Comments 973

Re: Talking Point: Will 'Project Helix' Be A Niche Device, Or An Xbox Console For The Masses?

fatpunkslim

@GuyinPA75 The fact that they’re planning to release several OEM versions is actually a very good thing. You can’t compare this to the Series S. Developers won’t have any development or porting issues, in the same way that PC games already release across tons of different configurations. In this kind of setup, it’s the game that adapts to the machine — developers don’t need to create specific versions or design games around the lowest‑end hardware.

You have to understand that we’re moving into a new paradigm. It’s not comparable to what you know today, and most of the limitations that exist when making different console versions simply won’t apply, because it will all be based on a homogeneous PC‑like infrastructure.

Re: Talking Point: Will 'Project Helix' Be A Niche Device, Or An Xbox Console For The Masses?

fatpunkslim

@fraserG The question is poorly framed — niche device or mass‑market? Honestly, it will probably be somewhere in between. PlayStation still has a very strong aura, despite a disastrous generation in terms of first party games. For many people and casual gamers, it’s the default console, especially for those who don’t really follow gaming news. That’s why strong marketing will be essential to highlight the unique possibilities of the new console compared to the competition. They need to be disruptive in their communication and put Xbox players and the Xbox console at the center — basically the opposite of what Sarah Bond did.

@betterthings I'm obviously not talking about PC — they won’t go back on day‑one releases on PC, that wouldn’t make any sense. The new Xbox will already have enough differentiating factors, starting with native compatibility with all previous Xbox console games, as well as a true console experience. A PC player who mainly uses their machine for gaming could definitely be interested in the next Xbox — even more so if they want something simpler on the side.

People don’t always realize it, but the potential PC player base is ten times larger than the console market, and the next Xbox is a small revolution. It’s something completely new that has never been done before, so it’s hard to compare it to anything we currently know

Re: Talking Point: Will 'Project Helix' Be A Niche Device, Or An Xbox Console For The Masses?

fatpunkslim

I see a lot of pessimism from some people, as usual on this site. Yet the Xbox Series X has sold over 35 million units, compared to 84 million for the PS5 — and that’s without a mid‑gen refresh. So beyond the usual dramatization, and considering the fact that Xbox releases all its games on PC day one, and some on other consoles as well, I actually think they’re doing well.

I believe there’s a real desire — from Xbox players and even from many PC players — for the next Xbox to surprise us in a good way. The next Xbox will offer a much larger game library (30–40% more games) than the current Series consoles, and even more than PlayStation consoles. It will offer many new possibilities, and if Asha Sharma adjusts the exclusivity strategy with a better balance and timed exclusives, that’s another set of differentiating factors and improvements over the current consoles — and even over the competition — that suggest the next Xbox has everything it needs to be a major success.

There are still many open questions: price, marketing, exclusives, etc. But if these conditions are met, it can only perform better than the current generation, which suffered from a lot of bad press regarding marketing, communication, and exclusivity strategy.

So if these points are corrected, logically, success should follow — and personally, I believe in it.

Re: Talking Point: Will 'Project Helix' Be A Niche Device, Or An Xbox Console For The Masses?

fatpunkslim

On paper:
It appeals to both type of players:

PC players who want to keep the openness of the PC ecosystem while enjoying a console‑like experience,

and console players who want access to a much larger game library, knowing that 30–40% of games release exclusively on PC.

So there’s a very large potential player base.

  • The remaining question is the price, which will be decisive. But what we can say is that a gaming PC costs more than a console, and yet it’s the only market that’s actually growing, along with cloud gaming.
  • We still don’t know whether Xbox will offer a cheaper version, but we can be fairly sure that OEM versions will exist at lower prices.
  • Marketing will also play a key role.
  • And if they manage to launch exclusive games alongside the new console, that would be a huge purchase trigger. Imagine games like Gears E‑Day, Blade, Clockwork Revolution, etc., released exclusively on the next Xbox. If they do that, it will prove they fully understand what’s needed to revive the hardware. Temporary exclusives of two years for major franchises are enough — when you want to play a game, you’re not going to wait two years, or even a full year. PlayStation understands this very well. With every generation, they concentrate their exclusive games around the launch of their consoles, and after that there’s not much left

