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Phil Spencer "There are no “red lines” for which Xbox games will come to PlayStation". Still Looking for Acquisitions, Sees Future Growth.

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Phil doesn't learn
He doesn't even know where he is?
 

Humdinger

Gold Member
Jesus, that's petty. He's 56, has a stressful job. I bet he still looks younger than you.

Yeah, he doesn't look as bad as people in the thread are making out. Some people are saying he looks like he's undergoing chemotherapy! I mean, come on. He's lost a lot of weight. He's 56 - not a spring chicken. That's some pretty harsh lighting, and he does have a stressful job, and his unhappiness is probably bleeding through a little on his face, which can make you look older (more tired).

I'm no fan of Phil but we're getting a little carried away.
 

Mr Moose

Member
Yeah, he doesn't look as bad as people in the thread are making out. Some people are saying he looks like he's undergoing chemotherapy! I mean, come on. He's lost a lot of weight. He's 56 - not a spring chicken. That's some pretty harsh lighting, and he does have a stressful job, and his unhappiness is probably bleeding through a little on his face, which can make you look older (more tired).

I'm no fan of Phil but we're getting a little carried away.
He looks unwell.
February:
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Fpo8rJm.jpeg

Let's hope it's nothing and you're right.
 

Humdinger

Gold Member
He looks unwell.

Fpo8rJm.jpeg

Let's hope it's nothing and you're right.

I'd say he looks tired and uninspired, probably stressed and unhappy about the PR peddling he's having to do. The bright lights aren't helping.

I don't know, maybe the weight loss regimen wasn't the healthiest, and he's undernourished somehow. California can be pretty kooky with their diets sometimes. Maybe he went vegan or fruitarian.

I heard Colt say that he heard Phil plans to retire after the end of this gen, shortly after the launch of next.
 

TBiddy

Member
Yeah, he doesn't look as bad as people in the thread are making out. Some people are saying he looks like he's undergoing chemotherapy! I mean, come on. He's lost a lot of weight. He's 56 - not a spring chicken. That's some pretty harsh lighting, and he does have a stressful job, and his unhappiness is probably bleeding through a little on his face, which can make you look older (more tired).

I'm no fan of Phil but we're getting a little carried away.

Agreed. He looks like a pretty fit 56 year old man.

Yeah and I don't give a shit what you think of me.

Okay, tough guy.
 

Humdinger

Gold Member
Bro he just looked great 8 months ago. He was 55 then.

He actually looked fat to me. Not obese, but clearly overweight.

I do think the stress is taking its toll. It's not just that it's a "stressful job" but that his legacy is tarnished. He hoped that things would go a different way. He had a Vision. This is not how he imagined that things would go. I'm sure he is disappointed but has to put on a good face for the employees and the public. That adds a lot of stress in itself, the pretense.
 
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Banjo64

cumsessed
You seem to contradict yourself. First you say they have the upper hand in raw power, by a significant margin.
Read the rest of the sentence and you’ve got your answer.

Then you say it's poorly designed before it's more expensive than the PS5. Which is it? It can't be both. It can't be both significantly more powerful (theoretically speaking) and cost the same.
It is both more expensive and underperforming compared to a machine that is weaker on paper. That’s poorly designed.

As to why the XSX isn't consistently outperforming the PS5 can be due to numerous reasons. Slower API, "the tools", less focus on optimizing for a smaller platform and what have you.
Yeah. Poorly designed hardware and software integration.

Claiming the XSX is a bad console is just trolling though.
No it’s not.
 

Astray

Member
Phil is nuts. He’s still got this ridiculous idea that there’s an untapped audience waiting to get into core gaming. It’s not going to happen.
This is his absolute biggest fallacy and it's what drove the massive failure of the Series S this gen.

There is no one left that they can pitch to, everyone has either seen their product and passed on it, or they have bought into it to some extent.

This actually goes for almost all the big gaming companies, even mobile..

The customer acquisition era is over, the territories have been marked, now it's the era of market and value share wars and trying to creep into someone else's territory in order to get revenue from there.
 
