was Microsoft at their best, couldn't beat the PS3, which was Sony at their worst, it's pretty obvious Microsoft is never gonna win no matter what they do.

Even if everything you just said happens, the PS5 will still win by a huge margin. Microsoft simply doesn't have the resources to compete here. Their console only has appeal in the US and limited appeal in UK, while Sony and Nintendo have worldwide appeal. Microsoft are literally fighting a war that they can't win even if they have every advantages.

[Chevalier]

Forget 2nd place. With Nintendo around its more like 3rd place. Customers don't care about generations. Nintendo is set to destroy Xbox NOW.

[LordJamar]

Highly doubt ps5 will be 500$

[Chevalier]

Gee its not that big a deal. Its ONLY a GAME console. Why would anyone want GAMES for their GAME console......

[ziggurcat]

So, then.... invest in your studios so you can provide that high quality diversity...

[LordJamar]

Thats just what he said

[ziggurcat]

Actually do it, though, not just say you will... and prove it by announcing new IPs, not just the same flagship franchises.

[DarkVoyager]

“Xbox’s Phil Spencer: “High quality and diverse first party is what Xbox deserves”

Does anyone belive anything this guy says anymore? Sounds like typical PR after the stellar God of War reviews hit.

[The_Jackel]

yeh.... im sure they will pop their head in here soon enough and cheer phil for making xbox great...

[SuperSaiyanGod41]

I think Phil Spencer left that message as a hint to the head of Microsoft who's calling all the shots leaving evidence that hey I tried to point that out but I'm just a PR guy, I'm not the one in charge of funding.

[russo121]

It should be read - "High quality and diverse first party is what Xbox NEEDS!"

[submarinna]

seeing is believing Phil. all we've been getting is talk and talk.

[AspiringProGenji]

That's incorrect Ryan. It didn't take exactly 10 years for Sony top get to this point. Sony has been releasing cutting edge games since the PS1. It was jut in the PS3 era where they acquired more studios to push the PS3 forward while they still had ND, SSM, and some more making games for them while nurturing the new studios like Guerrilla, Sucker Punch, and so on. Even at their worst Sony was still trying, and they ended up building a strong family of devs that are kicking MS's ass today

[SkippyPaccino]

To be fair Ryan was giving Sony credit and horse face Phil had to chime in on his tweet. Can't let Sony have the spotlight for 24 hours before he has to tell you about what's going on with him... Lol

[BeOpenMinded]

To be fair the first couple years of ps4 only had bloodborne which I liked. Since then sony has been hitting it out of park. It's really showing that patience, investment and confidence is studios is paying off. Something MS lacks, ethos needs to change to be competitive

[Pancit_Canton]

I guess they could reboot Halo and turned it into Gears and Gears turned into Halo.

Turned Forza into Mariocart.

[PowerOfTheCloud]

Or mold all three games into one unholy abomination. ={

[Xavi4K]

Actually forzacart sounds fun lol

[Goldby]

Forzlo War Kart

[RainOfTerror]

please, stop with the cheap talk ... Microsoft's been spinning their wheels for years, ever since they declared Windows Me being a platform for gamers, only to start disbanding 1st party studios shortly thereafter.

You hyped up Sea Of Thieves like it was the next coming of baby jezus, and you didn't deliver .. again. I'm a total PC gamer, have an Xbox, Xbox 360 but didn't bother with the Xbox One. Waiting for some good games to justify the price (and no, I don't have any playstation consoles at all).

Sure your XBX is a powerful console, but all it's good for atm is playing 10 year old backward compatible games.

Stop talking, and start making games for your platform that will make your community proud because so far, you're sinking your own ship at record speed.

[The_Jackel]

"please, stop with the cheap talk ."
you will find all this cheap talk happens when sony is in the lime light, atm gow and phils talking again after being quiet for a fair while minus sot even then wasnt vocal.
they say his a gamer... no gamer would let a turd like sea of theives release

[ApocalypseShadow]

The problem is that they don't take a risk unless something is a sure maker of high, guaranteed profits. And two, they don't make anything unless it sells a service.

They didn't buy minecraft to cultivate the company in producing more games from them. They bought the company because the game was producing high profits across multiple systems.

They don't make games like single player because it doesn't sell services like Xbox live. Every game they make is pretty much multiplayer, sells extra items with micro transactions and dlc.

Sony diversifies their portfolio. They use funds from single player and multiplayer to produce more of the same. Single player games make money is the point. Just like a gaas game. And they spent years creating studios to pump the games out continuously. Even when gamers laughed at them when third parties went multiplatform last Gen.

But the investment in creating studios,in creating advanced game engines is paying off. Something Microsoft should have done before Xbox one released. But instead, took games scheduled for 360 and front loaded Xbox one launch. Losing the idea of creating studios and advanced game engines.

Shame with all that money they have.

[Pastemaniak]

Hasn't that been Microsoft style in the software business too? I don't know how people are still shocked about how they're dealing with the game division of the company

[FallenAngel1984]

You would never see Microsoft putting the time and effort to make something like Shadow of the Colossus, a game that isn’t guaranteed to be a big seller but ends up being critically received and ends up selling well anyway

[DivineAssault]

Now you see the light? Cancelling Fable and Scalebound was a terrible move without replacements..