Re: Next Xbox Console: Everything We Know So Far About Microsoft's Next-Gen System

fatpunkslim

@fraserG Unless I'm mistaken, here’s what you forgot to mention — things that are either confirmed or come from Jez Corden’s statements:

  • Regarding the logo, you could say it looks a bit like a strand of DNA, which echoes Asha Sharma’s comments about returning to the brand’s roots — returning to the brand’s DNA.
  • The system boots directly into a full Xbox console interface, with the Windows mode being completely optional.
  • Automatic game optimization (default game profiles, currently on the XFE roadmap).
  • A premium first‑party version, and cheaper OEM versions.
  • Regarding price, we could also say that an equivalent gaming PC would cost much more. Microsoft can subsidize the hardware, negotiate prices with AMD, and optimize production costs, knowing they’ve already secured a major RAM supply deal with SK Hynix. A comparable PC simply can’t match the performance‑per‑dollar ratio.
  • We can also mention the upcoming Sebile controller.
  • The next Xbox will have upgradeable modules, specifically for the SSD and the RAM, maybe other components

Going further, we could also say that:

The next Xbox will use a hybrid SoC with dedicated gaming hardware blocks, including an NPU, enabling things like native hardware‑level backward compatibility and a gaming‑optimized memory architecture (not possible on a PC). With the next Xbox, the configuration will be fully controlled, with direct access to the hardware, everything calibrated for a single SoC, and games optimized directly at the hardware level. A standard PC cannot have these specialized hardware blocks because Windows has to run on thousands of different configurations.

The advantage of standardized hardware is fewer bugs, no drivers to manage yourself, and a closed, reliable environment.

Re: Here's Almost 10 Minutes Of Uncut Gameplay Footage From Forza Horizon 6

fatpunkslim

@Titntin For the cars, I’m not too worried, Even just real players on the roads will already make things feel more alive.. But for the pedestrians, I think it’s mainly to avoid players running into them — this isn’t GTA. Besides, since FH3, NPCs have been heavily reduced.

As for Mexico, it wasn’t really urban, so it was fine. But in Tokyo, it’s true that it becomes an immersion problem. At the very least, they could add NPCs you can simply pass through if you drive onto the sidewalk

Then again, it’s been this way in Forza Horizon for a while now.

Re: Next Xbox Console Could Be Affected By PlayStation Pulling Back On PC

fatpunkslim

@PsBoxSwitchOwner your article mixes everything together by counting third‑party games. The TechSpot article that says 30% of PlayStation’s revenue comes from PC only includes first‑party games, which is a much more accurate way to calculate it.

In any case, the potential is huge, and it would be even bigger if PlayStation really committed to PC — including day‑one releases. So the ‘2%’ excuse doesn’t hold up. Every third‑party publisher is rushing to PC, but somehow for PlayStation it’s supposedly not interesting? Seriously? When the PC player base is ten times larger than any console and the market is still growing? 120 million monthly active players on Steam alone... Sorry, but there is no business logic behind all of this.

Maybe Schreier heard some internal rumors, but shareholders would never approve a decision like that, because it would mean less budget for the entire PlayStation division — and inevitably lower‑quality games for players

Re: Next Xbox Console Could Be Affected By PlayStation Pulling Back On PC

fatpunkslim

@PsBoxSwitchOwner "just 2%" More numbers pulled out of nowhere — it’s like the whole ‘100 million consoles sold’ story, which is completely false. But even if it were true, what shareholders look at isn’t the current percentage of revenue, it’s the potential revenue. And the potential is huge, and PlayStation has barely scratched the surface of it. That’s why it doesn’t represent much today — and I don’t believe the 2% figure at all, since Helldivers 2 alone, plus games like Spider‑Man or God of War, already push it way beyond that. The reality is simply that their PC strategy is still very timid. That’s the main reason I don’t believe this rumor.

I don’t care about PlayStation games anyway, for reasons I already mentioned. They don’t have much in terms of single‑player games honestly, and overall their games don’t interest me. But above all, the Steam catalog completely dwarfs PlayStation’s tiny library — around 30–40% of all games are PC‑only. People don’t realize how many games release exclusively on PC, it’s massive.

