Microsoft Needs to “Invest in Teams, Empower Them Creatively, and Give Them Time”- Phil Spencer

The one thing that I think we all can agree on is that the Xbox One’s first party lineup is, to put it charitably, fairly lacking.
Speaking in response to a Twitter fan, who asked Phil Spencer for “something new and big” and “not multiplayer”, Spencer said he agrees with that assessment, and agreed needs fixing.

[AspiringProGenji]

Time to time this company shows how crueless they are when it comes to gaming. It took you all this time for them to finally realize this?

[Obscure_Observer]

@AspiringProGenji

Well, Xbox isn´t doing everything right, but they are certainly doing things right for gamers that Sony or Nintendo isn´t doing. That´s why Xbox One is still alive and not dead like the Wii U.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Phi'ls known for awhile its follow through and consistency is what he needs. Xbox wouldn't such a gap in their games if Fable Legend, Phantom Dust 2 and Scalebound delivered. Even if Crackdown released on time.

[Rimeskeem]

Delivered is one thing. Being canceled is another. Sea of Thieves didn't deliver, State of Decay 2 is starting to feel the same way. It's been like over a year since the xbox got a decent TRUE exclusive title.

[PowerOfTheCloud]

Rimeskeem

"It's been like over a year since the xbox got a decent TRUE exclusive title."

The last TRUE EXCLUSIVE released in 2015 if i'm not mistaken. If you meant CONSOLE EXCLUSIVE you might be right.

[The Wood]

It's not as simple a delivery a few games , . . It's their whole ethos that needs changing.

Your comment above was a tad misplaced. There are many x pats mirroring what ps guys or 'fan boys' have been saying for years. Shoot at ms not the messenger.

[capjacksparrow]

Yes, but they didn't deliver, and that's the issue. It's bad for the industry. They should be sinking, instead, their fans are keeping them afloat by buying into their promises. I hope no other console manufacturer ever does what Microsoft did this gen when it comes to making exclusive games.

[-Foxtrot]

The way he talks to people comes across like he's just a simple everyday employee who works within the Xbox division...HE'S THE GOD DAMN HEAD BOSS

"“Invest in Teams, Empower Them Creatively, and Give Them Time"

Then do that then...you know the same song and dance you've been saying over the past 4 years in a number of different ways. Good lord.

[trooper_]

It's like a light bulb suddenly popped up.

And angelic, plenty of people criticizing Microsoft were former fans. You don't have to defend everything they do - it's okay to speak up and demand more.

[Fist4achin]

Gosh, isn't that what any good company trying to develop something should do?! Sounds like common sense to me.

[Seraphim]

actually they realized it previously. A combination of studios and exclusive deals which lead to the closure of most of the studios acquired, closure of other studios, and not even bothering to do exclusive deals. Time and time again this company regurgitates the same ole BS. Make a move, make it look good, then revert.

[Dragonknight66]

"They have failed this generation let's hope they get the new games ready for the launch of Xbox Two."

Agreed. They should get ready for the Xbox 2

[Heelix]

This is from the same Twitter interaction posted earlier just a different headline

Anyhow
E3 should be a fun event.

[manabyte77]

It certainly will be for PS4 owners.

[AmstradAmiga]

It certainly will be for gamers.

[maybelovehate]

I think the lack of console exclusives is not really accurate, Ori, Sunset, Halo, Gears all delivered top tier experiences. With Halo and Gears still going strong today. Although they really need to bring Halo and Sunset to PC already. That is their best platform.

That said, some of their decisions are a bit baffling. Halo is a huge universe waiting to be explored in other genre's. You could make such a powerful RPG or 3rd person stealth game in this world.. so what does MS give us? A console RTS lol. It's not that Halo Wars is a bad game, it's fine for what it is, but just not a genre that will appeal to most of their customers.

They own huge IP's that they have let sit dormant while investing in IP's nobody cares about. For example, paying to make Super Lucky's Tale an exclusive when they could have spent that money to make a new Banjo.

Lastly it is time to let Rare the studio die. They own the IP's that matter. That studio just isn't capable of making good games and cost a lot of money to maintain. Use those resources to build a studio that can deliver good games.