[PhoenixUp]

Microsoft cut first party support for Xbox 360 in its latter years to focus on Xbox One. They even spent 1 billion dollars investing into exclusives. It’s unthinkable with all that that they’re still coming up short in first party support for their latest system.

Sony on the other hand heavily supported PS3 to its final days and even supported Vita during a certain period of time, yet their first party support for PS4 is as strong as it has been with any prior PlayStation console.

Microsoft has been in this hardware industry for 17 years now, there’s no justifiable reason for why their first party support is currently lacking.

And no Ryan McCaffrey, Sony’s first party support isn’t the result of 10 years. Their first party game has been strong over 20 years ago since PS1 hit the scene. There’s never been a point where Sony’s first party support was lacking like Microsoft’s currently is.

[TheOttomatic91]

So in where's said first party games then? Unless you consider something like Sea of Thieves "High quality"

[corroios]

PR talk over and over and over. At this time of the gen he still thinks that services, BC and 4k is what really matters for gamers.... DAMN.

ITs games. Its exclusive experiences, new i.p. and old new i.p, but first is GAMES, no services no BC, no rez, its amazing new games!!!! Exclusives that define a generation, that push forward and not empty ideas and wait to get better.

[chiefJohn117]

Why not all of the above? BC isn't stopping new games from coming and you need games to even have a service so I'll take all of the above.

[rainslacker]

They can do all of the above. But MS put the cart before the horse, and didn't bother with what was most important for them as a console maker. The way they're doing things makes it seem like they just want to be a platform, and not an actual game maker. There's nothing wrong with that, but if that's what they want, then they should work for that and stop acting like they want to have the same impact as the competition.

[i3eyond the Circle]

His comments have made some people on n4g mad lol. Because once the first party structure happens its back to copy and pasting metacrtic averages for PlayStation fanboys.

[SkippyPaccino]

Nobody's mad... We're just tired of hearing him talk about nothing. Everyone is congratulating Sony Santa Monica on a great job and he keeps having to stick his nose into it.

1st party structure won't happen till xbox 2... When it does happen who says it's going to be any good?

[Kavorklestein]

And we (xbox fans) are 10 billion times as tired, and 60 trillion times as justified to be sick of the endlessly negative comments.
Especially when it's only fake 'concern' about stuff many folks only pretend to even give a shit about... used as a scapegoat-y excuse to be pricks.

If you OWN an xbox, then sure... worry about it. If you HATE xbox, GTFO and quit being so obviously fake.

I'd rather hope for the best (although there is some very real disappointment in the lack of 1st party games and IPs..) and be free to make my OWN decisions than have people constantly trying to convince me I'm stupid for having my own preference. Quit trying tell us WHEN, WHERE, AND WHY to give up on our console of choice.

Go play your 10/10's and your Best selling box, and live and let live.

[Kiwi66]

So you say everyone is congratulating SSM on a great job so whats wrong with one more person saying it or would you prefer he didn't congratulate others when they deserve it ?

[PowerOfTheCloud]

Kavorklestein

"If you OWN an xbox, then sure... worry about it. If you HATE xbox, GTFO and quit being so obviously fake."
But what if somebody doesn't own the mess that is x1, but want the xbox brand return to former shape? Can that person can be tired about spencer's empty talk we heard for years?

[Mmmkay]

I would buy an X1 if it had great exclusive games. Could keep me from having to play mediocre multiplatform games in between awesome PS exclusives. You don't seem to understand...

[trooper_]

He's all talk and no show.

And you guys fall for it every time.

[Kavorklestein]

I'm sorry that OUR consoles and our devices that WE own and enjoy, and the Head of OUR console's team bothers you more than your own personal business does.

[TheCommentator]

How's PSVR doing? Another in a long line of broken promises of greatness and support for the costly side projects they always abandon. And you guys fall for it every time.

[trooper_]

PSVR is doing just fine.

Thanks for asking but it has nothing to do with the actual topic.

@ Kavor: Are you seriously telling me that you're satisfied with Microsoft's nonsense?

[Kavorklestein]

@ trooper
how did I ever give that Impression?

I'm actually very very disappointed, and I want things to change! But as far as I can tell, I'm the only one in our little conversation who has a right to be giving a shit in the first place!

Do you own an Xbox?

For someone who wants to point out how bad people are at comprehending PR and lies, you sure are bad at understanding what the fuck I say, when it's clear as day!

[trooper_]

@Kavor: This is a discussion. I don't think you have the right to tell people which articles they can have a discussion in.

[rainslacker]

@Kavor

Spencer said that you deserve more. But for the past four years he hasn't done much to give you what he claims you deserve. Since Xbox gamers such as yourself seem to think you don't actually deserve more, maybe you actually don't.

That's fine if you feel content with what MS has to offer, but don't be surprised when others aren't. MS is at their lowest point in history in terms of software output. After all this time, they should be firing on all cylinders. Time is not an excuse. Mattrick had lots of support lined up for Xbox. Spencer seems to have almost nothing except what Mattrick set up, and then the yearly Forza release.