It’s still strange that every third‑party publisher succeeds on PC, but supposedly not PlayStation according to some people. Why? Are their games low quality? Or is it simply because they haven’t really committed to PC yet? It has to be one or the other — you can’t have it both ways.

thanks @TrollOfWar It's 30% - 40% of PlayStation's first party sales. Link: https://www.techspot.com/news/109514-pc-sales-now-account-nearly-third-sony-first.html

Re: Next Xbox Console Could Be Affected By PlayStation Pulling Back On PC

fatpunkslim

@Jaxx420 Maybe the sales are lower, but we’re still talking about several million copies sold. And another way to look at it is that the delay between the PlayStation release and the PC release is exactly what causes the lower sales. So the conclusion could actually be the opposite: they should speed up the PC release to take advantage of the game’s marketing hype.

The other explanation that would support your point would be to say that PC players have less appetite for cinematic single‑player games than PlayStation players — but there’s nothing that really proves that.

Re: Next Xbox Console Could Be Affected By PlayStation Pulling Back On PC

fatpunkslim

@DennisReynolds Sony announced in December 2025 that it had shipped 92 million consoles to retailers (not necessarily sold to consumers). Sony never shares the actual sell‑through numbers.

If we apply the usual 5–8% gap between shipped and sold during the PS4 era, that puts real sales at around 86 million units. In both cases, it’s still far from 100 million, and the PS5 remains behind the PS4’s trajectory.”

Schreier is a journalist — he doesn’t work at Sony as far as I know. So how can you claim he’s automatically right? He talked about GTA 6 being delayed to 2027, yet nothing has been confirmed so far.

Re: Next Xbox Console Could Be Affected By PlayStation Pulling Back On PC

fatpunkslim

@Jaxx420 do you have any sources? For example, God of War has 174,000 reviews on Steam, and with a sales‑to‑review ratio on Steam that usually ranges from 20:1 to 60:1 depending on the game, that suggests several million potential sales on PC. Same for Spider‑Man — several million copies sold on PC.

All the numbers show the opposite. Games that release on PC often sell even more than on consoles. Take the latest Resident Evil Requiem, for example

I think the shareholders wouldn’t be happy if they actually pulled their games from PC. That’s why I don’t believe this rumor at all.

Re: Next Xbox Console Could Be Affected By PlayStation Pulling Back On PC

fatpunkslim

First of all, these are just rumors. Nothing has been confirmed by PlayStation, especially since it completely contradicts what they are doing and the statements from Sony’s CEO, who has been talking about becoming more open to PC.

Another thing is that pulling their single‑player first‑party games from Steam would mean a huge loss of revenue for PlayStation. Less revenue means smaller budgets, which ultimately means lower‑quality games. But who knows — it’s possible. It would actually be consistent with the small number of original single‑player games they’ve released this generation and with their shift toward live‑service titles. They’re clearly trying to make more money while investing less (live‑service games, remakes, fewer AAA single‑player titles, etc.).

And even if it happened, it wouldn’t remove that many games from Xbox’s ecosystem. If they really do pull their single‑player games from PC (which I doubt), the PS6 still wouldn’t have access to the 30–40% of games that are PC‑only, unlike the next Xbox. So Xbox would still come out far ahead in terms of available catalog.

In any case, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top: a closed ecosystem that locks itself in (PlayStation), or an open ecosystem that allows players to access a vast game catalog without restrictions.

Re: Xbox Head Doubles Down On The Importance Of Console, Says It's A 'Reference Experience'

fatpunkslim

@Fiendish-Beaver "3 or 4 times the number of gamers that play on a PlayStation": Where is this data coming from? You’re forgetting that the number of consoles doesn’t mean there’s the same number of engaged players behind them. Recent figures actually show that the gap isn’t that big, because Xbox players have a higher engagement rate. Whether it’s games like Forza Horizon 5 or third‑party titles like Arc Raiders or Helldivers 2, the difference isn’t 3x or 4x — far from it. The gap is much smaller.