[Goldby]

or it might be the direction Ms is forcing Rare to work in that is causing there issues with their games.

if the Perfect dark rumor is true, and is more of the GaaS/MT filled bullcrap i would much rather have rare push to go independent than be closed down for good

[maybelovehate]

Sea of Thieves launched with so many breaking bugs.. that isn’t an issue with direction, that is an issue of execution.

[Goldby]

i haven't played it so i cant really comment on that.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

The real rumor its supposed to be on the scale of Tomb Raider or Uncharted I don't know where you got Gaas/MT from

[Goldby]

@angelic

I probably didn't word it properly.
I meant it as two different points.
1 being the rumor it's actually happening. And 2 if it is following their recent gaas push. Not that it is rumored to be like that

[TheCommentator]

@ Goldby

Show me a link that says MS forced Rare into anything. I'll wait...

In the mean time, I posted this elsewhere today but it fits here too:
"Everybody likes to create this narrative that Microsoft are evil, but that's not the case," Price told Eurogamer. "Phil Spencer taking the mantle of Xbox is one of the best things that could have happened for Rare, because he's always said to people at Rare [as general manager of Microsoft Studios], 'Do what you want to do and we'll back you.'"
Source: https://arstechnica.com/gam...

That first line is rather poignant, don't you think?

[Goldby]

@thecommentator

i never said it was, i said it might be. as in there a chance it is the case and chance it isn't.

as for what i was talking about. theres no way you can deny that MS is pushing for GaaS philosphy for their library, just like EA and other developers are starting to do.

So by my wording (which clearly wasnt written properly) there is a charnce that some thigns were changed to help push their philosophy on their developers.

you cant with a straight face tell me Phil and Ms would green light a game that can be described as follows.

"we want to take 4+ years to produce a game with 3 different types of ships, 1 type of enemy, half a kraken, and 3 different types of quests. on release people will realize that the game is somewhat shallow in areas but we will combat this by producing content for it on a regular basis and only form of progression will be through your cosmetic items."

If that was their pitch, it wouldn't have been backed. they had a grand scale of ideas for their game, about endless possibilities but they are still a ways off from getting there.

[Obscure_Observer]

@maybelovehate

"Lastly it is time to let Rare the studio die. They own the IP's that matter. That studio just isn't capable of making good games and cost a lot of money to maintain. Use those resources to build a studio that can deliver good games."

I kind of agree with your opinion with a few reservations. Yes, Rare is big studio (more than 200 employees) and now that the Kinect is gone i see no reason for them to stick with these cartoony looking games which looks and plays like fancy indie games. It´s past time for them to wow us with some serious graphics showcases.

I´m willing to give them another chance with Perfect Dark (if the rumors are true), but i won´t hold my breath. If they fail to impress, by announcing another cartoony Nintendo like game, then Microsoft can shut them down and i won´t care.

A Studio with 200+ employees is too expensive to maintain when your final results could be achieved with 20 employees.

[sprinterboy]

Give them time? So what about the gamers who went out and spent 500$ on a X supposed to do waiting for games that actually use the power. Just play the upgraded bc games?

[Eldyraen]

I still love playing old Gears campaigns—kind of glad they went BC with X enhancements. They’re no replacement, but it’s a nice touch so I’m all for BC being continued, just shouldn’t be all we hear from them.

It would be very nice though to have some new AAA blockbusters that aren’t multiplatform, or one of the big 3, which are basically still carrying Xbox first party (even with fallout around them—Forza being the mostly consistently solid of the 3 though, which I don’t play as I’m not a racing fan).

IF the Joana Dark rumor is real, a serious reboot sort of like how TR went, and Fable can make a return it would be fantastic first step. JD could be a more Action oriented futuristic splinter cell-ish espionage adventure relatively easily and actually work (based off setting, gadgets, etc), I don’t need it to stick to a FPS like it has been in the past as it really hasn’t aged well (pdz). So reboot with new direction and mechanics or just drop PD completely and find something new.