You are allowed to enjoy your console, but don't act like everyone who is saying things is just an irrational fan boy who prefers a different console. I brought an X1 this gen....my first Xbox...based on the hope and promise that Spencer initially displayed. Since then, it's been nothing but a disappointment. I spent $350 for it. I think I have every right to criticize just how pitiful they are doing right now. Before I owned an Xbox, I was never as disdainful and critical of it or MS, despite my preference for PS.

[PowerOfTheCloud]

Lol it's official. According to kavorklestein It's only allowed to want xbox to be better IF you buy an x1 its current disastrous state.

It's forbidden to first demand a positive change and THEN buy the console when the changes for the better have been made.

In other words: be a sheep, put in money and trust in advance for a company that has done almost nothing justify it within atleast the past 5 years and pray for a change!

[Bhai]

TheCommentator: "How's PSVR doing? Another in a long line of broken promises of greatness and support for the costly side projects they always abandon."

you mean like 'Kinect'? ... hehehe, yeah but PSVR is doing just fine aye, its the top selling complete VR device among the buch with the highest acclaimed software that keeps coming... and with a price cut imminent, its only gonna go up: Resident Evil VII, Robinson, Moss, Diveclub VR, Until Dawn are the true pure VR games that makes it the definitive device to own ... and guess what, all these are 'single-player' experiences too :O ... ahahahaha... now tell me how're PUBG and SoT tech demos faring so far? XD ...

[Goldby]

@thecommentator
Hows that highfidelity Vr on your Xbox one X?

OH wait...

So I would suggest not chirping an accessory that the competitors got working on a base 2013 console when xbox can't even get it on their "beast"

[stokedAF]

Yes..... it does lol..

[neoandrew]

then JUST DO IT

[Silkside]

Oh look it's Microsofts pr guy talking talking and promising again.

Guys do yourselves a favour and buy a ps4, don't let this guy string you along anymore.

[Critic4l_Strik3]

Get stuff done and stop talking Phil

[daBUSHwhaka]

So whats the problem then Phil..

[Einhander1971]

What rubbish, time to grow, please the Xbox brand has been around long enough to have established first party must have titles. And I don't mean Gears, Halo, Forza. Things obviously need to change. The trouble is the fan base are still in denial. Look I would have Xbox one if it offered similar AAA amazing games that Sony deliver, but the TRUTH IS THEY DONT !!! that sadly is FACT!!

[Mmmkay]

Me too. Still waiting for that one game to sell me on an X1

[dedicatedtogamers]

Microsoft has been asking the fanbase to wait for more games (while patronizing them with this empty PR talk) since the launch of Kinect on 360. "Just wait! The hardcore Kinect games are on their way". This is just more PR.

Microsoft has been pulling this particular PR stunt ever since bullying and bragging stopped working (when they fell out of 1st place). It's like clockwork:

1. Nintendo or Sony game does really well in sales and/or ratings.
2. Microsoft speaks up out of nowhere for no reason and says "G-g-good job, g-gguys! Umm, really nice work!"
3. Microsoft tries to play this up as PR for their own brand and the loyalists rush in to thank "Good Guy Phil" for his kind-hearted and gamer-focused attitude.
4. Meanwhile, Nintendo and Sony owners are actually playing the game...

When the focus is already on the Xbox brand (i.e. during interviews or when announcing their own games) you see VERY LITTLE of this attitude on display. It's almost as if... it's FAKE! *gasp*

I play consoles in order to play games. Not freebie access to old games. Not discounted deals on multiplats. I want the highest number of good games, period.

[Pantz]

Can't wait for E3, 57 more days to go! Phil is great. Every tweet he makes seems to end up as a news story on here.

[Mmmkay]

You must love console launch exclusive indies.
Wonder what phrase MS will use this year..

[Italiano1234567]

Hes been saying that for years and still nothing lol

[psuedo]

They know they are dead in the water. Everything they're doing for the One is just for the Xbox Two or whatever they decide to call it.

[Godmars290]

No Phil, its not what Xbox deserves. Its what Xbox should make. Its what the brand should earn and strive towards. "Deserve" is something given or entitled to. And makers of product, provider of services, aren't entitled to a damn thing.

[stokedAF]

He didn’t say Microsoft deserves it as a creator he said the Xbox deserves it as a platform. The people like me who bought it are entitled to and deserve it. I have all of the systems, I play all the sides as long as I benefit from it. Yes we who own an Xbox deserve that kind of support. The platform absolutely deserves that support. If it didn’t then they should get out of the business. I know the Sony fanboys here would love to see Xbox tank but that’s not beneficial to anyone. How do you think the PlayStation got to this point?

[Godmars290]

"How do you think the PlayStation got to this point?"

With the PS1 offered several advantages to game makers as well as advancing genres past what Nintendo allowed. The PS2 had DVD movie playback day-one, something which exploded that market and was an "accident" they tried to repeat with the PS3. Say what you will, while an expensive game console, it was a cheap BR player and media system besides. Sony had to adjust for "mistakes" which - motion control aside - was more about bad press, but despite the mess that gen was they still tied with the 360 and were set to "earn" back their place with the PS4.

