balls of snow
Member
Probably just the 10 year anniversary of his majesty's reign for team green.
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VGC: "Phil Spencer, for so long cast as Xbox’s saviour, may ultimately be remembered as the man who killed it.”
ShaiKhulud1989
Gold Member
Better late than never. Shame the platform should've died before the gaming perss noticed something.
semiconscious
Member
yeah, right. & I suppose that beethoven played too much. & einstein thought too much. & the dalai lama meditates too much, as well?...
Mr.Phoenix
Member
I suggested that $70B, could have been better spent making 20 $250M budget games, and literally paying the likes of Rockstar and Activision $4B each of 6-12 months exclusivity for GTA6 and COD respectively if they have that much money to burn. And how that would do more good for Xbox in general than buying a publisher.
Some genuis Xbox fans were screaming gamepass being the best deal in gaming and now getting even better with Activision day 1....
Enjoy your gamepass while you still have it.
Some genuis Xbox fans were screaming gamepass being the best deal in gaming and now getting even better with Activision day 1....
Enjoy your gamepass while you still have it.
Badlucktroll
Member
Syphon Filter
Member
It was don mattrick that began it to be fair.
CrustyBritches
Gold Member
Xbox lived or died on the success of Halo. When 343i killed Halo it was over.
bitbydeath
Member
Yet Xbox sold the most under Don.
Syphon Filter
Member
don came late when the 360 was already established. i wouldnt give him credit.
Generic
Member
"If there’s one lesson we can take from the Spencer era it’s that you can enact all the disruptive change you like, but you cannot disprove this industry’s oldest truth: great games sell consoles."
Not true. The PS4 had the worst Sony output ever and it still sold 100m+ copies.
bitbydeath
Member
He was a scapegoat.
“TV, TV, TV” was just MS’s OG plan of owning the living room.
Kinect was popular on the 360, and the reason why it sold almost as much as the PS3, and they saw the massive success of the Wii.
Don delivered the games, if he stayed in charge Xbox would not be failing.
Sushi_Combo
Member
Fixed.
Snake29
Banned
Syphon Filter
Member
gamers didnt care about kinect and games werent delivered by don actual. aside from getting ff13 on xbox 360 ,he just recycled gears,forza and halo and it was the worst games yet for those franchises. its not a coincidence that 360 started to suck around 2011 when don was there.
Giallo Corsa
Member
YOU PC BRO?!
Gold Member
I've said this before but Phil Spencer has been an absolute abject failure for Xbox.
His decision to bring all Xbox exclusive games to PC via GamePass day 1 was one of the worst business decisions I have ever witnessed. It has absolutely cratered Xbox console sales. In-fact, things are so bad that he is now having to port Xbox exclusives over to PlayStation.... again, removing what little incentive that remained for Xbox console ownership.
Let's face it, under his leadership, Xbox has become almost completely irrelevant. Under his stewardship, all the great Xbox IPs have withered into obscurity. Worst of all, release quality has dropped to an all time low. Flop after flop after flop and Phil still doesn't get it. 343 and Halo, the biggest game franchise at Xbox, was handed by Phil to a rank amateur in Bonnie Ross. Is it a surprise the game failed to meet expectations? The first gameplay showcase was a laughing stock. On that back of that we have Phil making excuses for his failure; attempting to gaslight us into believing great games wouldn't make a difference. Recently complaining about how the Xbox console market has 'stagnated', no fucking shit you clown - you are the one that did it!
This fucking guy...
His decision to bring all Xbox exclusive games to PC via GamePass day 1 was one of the worst business decisions I have ever witnessed. It has absolutely cratered Xbox console sales. In-fact, things are so bad that he is now having to port Xbox exclusives over to PlayStation.... again, removing what little incentive that remained for Xbox console ownership.
Let's face it, under his leadership, Xbox has become almost completely irrelevant. Under his stewardship, all the great Xbox IPs have withered into obscurity. Worst of all, release quality has dropped to an all time low. Flop after flop after flop and Phil still doesn't get it. 343 and Halo, the biggest game franchise at Xbox, was handed by Phil to a rank amateur in Bonnie Ross. Is it a surprise the game failed to meet expectations? The first gameplay showcase was a laughing stock. On that back of that we have Phil making excuses for his failure; attempting to gaslight us into believing great games wouldn't make a difference. Recently complaining about how the Xbox console market has 'stagnated', no fucking shit you clown - you are the one that did it!
This fucking guy...