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ProtoByte

Weeb Underling
The customer acquisition era is over, the territories have been marked, now it's the era of market and value share wars and trying to creep into someone else's territory in order to get revenue from there.
I just wonder when all of these platform holders and publishers will understand this. Nintendo’s there; their main mode at this point is defending their turf and extracting money from their incumbent base. Sony seems to be taken in by this delusion, but might get to the point of realization in the next gen.

Publishers might need to go through a few more failures before they recognize that reaching for Fortnite numbers is irrelevant, but who knows when that’ll be.
 

TBiddy

Member
Read the rest of the sentence and you’ve got your answer.


It is both more expensive and underperforming compared to a machine that is weaker on paper. That’s poorly designed.


Yeah. Poorly designed hardware and software integration.


No it’s not.

The hardware is fine. But I'm glad we agree that the console is stronger on paper, at least. It cannot both be more powerful and cost the same. Hardware has a price. Sony chose a different approach which seems to be easier to optimize for, which is nice and has given them the upper hand in many games.

But saying that the Xbox Series X is a bad console is downright stupid. Sorry. I know that we're on the internet and everything is put on the edge, but even you cannot be serious when you say that it's a bad console.
 
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Astray

Member
I just wonder when all of these platform holders and publishers will understand this. Nintendo’s there; their main mode at this point is defending their turf and extracting money from their incumbent base. Sony seems to be taken in by this delusion, but might get to the point of realization in the next gen.

Publishers might need to go through a few more failures before they recognize that reaching for Fortnite numbers is irrelevant, but who knows when that’ll be.
I would argue that Sony is not deluded and have realized this already, they're posting games on Steam because they want money out of the audience that will never buy their consoles and maybe they get a PC storefront that takes %3-10 of the market (the overlay and achievement sync would be pointless otherwise).

Another evidence that they're not under that delusion is the lack of permanent price cuts on PS5, those are made for customer acquisition and there are no customers dangling from the trees that anyone can get anymore.

Is all that the right play? Debatable but it isn't without its benefits either.

Publishers are a different breed altogether because they always try to shoot for the barrels with the most fish. They really need a good reason to skip a platform that isn't Xbox now, because development has been streamlined and unified for all major platforms now.
 

Brucey

Member
Phil knows his hardware sales has flatlined and its ironic that PS zealots celebrate games going multiplatform yet those PS guys buying those games and literally helping fund more Xbox hardware

I use my son as an example here often because he is way more of a real casual gamer than what I am and by that I mean he games often but he doesnt read forums and shit like that

When we were talking about future hardware he will always be an Xbox guy and I brought up games coming to Playstation and he literally said "who cares"

The vast majority of gamers don't care but then again we are on a forum and we here are not the majority of casuals


Huge root of their whole problem, not having those killer games
So your son isn't aware that the likelihood of a future Xbox console is slim to none. He's all set in his casual bubble. But clearly even the casuals in general must be realizing something is up given continued weakening sales numbers?
 
So your son isn't aware that the likelihood of a future Xbox console is slim to none. He's all set in his casual bubble. But clearly even the casuals in general must be realizing something is up given continued weakening sales numbers?
My son knows everything I know about future roadmaps, even has the same papers with details

He works with a PC every day and doesn't want to come home on play on a PC but I know he would love a lot of power in a PC that functions exactly like a console does (please no one go down that road they are just as easy)

Most true casuals couldn't care less about declining sales numbers, they want to be able to get their preferred box and fire up COD, Fortnite and their sports game of preference
 
My son knows everything I know about future roadmaps, even has the same papers with details

He works with a PC every day and doesn't want to come home on play on a PC but I know he would love a lot of power in a PC that functions exactly like a console does (please no one go down that road they are just as easy)

Most true casuals couldn't care less about declining sales numbers, they want to be able to get their preferred box and fire up COD, Fortnite and their sports game of preference

It'll be interesting to see how the market responds to whatever that "Xbox" ends up being.