One more time: They've f**king earned it!

"The people like me who bought it are entitled to and deserve it. "

Yes, you do. And as many a Sony fanboy has pointed out: aside from FPS, you aren't getting it.

And no, despite Xbox fanboys frothing at the mouth and making videos about Sony closing its doors over the $600 price tag, Sony fanboys *DON'T* want to see MS or the Xbox division tank. Not many labeled as such by the Xbox fan camp who slap it on anyone who questions MS. I for one want reason to buy an Xbox, bought the OG back in the day, but only saw them catering to a specific type of gamer which wasn't me.

Then there was the fact that they had their hand out for "Premium Service" which was really basic service they expected you to pay for. What pissed off many a "Sony fanboy" was that they wanted - felt entitled to - more money after buying what they're now trying to make into a service. Wanting the whole of the industry to be as entitled for what use to be product.

Again, one more time: As the current head of Xbox division, Phil is the *CREATOR*, The *DIRECTOR* of the platform. At the end of the day it is his responsibility to make *HIS* platform appealing to an audience. It is not deserving of an audience just because it wants one. It is literally his job to earn one.

[Godmars290]

@stokedAF:
Look, if you don't think that as a console maker MS is not chiefly responsible for the supporting the Xbox, that by numerous examples that they have failed to do so by attempting to appeal to a specific limited demographic, that as the company's representative that falls on Phil, and that because of all of that that success or great titles do not "deserve" to simply fall into their lap, then I can't help and only waste my time.

I'm done.

[stokedAF]

Look, I don’t know how many times I need to say it.

The Xbox as a platform, deserves a high quality and diverse first, second and third party stable of IPs.

I have said absolutely nothing about MS responsibility, their decisions on models and subscriptions. Nothing.

The Xbox as a piece of plastic and a platform, deserves exclusive games. I don’t know how many different ways I can say this. I’m done too.

[stokedAF]

Right.. but the Xbox deserves that support. You said that’s false, that the Xbox is not entitled to such support. I think you are wrong, not that it is Phil’s responsibility to provide this, I think you are wrong to say that Xbox doesn’t deserve the support. It does and I’m entitled to it or I won’t buy any more Xbox’s. It’s as simple as that.

I don’t care what fanboys say, any of them lol. I want games, that’s all I care about. My opinion on Microsoft would change tomorrow if they brought games. “It’s not going to happen - Sony fanboy” maybe maybe not. It’s not like they don’t have the ability or funds to create monster IPs (first or 3rd party). It’s not inconceivable, they have done it before lol. My opinion on EA would change if the came with a string of legit titles. My opinion on polygon would change if they made one decent article. I’m not in the same static mindset as a fanboy, me vs them.

Rehashing old grudges from over a decade ago doesn’t interest me. I haven’t followed the fanboy time line, I’m just commenting on what I see in the comments today. Plenty of frothing going on that’s for sure, on each imaginary side. I’m not talking about the trolling and funny jabs, I laugh at those too. There is a seriousness sometimes that I just shake my head at. It’s almost like worship and a holy war lmao. I hope it’s just to entertain themselves and not a serious mindset, that’s all.

[Godmars290]

The Xbox does not deserve support, it is responsible for that support just as it is Phil's. The current issue being that the only thing Phil is really offering are empty promises. That even if he intends to make good on them, because of what's come before, and especially the XB1's launch, its going to take years to change momentum or show results. And that's if they do anything different from supporting Games as Services, which many see as continuing in a wrong direction.

[stokedAF]

I’m sorry, I just don’t agree at all. The Xbox deserves a high quality and diverse first, second and third party stable of IPs. You can argue whether or not Phil can deliver that. You could be right, I don’t know. What I do know is that the Xbox as a platform deserves that support. Not our support, developer/exclusive support. A console without exclusives isn’t a “console” at all.

The Xbox is a machine, a platform. It’s not responsible for anything, the Xbox one does exactly what its supposed to do lol. They have had years, the wait is up. I’m expecting big things at e3 on the fact that there has been very little for years lol. There has to be something big, has to be. If it’s 2020 games I’ll be disappointed. I’m stoked for state of decay 2 and crackdown right now, that’s it. But it’s not like they are losing money on Xbox or fighting their way out of bankruptcy, they make a killing. There is also nothing wrong with games as a service in stuff like game pass. It’s just another vehicle in which people can purchase. All that matters in the console space is exclusives, not how they are delivered.

The PlayStation grew with solid competition, it has earned its place and had its own struggles but there always needs to be choice and a bar to raise in one way or another. They used to borrow from each other constantly in the game design space but now Sony just raises its own bar. Microsoft is focused on the vehicle that carries them and is making big moves in that space. The Xbox deserves exclusives in spite of their play anywhere and service models. That’s just my opinion.

[Sm00thNinja]

I imagine Microsoft wants to do better contrary to what people believe. Actions speak louder than words though and all Phil has done is talk.