And by the way, that’s not even the actual console gap between Xbox and PlayStation. It’s more like a 2× or 2,5x difference at most

Re: Xbox Head Doubles Down On The Importance Of Console, Says It's A 'Reference Experience'

fatpunkslim

I quote: "The second thing is the 'return to Xbox,' **we are going to start with console**, and make sure that we understand that this is our reference experience. We will meet players where they are, and build experiences that are instant and seamless and accessible"

Return to Xbox’ and ‘meet players where they are’ sound like two slightly contradictory ideas. I’m curious to see how she plans to combine both at the same time. She seems open to revisiting the exclusivity strategy, while still keeping a multiplatform approach. I think she’ll have to find the right balance between these two strategies, and that will probably involve timed exclusives.

I’m not talking about games that have historically been multiplatform like COD or Doom, nor about PC or cloud releases, but the big franchises or new IPs should probably keep some form of timed exclusivity to maintain the appeal of Xbox consoles — even if Xbox consoles continue to offer other exclusive advantages like Play Anywhere, access to multiple stores, native backward compatibility across several generations, etc. I’m almost certain she’ll eventually reach that conclusion about a better balance of exclusive games.

It’s a necessary step if she truly wants to put Xbox players and Xbox consoles at the center.

@fraserG: "we are going to start with console": It means: what exactly is she trying to say? — “push Xbox games on console first and then on other platforms afterwards?”

I’m almost certain she’ll eventually reach that conclusion about a better balance of exclusive games. It’s a necessary step if she truly wants to put Xbox players and Xbox consoles at the center.

Re: These Seven Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass, Including Three Big Additions (March 4-17)

fatpunkslim

Planet of Lana 2 is more than enough for me, and for those who haven’t played Cyberpunk yet, that’s also a great addition. And FIFA is simply one of the most‑played games in the world. Not my cup of tea, but it’ll definitely please millions of players. Hollow Knight Silksong, already played it, but it’s also an amazing game for Premium subscribers.
The people who complain all the time don’t really realize it. And honestly, for those with very narrow and very selective tastes: don’t subscribe to Game Pass, guys. Just buy the 2–3 games you like each year, but don’t come here ruining it for others who have more open and eclectic tastes, right @Fiendish-Beaver?

Re: Xbox Is Teasing Something 'Very Cool' For Game Pass This Month, Possibly Cyberpunk 2077

fatpunkslim

@Gemini53 Yeah !The game’s price hasn’t even really dropped yet, and a lot of players probably haven’t tried it for that reason — or because they didn’t have time, or their backlog is already full, or they were waiting for the bugs to be fixed and then forgot about it, etc. There are plenty of possible reasons.

Every time a game like this arrives on Game Pass, there’s a huge spike in players, which proves that the potential audience is actually massive. For example, with Star Wars Outlaws, I wanted to buy it but I was waiting for the price to go down. And right now I’m playing nothing else — I love the game.

Re: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Gets Xbox Play Anywhere Tag Ahead Of Game Pass Launch

fatpunkslim

"Two for the price of one", Yes, that’s exactly it. It’s really great not having to pay twice and being able to play on both Xbox console and PC. More and more big games are supporting Xbox Play Anywhere. There’s also the cloud aspect, because even if it’s not always clearly mentioned, the ability to play in the cloud often comes with it. Personally, I’m often in that situation where I start a game on one device and continue it on another.

Re: Roundup: Here's What The First Reviews / Impressions Say About The Marathon Server Slam

fatpunkslim

It’s pretty clear the hype has already died down. After the small initial curiosity, it’s basically the new Concord — plain and simple. You might say I’m not being objective, but I played the free version and watched several videos, and....
The art direction is honestly awful. It looks like they just took a default Unreal Engine map, dropped their assets on it, and called it a day. There’s zero atmosphere. The characters are a complete mess, they look like bad AI. I don’t understand anything about the inventory, the text is way too small, the gameplay is extremely basic and slow… Honestly, I don’t understand why this game even exists.

And most influencers say it’s bad, except for the pro‑PlayStation channels — and even they’re not very convinced!

I’m going back to Arc Raiders.

Re: Poll: How Optimistic Are You Feeling About The Future Of Xbox?

fatpunkslim

@GuyinPA75 Yeah ! Sarah Bond was apparently disliked by developers according to some leaks. Her “this is an Xbox” message was apparently her idea, and a lot of people didn’t understand it, because it basically suggested that an Xbox console was pointless. Which is completely absurd when you consider that the next Xbox is likely their biggest investment ever, since it promises to be a revolution in the industry.