Number one though is studios and time like Phil does admit, but has yet to proven fixed. Sad truth is they do need time but it’s basically all we’ve given them this entire generation. Xbox studios so far have released: Rare Replay/SoT (first new IP with SoT), Gears UE/4, Halo MCC/5, and of course Forza games. That’s literally all I can think of from first party studios since they closed Lionhead and canned Legends (a so-so twist on a franchise they shouldn’t have made imo). Rest are third and although i enjoyed them, SSO is probably the best of the bunch and easiest to recommend (SSO is only true exclusive—I’d buy it on pc though just for 4K). And Ori. Ori quite frankly might be the best Xbox One exclusive to date imo outside Forza Horizons but isn’t a reason to buy an Xbox (pc too and a smaller title to begin with).

Hope all the talk gets shown as a reality come e3 or it will be even more disappointing. I’ll still play on my X just as much, but nothing has struck a cord from them this gen remotely close to how Gears did first time around (which was of course a third party exclusive originally then as well, back before Coalition took over).

[AmstradAmiga]

People act like exclusives are the only games released. What about all the 3rd party X enhanced games? RDR2 is going to look great on the X for example.

[sprinterboy]

Granted it will look great on the X but in all seriousness not many gamers have jumped to 4k yet, sales have proven that on x and pro. Rdr2 will look great on our base models also. Imo gamers are waiting for proper 4k nxt gen to jump into 4k tbh.

[mkis007]

But then you miss out on those top rated exclusives just for the sake of having the top version of a game that is available on other platforms. I get wanting the best graphical version of a game, but missing out on other full games just for that reason?

[Eldyraen]

That’s why I play on my x since it’s release. Pc versions are technically better, but x is a close substitute without having to think about anything but playing the game.

Then some simply don’t come to pc still, but that’s fewer and fewer these days.

[cheapness1]

The enhanced games are clearly a way to differentiate the 1X from PC since their decision to go down the console exclusive but also on PC route. At the end of the day PC's are so far ahead that'd be the only reason a person with the resources to build a gaming PC would even think of an xbox. Why only rehash and remake? and why would someone that invested in a 1X be happy playing old games that despite their upgrades don't really exploit that hardware at all?

edit: just on the thinking about it point below....I click install....I click play, PC gaming is super simple nowadays and console gaming is more complicated.

[Liqu1d]

"RDR2 is going to look great on the X for example."

It'll also look great on other hardware too. Exclusives define a console and that's a fact.

[Cmv38]

Its borderline comical if you support ms at this point. Sad state of affairs. Can't wait for Sony press conference.

[SuperSaiyanGod41]

I honestly don't think it's Phil Spencer's fault. If u pay close attention to his interviews he wants to give devs time to create games but the head of Microsoft doesn't care about that, they want in where u can make lots of money without having to wait years on projects to do so, why do u think Forza keeps releasing every other year, is because it's their best IP which turn 10 has the team to keep making it better and better. It might not sell as good as gt but it makes up for that by releasing every year.

Microsoft as a whole is in it for the money first before block buster AAA titles. They know in order to create those titles it takes time this is why u see games pass. It helps with them to make money even if no one bought the game, game pass is their way of u not going to Gamestop to buy a used copy, it's genius but at the same time could back fire for sales of a few major hits like halo, Minecraf, if these titles we're to be released on game pass but since Minecraft is multiplatform I'm sure their not really worried.

Phil Spencer on the other hand is actually a cool dude and a gamer at heart but there is only so much he can do and control. The real shots are being called by the guy that writes these guys checks. Not Phil Spencer.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

I almost get the feeling he trying to signal something to corporate without saying it directly...basically we need the funds to do these big games and invest more in IPs. There were rumors Satya wanted to gut Xbox.

[j15reed]

I think he's just buying time if you looked at the financial's that came out there was a chunk of it spent on expanding the game portfolio amongst other things. There's only so many ways you can tell people games take time, I can understand in the middle of a gen is not the right time but I don't think MS is in the generation market anymore. Yes a new console will drop but it's gonna be like PC when a new GPU drops games will just scale up.

[BlackTar187]

We all know games take time but where are the games from all the time we already waited?

[SpaceRanger]

“I almost get the feeling he trying to signal something to corporate without saying it directly...”