He's done some great things for Xbox. I like BC, Game Pass is great. The Xbox One X was a big step forward , but 1st party studios have taken a backseat to all of that. Games haven't come first.

Microsoft has to do better. Peoples expectations are being raised by Sonys offerings while Microsoft sits by promising to do better. It's all been talk so far though.

[trooper_]

Okay, then why aren't you delivering it?

[GaboonViper]

Stop the talk and show us results Phil, you say this every year and every year we are let down, wheres CD3???, wheres this 1 billion investment result, its all talk and people, including the hardcore, are tiring of it.

[Gamist2dot0]

Since the beginning of this gen, I had a feeling they were cutting corners for the quick buck. But that statement sounds like it'll be for next gen, not this gen for Xbox.

[sampsonon]

always 5 steps behind

[Donnie81]

Your not fooling me with your slick words anymore Phil. This e3 I wanna see what you got! This is his 4th year there should be at least 3 or 4 new projects to show off

[Parasyte]

Then bring it at E3! Otherwise, stop talking!

[Razzer]

"Our hardware took time, our service/platform/BC took time and continuing to grow our 1P will take time."

You are Microsoft. You have tremendous funds and resources. Are you seriously trotting out excuses as why you couldn't make a good 1P game?

lol

[Knightofelemia]

Glad to see God of War coming in as a great game hopefully Microsoft grabs the idea and is learning what draws fans to Nintendo and Playstation and its their exclusives. Microsoft does have some exclusives yeah but their list is not where near as long as Nintendo's and Sony's list. I can't wait to see what Phil says at E3 it will be all smoke and mirrors like the last E3 blowing more smoke up the consumers ass to make them happy. The Xbox is not a bad console but lack of killer exclusives that match God of War make the console kinda boring and cancelling Scalebound and the new Fable is well shooting yourself in the foot.

[KingTrash]

I fully believe they’re committed to it. It’s just gonna take time.

[KickSpinFilter]

Ya but by that time it will be 2020 to late for this gen. Hopefully MS is just playing coy, and this E3 will blow minds...maybe.

[AmUnRa]

Do you really believe that?
Are you so blind?? Phil is all talk and all PR sh*t , he is just saying what the suites tell him to say. And what? It takes time? What have you done the last 3 years?
O i know, and i bet you know to. I will tell you, murdering games, Scalebound comes in mind.

[monkeyshawn60]

Maybe Microsoft will learn from their mistakes. If not, they will not be in the console market much longer.

[Germaximus]

At this point I don't know how anybody could believe anything Microsoft says.

[DeadManMMX]

Gears of War 4 was pretty awesome game from beginning to end. They need more experiences like it but they also need more new IP and new AAA games to add to their staples. Something like Recore could have been so much better if they had put more money behind it.

[Gwiz]

Phil,you have to start using something else than voodoo with the lingo.

[Ashlen]

The better question is even if Phil makes high quality diverse games are Xbox owners actually going to buy them? History says no,

The reason Phil stopped investing in first party games to begin with is because no one bought them. Basically every game they invested in took a loss financially.

There is a reason Xbox is known as the "bro" console it's because they actually don't want diverse games. They just want CoD and Madden.

[Hakoom]

but that will never happen
you preferred 4k over games
games 1st then 4k and thats what playstation did..
you are doing the opposite

[majiebeast]

You need talent to make good games something none of Microsoft's studios have they all churn out boring games with MTX.

[Razmiran]

Its too bad they murdered scalebound for not being co-op enough

[shaenoide]

Same music since 2013...

[BeOpenMinded]

Rational and bipartisan comments getting heavily downvoted even when they state how dire the situation is w exclusive development and how well Sony is performing. It's way too fanboyish sometimes that even a smidge of anything positive will be struck down. Down to all trolls for all platforms!

[stokedAF]

Yeah it’s kinda weird sometimes and I noticed it but who cares lol? I think it’s like one dude with 27 accounts lol. Or a small group with multiple accounts and a religious fanatic level of devotion. An article voting system definitely wouldn’t work here because of it and it’s sad. That’s why we can’t have nice things lol.

The good thing is that they don’t talk or tell you why you are wrong. It’s probably easier to let them think they are doing something by clicking an arrow anyway. Instead of having that fanboy conversation.

[Tross]

I think more importantly, high quality and diverse first party is what Xbox needs if it is to be competitive. I'm not sure if that's MS's end game, but if it is, lack of exclusives is what's holding it back.

[quenomamen]

Maybe next time launch with good hardware with the features people want from the jump then you can focus on the games instead of putting out 3 consoles within 5 years and have that take time and attention away from the games.

[Revacci]

That's strange, I could have sworn that's all that Phip has been babbling aince 2013.

Phil is just a reflection of what Microsoft gaming division is and what gaming is to them.

I may be wrong and I really hope that I am but this will yet be another dry E3 for XBox with the same undelivered promises their fans have been hearing since the launch of the XBox One.

[DaniMacYo]

Having great services and online features are great and all but what’s the point if you don’t have top games to play them on.