Asha Sharma has far more experience in marketing, product and platform development, and communication — and that’s exactly what Xbox has been lacking. I see the Asha Sharma (business, marketing) – Matt Booty (gaming strategy, content) duo as a very positive move.

Re: Poll: How Optimistic Are You Feeling About The Future Of Xbox?

fatpunkslim

@Cakefish I believe absolutely none of that rumor claiming PlayStation would reduce its PC support. It completely contradicts what their CEO has been saying, and what they are doing, and on top of that it would mean a huge loss of revenue for them.

As for live‑service games, I also don’t get the impression they’ve stopped: proof is they recently announced Horizon Multiplayer, and Marathon is coming soon. Sure, they’ve probably scaled things back a bit by cancelling some projects, but I really don’t think they’ve moved on to something else — far from it.

Re: Poll: How Optimistic Are You Feeling About The Future Of Xbox?

fatpunkslim

@Gemini53 I think you’re overstating things a bit. Yes, we don’t have a full official reveal from Microsoft yet, but it’s not true that “we know nothing” or that everything is just community wish‑listing. There are actually several concrete, consistent indicators pointing toward what the next Xbox will be — a Windows‑based console, open to third‑party stores, and fully compatible with the existing Xbox library.

A few examples that are hard to dismiss:

Reliable insiders like Jez Corden have been reporting for over a year that the next Xbox is built as a “Windows console,” with an OS unified across PC and Xbox and support for multiple storefronts. This isn’t random speculation — it’s repeated by people with a solid track record.

Microsoft’s strengthened partnership with AMD strongly suggests a more PC‑like architecture, which aligns perfectly with a Windows‑based console.

Phil Spencer himself hinted at this direction, saying the next Xbox would be closer in spirit to devices like the ROG Ally — essentially a Windows gaming machine, but still a console.

Microsoft’s long‑term strategy has been crystal clear: unify PC and Xbox, reduce technical barriers, and make Windows the foundation of the entire ecosystem. The next Xbox naturally fits into that trajectory.

Full backward compatibility with the Xbox library has been emphasized multiple times, and that’s far easier to achieve on a Windows‑based platform.

So yes, we’re still waiting for the official announcement — but at some point, it becomes a bit of an open secret. All the signals are pointing in the same direction, and it’s not just fans inventing things out of thin air.

Saying the next Xbox “looks promising” isn’t blind optimism; it’s simply acknowledging the very real clues we already have.

Re: Poll: How Optimistic Are You Feeling About The Future Of Xbox?

fatpunkslim

Now that Sarah Bond is gone, I’m feeling much more optimistic. I have to admit that Asha Sharma’s comments — highlighting the consoles, Xbox players, and leaving the door open to revisiting the exclusivity strategy — are reassuring. Xbox is already one of the biggest video game publishers, and the quality of their games has been steadily improving in recent years. The next Xbox console also looks extremely promising. For all these reasons, I’m very optimistic.

Re: Talking Point: You're The New Head Of Xbox, What Do You Do Now?

fatpunkslim

1/ More focus on consoles
2/ Timed exclusives of at least one year for new franchises and sequels
3/ A better‑structured Game Pass offering. I’m fine with a more expensive Game Pass Ultimate that includes everything, but they should keep a simpler and cheaper option like PC Game Pass, with the full catalog and day‑one releases — and make sure it works with the next Xbox console.

4/ Clearer marketing messages, with the Xbox community as the priority

5/ More marketing budget: the next Xbox is a real game changer and a real opportunity to make a big difference. They need to invest in it, supported by exclusive games at launch.

6/ High‑quality games — which is already happening, since game quality has clearly improved in recent years. Keep innovating and creating, but don’t forget to make mainstream, accessible games too.

7/ Bring back great classic Xbox franchises

8/ Listen to players and developers

It’s not complicated, really. Xbox’s overall strategy is good, but it needs some adjustments (console‑first, exclusives, Game Pass…). What’s really been lacking is the marketing message, which has sometimes been clumsy

Re: Xbox's 'Pivot Away From Console' Had Been Failing And Questioned At Microsoft, Claims Report

fatpunkslim

@TrollOfWar They’re not going to reverse course, but realistically, not all Xbox games are on other platforms today — and even fewer are day‑one. What’s missing is clarity around their exclusivity policy. Until the Fable announcement, no Xbox game launched day one on other consoles, except for titles that were historically multiplatform before the studio acquisitions, and remakes.

