Phil Spencer: The Energy In The Xbox Community Feels Great Right Now

Hmm notice he dodges the question "Are you happy with Xbox sales and progression for Xbox Gamepass?"

Spencer seems like a great guy irl

@themightyant @UltimateOtaku91 Except he doesn’t really have to share anything. It’s impossible to give numbers and get a clear picture as all consoles are selling out pretty fast due to very low stock and low yield. Also Xbox as a platform is no more only about traditional backward mindset of console sale number wars. The Gamepass model opens huge possibilities for creators who want to take some creative risks and not lose anything on the game sales. Stick to your traditional mindset of console sales number wars and you have a company which will only invest on mainstream overrated so-called “blockbuster” titles and we will never be able to discover any diverse content.

In Phil we trust..

Overall the series x, UI and gamepass deserve better praise and being honest to sell more.
It is such a quality of live console and service, it does everything right and almost perfectly.
I know UK and USA sell out quick but it’s the other countries in the EU etc that haven’t taken to next generation Xbox as well, hence lower sales than the competition.
Hopefully word and mouth and when some AAA in house games start to come the series s and x will get the sales in those countries.

@Senua I think the most frustrating thing about people talking about xbox console sales, is that it's been so obvious.

I've been talking about Xbox as a multi-device service like Windows, and the Xbox consoles as first party devices like the Surface line, for so long at this point.

Why tie your platform to one piece of hardware, that could not be successful. When you could have an ever growing and accessible multi-device platform. No other platform is tied to a specific hardware like in consoles. Netflix, Windows, Steam, Youtube, Office, Android. Even Apple, for as limited as that platform is, allows users to upgrade and choose the device that suits them, but still gives access to the platform.

Then we see MS come in with a cross gen, cross pc approach, with a sub service like Game Pass, clearly, untying the platform from the device, and people still don't get it.

And I'm not surprised he's talking up the feeling of the community right now, compared to all the things going wrong on the other side with store closures, expensive games, dead legacy titles, and dead legacy consoles if the CBOMB hits, a dry patch of games is hardly something to grumble over.

@Richnj Well the store closure thing was actually reversed so clearly Sony wasn't immune to the backlash.

It shouldn't have happened at all in the first place but they actually reversed course on that which is pretty surprising

Also Series X games are still similarly priced as PS5 games. Game Pass still has its limits by putting third party games on rotation albeit for much longer than PS Now does but if Game Pass wasn't an option you'd be in the same predicament as PlayStation is, and if a game isn't on Game Pass there isn't really another option to get it cheaper outside buying it used or waiting for sales just like PS5 games

@TheFrenchiestFry I have literally just finished reading the playstation blog post about the reversal. And I'm actually really relieved. I might actually go back to my original plan of looking at buying a second PS3 for the bedroom to tackle some backlog.

I'm not a game pass guy myself, but it does seem to be a good deal for those who do like to play new first party titles on day one, with some third party sprinkled in. And by the time the third party game gets rotated out, you can at least have given it a really good go to know if you want to purchase it, and at a discount.

And look at the people upset that they won't get a Days Gone 2, with the ex-Sony dev blaming the gamers for not paying full price for the first one. In contrast, everyone will get the MP of Halo Infinite and the Campaign will be on GP too. And I don't think people will be berated for not spending money on the title. The latter definitely feels like a far better situation.

@Richnj See I don't agree with what the Days Gone guy said but that's because Days Gone at launch, was DEFINITELY not worth full price. It was a buggy, unpolished mess from what I heard

He also brought up in that interview that God of War at launch sold like 5 million copies in a month and he sounded pretty bitter about it, but the thing is God of War had mountains of praise and hype behind it, while his game was just an adequate zombie survival game

I think price hikes are to be expected going into each new console as development costs increase, and that's why Game Pass is tempting as a value proposition, but it doesn't exactly eliminate that games by themselves are going to continue to get more expensive. What ultimately matters is whether they're actually worth the price they ask for as illustrated by that interview

@TheFrenchiestFry "his game was just an adequate zombie survival game"

This part gets me, because I think there's nothing wrong with that. I think Sony's culture of quality and blockbusters makes 'ok' feel like subpar. And I think some designers get so accustomed to constant praise that falling short of being called brilliant is akin to kicking their dog. His game didn't get praise, it didn't get sales, it didn't get a sequel, and that's the audience's fault apparently.

Where as, the game could and should have had a sequel. I think they overestimated the brand potential of that game. It should have had a smaller budget and smaller price tag for it's smaller audience.

@Richnj Honestly I thought the potential for a sequel was there for sure, but unlike other PS4 exclusives that I really liked that gen I wasn't necessarily clamoring for it to happen. The thing with the "blockbuster-tier" mentality kind of stems from the fact that so many of their other first party games were of such high quality and enjoyability that when a game ends up being subpar it's extremely noticeable

Like I'd want to see a Spider-Man sequel or a new God of War and Horizon, or a new Bloodborne way before a new Days Gone game even though the foundation was there. From that angle I can kind of understand why Sony passed on it but maybe they're putting it on PC as a gauger of interest of sorts just in case and if enough people buy it, they'll change their minds

I’ve never been happier about the state of the gaming community. There is a lot of camaraderie across platforms. I’ve always liked trying all available systems and never understood getting angry about someone else’s gaming preferences.