Obviously thet can't(or won't) include Nintendo or Sony in their new marketing, but a part of me can't help but wonder if they are still hopeful and/or trying to get either one of the aforementioned to allow Game Pass on their consoles.

Am I wrong? Have they tried before or am I misunderstanding something?
 

Brucey

Member
To defend the Series S/X further, I will always say that the team got a lot of limitations from Xbox executives. They had to find a way to fight Sony on price and power, while being more limited on the power draw because of the 360 problems. And I am sure that they has less time to create the Series S/X because they had to work on the One X first. For me they failed to entice me to buy one. But many did and good for them. As for people saying it is a bad console, I saw this the same way some people complain about the Switch. True in certain ways, false in others. No need to get angry about it.
This is the first I've heard of series Gen limited on power draw because of the 360 problems.

Surely that would have been applicable to the Xbox one generation? I think it's just government epa type regulations that limit total console power use these days.
 

Brucey

Member
My son knows everything I know about future roadmaps, even has the same papers with details

He works with a PC every day and doesn't want to come home on play on a PC but I know he would love a lot of power in a PC that functions exactly like a console does (please no one go down that road they are just as easy)

Most true casuals couldn't care less about declining sales numbers, they want to be able to get their preferred box and fire up COD, Fortnite and their sports game of preference
Ah ok, he's good to go because he believes the roadmaps. Makes sense. A real casual doesn't have that Xbox roundtable sense of the future.
 

evolve

Member
My son knows everything I know about future roadmaps, even has the same papers with details

He works with a PC every day and doesn't want to come home on play on a PC but I know he would love a lot of power in a PC that functions exactly like a console does (please no one go down that road they are just as easy)

Most true casuals couldn't care less about declining sales numbers, they want to be able to get their preferred box and fire up COD, Fortnite and their sports game of preference
I think that's an oversimplification of things. While casuals don't engage in internet fights over raw numbers, the fact that the hardcore gamers and gaming media know about it and regurgitate it is damaging in the long term and it leaks outside the bubble.

It's not the numbers themselves, it's the way people perceive the brand and it's 'coolness', so to speak. I mean, there's a reason Series is a bigger flop than the XONE and sony is still selling like hot cakes despite both consoles lacking big games and messing up. The casuals have a hive mentality and in today's world where every kid is born with a smartphone in their hands, if a brand is seen as a "loser" online it can quickly spread out in the "real world". It's a slow corrosive process, but that's what has been happening for years with xbox.
 
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mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
He actually looked fat to me. Not obese, but clearly overweight.

I do think the stress is taking its toll. It's not just that it's a "stressful job" but that his legacy is tarnished. He hoped that things would go a different way. He had a Vision. This is not how he imagined that things would go. I'm sure he is disappointed but has to put on a good face for the employees and the public. That adds a lot of stress in itself, the pretense.

And now we learn they may be forced to release a new Xbox in 2025. There's no way he wanted it this way. It makes no sense to go back and forth so often. He says one thing and then the 100% complete opposite happens within a year. That'll be unhealthy to endure for any CEO.
 

Humdinger

Gold Member
And now we learn they may be forced to release a new Xbox in 2025. There's no way he wanted it this way. It makes no sense to go back and forth so often. He says one thing and then the 100% complete opposite happens within a year. That'll be unhealthy to endure for any CEO.

Yes. I'm also thinking about how these moves have alienated so much of the Xbox fanbase. Phil spent so long cultivating a good relationship with the fans. Despite the way some people around here talk about him - as just a con man and liar, pure and simple - I don't think that's a fair assessment. I think he valued his relationship with the fans and wanted to please them. I think he was sincere in that, or at least three-quarters sincere. That relationship with the "crowd" was also a source of pride and satisfaction for him. And now to have it turn against him, express disappointment, walk away... I'm sure that is discouraging for him.

Still, I can't feel too sorry for someone making 10 million a year. :p
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
It's starting to dawn on them:



Very WELL DONE! I'm glad some are finally started to get it from within the Xbox community.


