We are getting close to 15 years with Phil Spencer being responsible for MS output of games and about 8 or more year since he is calling all the shots. I have a hard time understanding how he has such a strong following while apparently overpromising and failing to deliver every time.
Timeline:
2008 - After many year managing the European side of Microsoft Game Studios, Phil Spencer is promoted head of MGS.
www.gamespot.com
2009 - Promoted to corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios, with the mission to continue "overseeing the entirety of first-party content at MGS."
www.gamedeveloper.com
2013 - During the Xbox One launch he did every single thing Don Mattrick did but got none of the blame despite being really high up. He even said stuff like "If you live somewhere without good reception, you won't buy a cell phone." He also recommended Xbox 360 for players whose online connections aren't up to the task".
www.gamesradar.com
2014 - Becomes head of Microsoft's Xbox division.
www.polygon.com
In all those year I don't think he was able to create a single successful new IP (Halo, Gears of War, Forza were all IPs that existed before he was put in charge). What does he have to show for these 15 years? Grounded? Sea of Thieves? It also extends to their second-party deals, they just seem unable to create any hits and they have a terrible track record with those as well. They even seem to have a hard time nurturing and evolving their already successful IPs, with Halo and Gears being the best examples of that.
Even on the hardware side, he announced VR support for the One X and that never happened, promoted on the big stage stuff like HoloLens and IllumiRoom that never materialized. When the One X was the most powerful console on the market it had almost no games to take advantage of that and relied on third-party game that many times didn't even bother that much with the Xbox version. Ok, maybe the terrible second half of the Xbox One had as far as games was a sacrifice to ensure the Xbox Series would have a great launch... but no, it had nothing (even now, one and a half years later it still has very little).
On the service side, they made this big deal about every MS game releasing on Gamepass, then we get a year like 2022 where they completely strike out and looking at the games the included this month they don't even seem to be trying anymore.
He goes all in on PR spins trying to play the role of the good guy, while his actions don't align with what he says at all. He still keeps guys like Aaron Greenberg around and even retweets hardcore Xbox warriors and Xbox marketing is way too focus on the competition while Nintendo and Sony have been a lot more chill about console wars in the last few years. I love that he was going around saying that he doesn't like exclusive while MS marketing even tries to pass games that aren't exclusive by using tricks like "Exclusive World Premier" or having publisher agree to hide for a few days that their games are multiplatform, not to mention the unholy amount of money spent to take games away from PlayStation by buying entire publishers instead of building their studios over time.
Timeline:
2008 - After many year managing the European side of Microsoft Game Studios, Phil Spencer is promoted head of MGS.
Bell out, Kim up, Spencer in at Microsoft
360 marketing chief exits as Microsoft Game Studios head moves on to "strategic" biz dev; MGS UK GM taking over first-party pub's global operations; work on Forza and Peter Jackson's Halo proceeding; no major hires or cuts planned.
www.gamespot.com
2009 - Promoted to corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios, with the mission to continue "overseeing the entirety of first-party content at MGS."
Microsoft's Shane Kim To Retire, Phil Spencer Promoted
Microsoft's Shane Kim, a veteran of Microsoft Game Studios and the Interactive Entertainment Business division, will retire at the end of this year after nearly two decades of employment with the company.
2013 - During the Xbox One launch he did every single thing Don Mattrick did but got none of the blame despite being really high up. He even said stuff like "If you live somewhere without good reception, you won't buy a cell phone." He also recommended Xbox 360 for players whose online connections aren't up to the task".
Microsoft says if your internet can't support Xbox One, use 360
"If you have zero access to the internet, that is an offline device"
2014 - Becomes head of Microsoft's Xbox division.
Phil Spencer takes over as head of Microsoft's Xbox division
Your source for the latest in video games, sci-fi, fantasy, tabletop games, anime, horror, books, and comics.
www.polygon.com
In all those year I don't think he was able to create a single successful new IP (Halo, Gears of War, Forza were all IPs that existed before he was put in charge). What does he have to show for these 15 years? Grounded? Sea of Thieves? It also extends to their second-party deals, they just seem unable to create any hits and they have a terrible track record with those as well. They even seem to have a hard time nurturing and evolving their already successful IPs, with Halo and Gears being the best examples of that.
Even on the hardware side, he announced VR support for the One X and that never happened, promoted on the big stage stuff like HoloLens and IllumiRoom that never materialized. When the One X was the most powerful console on the market it had almost no games to take advantage of that and relied on third-party game that many times didn't even bother that much with the Xbox version. Ok, maybe the terrible second half of the Xbox One had as far as games was a sacrifice to ensure the Xbox Series would have a great launch... but no, it had nothing (even now, one and a half years later it still has very little).
On the service side, they made this big deal about every MS game releasing on Gamepass, then we get a year like 2022 where they completely strike out and looking at the games the included this month they don't even seem to be trying anymore.
He goes all in on PR spins trying to play the role of the good guy, while his actions don't align with what he says at all. He still keeps guys like Aaron Greenberg around and even retweets hardcore Xbox warriors and Xbox marketing is way too focus on the competition while Nintendo and Sony have been a lot more chill about console wars in the last few years. I love that he was going around saying that he doesn't like exclusive while MS marketing even tries to pass games that aren't exclusive by using tricks like "Exclusive World Premier" or having publisher agree to hide for a few days that their games are multiplatform, not to mention the unholy amount of money spent to take games away from PlayStation by buying entire publishers instead of building their studios over time.
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