320°

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

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

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72d ago
gold_drake72d ago

his decisions over the years were definitely questionable at best.

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

-Foxtrot71d ago (Edited 71d ago )

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

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

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

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

PapaBop71d ago (Edited 71d ago )

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

S2Killinit71d ago

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

fr0sty71d ago

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

MrDead71d ago

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

RNTody71d ago

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

SubtilizZer71d ago

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

RhinoGamer8871d ago

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

SeTTriP71d ago

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

MrDead71d ago

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

jznrpg71d ago (Edited 71d ago )

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

XBManiac71d ago (Edited 71d ago )

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

_Decadent_Descent71d ago

I mean, that does take a certain skill. lol

FinalFantasyFanatic71d ago

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

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30°

Interview on Indika with the Actress for Indika (Isabella Inchbald)

Interview with Isabella Inchbald, Actress for (Indika) in Indika which is an emotional, thought provoking journey through a nun's tale in questioning her religion.

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480°

Mark Cerny: When making consoles, we're not trying to build low-cost PCs

PlayStation legend Mark Cerny discusses PS5, the challenges of making consoles, and his 42-year games industry career

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darthv722d ago

Well... they used to design their own chips. Emotion Engine, Cell, RSX... when they switched to using X86 based chips is now more akin to low-mid cost PCs than before. It may not look like a PC but it pretty much is one. I'd bet it could do productivity stuff just fine if they allowed it to.

Cockney2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

I think series consoles are closer to pc than playstation seeing as they used the full suite of rdna 2 functions, didn't Sony strip a lot of that away to streamline their machine to be games focused? Its probably lacking in the office and productivity department, don't ask me what their custom chip does or doesn't do I just remember reading a lot about at the time, "rdna 1.5" was the call and yet what we see is pretty much level pegging as far as games go

GamerRN2d ago

Actually, stripping that away doesn't streamline, it hinders. Those features are actually helpful for gaming.

And they didn't strip them out, they just didn't work closely enough to be able to use them all since specs weren't finalized. Microsoft took an inside line on that one.

The reason why things are equal is because Xbox rarely has games designed on their box, they are usually designed on PS5 and ported over. So Xbox loses the power edge it has to making up the poor optimization.

It's ok, I think the lesson is you have to have a significant increase in power of 30 percent or more to be noticeable. And you have to sell enough to become the lead console for development otherwise you lose that power.

Einhander19722d ago

@GamerRN

PS5 outperforms series x because it uses custom chips to process things that on xbox need to be done by the GPU/CPU.

Things like Tempest Audio, and it's custom compression chip for SSD as well as having a separate chip for upscaling using checkerboard and presumably FSR runs off it as well.

OlderGamer171d 14h ago

O please stop the myth that the seriesX mythe is the only console that is using the "the full suite or Rdna2" is already debunked al long time ago.

Number1TailzFan2d ago

The consoles use video ram as system ram as well since it's all shared, so nah.

1d 15h ago
Christopher2d ago

You should probably read the whole quote and not just go based on the title.

darthv722d ago

I have read it... I dont think anyone can build a PC that equates to the performance of a PS5/Series X for anywhere close to their selling point. Not for a while at least.

And my comment about them switching from custom chips to more PC related just adds to that fact. whether people want to believe it or not... Sony has built a low cost (not spec, there is a difference) PC.

neutralgamer19922d ago (Edited 2d ago )

We need better games on these consoles. This generation has been such a huge letdown so far. Moving forward these current consoles will be supported even when newer Playstation and Xbox are in the market. AAA games have been so expensive to make and it seems fun is taken out of games and loot boxes take their place. Try playing a NBA 2k game it's like a casino with slot machines

just_looken1d 16h ago

The cost of making these games is a scam

Nba 2k19 to 2k14 its like madden the budget to make went stupid high but the fundamental of the game and the game modes never changed.

Anything now even basic intersection construction is tens of millions but pre coivid few hundred grand.

2018 here is $400 landscaping now here is the pink slip to my car.

I swear the cost of everything is the same but there taking of that huge profit top for there own pockets.

Einhander19722d ago

The PS5 is incredibly customized.

The SSD, the Tempest Audio, the APU itself is a mix of cross generation AMD hardware in order to be more optimized for gaming and cost efficient.

The PS5 Pro also has features from cross generation AMD hardware with RT features from RDNA 4 plus it's own custom upscaler PSSR.

PlayStation 5 Pro features next-gen RDNA 4-based ray tracing engine, allows 2-3x faster RT
https://www.tweaktown.com/n...

PlayStation still uses custom designed hardware.

darthv721d 23h ago

honestly... I dont know why some are taking offense to it being called a low cost PC. It really is... and low cost is a good thing. the article did not say low performance PC... that is totally different.

