Phil Spencer calls Xbox 2022 "a disaster"

JAHGamer

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Seriously how tf is this guy a CEO of a billion dollar company? He runs Xbox like he's just winging it and putting stuff together at the absolute last second, and he emails other executives like they're working together on a middle school group project. As much as I dislike Sony's current management, at least they know how to properly run a company.

Also saying that Xbox 2021 was a "very high bar" is beyond sad, Forza Horizon was a boring copy/paste of FH4, Halo Infinite was a mega flop, Psychonauts 2 was on PlayStation, and Flight Sim and Age 4 were 2 year old PC ports

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Alabtrosmyster

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Reading these feels a bit like the Sega 1997 binder, with a few differences:
1 - Sega had previous success in gaming before
2 - Sega had no money compared to MS (and a million different platforms)

Also, I wonder why Phil is not talking about the supply problems people keep bringing up in the forums? Does anyone know? Maybe it's kept hidden from him, this must be why he doesn't understand consoles are not selling as much as he think they should.
 
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P

Petekilla

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ethomaz said:
He is not wrong.
But 2021 was a disaster too.
2020.
2019.
2018...
You can back to all disasters.

And 2023 is shaping in the disaster.

That is Xbox for ya.
Click to expand...
2023 is not a disaster. Lol Hi-Fi Rush was good, Starfield while it didn’t live up to the hype is a good game, and Forza will be good. Only RedFall was a disaster for Xbox this year.
 
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Nimrota

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Petekilla said:
2023 is not a disaster. Lol Hi-Fi Rush was good, Starfield while it didn’t live up to the hype is a good game, and Forza will be good. Only RedFall was a disaster for Xbox this year.
Click to expand...
I genuinely think you have beaten so often by the abusive husband that is Xbox that you actually believe this. Forza 17, a small arcade style game, and a mixed space game is not a success. Console sale ratios have massively widened in favour of Sony, big 3rd party releases like BG3 are defacto console exclusive to PS5 due to the legacy of Xbox's bad decisions, and it is very likely Spiderman 2 is going to launch and absolutely destroy Starfield's sales going into holiday season (also games like FF7R 2 coming early next year). What does Xbox have for this holiday season? Starfield? I haven't played HiFi Rush, but it's something that compliments a wider output not a crutch to rely on. I liked the original Helldivers on PS4, but there is no world which I would use that to claim PS4 is having a "good" year because it's not the point of discussion. GP subs haven't grown, console sales have slowed with Sony's supply increasing, all the games Xbox has announced (years ago) have very little released on them. Shills are still using the same list of games to promote what Xbox is doing. I bet this time next year "wait for Avowed and Hellblade 2" will still be the marketing. If you have an Xbox and haven't sold it, nobody can help you.
 
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Yurinka

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Well, MS is a mess but at least Phil says in this mail he's frustrated. At least he knows something is wrong there.
 
flaccidsnake

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Petekilla said:
2023 is not a disaster. Lol Hi-Fi Rush was good, Starfield while it didn’t live up to the hype is a good game, and Forza will be good. Only RedFall was a disaster for Xbox this year.
Click to expand...
It's the first year in like 10 where you can say they were comparable to Playstation. And most of the PS heads on this board (aka the board) is complaining about where the games are.
 
Satoru

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Petekilla said:
2023 is not a disaster. Lol Hi-Fi Rush was good, Starfield while it didn’t live up to the hype is a good game, and Forza will be good. Only RedFall was a disaster for Xbox this year.
Click to expand...
  • Redfall - cataclysm
  • Hi-Fi Rush - Very good game, zero marketing, died because of their incompetence
  • Starfield - Hyped as the next coming of Jesus, the game of the generation, and it's a middling experience
  • Forza - It's Forza
They released some games at the very least, sure, but you can't really say this year is not a disaster for their own goals.

flaccidsnake said:
It's the first year in like 10 where you can say they were comparable to Playstation. And most of the PS heads on this board (aka the board) is complaining about where the games are.
Click to expand...

Where's a megaton like GoW, TLOU, Uncharted, etc? Where? Playstation's worst year in a while was also 2023, and they still came above both in consumer mindshare and actual sales / market impact. their business grew yoy globally. Xbox managed to fail every single release so far in 2023.
 
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flaccidsnake

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Satoru said:
Where's a megaton like GoW, TLOU, Uncharted, etc? Where? Playstation's worst year in a while was also 2023, and they still came above both in consumer mindshare and actual sales / market impact. their business grew yoy globally. Xbox managed to fail every single release so far in 2023.
Click to expand...
I think we're saying the same thing here. Xbox first party can at best compete in an off year with PS (tho I expect Spiderman will wipe away this narrative), and still not move the needle.
 
Satoru

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flaccidsnake said:
I think we're saying the same thing here. Xbox first party can at best compete in an off year for PS (tho I expect Spiderman will wipe away this narrative), and still not move the needle.
Click to expand...

No, because this year was not remotely comparable to a typical playstation year. Hell, this year Playstation was sparse in content and will still come up on top, and probably with the better game to boot (SM2)
 
Yurinka

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anonpuffs said:
The thing that is wrong there is him and his cadre of buddies in charge.
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Well, he tells them "we have to all understand now that the situation we are now is a failure of our planning and production execution" and suggests a plan that makes sense: to honestly and realistically analyze the releases they already have for the next couple of years -not counting DLC- and to check out also 3P stuff they could get for GP.

This was also sent a few months after signing the ABK acquisition, which was a rushed and overpaid desperate move to get more content.

So well, he constantly fails but seems to try to do what is better for his company including very aggresive and risky moves.

flaccidsnake said:
It's the first year in like 10 where you can say they were comparable to Playstation. And most of the PS heads on this board (aka the board) is complaining about where the games are.
Click to expand...
flaccidsnake said:
I think we're saying the same thing here. Xbox first party can at best compete in an off year with PS (tho I expect Spiderman will wipe away this narrative), and still not move the needle.
Click to expand...
Well, I'd say it's the first year they have a big mainstream AAA game that isn't from their typical rehashed IPs. But I think Spider-Man 2 will destroy it selling over twice units.

And if we look at the other 2023 releases they had in 1st party, 2nd party and 3rd party exclusives Sony still has a very clear advantage specially when adding VR and 3rd party.
 
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Dr Bass

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Satoru said:
But that whole spiel of "we have to" when things go wrong is transversal to all CEO's.
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Anything in business is a team effort, hence the "we." But, leaders should be the ones willing to take the blame when the team fails. If things go well, you give credit to others.
 
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