Xbox boss Phil Spencer has been speaking as part of an interview at the Paley International Council Summit this week, and as reported by Bloomberg, he made some comments about wanting to invest in more "social, casual content".
Spencer namedropped the likes of Minecraft, Roblox, FIFA and Fortnite while discussing this, before going on to explain that Microsoft has "a lot of ambition" in focusing on "more social, casual content that's out there."
“When I think about the kinds of genres that are usually associated with Xbox, yes, we have Roblox, we have Minecraft, we have FIFA and Fortnite, but we want to continue to invest in more social, casual content that’s out there. We have a lot of ambition.”
This isn't the first time Spencer has made comments along these lines, with his most recent mention arriving back in July when he told IGN's Unlocked podcast that he believes there's an "opportunity" in Xbox's portfolio for "more family-friendly content".
It seems the Xbox boss is very keen on pursuing this, so it'll be interesting to see the results in a few years' time.
Do you agree with Spencer that Xbox needs more social, casual content? Give us your thoughts below.
[source bloomberg.com]
Comments 27
Thats great and all... But i am looking for more large single player games. More Assassins Creed style games. 3rd person games. games where i can get lost in the world and become the character i am playing as. Just my two cents that no one asked for...
@OliverOwen My thoughts exactly, I don't want the type of games he's describing here. I too love the strong story narrative driven games.
I wish there were more co-op, PVE style games. Nothing better than working with others for common goals.
Bring back PlayStation Home to Xbox call it Home 2.0 .... Ok i could say that with a stright face
@RedKnight34 Oh yeah, PlayStation Home was awesome! Love that back in the day.
Bringing back 1 vs. 100 would be the best outcome.
@Snake_V5 Obviously he isn't JUST going to invest in family friendly games....Seriously
I like hearing this. Am very tired of sweaties, tryhards, and griefers in games.
Guess they'll always be there no matter the game. But games that deter them are very welcomed.
Wish they were permanently banned more often to be honest though. It ruins the game and my experience.
@Grumblevolcano Yes! Please!
Do it!!!! I need more stuff to play with the kids. Already have an Xbox and gamepass so if i don't have to buy games for the switch it's yet again more money in my pocket
I think it would be very good for Xbox to have some family on the sofa fun games.
Of course the king of this is Mario Kart console wise everyone plays and loves a good bit of sofa race battles there.
Sony did have the Knowledge is power series with the PS4 using your mobile, that’s was another good one with the family and friends on the sofa.
But Xbox has nothing really like that now with that pulling power and magnitude.
On the Xbox360 there was that quiz game that pulled family and friends together. But nothing really since.
It would be good because as family and friends come and play it spreads good vibes and leads to further sales and attachment rates to console, games and game pass.
The problem is developing something that has that big family pull and vibe on the sofa.
@Snake_V5 I wouldn't mind a fun Mario Party style game or a Mario Kart style game, but i really only play single player story driven games.
@FriendlyOctopus True, but he probably will for the most part though.
More simple but fun multiplayer games would be awesome (like rocket league). With most online games now it feels almost complicated to know what you ‘should’ be doing especially if you play the game after launch.
@Snake_V5 no. He wont.
It would be nice, in theory, to have more socializing in games. But it just doesn't work no more because people typically don't know how to talk to others online.
I loved the way Xbox was back in the day where you could make friends in games through game chat (MotoGP and Whacked for example). But now when you have a game with proximity chat, like RecRoom, its full of the worst kinda people that I don't want to be friends with.
What could work though is if there was something that was kinda like RecRoom (or Habbo Hotel) but replaced the Xbox Community app and Game Clubs, so that people who play those specific games could go into a virtual world and meet new players to go play those games with.
All games that can be filled with micro transactions & make the big bucks
@Originut sorry hahaha
I totally agree. There are certainly gaps in the XBOX first party portfolio.
Rhythm games, board games, puzzle games, Banjo Kazooie etc.
It's gonna take time but I'm pretty sure they'll get there.
Lego TT Games would be perfect. Really hoping Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga gets on Game Pass.
Social games are what's big and could lead to widespread adoption. That's how Nintendo continues to corner the market. As a family man of three young ladies, I can tell you this would be a welcome addition. I'll be honest, though. I'm not a very social gamer.
I'm not into any of the games mentioned other than Minecraft. But yeah I do want a social game where I can co op with friends or random people. Would also like it to have great story. I'm more into anime style worlds tho, and I like Chinese fantasy. Like Genshin Impact.
@Grumblevolcano "Bringing back 1 vs. 100 would be the best outcome."
YESSSS! Been saying this for ages. They missed a trick not doing this during the pandemic, even if just the 360 version through BC.
But looking forward something similar to 1 vs 100, Who want's to be a millionaire or Jeopardy where you can play as a family/team, either on the same screen or across the net.
Perhaps even allowing players to play via their phone (similar to That's You on PS) which removes that barrier to entry. And even playing together via the cloud as long as just one of you is a Game Pass Ultimate member. This would really open up gaming to a new audience and potentially be the gateway to getting those new audiences involved in other games... and Game Pass.
I'll take my consultancy fee now MS, a lifetimes Game Pass Ult. will do
Also bring back Banjo! Where is your Xbox platformer?
Pleasedon'tbecomeNintendopleasedon'tbecomeNintendopleasedon'tbecomeNintendo.....
And pleaseplease don't go into a "trying to tap Nintendo's market" phase like Matrick did with the last half of the 360 and Kinekt....
Seriously, they do need more family content. Much more. But the chase for "social" content can only lead to bad things for the kind of stuff most of us are interested in if they let it consume their strategy.
Plus it could be argued that with tentpoles like Halo and SoT, even FH, and, really, Bethesda, they already have a huge social game catalogue, it's just social among the internet rather than the social-only (mobile, Animal Crossing, etc) market.
I know that's the big money, it's the Nintendo and mobile secret sauce....but Xbox has been such a fun home precisely because it's been traditional gaming nerdery and not the modern "social" phenomenon I'd avoid with a 1000 ft pole designed for a world I don't understand in the slightest.
If they went that route, I'd be back to team blue primarily in no time, singing the praises of $70 single player-only games. I already hate my future self and want to argue with him...
@iplaygamesnstuff MS already has more coop games than any other publisher I can think of. Halo, Gears, technically Forza, SoT (to a fault), FO76 (to a bigger fault), TESO, Redfall (coming). Ubisoft comes in second with Farcry and the Ghost Recon series. Not many other publishers do much with coop.
Two obvious ideas not so obvious to Microsoft:
Banjo-Kazooie
Viva Piñata
@NEStalgia Which is one of the reasons I love the Xbox ecosystem of games. I'm not in for a pissing contest. I just want to have fun.
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