Einhander19721d 23h ago

I'm saying they still are designing their own chips, they just use AMD templates.

The PS5 APU has features from RDNA 1 2 and 3, and the PS5 Pro adds features from RDNA 4, and the CPU is the same with it own customized features.

Then all of that is paired with other custom chips.

just_looken1d 16h ago

What you all said my rig in my bedroom can do it no issues

That plastic box has a 2020 cpu with the pro using a 2021 6700

The custom is do to them being dirt cheap with a 2 prong power supply so they made a cpu/gpu combo chip aka apu.

Get a amd laptop with there new mobile chips get the same performance.

VincentVanBro1d 23h ago

You’re right but downvoted for some reason.

just_looken1d 16h ago

Its this site even the head admin banned me for awhile being but hurt over my "anti" sony comments.

n4g is pro sony nothing sony will ever do can change that.

Pyrofire951d 21h ago (Edited 1d 21h ago )

When you only look at the big flagship chips that seems true, but there's a lot going on in a modern console that takes advantage of being a dedicated kit. The various elements put into how the pipelines are connected shape the direction of games. End to end decryption and data streaming is something big that PC can only kind of do and with less certainty for example. Dedicated audio chip that rivals the main CPU in the PS4 is a big paradigm shift, devs used to fight for cores and audio was often last priority, whereas in traditional PC design the main CPU does both of those jobs of processing audio and decryption, while also performing all the other CPU based tasks.
It's not the custom silicon that used to be what made consoles but there's a lot more to consoles now. Data storage was not even a consideration and almost no RAM was on old consoles. Now there needs to be an enormous amount of SSD storage, and RAM to make these games tick with how much is demanded from them.

just_looken1d 16h ago

@darth

Your comment show how many sony blindboys are on here

You are 100% correct but to add on the gamecube-ps3 also had a gpu/cpu combo back in the day unlike modern consoles that are just glorified tablets using apu/igpu's.

I miss the ps3 era start of ps4 era that sony was awesome

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MIDGETonSTILTS172d ago

Yah, hence the majority of the PS5’s hardware investment going towards an SSD instead of a GPU.

There are countless custom pc gaming rigs out there, and I bet none of them took an SSD-centric approach to their design, like the ps5 did.

just_looken1d 16h ago

LMAO wow sony blind boy's are mad in love

That is called direct storage windows 10 has had that for over 5 year's every computer with a nvme based ssd has had that tech for years.

https://www.thewindowsclub....

The ps6 will then have this new amazing tech you all will go crazy over resize bar
https://www.howtogeek.com/8...

But that tech has been out for 2 years all 40series gpu's intel gpus and the new amd cards have that tech.

There is nothing a ps5 can do over a 4+ year old computer 2019 rig want resize bar? get a cheap amd/intel card for half the cost of a ps5.

MIDGETonSTILTS171d 4h ago

Clearly you did not watch Cerny’s first ps5 breakdown, so you don’t appreciate EVERYthing Cerny did to leverage their extremely fast SSD.

bigfish2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

I can see where he’s coming from re ps5 not just being a box with parts like a pc. They must also spend an awful lot on r & d just to design the thing so it has aesthetic appeal and typical Japanese with some sort of Philosopy behind the design. Would also think other factors around the custom airflow and the like would cost a lot given that it’s not a standard box shape

gold_drake2d ago

true, but the alternative is, relatively, a expensive ordeal.
unless you dont game at all ha.

mkis0071d 21h ago (Edited 1d 21h ago )

Just spent 2000k on a 4070ti super 7800x3d 1440p gaming pc. Honestly consoles will never be replaced at this wide a gap in price. I plan to get a ps5 pro too.

just_looken1d 16h ago

@mk

You waisted 2 grand you mean

At 1440p a amd4 chipset with a 5600x3d combined with a 6750xt even a 6800 can push 1440p just a much for half the cost or less used/new and or sales.

I have a 75hhz monitor in my bedroom 1440p playing games maxed out spent around 1200cad but aio 5800x3d 32gb of ram and a 6750xt 28 or 30 inch monitor.

Every time i hear pc so expensive i just laugh you can spend less than $500 buy a used ebay rig fix it up or a office pc toss in a cheap low profile card.

Pyrofire951d 21h ago

If you look into the hardware beyond just the CPU and GPU things start to look different, and there's plenty beyond just those two parts, those two parts even are modified to their own design in some degree.

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50°

Eternal Damnation Interview With Soham Jaiswal, CEO, SD Games

Recently Gareth at Skewed and Reviewed spoke with Soham Jaiswal, CEO, SD Games about the pending Eternal Damnation game. The game is a hybrid of RPG and RTS and cast players as a Spider.

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