The backwards compatibility to me is a cop out because there’s no 1st party games coming in fast. So here’s something to keep you occupied in the mean time.

It maybe a feature the opposition want (PS) but it’s not as important as First Party Software.

[jokerisalive]

if xbox deserves it where are they Phil??? all i see are GAAS crap that YOU SEEM TO LOVE!

[Tazzy]

Things are achievable its up to Microsoft to put those things they tried a new ip that flopped Sea of Thieves is that flop they can't keep relying on Forza, gears and Halo.

[LogicGamer]

My favorite is reading all these comments from people who like to comment on Microsoft but don't actually own an xbox.

[Bhai]

Dude where it stands right now, in the light of all the coverage + facts and figures flyings around... xb1 is not something to buy... but rather its a laughing stock! a barebones machine dying of hunger ;)

[timotim]

As the leader of Xbox...thats what I want to hear from him. This tells me that Phil is aware that more diversity is needed from first party. Hopefully he is making big moves to ensure that future years shine in this department.

[King_Lothric]

😂
Please wake up!

[OffRoadKing]

That's great, it should be what you want to hear, the problem is how many times should you have to hear it?

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

It's all good to pat them on the back, but this is where you should be say "don't forget we have this and that game coming to look forward to", even if you have to announce a game a little too early. At the moment it feels like they're congratulating Sony but admitting they got nothing to counter with, you can only hype people for so long, it's like trying to hold your breath for years.

[Tko1111]

Hate is unbelievable on this site. Phil has delivered almost all his promises and we all know the games are coming. Most of the third party ps exclusives are already coming to Xbox. This year Xbox has already dropped SOT , SOD2 and next crackdown 3 before E3.

[Elda]

LOL!

[obidanshinobi]

Phil hasn't been proactive enough though, that's the problem here.
MS have all the cash in the world, they could've had just as good a gen this gen as they did with the 360 but they got lazy. 1st party games under Phil have either been delayed (Crackdown 3, SoT, SoD2), cancelled (Fable Legends, Scalebound) or haven't been high enough quality to be a must own (Quantum Break, SoT again).
It's not good enough.

[Sevir]

Quite frankly y'all need more than SoT, Forza and Halo, and Gears...

[Max-Zorin]

Microsoft fire this man already!

[LiamKreptic]

Ha saying this on Friday the 13th makes it all that better! He's trying to scare everyone! poor old Spency...

[OpenGL]

"continuing to grow our 1P will take time." The Xbox One is already more than 4 years old, how much more time will it take?

[MrChow666]

Microsoft has lost all credibility, this gen has been a complete disaster. It's a shame for all gamers, only idiots would be happy for this

[jwillj2k4]

Lets take a gander down memory lane at all of the sure fire promises from the xbox camp and fanbase that would not only put the xbox in first place, but "decimate" the competition:

- cloud Powered! no,
- dX12! no,
- titan Fall! no,
- kinect 2.0! no,
- kinect sports rivals! no,
- no kinect at all! now the systems faster, screw connect! no,
- cpu speed bump! no,
- rise! because shitty games with great graphics are the future! no,
- always online! trust us, it enhances your experience! no,
- sunset overdrive! no,
- tv,tv,tv! no,
- watching tv and skyping with your friends about the tv you are watching while playing a game! no
- multiplayer focused! single player has no impact! no
- quantum break! no
- recore! no
- scalebound! no
- fable legends! no
- halo tv series! no
- forza horizon 3!! no
- timed exclusives! feels like im reciting daytona usa, no,
- tomb raider! shes sexier than drake, and really takes a beating this time!! no,
- greatest games line up in xbox history! no
- backwards compatibility!, because we love you so! no
- Gears of War! no
- xbox one s, it has a uhd player and an hdmi in port! no
- price drops! no
- xbox one x, it teraflops harder than sea of thieves! no
- halo lens, no
- buying minecraft! well just buy all of our IP's! no
- E3 promises! just wait till the end of this year for some content! no
- forced parity! because xbox one hardware is the gold standard! no
non xboxonex exclusive titles! because why would you want exclusives for the extra 500 dollars you just put down on your xboxone x? you still want to play it on your recently purchased xboxone s that you bought under a year ago! no
- Games as a service! because the greatest games line up in xbox history doesnt actually have any games! no,
- halo anniversay! no
- crackdown 3! no
- phil spencer! oh hells no

any xbox fan at this point doesnt deserve games. what they deserve is to just sit in the corner and take selfies with their hardware. any other company other than MS would have gone under by now, they just have so much money that they can keep f*cking people over and asking for mulligans.

This guy is a joke.

[Bhai]

Bravo jwillj2k4... the post of the decade man... thanks, you summed everything up... XB1 has to be the worst console offering ever... I mean in all generations... and the other day I was angry about what they did to Dreamcast... in front XB1... man DC issues were nothing!