This is his absolute biggest fallacy and it's what drove the massive failure of the Series S this gen.

There is no one left that they can pitch to, everyone has either seen their product and passed on it, or they have bought into it to some extent.

This actually goes for almost all the big gaming companies, even mobile..

The customer acquisition era is over, the territories have been marked, now it's the era of market and value share wars and trying to creep into someone else's territory in order to get revenue from there.

I agree with everything you said, until the bolded. That's NOT true. customer acquisition is still available in some markets. And it's markets that Sony has started to target over the last 3-5 years.

- China
- India
- Africa


In that very order!
 
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This is the first I've heard of series Gen limited on power draw because of the 360 problems.

Surely that would have been applicable to the Xbox one generation? I think it's just government epa type regulations that limit total console power use these days.
Sorry if I got misunderstood. The way I see it after the 360 got the red ring of death Xbox and Microsoft executives got scared of a repeat and asked for it to never happen again. That is why for me the Xbox one got the huge external cord, just in case. I am certain that when they where creating the Series S/X it was one of their mandates, to be sure that the console would not be at risk. Xbox executives did accept the cost of a vapor chamber for the One X for the same reasons, I think.
 

Brucey

Member
Sorry if I got misunderstood. The way I see it after the 360 got the red ring of death Xbox and Microsoft executives got scared of a repeat and asked for it to never happen again. That is why for me the Xbox one got the huge external cord, just in case. I am certain that when they where creating the Series S/X it was one of their mandates, to be sure that the console would not be at risk. Xbox executives did accept the cost of a vapor chamber for the One X for the same reasons, I think.
Ah I understand now. You mean like an arc fault interrupter cable like they added to the OG Xboxes when the powercord connection detached?

I think they learnt their lesson, they paid for the integration testing for future generations after the 360 manufacturing fiasco.

My 360 was an absolute screamer, glad to hear they got close to silent on more recent gens.
 
Ah I understand now. You mean like an arc fault interrupter cable like they added to the OG Xboxes when the powercord connection detached?

I think they learnt their lesson, they paid for the integration testing for future generations after the 360 manufacturing fiasco.

My 360 was an absolute screamer, glad to hear they got close to silent on more recent gens.
Forgot about it but yes. And the silence of the new consoles is really appreciated. I hope that they will continue the effort.
 

Brucey

Member
And now we learn they may be forced to release a new Xbox in 2025. There's no way he wanted it this way. It makes no sense to go back and forth so often. He says one thing and then the 100% complete opposite happens within a year. That'll be unhealthy to endure for any CEO.
Who is forcing them to release tho? Surely not Satya? I still contend that if they had any console hardware in the pipeline in the next two years they would have announced it after the PS5 pro announcement or at least before the pro launched. To give series owners some reason to hold on.
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
Who is forcing them to release tho? Surely not Satya? I still contend that if they had any console hardware in the pipeline in the next two years they would have announced it after the PS5 pro announcement or at least before the pro launched. To give series owners some reason to hold on.

This whole rumor just makes no sense, to be honest.
 

Astray

Member
I agree with everything you said, until the bolded. That's NOT true. customer acquisition is still available in some markets. And it's markets that Sony has started to target over the last 3-5 years.

- China
- India
- Africa


In that very order!
When I say "territory", I don't mean countries, because marketshare can and has swung in individual countries before (Japan used to be Playstation/Nintendo, now it's Nintendo land etc etc). This is why it's extremely dumb for Microsoft to all but leave areas like MENA or Europe to their competitors like that, because the perfect opportunity to gather marketshare could drop in their laps and they wouldn't be prepared to capitalize on it.

What I actually mean is market segments x Platform combinations.. Each market segment is so utterly dominated by a specific competitor right now that it's impossible to attempt to come in and take a majority or even %30-50 of the market in one fell swoop anymore (like Sega did with Nintendo for a while, and the 360 vs PS3). Microsoft could send out those consoles for free and they'd still have far less takers than they'd think (Series S went all the way down to $150 last holiday season with Starfield out, no takers).