Isn’t Phil part of corporate in his new job?

[Eldyraen]

I think when he was last promoted, past few months ago or late last year, he was put in a position higher up than just “Xbox” so think he is more Corporate MS than ever before. Either the head of MS in general these days, or at least one of those high above Spencer still, said that MS is wanting a bigger push into the gaming market around that same time.

Hoping that didn’t just start the new direction though as that would be even more years out, but instead cemented earlier plans that might—if we are very lucky—begin to be shown at e3 finally. I love my Xbox and I admit I was willing to give them some leeway for a shift on his original promotion around when the One released, but so far we haven’t seen a major return on his promotion to Xbox in general.

Probably not a very easy thing to do and he gets most of that blame, but 3-4 years should have more to show for it than 2 cancelled games, a studio closure, and little or no show in the way of progress on the first party front. Basically, it’s a bit past due and this e3 really needs to be huge or just how much time is too much?

[rainslacker]

I would think in his new position he'd be better suited to actually just say what he needs to say directly to corporate. He doesn't need to do this stupid insinuation to put pressure on MS from the outside. As an executive, I'd expect MS would want him to be more than a corporate yes-man. MS may be a lot of things, but they are not so restrictive in management to not listen to their executives.

If MS as a corporation wants to go the direction it's going based on corporate directives though, then it wouldn't matter what Phil says to them, because he was promoted to execute those plans. He wasn't promoted to somehow do his own thing...and that's something a lot of people need to realize. Phil has done something in his time as head of Xbox that the executives liked. He was promoted based on that, and he convinced MS that he was capable of executing whatever it is they want to achieve. Phil isn't there to somehow change the face of Xbox into something that the fans want, he's there to change the Xbox brand into what MS wants. During his time as head of xbox, he was also responsible for doing what MS wanted with Xbox. Why do people think anything is going to change now?

[Razzer]

What? That makes no sense. He works directly for Nadella. You think he has to communicate with his boss via twitter? lol

[marquisray]

do any of you have a gaming company or fund games? so it's not your money or business but you all want to tell them how to manage games, smh, as soon a microsoft announce anything you all dam them even though the game haven't even came out,, also I think all of you must be miserable, I also thought I would be acupide buy playing my single player god of war, I guess I was wrong, i finished it, no replay value, so now I am selling it.

[Razmiran]

"Im a fanboy, fanboy fanboy, wo xbox is so cool, down with sony"
Thats what I got from your text

[Thegamer41]

Why are you not "acupide" playing Sea of Thieves then? I'm sure you have a ton of replay value there. Oh...

[BiggerBoss]

"Acupide"

I have to say, I've never seen a misspelling near as bad as this. What made you think that "occupied" is spelled that way?😂

[PowerOfTheCloud]

Be kind, he seems to be very young.

[rainslacker]

We're consumers. As consumers I believe we have every right to tell MS, or any company really, what it is we want. MS has the right to listen to that or not, but ultimately, MS is the one that has to live with that. The consumer themselves have choice, and if MS spends too much time not actually giving people what they want, then they'll find that they won't have enough customers to keep getting what they want.

The consumers have the power. The consumer can be irrational, but it's our money. It's on MS to get the funding for games. It's on us to pay for the stuff we want.

If more consumers feel differently than what we feel, then MS will be fine. But those other consumers don't actually mean that other consumers can't still speak their mind. If you like what MS has to offer, then you are still free to say that you are happy with what they are doing. And of course, others are free to express why they disagree with you.

[zeuanimals]

So you're not gonna touch the arenas, the rogue-like levels, etc.? You just beat the game and that's it?

And you know you can just replay it, right? The same way I'm sure you're replaying all of these backwards compatibility games from years ago, you can replay recent games too. And the great thing about God of War is, it does have a ton of replay value, so long as the combat intrigued you enough as it did most people.

