"Spencer: I’m Not Deaf To The Meme That We Need To Invest More In Content"

Phil Spencer says he's "Not deaf" that they need to invest more but at the same time, time is money Mr. Spencer. I would probably be sick of hearing it too if I were Phil. Should the Xbox 1st party lineup be more robust? Certainly.

I’m not deaf to the meme out there regarding our content and our need to invest more. Definitely, we are at a point where we’re investing more and we’ll continue to do that. When I look at Matt and his responsibility with his team, it’s about charting our future in first-party content. I feel like with each one of the leaders we have, there’s an existing plan, and I feel good about that plan, but we know that the plan all-up for studios is expanding. Having Matt’s leadership there in navigating the expansion, what bets we make, the teams we bet on, the teams we create, is going to be critical.

Some of it is with the existing leaders we have there, and there are always opportunities to do more with the teams we have. But also, as we expand, having a leader in place so new investments can be driven and land in the strategy we have is going to be critical for me. That’s really where I look at Matt’s focus: both the existing franchises, and equally, if not a little more, thinking about our future content and how that growth happens in a thoughtful way, a way that delivers for our fans.

And this is where the problem lies. There's a huge lead time involved before that decision can bear fruit. If MS decided at the end of last year to really kick it into gear and provide more big budget 1st party titles, then you won't see any of them until at least 2019. So there's that big gap of time where people are telling you you need to do something that you're already well at work on. Investing in Xbox One won't turn the tide this gen, but they need to do it as jumping off point for the next one to prove they're committed to the brand and generate some interest in advance. Backwards compatibility at launch for whatever it is would also take advantage of that and possibly lure in wary buyers but other then that, exclusive matters as we seen it for both Nintendo Switch & PS4.

Is it too late to save Xbox One? If I were MS, I take notes on Nintendo since they got things going for Switch and even Switch is giving Xbox One a run for it's money.

Thing is, right now the PS4 PC and Switch are very clearly the way to go with games. XB can still fill a niche, like a console for new gamers or for gamers with friends who accidentally bought XB's. It's still selling somehow and keeping Sony on their toes. I don't mind it being this way.

At least, if they start getting actual games again, I hope that they will still be ported to PC.

Just keep pumping out more co-op/multiplayer focused titles. Kids crying looking at another platform because it doesnt cater to them.

He's had years to sort this out.... so this is just pure damage control.

Just keep doing what your doing, Phil. I've never had anywhere near the backlog in all my years and with the phenom Sea of Thieves close at hand plus X1X is the best stand alone system by light-years needing no overpriced Pee Salty Sea and with the best shooters, racers, and Rare gives the Nintendo flavor. Throw in all the Free BC stuff going back to OG Xbox, Free X1X Enhanced games, buy once, play everywhere and likely to have a Surface: Work & Play soon that makes X gaming portable as well without even needing to double dip for the pleasure. Simply put, for the gamers, by the gamers.... Jazz. :P

"Content" isnt how you spell 'Games'. For the sake of their console business, they might as well announce what they have cooking in the kitchen. Even if it seems too early.

People go to a restaurant to eat food. You hand them a menu and they figure out what they want and then they wait until it's ready while eating pieces of bread, chips, or salad to keep the hangries away.

Right now, Xbox is a restaurant with no menu. People are turning elsewhere whether the 30 mil Xbox fans who may or may not have double dipped for an S model or a Scorpio want to entertain that reality or not. If Xbox was a restaurant, they'd just be handing you bread sticks and salad infinitely while they promise you the chef showed up today and that menu isn't just your imagination.

Screw this. You let them get away with horse shit. Demand better than this. As long as you guys settle for the Jedi wave of the hand trick, that is all you are going to get. Last gen, PlayStation fans practically burned down the house demanding that Sony get their act together. This gen, Lemmings not only settle for being treated like this but they defend it to the death. You suck, and so does your Xbox because of you.

>Backlog

>One game

1500 + Games library. Getting four games a month free GWG and most I have never played from this gen and last gen. Found many, many to be great games I missed. Frankly more games than I could complete in the next few decades... if I even live that long lol

Eh, that was a pretty weak attempt. Care to try again? :P

Couldn't agree more. Even you admitted your attempt was weak.