You already know my stance on this, but I’ll repeat it: they should systematically have timed exclusivity for the big franchises — at least a year, maybe a bit more. That alone would make Xbox consoles more attractive, on top of the other ecosystem advantages that only Xbox offers today, like Play Anywhere, Game Pass, backward compatibility, open ecosystem on multiple stores, etc.

Re: Xbox's 'Pivot Away From Console' Had Been Failing And Questioned At Microsoft, Claims Report

fatpunkslim

@TrollOfWar I had completely missed that statement — "I want to return to the renegade spirit that built Xbox in the first place." Very Interresting !

It definitely suggests a real shift. I’m really looking forward to seeing the first concrete actions that back up those words.

I get the feeling there was a deep disagreement between Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond. And the fact that Phil Spencer will continue supporting Sharma for many more months seems to reinforce that idea.

Re: Xbox's 'Pivot Away From Console' Had Been Failing And Questioned At Microsoft, Claims Report

fatpunkslim

@FraserG Yeah ! Fundamentally, Xbox’s strategy is solid. Aside from hardware, they’ve made progress on almost every front: content, services, cloud, PC, Game Pass, and they’re now the biggest video game publisher.
Of course, it still needs some adjustments — a stronger focus on consoles, some fine‑tuning around exclusives, and some tweaks to the Game Pass subscription structure.

But above all, what’s missing is brand perception and a clear marketing strategy. I respect Phil Spencer for the excellent work he’s done, but we have to admit that when it comes to communication and marketing, he made mistakes that hurt the brand — even if he wasn’t the only one responsible (Sarah bond ...).

The message ‘This is an Xbox’ was impactful — everyone remembers it, for better or worse — but it probably lacked subtlety. It could make people think Xbox was abandoning consoles, since “everything is an Xbox.” Which isn’t true at all, because in reality they’ve probably never invested this much in the future of Xbox hardware, with a small revolution coming in about a year or so.

Beyond the facts, the message you send and the way you communicate it are crucial to maintaining player trust. And that’s why Sharma’s experience in product, communication, and marketing seems like a good fit for Xbox right now.

Re: Xbox's 'Pivot Away From Console' Had Been Failing And Questioned At Microsoft, Claims Report

fatpunkslim

On the substance, Xbox moving toward multiplatform is actually what saved the brand — especially by expanding to PC. As for other consoles, there’s probably a balance to find, with timed exclusives for the big franchises.

On the presentation side, the marketing around it was probably clumsy — I don’t know, I’m not an expert. But that’s likely part of the reason why Sharma is here: her background is heavily focused on product, communication, and marketing, much more than Phil Spencer or Sarah Bond. And that’s exactly what Xbox needs right now — clearer communication, a clearer strategy, and a leadership team that actually listens to players.

Re: Xbox Creator Reveals His Two Tips For The New Microsoft Gaming CEO

fatpunkslim

Seriously, this guy sounds bitter — what is he even talking about? He worked at Xbox for only three years, and that was 24 years ago… He’s completely out of touch with what’s happening at Xbox today.
So honestly, his opinion matters about as much as any random troll on Twitter.
Thanks for designing the first Xbox, sure — but that’s it. It’s obvious he just wants attention by siding with the haters who say anything for clicks, because that’s the easy route.
But the guy clearly has no idea what’s going on anymore

Re: Phil Spencer Responds As Industry Legends Celebrate His Xbox Career

fatpunkslim

When he took over, the division was in crisis after the failure of the Xbox One. He convinced Microsoft to keep investing in Xbox at a time when the company was considering drastically reducing its role.

He secured Xbox’s independence within Microsoft. Spencer managed to turn it into a major branch of the company — today even more important internally than Windows.

He launched backward compatibility.

He created and popularized Xbox Game Pass, a service that gave many studios stable funding and gave players access to a large game library.

He invested in cloud gaming, which allowed Xbox to reach regions where consoles are too expensive or heavily taxed.

Thanks to him, Xbox became the number one video game publisher.

Phil Spencer rebuilt Xbox, stabilized it, modernized it, and turned it into a strategic pillar for Microsoft — even if not everything was perfect.