But once you get bored with it, you can sell it and move on. That's what happens with anything and that's fine. But no game has made me as happy to play it as God of War has in recent years. I don't care how many hours I've sunk into every online game I've ever played, none of those moments can compare to the joy of playing this game. That's what you get when you get a handcrafted game like God of War, where the combat is deliberate and purposeful and the world so engaging. PUBG? Fortnite? I have fun, but it's just base level fun. It's what I play cause I'm bored, what I play to pass the time until the next mind blowing game. They're not what I play when I want to be transported somewhere else and to be fully engrossed in a world.

I'll always take the quality time I've spent with God of War over the quantity of time I've spent playing an online game. And in 10 years, I'm still going to be thinking about God or War. Hell, maybe I'll even replay it. Actually, there's no maybe about it, I definitely will. Nobody's gonna be touching any of these online games in 10 years and the number of memorable moments is gonna be few.

[MazeRunner]

i wouldnt consider spencer a clown but when it comes to the business side of xbox hes not up to par. he is not aggressive. let me give u an example: if i was him as soon as i found out that sf5 was playstation exclusive i wouldve flown to japan to sign a deal for an exclusive fighter like powerstone, darkstalkers etc.

what im trying to say is that for every action from the competition there should be a reaction and MS has failed in that regard.

[rainslacker]

IMO, Tekken would probably be about the only game on the same level in terms of impact. Lots of popular fighters, but those two certainly rank up there with the most popular, particularly in the mainstream. Soul Caliber would be the next runner up....or DOA, but God knows when they're going to make a new one of those when they're cashing in on all the DOA5 DLC.

[MazeRunner]

i agree, tekken couldve been one, soul calibur, blazblue etc. the point is he didnt react accordingly and thats MS problem

[Emme]

Phil's caught between a rock and a hard place.Microsoft sees how successfull PUBG and Fortnite are, while Gears, Halo and Forza are just breaking even.It takes courage and a lot of money and patience to create something like God of War or The Last of us. Its not easy, especially if You dont have the public image of someone like Sony.Nintendo also plays it safe within their franchises, its not like Splatoon 2 or Smash do something radically innovative or risky. Sony had to really catch up this gen, and they took some risks and the success is phenomenal, despite games like The Order or Knack or even the launch Killzone game.But IMO, luck plays a big role.

[Razmiran]

Sony had to catch up to what?

[BlackTar187]

catch up? Sony has been ahead of ms since ms joined the gaming market.

[trooper_]

Sony catching up?

Lmfao...no.

[xenz]

You are hillarious! Oh, and it's Microsoft who has been playing catch up, not Sony ;)

[Eldyraen]

“Catch up” probably isn’t the right word. Progress, maybe.

Shadow Fall was okay at the time but Knack was basically a filler—one I enjoyed but wasn’t anything that special either (played 2 as well, sometime junk food can hold you over for a time). The Order was a great idea but suffered a bit, quite a bit, due to pacing and gameplay-to-cinematic issues—Is loved the setting as a movie, book, or even as a better sequel). Infamous was sort of an inbetween for me—not sure ideas i liked it as much as the original but really started the more serious trend on PS4.

That said, those are just 3 early first party “lesser” titles before they progressed to U4, Horizon, GoW. MS relied heavily on, as usual, mostly third party in that same time period. Which as many gamers admit is a definite weakness. I love Gears and enjoyed H5 (gameplay over story) but anyone that says they don’t need more and better first party support is crazy—including fan service like myself. I’ve given them years now hoping e3 would be the year and am still looking forward to it, but if they disappoint this year it will be so much worse.

Their e3 side area is massive and they’ve talked a big game admitting their weaknesses (not exactly a rarity, talking that is or being a bit weak lately) so if this e3 doesn’t prove their rededication than it will basically be a slap in the face—just a good thing some of us are into that sort of thing.

I really, really hope this e3 is the one to sort of pull them up again. SoT is cool but shallow on its own, SoD quite frankly looks like SoD and a continued “lower price” game trend (hope it’s better than Recore, another cheaper Xbox title), and Crackdown 3... well, I’ll probably enjoy it but unless they added a lot it will probably make waves like SoT did. Some will love it but many might consider it shallow as well, as Crackdown was never not a pretty limited title which was also more fun with friends and relied heavily on just enjoying running around blowing stuff up or collecting orbs.