[CBaoth]

The WiiU is the worst console of all-time. 14.3 million sold. Discontinued after 4 years. Abysmal 3rd party support. They quietly left the console business, parading around a handheld successor as if it were a console. We could include the Saturn, the Jaguar, 3DO too and make valid points for all. But Nintendo came off the 7th gen with all cylinders firing (260 mill units sold) to the 8th gen with 85 mil (WiiU/3DS) so far. It's taken 5 3DS revisions just to hit respectable numbers. I would include the Vita if we expand our narrative of "worst consoles" to gaming devices.

[Bhai]

@CBaoth no I was not talking about the sales... rather fanbase support. Even WiiU had some real great ninty-oriented offerings... it was just way too expensive for a handheld in the wake of PS4/xb1 launch... what I meant to say was Microsoft's 180-degree turns on their agenda + cloud/power/secret-sauce lies + crap like gaas + DRM + 0.127% exclusives...
I mean no gaming company in HISTORY devastated their fanbase this much :O

[Saranya]

Spencer said: We're listening our fans.
Xbox fans: Make an Xbox exclusive games quality(non PC) please....
Spencer said: What? .......again please, I can't hear you.

[Mister_Wolf]

This is Microsoft in damage control mode. Tell everyone what they want to hear. They did this for years with Windows Phone/Mobile, strung people along for ages.

[Artemidorus]

Talking isn't going to do anything.

[WelkinCole]

Quantum Break? lol!

[Tzuno]

It deserves games, something that they lack right now.

[PaleMoonDeath]

The dude has been saying this for years, they are either here or they aren't, competition is yet again destroying you because of so. People buy these machines for games!? Madness.

[BenRC01]

Yes. We all know that Phil, but you flat out refuse to deliver. There's a reason your trailing massively.

[LgbtWarrior]

Totally agree it deserves it but it’s not happening. Really sad.

[Doomeduk]

That's the thing you're all waiting for Spencer to open his trap about games, but with PlayStation do we PS owners wait for chief John Kodera (had to Google) make a speech telling us what Sony studios are up to?
No we have Cory balrog, Neil druckmann and the David cages of the studios who personally direct these games, look at the car pool video of balrog saying he was virtually shitting himself of screwing GOW.
Now on the other hand we have MS execs or ubi soft, take two execs talking about their games, no accountability if the games is shite or full of Mts oh well they just move on to the next game without a dark cloud that follows
You may take the piss out of Peter molyneux but at least he tried to put the heart in a game, I personally think if he was making games for Sony you all would have had the Fable you really wanted.

[BassMan125]

Another damage control from Phil when he proved wrong.
When releasing the X, he said third party is the priority for Xbox. Now he talks about first party after Spiderman and God of War creates a big buzz. lol.
Microsoft may be bigger in terms of company size, but up until now only Sony and Nintendo have true games that people will actually love and remember.

[DaGR8JIBRALTAR]

@foxtrot Was the insertion of "cotton picking" in your comment necessary?

[obidanshinobi]

Yeah yeah Phil, I'll believe it when I see it.
Proper KB+M support was promised ages ago and it still hasn't happened.
For one of the largest software companies in the world MS is laughably incompetent in delivering high quality software to it's Xbox platform.
Where's this generation Gears of War and/or Mass Effect ? By that I mean two massive must own games when they first came out that had huge influence on the industry. Xbox just hasn't had that killer mass appeal game this generation.

[inxine]

sounds like a bunch of bs to me. we'll see at e3

[ILostMyMind]

Welcome to another empty promise PR before E3 by Phil Spencer.

[jokerisalive]

Phil is literally a BROKEN RECORD at this point.......TURN HIM OFF FOR GOOD!!! The scary part is they actually made him part of the Xbox Senior Leadership Team........and he's leading Xbox into the abyss of NO GAMES just GAAS MP ONLINE ONLY MULTIPLE SUB BASED GARBAGE and CANCELLED/DELAYED GAMES....WAY TO GO MS AND PHIL!!!! THat's GREAT SENIOR LEADERSHIP right there!!!!

[snkiworld]

diverse first party Games Holo Frozo,GOw take it

[PS3_Noob]

Are they going to make exclusives again or just another bad PR from Microsoft ?

[angelusbrz]

He's always saying this but nothing ever come from him, dude is there since 2013 and still waiting for something.

[MetroidFREAK21]

As a person who plays only Xbox One, it may be too late for any substantial difference in sales. I still would love to see high quality 1P titles that take full advantage of the XB1 X, but Microsoft royally f'd up this gen. I love my Xbox with all the games I bought, but if it had PS4 level exclusives, I would love it even more 💁

[bluefox755]

Here we go again.

[Dragonscale]

Ms' official response to GoW stellar reviews lol.

[bigmalky]

"Make us one of those."

[EnsignHiro]

I refuse to believe this talk coming from Phil period. He always says things but never delivers.

[Codewow]

Does that mean theyre going to being back 1vs100 and Xbox Live Primetime?

[Cajun Chicken]

Right, yes. Sooooo...Where's Sunset Overdrive 2?

[DivineAssault]

Western developed titles from MS lack soul.. They need experienced developer relationships.. Not just microtransaction whores of the industry..

[Tokasmke]

Until then, i’ll keep playing my PS4

[glenn1979]

Talk is cheap

[MWH]

MS is all talk and broken promises this gen.

