MisterR
Member
They aren't inherently awful and too long, Sony killed it the last couple of years. Sadly I think they listened to those criticizing showing games that aren't releasing for a while and it led to their most boring show in years.
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Phil Spencer talks to Patrick Klepek (Waypoint) about Xbox One X and First Party
- Thread starter jbug617
- Start date
They aren't inherently awful and too long, Sony killed it the last couple of years. Sadly I think they listened to those criticizing showing games that aren't releasing for a while and it led to their most boring show in years.
MisterR
Member
Three years ago should be showing some results at this point, not 3 years from now.
HellofaMouse
Member
3 years is a long time, their briefing would look veey different if they made those deals 2 to 3 years ago.
To be fair, they made some, but they keep canceling games and closing studios left and right.
Microsoft has more money than sony, they should be the ones bringing the heat when it comes to 1st party software imo
v0mitg0d
Member
I'm not clear on something that's probably been covered, so apologies in advanced.
When an regular XBO game is put into scorpio (sorry, like this name better) on a 1080P display, it supersamples with some added effects.
What happens when you put a regular (older) XBO game on a 4K display? clearly it will upscale to 4K, but does it add any AA and other effects across the board to vanilla XBO games?
When an regular XBO game is put into scorpio (sorry, like this name better) on a 1080P display, it supersamples with some added effects.
What happens when you put a regular (older) XBO game on a 4K display? clearly it will upscale to 4K, but does it add any AA and other effects across the board to vanilla XBO games?
Uno Venova
Banned
ForkNetwork
Banned
Theres two possibilities
Either Phil has been scarred by Scalebound and is honestly waiting as much as possible to announce games
Or their budget has suffered massive cuts and they arent really making anything anymore
This E3 has made the latter look a lot more likely, but who knows
Either Phil has been scarred by Scalebound and is honestly waiting as much as possible to announce games
Or their budget has suffered massive cuts and they arent really making anything anymore
This E3 has made the latter look a lot more likely, but who knows
Complicated
Banned
Last few years were bad as shown by all the games from the last few years that had no presence at all this year due to being so far out or mired in some form of development hell. Deep Down, Dreams, FFVII, Shenmue, and Death Stranding are all in the same place Crackdown and Scalebound were in to one degree or another. The stuff they actually got out was pretty good which makes the early announcements even worse.
Came here to post this. If they were going to treat the duo of Xbox One S and X as a total re-launch, then they should have had a slate of first party launch titles to go with them. To have an executive essentially say "well I as an individual didn't focus on software" seems really strange for a division of this size.
But in many ways they're kind of stuck. They don't have a ton of first party studios, and the studios they do have are tied up building the games everyone expects (Halo, Forza, Gears). You can take a gamble on new IP to try to excite people (like Sea of Thieves) but if it doesn't pan on you're just going to feel burned again.
IOnEI Falcon
Member
His rhyming tweets were for the riddles in Sea of Thieves.
He's such a good guy though. Someone probably is to blame for no letting Spencer make more deals.
MisterR
Member
Sorry, I disagree completely. I'd much rather know Shenmue, FFVII, Death Stranding and others are coming down the line than just get a rehash of your fall and spring lineup that I already know about. Maybe new announcements of games coming down the line do nothing for you, but that is E3 for me and most others. That's why everyone feels like Nintendo had the best showing this year with nothing more than a verbal announcement a game was coming and a title screen. E3 is about selling the future and building excitement for your brand.
HellofaMouse
Member
Times change. Businesses change. Opinions change. People change...
Honestly I think the S and X are both incredible pieces of hardware and such a turnaround from the lumpy Xbox One OG.
It's just their first party studios now. Everything else is great. But consoles live and die by their games. It's that exclusive first party content that really matters, and they should fucking know this - Halo single-handedly saved the OG Xbox!
It's just their first party studios now. Everything else is great. But consoles live and die by their games. It's that exclusive first party content that really matters, and they should fucking know this - Halo single-handedly saved the OG Xbox!
Fredrik
Member
lol that's quite the exaggeration
And just to be fair, Sony has closed down Studio Liverpool (Wipeout), Evolution Studio (Driveclub), Guerrilla Cambridge (RIGS), Sony Online Entertainment (Everquest) in recent years, so it's not like this is something that only Microsoft do.
Patrick Klepek
furiously molesting tim burton
We had some, uh, issues with this video shoot that were outside my control. Sorry about that. It's also why the interview took a while. (Not Microsoft's fault, either.)
Wish we'd had more time with Phil; he's a good sport.
Wish we'd had more time with Phil; he's a good sport.
You call bullshit on what part exactly? look at the data and how games have declined.