Weak after week after weak after week. C'mon, up your game. lol :P

honestly...if a community needs to instruct a developer on what to do then said developer (or manager) is not good in the first place and likely can not be turned into a good one by instruction

@SecretPolice: So you have 1500 Xone games...which means you have every single one made...yeah not buying that bs lie lol.

@vfighter: Reading comprehension, work on it. He said backlog... One game? I pointed out the X1 library has a healthy 1500+ games to choose from not just One game. I have about 300 games on my HDD and half of those I never yet tried or tried for a little bit and went on to something else. They're all still there I can go back anytime and play'em.

It's redonkulous the fanboy drivel of if it's not Exclusive they don't count since true gamers don't give a rats azz if a game can also be played on another system. If a game is good, and X1X has loads of'em I don't care if they can also be played elsewhere. I need only The Mighty X1X, the best in the biz. :P

The X1 has content but it hasn't recovered from its infamous E3 back in '13. The console needs a foot hold rather than a continuation of slippage. IMO, there hasn't been many 1st party offerings in the past few years that really grabbed me. Forza comes to mind as such content but it is so over-done. Halo hasn't seen a release in a long time unless you count H.W. 2 p.o.s. While I see the libraries of the competition (Switch and 4) growing, I see the X1 staying the same or shrinking.

Cool. So I’ll have even more games to look forward to in the future. I certainly like the sound of that myself.

That old excuse again....... that was over 4 years ago and EASY to fix...... all they had to do is release AAAE games and people would of soon forgot all about E3 '13..... But they couldn't even do that with over 4 years of time gone by.

They just don't want it..... it's that simple.....

My backlog hand is strong.

Keep working your magic Phil.

Playing catch-up isn't that simple when your opponent(s) are on fire. The X1 has always been like a smoldering fire (since release) while the PS4 and Switch are like 4 alarms. Momentum is not as easy to gain as you think.

speaking personally I still have not forgotten the X1 reveal and their hardon over gaming being actually watching sporting events

I'll also add that MS is still trying to recover Don Mattricks stupidity DRM fiasco in 2013. I get that Phil does what he can but I don't think he can deliver this gen, might as well just start all over into next-gen Xbox and the Xbox One X is a start at least, but the brand still needs more new exclusive games.

I was and think many were okay with always online especially considering what their original plan was with StormCloud powah. lol My X1 has been always online since purchased.

Really, the biggest F'up was including Kinect with the console making it a higher price and less powerful console than the comp. Bad move, me thinks Mattrick was a Sony plant. tehe :P

I'm starting to believe Phil Spencer should be fired, I believed in him and thought he was going to turn Xbox around but it seems he hasn't done jack. Being better than Don Mattrick isn't good enough considering how out of touch the moron was. While play anywhere is great for us gamers since it allows gamers more choices in platform they get to play on its bad for Xbox in general because it gives gamers less incentive to buy an Xbox One. Deny all you want but PC is a threat to consoles. While PC may not be seen as a threat on the same level as other consoles you don't see Sony and Nintendo porting their first/second party games to PC now do you? Sony even paid to make Nioh a timed exclusive. Look at how Microsoft is relying on a PC game (PUBG) to try and use a killer app for Xbox. Phil's poor management has lead to potential killer games like Scalebound being cancelled. His lack of risk taking is another problem, playing it too safe is what is getting them to fall behind, people are getting sick of Halo, Gears, and Forza. The story for Halo and Gears is getting more stale and worse as each sequel goes on. They cancelled Fable Legends which could have been huge but Microsoft didn't know that the Hero shooter/Third person MOBA like genre was going to be successful which is why they piggy backing on Smite. Xbox One at this point is a watered down wannabe gaming PC with none of the benefits of PC gaming. Microsoft at this point is mostly waiting for whatever hit game starts out on PC they can try to snatch it up for some form of exclusivity (Minecraft and PUBG) instead of going out and taking the risk themselves to have these types of games..