I do criticize him for being more on the developers’ side than the players’ side. His vision of full multiplatform and zero exclusives is, in my opinion, too radical and somewhat utopian. There’s a middle ground to be found.

I think this change comes at the right time for Xbox, just before a major revolution in the industry with the next Xbox console. Contrary to what some people say, she mainly has experience in growing and modernizing products, and in marketing / communication/social media. And that’s exactly what Xbox needs: clearer communication, a clearer strategy, and a leadership team that listens more to players.

Re: 'We Have Good Reasons To Believe In What's Ahead', Insists New Xbox Chief Content Officer

fatpunkslim

What I really liked about Phil Spencer is that he was an amazing ambassador for the brand with other publishers. It’s thanks to him that we now have Final Fantasy games on Xbox, and even Square Enix titles launching day one on Xbox. The same goes for other publishers like Konami, Capcom, and so on. His relationships with publishers made a big difference, I think — even if, of course, most publishers are now leaning toward releasing their games everywhere and reducing exclusivity because of rising production costs and the need for profitability.

I hope Asha Sharma and Matt Booty will be able to maintain that close relationship with publishers, and that Asha’s experience in product development and marketing will help bring a clear vision and communication about Xbox’s future. That would help avoid the usual doom and gloom and the wild speculation some people tend to fall into.

Re: Who Is Asha Sharma? A Look Back At The Career Of The New Xbox Boss

fatpunkslim

@FraserG When you look at her background, she only spent two years in the AI department; most of her roles were actually focused on product growth and marketing. Which, to me, is a good thing, because Xbox needs stronger marketing and clearer communication and vision.

And the fact that Nadella is putting her in charge of Xbox might mean that he actually wants to prioritize the gaming side and ease off a bit on the AI focus, by putting a brilliant woman at the head of the division. Say what you want, gaming experience or not, her career clearly shows she’s a smart person.

I also regret that she doesn’t seem to have Phil Spencer’s gaming experience, but at the same time Phil Spencer is a unique case — very few executives have a gaming background as strong as his. And she won’t be alone anyway; Matt Booty is there to handle the content and gaming side of things.

I’m not making any judgments before seeing what she does. I’m giving her a chance, and even if I remain cautious, Microsoft has clearly chosen a high‑level profile, which in my opinion shows their intention to keep Xbox strong.

As for Phil Spencer, I respect his decision to retire. I would have liked him to stay a bit longer, but after 36 years at Microsoft, I can understand that he wants to move on.

Re: Konami Delists Backwards Compatible MGS Title Ahead Of Master Collection Vol. 2 On Xbox

fatpunkslim

@themightyant Lol, a bit of respect please ! Honestly, I’d be the first to admit I’m talking nonsense if someone could prove that Sony’s remaster policy isn’t controversial (and I’m deliberately choosing my words carefully).
You can check Reddit, Google, ChatGPT, wherever you want — it’s well‑known that their approach to remasters is questionable. My theory is simply that it influences other publishers, that’s all!

Re: Konami Delists Backwards Compatible MGS Title Ahead Of Master Collection Vol. 2 On Xbox

fatpunkslim

@themightyant “I’m not talking about PlayStation all the time, but here I’m perfectly on topic with the article. We’re talking about a publisher delisting games in favor of remasters, and I’m sorry, but PlayStation is the first thing that came to mind. I don’t think I’m the only one who thought that, far from it.
As I already said, my point is that the habits of some publishers push others to do the same. That’s my theory regarding Konami, which is probably influenced by other publishers — especially since those two are very close — so it’s definitely not off‑topic.
I didn’t start this debate in the first place; I just shared my opinion and an observation directly related to the article.
But alright, that’s your point of view, no problem bro.

Re: Konami Delists Backwards Compatible MGS Title Ahead Of Master Collection Vol. 2 On Xbox

fatpunkslim

@Gemini53 Alright, no problem. It’s just that sometimes I feel like certain people (often the same ones) overreact whenever someone mentions PlayStation, even if it’s to point out something that seems obvious to me. But what’s obvious to me isn’t necessarily obvious to everyone, and I can understand that. I just hope for a bit of reciprocity regarding my point of view, which, as far as I can tell, is shared by millions of others as well.