Just want to get something off my chest. I’m just expressing an opinion and hoping to appeal to the general internet’s sense of decency…
The Xbox team and Phil Spencer have taken huge strides to transform Xbox from the mess of Xbox One and their declining and frankly poor roster of studios, to add value and create a different form of ecosystem. They’ve done all this with relatively little fuss and managed to get Microsoft the parent company to recommit to gaming in a major way. They are utilising Microsoft’s strengths now rather than battling against them or trying to cover up weaknesses.
We all in my view have to remember that the people at Xbox and Microsoft and their studios are human beings. I’m sure right now Phil Spencer is hurting. Not in some silly console fanboy war way but because he clearly has talked about his excitement for his own new gen console launch and at the start of 2020 he and the team had nailed it. Obviously since then things for whatever set of reasons (COVID clearly a major one) have not panned out how he would have expected. I’m sure that he feels a sense of deja vu re this launch as probably we all do. But things are not exactly the same, gamepass is a thing, xcloud is rolling out and they have the most powerful system. There are challenges in the short term that we all know must be overcome.
However, criticism of the situation or moves is of course what we all do and what drives debate here. BUT calling out individuals or asking for people to lose their jobs or failing to remember how far Xbox has recovered in the past few years is IMHO something we must all try to avoid. I think disappointment is natural. But we will all bounce back and get excited again. But the people making these decisions are ultimately just the same as we are - they have families and houses. I’m certainly not saying they are deserving of sympathy but just the basic level of mutual respect we show our colleagues at work for example. Not calling for someone’s head (especially when the situation is not in the public domain) is a basic. Remembering the human beings are doing their best and that as much as its tempting to stamp our feet - we can criticise or make a purchasing decision - they are only doing the best they can with whatever cards they are dealt.
So to Phil Spencer - thanks for all your hard work - keep your head up and do your best to make the launch of this console as special to us fans as you can in the circumstances. I think you know what is needed and will try your best. And the rest of the Xbox team - bumps in the road happen but the work you’ve done over the past few years to turn this round has been immense. Don’t forget it.
Don’t look to deep into console trolling. Most of the people know this is the correct decision and are just sad for no new halo. You can see on the last E3 how the fans love Phil.
It’s also a good move for the developer. More time to make a better game and hopefully no crunch time.
I agree 100% with the point around people losing their jobs. Leave those decisions to people like Phil, or the Microsoft management team. They can make those decisions based on all of the information, and not just internet speculation.
Being dissapointed in Halo’s delay is fine, I’m as dissapointed as anyone, but do I want someone to lose their job so I get the game a few months earlier? Hell no.
Phil Spencer did wonderful job for Xbox except the publishing team, I think he’s ignored them. In 2013 we had two AAA games for launch from the publishing team Dead Rising 3 and Ryse Son of Rome. Relying too much on first party studios is a mistake (especially when you don’t have enough studios), the publishing team should fills the gaps.
100% agree. Considering how we, as a world community, are hurting right now. We need to understand that the normal we knew is not a option.
Living to expectations that we placed on how this year would turn out will disappoint. I’m in contact with friends in Victoria who have lost their bars and business that can no longer stay open due to circumstance.
Watching Phil Spencer over these years, I believe his statement in the delay to halo and people’s anger or dismay about how things look for launch, he will be the one to say that it is his decision. He will take the hit cause it is what a leader does.
I respect that. Xbox will grow in market. Just along a different trajectory.
Phil Spencer has not been successful for the Xbox brand at all. Ms launched one console totally unprepared, the Xbox one x, on the software front. It would take 2 years to see something from MS taking advantage of the hardware (gears 5, for me the biggest technical achievement this gen despite what Sony fans say).
Now one could say «but Xbox one x was a mid gen refresh» , which wouldn’t be a good excuse anyway cause the Xbox one x was supposed to relaunch the Xbox brand. Still, for arguement’s sake, let’s accept that.
Being so unprepared for the series x launch is inexcusable, This will be the worst launch ever, in terms of exclusive experiences, of a mainstream console. Where are the XGP games ? Why not go to crytek and have them cook something incredible looking, even with mediocre gameplay? The Xbox one, with all its faults, launched with Forza 5, Ryse and Dead Rising 3 and had titanfall coming up in a few months after launch. What am I supposed to enjoy with XSX ? A few updated Xbox one games, that already look great on my Xbox one x ? 1-2 mutliplatform games like the new AC (which doesn’t even look that great anyway) ? People are using the pandemic as an excuse but Sony seems ready to have, not great stuff, but at least SOMETHING to excite a potential ps5 owner.
I want an XSX at launch, I will buy an XSX at launch and not a ps5 but I am shocked at how MS couldn’t prepare a knock out launch for what is supposed to be their big comeback in the console market. Shame having such good hardware and nothing to take advantage of it for who knows how long.
He hasn’t ignored them…Publishing team is releasing MS Flight Sim, Tell Me Why, and already released Ori this year (which got delays itself). The launch isn’t as much of a factor when you need games after the console launches. It is sad that Halo isn’t there so I guess the frustration.
Didn’t really intend this thread to discuss these sorts of things. But I would say it’s easy to say ‘should just go and get some 3rd party to cook something up.’ But that relied on him doing this what 4 years ago? At least. At a point where he was trying to convince MS that Xbox had a future. So not sure he had resources to go and do that then. And clearly their plan to launch with Halo has been hit by Covid. It’s clear Halo was struggling a bit anyway but many devs have said that the last 6 months are huge for major multi team projects like Infinite and the disruption was obviously too much to overcome.
I think it’s a shame and the fact they seemingly have moved away from 3rd party deals hurts them a lot now. But their overalls strategy can’t be thrown out because of a few bumps in the road.
I don’t Know what the ad campaign’s are gonna look like there is no games to sell the console you can’t build a ad campaign around the medium or ascent or BC games you need that something to hit audiences when they see the ads
He gave us what we want. A powerful console, best value for money in gaming, and an affordable option.
It’s clear he knows what gamers want and it’s just sad that he gets blamed for problems out of his hands. He and the Xbox team has tried, but it takes time and you can see that we have IMPROVED so much in the last couple of years!
People should step back and see that the groundwork has been set. Now it’s darn terrible that COVID has managed to cause trouble for Halo Infinite development, but we see he didnt take the easy way out and release the game when its in trouble. Im sure 343i is thankful for that, and so should we all.
I dont want to talk about ‘the competitor’ because i dont want to add anything negative, but its clear they have lost the trust of some smaller developers and we see how optimistic some has over what Phil has started to plan.
Ok. Who said he was? He’s a salesman. It behooves him to present his product in the best possible light, even if that means obscuring the truth behind it.
It’s not the worst thing in the world to like the guy. Haha
Personally ,I’m just happy with his performance and the gaming experience the guy is providing to me. As long as he continues doing this (i.e. good hardware, good games, good services), then i have no problem complimenting the guy on the job he is doing.
Forza 7 was an incredible showcase for the 1X. One of the very few native 4K locked 60fps games on either premium console and an almost identical match for max PC settings on top of that.
Phil Spencer has also done a fantastic job with acquisitions and the programs and services they now offer are second to none.
He also has nothing to do with 343i and their development issues. That falls on the studio’s management and the fact that the entire studio has been working remotely for the last few months. That has a major impact on creativity and collaboration.
Sony honestly doesn’t really have anything for the PS5 launch either aside from an expansion for an enhanced PS4 game.