If you're a developer and you want to succeed in the traditional console arena, then Sony is your go-to. If you want to succeed in the PC arena, then you better give Gabe his %30, Handhelds? Nintendo, Mobile? Apple and Google.

The big problem for Microsoft is they have no place at the table for any of these "territories", so if they can't be powerful platform owners that get titles without paying for them, they need to be the most powerful platform seekers instead.

The one avenue that might possibly be an exception is Windows PCs, because they own the most dominant OS that all the devs work on AND develop for, you can see them already starting with little tests like collaborating with laptop makers for PC handhelds to combat Steam Deck, and putting Avowed on battle.net to see if it would get them sales over there. They are also capable of bringing ideas like Quick Resume etc to their launchers and exclude Steam/EGS/GOG from them.
 
When I say "territory", I don't mean countries, because marketshare can and has swung in individual countries before (Japan used to be Playstation/Nintendo, now it's Nintendo land etc etc). This is why it's extremely dumb for Microsoft to all but leave areas like MENA or Europe to their competitors like that, because the perfect opportunity to gather marketshare could drop in their laps and they wouldn't be prepared to capitalize on it.

What I actually mean is market segments x Platform combinations.. Each market segment is so utterly dominated by a specific competitor right now that it's impossible to attempt to come in and take a majority or even %30-50 of the market in one fell swoop anymore (like Sega did with Nintendo for a while, and the 360 vs PS3). Microsoft could send out those consoles for free and they'd still have far less takers than they'd think (Series S went all the way down to $150 last holiday season with Starfield out, no takers).

If you're a developer and you want to succeed in the traditional console arena, then Sony is your go-to. If you want to succeed in the PC arena, then you better give Gabe his %30, Handhelds? Nintendo, Mobile? Apple and Google.

The big problem for Microsoft is they have no place at the table for any of these "territories", so if they can't be powerful platform owners that get titles without paying for them, they need to be the most powerful platform seekers instead.

The one avenue that might possibly be an exception is Windows PCs, because they own the most dominant OS that all the devs work on AND develop for, you can see them already starting with little tests like collaborating with laptop makers for PC handhelds to combat Steam Deck, and putting Avowed on battle.net to see if it would get them sales over there. They are also capable of bringing ideas like Quick Resume etc to their launchers and exclude Steam/EGS/GOG from them.
I agree. As far as PC I know thats where they want to grow but man I just don't see it happening. They have a horrible reputation and gamepass is the only thing that keeps them in the conversation. Similar to how Epic buying exclusives and giving away games is the only thing that keeps them in the conversation. Steam has just gobbled up the market share and little features like quick resume just don't matter to PC gamers. I think their current plan is the best one. Spread yourself everywhere and see if you can possibly blow up in one of those locations.
 

Brucey

Member
This whole rumor just makes no sense, to be honest.
The alternative is there are no actual plans for a next gen console, but for them to admit that publically would be catastrophic for remaining stock in the distribution channel. Better to tease and talk about nothing in concrete and keep some sales going as they wind down production.
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
The alternative is there are no actual plans for a next gen console, but for them to admit that publically would be catastrophic for remaining stock in the distribution channel. Better to tease and talk about nothing in concrete and keep some sales going as they wind down production.

Agreed. I think they do have at least one more console left. But there's just no way it's coming in 2025. They would have announced it by now.
 
Yeah, he doesnt look well. You can see its very bright lighting in that room but damn.

Might be better if the guy just steps down into another role.

We make jokes about it but it's nothing to do with the role. The guy is in a high level high paying position. Unfortunately people get sick. Its just part of life and can happen to anyone at anytime. Hope he's ok. He definitely does look unwell.
 
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why are people saying Phil doesn't look well? he was very puffy before (which is bad). he clearly has lost weight (which is good).

if he lost weight due to a sickness/treatment... why in the world he would be holding his job position?
 
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