After it? Big mystery so e3 needs to fill the void with greatness. Ori 2 and C3 are only major known intenties come June after all.

[rainslacker]

I think based on sales that Gears, Halo, and Forza are doing more than breaking even. But, MS, as well as other publishers, do see how much money is in GaaS type games. Not just PUBG and Fortnite, but in things like Overwatch. They did this last gen too when they all chased the FPS craze after COD sales went into overdrive.

It's sad that companies don't chase other popular things though, and tend to go for the lower investment stuff, because there were other big games which made profit, but cost substantially more to create.

[JMyers]

MS comes out every generation stating how they will invest in games and new IPs, only to falter mid generation and offer services over games. They did this with the 360 as well. In tatter years the focus was Kinect instead of investing in studios. The whole exclusive content, marketing rights and timed content was popularised by MS last generation. This was to make up for lack of original IP. None of their IPs have evolved either,,, yes they look better, but that comes with the generational leap. They have a good console, but where are the new IPs and original, quality games?

[chris235]

excuse me. what is this disneyland dreaming? of course they should but they will not do all these things because they are not a consoles company that is in for providing games.

but cool thing for them: people still believe the opposite. which equals in easy money.

[TheTony316]

Sure, Phil.

[cell989]

No sh** Sherlock

[Yohshida]

How is N4G always a few days late?

[Eldyraen]

People submit news as they see it, sometimes it’s approved quickly and sometimes it’s not. It seems better than it used to be, most of the time.

[Saranya]

Phil said: We're listening our fans.
Xbox fans said: Please make an Xbox hardware games exclusive quality.
Phil:...........What?........ ....I can't hear you sorry.
Xbox fans:.......GTFO!!!

[inxine]

give them more time? sure im all for it but dont shut down said projects before they can actually deliver a game. i swear, all the xbox branch does is annaunce games no one wants or either shut them down, or release new tech for said games that never get released in the first place. sure, some projects just don't work out but wee see alot of them just go away lol. or never hear from them ever again.

[dRanzer]

Phil recently comes out with a lot of statements
When you think of it,he always did.

[ghostrider32]

Hopefully Microsoft get booed loud and hard at their next conference.

[zaherdab]

who said they didn't invest in teams : https://products.office.com...

They are selling it already ...

[Derceto]

Microsoft has never been about empowering anyone aside from their shareholders, and giving time is certainly not in their operational interests. This much has been shown throughout their entire gaming business period.

These clowns made their entire fortune by manhandling people with stupid "licensing" system, and monopolies. Well, those tactics won't work in a turbulent and ever-shifting gaming market. You can't monopolize it, and you tried the "licensing" garbage with XOne DRM. We all know how well that went over.

If it weren't for them buying a competent developer in Bungie back at the original Xbox's release, we likely wouldn't even have Xbox today. It would've fizzled and died quickly. Bungie, single handedly made the Xbox appealing, with their Halo hits through its lifespan. Double that up with some fortunate exclusivity deals in KotoR, and other hits, and there you have the Xbox's success.

Microsoft was never truly involved in anything successful with Xbox, and their last "innovation" with it, was introducing Xbox Live, what..... 15 years ago now?

Just how many Microsoft developed games were considered hits on Xbox? I'll give you a hint. Zero. They've never learned after all this time, and they aren't about to learn now.

[PhoenixUp]

Microsoft cut support for Xbox 360’s first party titles in order to focus on Xbox One. How much time do they need to deliver a frequent flow of titles now?

[TheOttomatic91]

This coming from the guy who cancelled Scalebound and that Phantom Dust Remake for a crappy remaster?

[WelkinCole]

Phil says a lot of things. Thats about it.

[DivineAssault]

Sure thing buddy.. Im not sitting around to wait for that.. When theyre here, i have no issue investing in xbox.. That takes time and experience to pull off.. Plus they shouldve been rectifying this a VERY LONG TIME AGO.. Im not listening to this PR stuntman anyway.. Hes been damage controlling for too long already.. MS should be ready to release a 3rd wave of console exclusive titles this late in the game.. Saying they need time is very alarming

[Jayszen]

In other words, copy Sony.