When he started there actually were a whole bunch of projects and studios he had the games in development and deals from the 360 era. It's declined since he took over not increased. Declined. As I said he was also a key player if not the most important at Microsoft studios before becoming head of xbox meaning he had every hand in those so called "troubled project" and 'hardly any projects' if you believe they started in the 360 era.
Now that's not to say there wont be more deals signed but lets not call bullshit on facts. The burden of proof isn't on me it's on Phil to prove that what he has been saying for years and years isn't hot air because the reality is very different to what he says in almost everything he says for PR.
Complicated
Banned
Probably why E3 is just becoming PAX. Nobody cares about hype trains or any of that shit outside of NeoGAF. They want companies to announce and sell them on the shit that they can get within a year or so. Not a roadmap of the movie universe they're creating for the next decade.
chaosmaster(1)
Member
Great interview Patrick and thanks for asking about the 1st party situation.
Zombie James
Banned
You call bullshit on what part exactly? look at the data and how games have declined.
When he started there actually were a whole bunch of projects and studios he had the games in development and deals from the 360 era. It's declined since he took over not increased. Declined. As I said he was also a key player if not the most important at Microsoft studios before becoming head of xbox meaning he had every hand in those so called "troubled project" and 'hardly any projects' if you believe they started in the 360 era.
Now that's not to say there wont be more deals signed but lets not call bullshit on facts. The burden of proof isn't on me it's on Phil to prove that what he has been saying for years and years isn't hot air because the reality is very different to what he says in almost everything he says for PR.
Where's this chart from? Can't remember which thread I saw the full one in.
HellofaMouse
Member
Yea but sony still have a stronger 1st and 2nd party line up than ms by a mile.
Their studios also innovate more, new ips, complete overhauls of existing ips, a lot of 2nd parties etc.
And to be fair, all of those examples are studios with niche games, even wipeout. I dont think sony would cancel detroit for example. (I think detroits pretty comperable to scalebound in terms of appeal)
Rumblebones
Banned
Phil been saying the same thing for years.
If he wants to convince and impress, he's gotta create or buy some studios and announce it publicly so the pressure is on to deliver.
If he wants to convince and impress, he's gotta create or buy some studios and announce it publicly so the pressure is on to deliver.
MugiwaraCole
Member
Because we have been.
rsnl
Neo Member
You call bullshit on what part exactly? look at the data and how games have declined.
When he started there actually were a whole bunch of projects and studios he had the games in development and deals from the 360 era. It's declined since he took over not increased. Declined. As I said he was also a key player if not the most important at Microsoft studios before becoming head of xbox meaning he had every hand in those so called "troubled project" and 'hardly any projects' if you believe they started in the 360 era.
Now that's not to say there wont be more deals signed but lets not call bullshit on facts. The burden of proof isn't on me it's on Phil to prove that what he has been saying for years and years isn't hot air because the reality is very different to what he says in almost everything he says for PR.
this chart is great, is there a sony one?
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
Not arguing otherwise just pointing out the hyperbole. A well-made argument doesn't need exaggerations or hyperbole to make it's point.
I will say that Xbox has released two new systems in the 3 years Phil has taken over. You can argue what's the point of new systems if there's nothing to play and I would counter with a new system was needed. Xbox players and Microsoft were sick of the 900p stuff and having the worst version of third party games. And more to the point, the X1X dev kit sounds like a dream for Devs which is only going to lead to good things for the system.
Anyone that follows sports teams knows the first few years of a new GM is dealing with contracts and plans that were put in place before their tenure.
I'm as bummed as anyone but as with anything you have to put it into perspective. Yes, Sony has a major leg up with first party but it's not like Xbox has done nothing. We have early access and BC. Some of my favorite Xbox gaming has been playing early access games. And we're getting Battlegrounds and Conan: Exiles this year. I dunno, for me personally the situation isn't as dire as everyone's making it out to be.
Christocolus
Member
Well said.
Christocolus
Member
That was a very interesting interview. keep up the good work Patrick.
GifGafIsTheBestGaf
Member
Phil really wears a nice watch
He's only been head for 3, and AAA games usually takes about 3 years to complete. It feels like they knew the roadmap lacked games and focused on it mid way into his leadership, so id suspect we'll see numerous new game around 2019, particularly now that hardware is out the way. This is MS, they have smart people there, its unlikely that they haven't acted on investing in content months ago.
rsnl
Neo Member
wow thats a huge difference with ms
Christocolus
Member
Agreed. I hope he is able to deliver.
SmoothRunningGun
Member
At least he acknowledges the lack of 1st party. Going to take 3 years to fix though.