A word of wisdom: "Do or do not, there's no try."

[IamTylerDurden1]

Less talking and more doing. This gen Microsoft has been all about talking and spin

[jznrpg]

Xbox deserves what they have made for themselves, the people buying Xbox deserve a lot more but MS doesn’t seem to care about those people

[bigmalky]

Being fair though, you see all the praise for half done jobs, more focus on BC and basically simpering about how good everything from Microsoft is on just about every forum/comment section from loyal fans...

If their customers stopped accepting mediocre first party, then live services and the next bit of tech to come along, and while Xbox starves itself of top quality fp games, then they may get something better.

Fanboys can be a detriment to themselves. Same can be said for fans of anything.

[OhMyGandhi]

What's so crazy is that their platform was there. They had all the stuff in the right place. Xbox Live, even in the days of the original xbox was an amazing thing. Playing online with friends with our pesky Linksys G Routers was a blast and often incredibly smooth. Their next system did an even better job with the platform, cross game chat, and the ability to hop into a friend's game directly from the home screen, all really great. They had the indie market down pat with Xbox Live Arcade, an XNA development kit that allowed people to publish games for 100 bucks on their platform, and had such hits like Fez, Super Meat Boy, Braid, Limbo, and so many others providing even more reasons to not only buy an xbox, but to become a developer themselves.

Fast forward to today,and they just have so little to show for themselves. Bungie went third party, Lionhead was shuttered, and their relations with eastern developers is shaky at best. Indie teams prefer Sony's platform because they aren't being charged an arm and a leg everytime they wish to patch their games, and Sony is proving a force to be reckoned with in ensuring those kind of relationships grow to be mutually beneficial.

Early xbox knew of that potential....10 years ago, and I haven't the slightest idea what happened. This thinking that they need to build out the service and platform first before the games start getting made is absolutely absurd. Playstation Network was a joke for quite some time after the PS3 launched. Servers were incredibly volatile, and the playstation store was barebones. MAG showed off what could be done with how many players could play in a single map, but that was never Sony's focus. They released a plethora of incredible single player games and made updates to their platform CONCURRENTLY, as it should be. Oh yeah, and for a LONG time, because Sony themselves knew that it's online stuff was still early, the membership was free.

The idea that that the games cannot be developed without a stable platform from which to present them lets me know that they are truly thinking of multiplayer only, season-pass and DLC-ridden experiences, games that will arrive in an early access form to keep the player base chomping at the bit for drip-fed content.

They've truly lost their focus, and why they haven't done more to entice developers, particularly of the indie variety is absolutely baffling to me. EDIT: and I should add, whoever thought that timed-exclusives was a good idea needs to rethink their life. Seriously. Games are expensive already, so when faced with the prospect of a game eventually crossing over to other platforms, is a company like Microsoft expecting Nintendo/Sony owners to purchase that system to play a game a year before it crosses over? Or are they thinking that by showcasing that game in promotional material that it somehow it elevates their pitch? I've never understood this.

Could you imagine if Halo 3 was a "timed exclusive" during the massive hype period? And let's get this straight: Stop pushing crackdown. Crackdown only became popular because of the Halo Beta code that came along with it.
Halo 3 would never cross over to other platforms, and Microsoft would go to the ends of the earth to ensure this stayed the way.

For them to suddenly think that having marginally better looking multi-platform games rather than compelling 1st party titles is an outright fallacy and proves that they've grown delusional and entirely disconnected from their core.

[narsaku]

Man, Phil... Sigh...... This company knows how to make all the wrong choices.

[ApexWolf22]

No Sh!t...

[Dannylew]

close this division and spare the resources and skills on windows Gamings.

xbox is a complete fail..

[capjacksparrow]

I wouldn't say Xbox deserves anything, the fans do. Xbox will deserve good first party when Microsoft trusts their devs to have some more creative input, instead of churning out the same franchises over and over.

Sony didn't deserve good PS3 sales until they stopped being cocky and started upping the ante last gen. It was a hell of a payoff (as a PS fan, and gaming fan in general) when they released games like God of War III, Uncharted 2, and The Last of Us. I don't get the sense of that occurring with the XBO. I would hope, for the fans sake, the consumers spending their hard earned cash on a console, that Microsoft would invest more in first party. Sea of Thieves was a misstep, but you have to take more chances.

[metalgod88]

Every time Sony or Nintendo have a big hit, Microsoft has to remind us that they're still reverent. I'm sorry to say this, but that $600 console is completely irrelevant at this point. People don't want every new release to be something they already played four years ago. We want something new. It doesn't even have to be the greatest game ever made...just...something.

While it may have been a cool idea to expand the console capabilities of the xbox to bring in a wider audience, Microsoft shot themselves in the foot because now they're no longer the 'multiplayer king' and lost focus on what's really important, new games.

It's possible they had a bit of bad luck with studios not delivering, but hey, you're Microsoft. Help a studio out. It makes you both look good.

[Mmmkay]

Sea of Thieves - Making America Great Again

[dreue]

Lol, just a big Lol....