PC is one of the main reasons why mid gen upgrade consoles even exist, Sony and M$ both knew they were losing gamers that wanted more high end graphics and performance to the PC since the the consoles at launch were equal to mid range PCs and about 2-3 months after the Xbox One and PS4 launched the GTX 750 ti came out for $150 and suddenly you could build a cheap PC not much more expensive than a PS4 and around the same price as a XONE or upgrade a cheap prebuilt you already own and now you'd have a PC that matches or exceeds the PS4 in performance. In previous gens most consoles were just as powerful if not more powerful than high end/enthusiast gaming PCs so it took at least 1-2 years for high end PC hardware to come out that could surpass them. Consoles have lost the advantage of ease of use as PC gaming in recent years has become very simplified and easy to use while consoles have taken on some of the bad traits of PC gaming.

@davillain-: Phil Spencer better use this time to recover and gain more first party studios so they can stand a chance against Playstation next gen.

Down with the kids.

I like Spencer.

Problem is that Don Mattrick fool that closed and sold off so many good studios, because he didn't believe in first or second party content to sell a console.

Same way as the X360 started to lose momentum as MS policies shifted towards the end of the gen I believe now we are witnessing the same in reverse. Unfortunately for MS it's easier to destroy than to create.

@metalboi: there's more dude bro gamers on PS4. Plus more coming to the Switch. There's dude bro gamers everywhere, not just one system

Lets see, "Xbox has no games LMAO LMAO LMAO". MS announces that they are going to invest in their first party development (you are an idiot if you think the announcement is the when they actually started). "You did nothing 4 years." "Why bother?" "If you need to take advice from fans then things are bad".

If its not obvious by now, the people who complained before are going to continue to complain. So it makes no difference what MS does the complaints from the people who don't game on the system will continue.

exactly...if fans have to tell a director on how to do his job he really shouldnt be there.

Best online service, best controller (Elite), most powerful console, best features (backward compatibility, Game Pass, Play Anywhere, Game Preview)... and soon a bunch of new games to go along side Halo/Gears/Forza/Crackdown/Ori etc.

Looking pretty good for Xbox!

It's that time of the year again.

Time for Phil to damage control Xbone's lack of games.

I feel like I've heard this apology before. Oh that's right, he's been saying this shit for years and nothing's changed lol.

Just like it's obvious that the people who said Kinect being standard was a good thing, integrated TV functionality was the "mature" thing for a home console to do, performance can't be measured with just comparing a bunch of numbers, "Cloud Power" will be a game changer, DX11 will even the playing field, it's not a price cut if it's a whole different bundle, China will change the playing field, it's more important to release a broken game like MCC on time for the holidays than it is to ensure a quality release, Backwards Compatibility is more important to gamers than most other features, Scalebound being cancelled was good because it means there will be more games somehow, multiplats are far more important than exclusives, and this time our console will be "True" 4k will:

...simply take a PR statement from Microsoft and start telling everyone about all these games they will have? Sorry, I don't have a string of 'LMAO's to follow this post up with. You see, what you guys do to gaming has ceased to be funny any more to some of us. It's gone right to Sadville.

Perfect analogy right here and sums up the Xbone situation.

It's sad the Xbone is approaching its 5th year now and we're still hearing Phil's excuses for lack of games lol.

@quadknight: The bi-annual trust me announcement.

Xbox is a complete joke at this point, I remember when they first announced play anywhere (aka no more games not coming to pc) I was so excited! Now 3 years( or more?) later and I still haven’t found a single Xbox console exclusive ( or whatever you peasants want to call it) that I want to play... at least PS4 have a FEW games I would like to se on pc, the same can’t be said about the xbox

nope...havent forgotten

Gamers also said the Xbox 360 had issues with exclusives the last 4-5 years of its life span, and yet it hasn't been rectified. Xbox One, is officially Xbox dOne

Xbox 360 was pretty lucky that Sony messed up at the start, and the Xbox 360 got some great stuff like Oblivion, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Gears of War; which the PS3 either didn't get or got much later.

Unless Microsoft do a huge shift next gen, and invest billions in studios and exclusives, it will be a very short "system war", even more embarrassing than this one.

How many of those games have superior versions on other systems? Yeah I bet your list gets really small all of a sudden.

when you consider the gaming landscape is basically Sony PS4, Xbox, PC, mobile.

Xbox One is very likely literally at the bottom.

While i agree with both of you, Phil hasnt been in charge for the whole lifespan of the XB1.

He spent the first part of his tenure trying to right the ship that was heading right for an iceberg.