Also, people saying it's been 3 years, we should have a few new IPs since then...yea, you're right...but I can bet that when he became head, it wasn't to make new IPs...cuz they already had new IPs in the oven (some ain't make it out)...but it was about turning around the ship that was the disaster of the XBO launch. His focus was there, fixing the brand. All while that was going on...there was this fixation on POWER (especially here at GAF) and 1080p, the 900p, the 30FPS, the "Rise of Digital Foundry" and all of that. All the while, MS released Sunset Overdrive, Titanfall, and Ori, and none of them did gangbusters...but where he saw he was losing sales were probably 3rd party money (where the Ps mattered).
So yea, he focused on hardware, he focused on ease of development, cuz honestly, people weren't buying those exclusive games in a big way and 3rd parties were flocking to Sony who is killin it. So yea, seeing that happened, he cancelled a bunch of games and studios that weren't his vision of where they wanted to go because their trajectory wasn't a good one. They basically had to reset. It's really not that hard to see why they had to reset when you are getting beat in console sales 2:1. You gotta do ish differently.
I liken it to Nintendo seeing the fuck up that was the WiiU and now making the Switch. Doing a reset of everything and taking the time to do so. The last years of WiiU weren't that great, but now we have Switch and we have good 1st party content. I see the same thing happening here, but with MS they launched the console and didn't have Zelda (a once in a generation type of game).
So yea, he focused on hardware, he focused on ease of development, cuz honestly, people weren't buying those exclusive games in a big way and 3rd parties were flocking to Sony who is killin it. So yea, seeing that happened, he cancelled a bunch of games and studios that weren't his vision of where they wanted to go because their trajectory wasn't a good one. They basically had to reset. It's really not that hard to see why they had to reset when you are getting beat in console sales 2:1. You gotta do ish differently.
I liken it to Nintendo seeing the fuck up that was the WiiU and now making the Switch. Doing a reset of everything and taking the time to do so. The last years of WiiU weren't that great, but now we have Switch and we have good 1st party content. I see the same thing happening here, but with MS they launched the console and didn't have Zelda (a once in a generation type of game).
Shpeshal Nick
aka Collingwood
The next Xbox will be out by 2020 so I doubt that matters. PS5 will head them by a year at most.
That isn't a trivial distinction. It's a pretty huge deal to launch with a must-have game. Nintendo is also drafting off the success of the 3DS with a console that's both a new portable and a new living room console at 3/5ths the price with a huge catalog of well-regarded IPs that they have a track record of innovating around. Zelda in particular is enough to lend hope that there's room to reinvent a lot of other franchises.
The future of Xb1X hasn't been written and could go in any number of directions. I suspect it will sell pretty well in the first holiday season. From there word of mouth and media coverage will play a strong role in shaping whether that demand remains strong in 2018.
Jaguar Victory
Member
All I know is that he finally acknowledged Crimson Skies!
And now we wait for the reboot
And now we wait for the reboot
graywolf323
Member
Phil was the head of first party studios before becoming the head of Xbox, Im not sure why people keep excusing him for the state of their first party development when hes been in charge of it for nearly a decade now in some capacity
Whilst I agree in sentiment, creating new Studios alone would of needed the signing off by Matrick, Balmer and the CFO at the time. Even take Gears and Minecraft both franchises he couldn't just go and say I'm buying them. He would need that signed of by the CEO and CFO.
Also on top of that the way first party was creating deals you had the position which was Harrison position, as well for EMEA
Do you think he didn't need executive buy-in to design and launch Xbox One S and X? You're right that no large scale strategic expenditure goes entirely without review. It is the job of any division head to make the case for what is right for the business.
No I would expect him to get executive sign off on the projects. Your right it is the job of head to make the case - but if the CEO/CFO says you have to wait until we see an some improvement in the brand before we will invest more.
The more likely scenario is MS doesn't want to create a Zipline Studios ... that then turned in MS Vancouver ... then turned in Black Tusk Studios ... then turned into The Coalition was inception to release of first product was 6 years. I would imagine MS CEO and CFO wants a plan from paying the first employeee of any new studio to release of software within 3 years.
SenjutsuSage
Banned
Definitely supporting this game in hopes it leads to bigger games in the same vein. Told them this personally at fanfest.
I was angry at first after seeing it at the briefing though. Really did think it was conker.
I was angry at first after seeing it at the briefing though. Really did think it was conker.
There is.
It's basically the opposite direction.
2-3 years is a joke. Even with their current announced lineup Sony First Party have one AAA title available for release per quarter until the earliest date in Phil's timeframe - which may well fall into the PS5 launch window.
It all depends on what MS are expecting the X to achieve though. They're clearly banking on it having the best multiplats to drive sales outside the Xbox faithful, but the price point and their PR that it's a elite console for the hardcore says to me that it's a console built for doubling down on their 'whales' when it comes to ongoing MTs, DLC and other paid extensions/services.
So in that respect having a large first party lineup is less important than having a few big GaaS titles.
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