The launch of the XB1 was a disaster and they deserved to lose market share.

Phil has only been in charge since mid-2014, only about 3 years, most of which was trying to change the industry's mindset toward xbox.

He has done a good job, but i agree its not enough.

That said, you cant just assume that in a 3 year period he would have Xbox competing with Sony, not with all of the bad decisions that went into making the XB1.

From a business standpoint, if he HAD just started off buying exclusives (since it takes longer to develop in-house), they would get EVEN MORE negative publicity.

Then, who would buy the games? Would said studio fail if low sales? Who would partner with them?

There is a lot that goes into it if you take the time to think about it rather than try to debate it in a simple-minded way on a forum.

Xbox One is done, best he can do this gen is try to make up some mind-share when it comes to gamers.

Some people think E3 2013 can be easily remedied and like the old cliche, you only get one chance at a first impression. Spencer had a look of shock and embarrassment on his face upon hearing the reactions of the crowd to the price. Between a $499 console and the controversy surrounding DRM, the X1 started off well behind the pack and believe me, such blunders stick with consumers who are about to spend good coin. I think the whole "X1 doesn't have content" is a misnomer but the exclusives are in short supply.

@navyguy21: It's never too late to finish strong. I honestly think that now, more than ever, they would get a pass from gamers if they just unloaded all the stuff they are working on at E3 this year and maybe gave some assurance that there will be no repeat of the Scalebound fiasco. The die-hard XBox fans that have been throwing a fit about games being announced "too early" might fuss about it, but what XBox truly needs to do is think beyond that echo chamber. It would give people reasons to buy an XBox and that, in turn, gives more developers reasons to develop on XBox.

It just shouldn't be this hard. Not when the formula for success in consoles has been a relatively set in stone process since the 80s. It makes me lose my shit to think that all XBox has become is a weed in the garden of gaming soaking up money and time. The original XBox started off so well. The first half of the 360 generation was a huge success. It's frustrating to see a company that very obviously got most things right go into this stumbling mess they've become since 2010.

Lemmings here think I am the worst thing to ever happen since "scene kids" and Creed. All I've been doing is spitting truth and hoping it catches on. I used to be a big Xbox fan. I don't know how things could possibly be more backwards for the platform.

Im not sure why people have to defend a platform to the point of being delusional.

The Xbox has done two things well. The X1X really is a nice piece of hardware and the backwards compatability is awesome. Its nice to see they have created an ecosystem that seems it will be supported in the future.

However their first party lineup is absolutely pitiful. If you have one choice i dont see many picking a Xbox one over a PS4. Other then Sea of Thieves there is nothing im looking foward to. Crackdown was shown 4 years ago and still looks bad, Scalebound was my most anticipated game on the platform (and actually looked awesome) and they cancelled it. My point is not every exclusive game appeals to me but on average Sony produces about 5 or 6 great games i cant get anywhere else while MS struggles to make 1.

Typical Shewgenja saying much about nothing. One of these days while pretending to be objective you may actually be but today isn't one of those days.

Whatever mess MS thinks they are right now Sony was in way worse back in 2006 and they bounced back. Difference between Sony and MS' approach is Sony never gave up. They had so many games they released like Heavenly Sword and even the first Uncharted that didn't make a splash but they persevered unlike MS. Sony came back from $599 and launching the PS3 late with no games while losing a ton of money.

Xbone isn't even remotely close to being in that bad of a state and MS still can't get their shit together. Towards the end of last gen Sony went from being completely behind 360 in every regard to catching up with them. MS was foolishly chasing after Kinect while Sony was building their catalogue and good will with gamers. MS has all the money in the world to fix the debacle they are in right now but they don't have the will or want to take the risk in investing in new IPs. They've been given time, 4 years plus is enough to get their act together. Sony went from no games to having a game like Uncharted 2 in 3 years between 2006 to 2009.

And this gen has ended? Games are no longer being made for the One X? People are not buying the Xbox One? No new games are slated for the Xbox One? None of those things are true yet you and your drones act as if it is. At some point you must be tired of pushing the same false narrative over and over. But I starting to believe that you and your drones actually believe it. LMAO. MS doesn't want to invest in new IP yet they spent millions on new IP and they have a new IP releasing next month. The irony of the statement is truly hilarious.