- Indirectly ruined the biggest games franchises via poor recruitment decisions
- Greenlit Everwild, a game that not even the developers knew what it was
- Squandered at least $100 billion dollars in acquisitions with almost nothing to show for it
- Cratered Xbox hardware sales
- Killed physical games media
- Injected DEI requirements into first party games and guidance for third party
- Eliminated Xbox 1st party exclusivity
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onnextflix5
Member
They need to go back to buying third party exclusives until they can sort their development issues, this day one game pass shit is not working for them,
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Wildebeest
Member
I suppose the conventional wisdom is that you need to buy these big mega publishers because their teams are the only way to guarantee that content will be shipped on time using best practice design. The reality is, you get things like Redfall, shipping late. Then you look at games with outrageous dev times like Starfield and "Skull and Bones" which ship seeming like they are severely under baked and need another reboot with more expert direction. That belief in "big" and "establishment level expertise" is not only fallacious but a disaster. For believing that without really understanding the businesses, and apparently not even caring about the direction of these owned publishers and studios, I can't say the man is on top of it all.
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ByWatterson
Member
Chiggs
Gold Member
4 years, IMO. There are some massive Phil Sucks threads on GAF from 2020 with the same sentiments from Xbox fans that are a 1:1 match with what's expressed in the article that inspired this thread.
Hugare
Member
Don was there since 2007 and was responsible for MS's best years in gaming.
Dude was on stage when Xbox broke Metal Gear Solid's and Final Fantasy's exclusivity from Sony
He made a (really) bad bet with Kinect, that could have been reverted with good games.
Phil has no megatons on his resume and doubled down on bad decisions. MS is dying on his watch. Has been for 10 years
Blaming on Mattrick is stupid
Excellent article. Mentioned absolutely everything wrong with Phil.
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Laptop1991
Member
One of his worst "Great games won't shift Xbox sales", err yes Phil they will, you should try at least making 1 great game and see what happens!.
RickMasters
Member
As long as the next xbox has steam on it I won’t care what this guy has to say anymore.
Yeah I’ll still sub to gamepass for the games they own. But just make a sleek console with a ste installer and I’m cool with you giuys killing off xbox…. You can’t be bothered to compete anymore…. You feel like you don’t need exclusives….. cool…. Well I feel like I need everything on one box…. Be OK with me buying games and exclusives That are not on YOUR store phil….. because as a gamer I should have it all remember… even in if it not from MS. Sell me a box that can run gamepass and have no issue if steam, epic or even PEN turns up on it. When we all play we will win phil. Hand me my Xbox with multiple stores. I’m cool with it. Just have the same energy when I buy games from other storefronts on Xbox.
Maybe that’s what all this is about, you know…. It’s ok if I’m wrong. A box that has access to their store and the PC gamestores like steam. I’m ok with that. If anything it’s what I’ve always wanted really from man xbox. I’m ok with people saying xbox gave up. I don’t care. I just want one box with all the stores. I don’t see the point in buying multiple devices for ‘ exclusives’ just give me the store front and access to those games on the. If I choose and you can still have my money on my terms.
Yeah I’ll still sub to gamepass for the games they own. But just make a sleek console with a ste installer and I’m cool with you giuys killing off xbox…. You can’t be bothered to compete anymore…. You feel like you don’t need exclusives….. cool…. Well I feel like I need everything on one box…. Be OK with me buying games and exclusives That are not on YOUR store phil….. because as a gamer I should have it all remember… even in if it not from MS. Sell me a box that can run gamepass and have no issue if steam, epic or even PEN turns up on it. When we all play we will win phil. Hand me my Xbox with multiple stores. I’m cool with it. Just have the same energy when I buy games from other storefronts on Xbox.
Maybe that’s what all this is about, you know…. It’s ok if I’m wrong. A box that has access to their store and the PC gamestores like steam. I’m ok with that. If anything it’s what I’ve always wanted really from man xbox. I’m ok with people saying xbox gave up. I don’t care. I just want one box with all the stores. I don’t see the point in buying multiple devices for ‘ exclusives’ just give me the store front and access to those games on the. If I choose and you can still have my money on my terms.
StereoVsn
Gold Member
Phil was head of Game Studios for Don. He surely had a hand in those decisions. Then he headed the whole thing for 10+ years.
I think it’s safe to say we got to put the blame on the guy in charge. Yeah, Donny M fucked it all up and it started with shuttering the studios in 360 era going into Xbox One disaster. However Phil continued running with the scissors.
bender
What time is it?
Phil wrote a little song about it, wanna hear it? Here it go.
Is this the second life? Is this final fantasy?
Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality
Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see
I'm just a poor CEO, I need no sympathy
Because I'm easy come, easy go, little high, little low
Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me
Mama, just killed a brand
Put a gun against Xbox's head, pulled my trigger, now its' dead
Mama, Series S had just begun
But now I've gone and thrown it all away
Mama, ooh, didn't mean to make you cry
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow
Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters
Too late, Xbox time has come
Sends shivers down my spine, Colt's Tweeting all the time
Goodbye, everybody, Xbox has got to go
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth
Mama, ooh (any way the wind blows)
I don't want Xbox to die
I sometimes wish Game Pass had never been born at all
I see a little silhouetto of a man
Jim Ryan, Jim Ryan, will you do the Fandango?
Cloud Strife and Lightning, very, very frightening me
(Galileo) Galileo, (Galileo) Galileo, Galileo Figaro, magnifico
But I'm just a poor CEO, nobody loves me
He's just a poor CEO from a poor monopoly
Spare him his life from this monstrosity
Easy come, easy go, CMA, will you let me go?
No, we will not let you go (let him go)
We will not let you go (let him go)
We will not let you go (let me go)
Will not let you go (let me go)
Never, never, never, never let me go
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
Oh, mamma CMA, mamma CMA
Mamma CMA, let me go
Ken Kutaragi has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me
So you think you can outsell me and spit in my eye?
So you think you can outperform me and leave me to die?
Oh, baby, can't do this to me, baby
Series S gotta get out, Series X gotta get right outta here
Ooh
Ooh, yeah, ooh, yeah
Xbox doesn't matter, anyone can see
Xbox doesn't really matter
Xbox doesn't really matter to me
Is this the second life? Is this final fantasy?
Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality
Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see
I'm just a poor CEO, I need no sympathy
Because I'm easy come, easy go, little high, little low
Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me
Mama, just killed a brand
Put a gun against Xbox's head, pulled my trigger, now its' dead
Mama, Series S had just begun
But now I've gone and thrown it all away
Mama, ooh, didn't mean to make you cry
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow
Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters
Too late, Xbox time has come
Sends shivers down my spine, Colt's Tweeting all the time
Goodbye, everybody, Xbox has got to go
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth
Mama, ooh (any way the wind blows)
I don't want Xbox to die
I sometimes wish Game Pass had never been born at all
I see a little silhouetto of a man
Jim Ryan, Jim Ryan, will you do the Fandango?
Cloud Strife and Lightning, very, very frightening me
(Galileo) Galileo, (Galileo) Galileo, Galileo Figaro, magnifico
But I'm just a poor CEO, nobody loves me
He's just a poor CEO from a poor monopoly
Spare him his life from this monstrosity
Easy come, easy go, CMA, will you let me go?
No, we will not let you go (let him go)
We will not let you go (let him go)
We will not let you go (let me go)
Will not let you go (let me go)
Never, never, never, never let me go
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
Oh, mamma CMA, mamma CMA
Mamma CMA, let me go
Ken Kutaragi has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me
So you think you can outsell me and spit in my eye?
So you think you can outperform me and leave me to die?
Oh, baby, can't do this to me, baby
Series S gotta get out, Series X gotta get right outta here
Ooh
Ooh, yeah, ooh, yeah
Xbox doesn't matter, anyone can see
Xbox doesn't really matter
Xbox doesn't really matter to me
havoc00
Member
LavitzSlambert
Member
Not surprised in most of these takes considering how much GAF hates Phil, but can't believe people are actually supporting Don Mattrick. Just because he was around during the 360 doesn't mean he was responsible for its success. He came in the year after launch and coasted off Peter Moore's momentum. We saw the fruits of Mattrick's labor - he pushed Kinect and all of the bad decisions that doomed Xbone to ruin.
Spencer came in right after the Xbone launch, to clean up Mattrick's mess despite not having the luxury to salvage the Xbone reputation. Now Microsoft has become the largest publisher in the industry and has positioned Microsoft more prominently as a software focused company - exactly where they are comfortable. His biggest failure is continuing to trust Matt Booty with XGS's output, which mostly have been commercial and critical failures.
Spencer came in right after the Xbone launch, to clean up Mattrick's mess despite not having the luxury to salvage the Xbone reputation. Now Microsoft has become the largest publisher in the industry and has positioned Microsoft more prominently as a software focused company - exactly where they are comfortable. His biggest failure is continuing to trust Matt Booty with XGS's output, which mostly have been commercial and critical failures.
Feel Like I'm On 42
Member
.
This and not only has he killed the Xbox but he's done irreparable damage to the industry at large. He "forced" the industry into consolidation of Publishers. He got Sony similarly hurting console gamers by their focusing on subscription services and PC. It has been a great few years for PC gamers but a horrible generation for console gamers with how both Sony and Microsoft have forsaken their own core audience as they shift to multiplat.
Both consoles were great pieces of tech with fancy SSD's and Backwards compatibility. The shift towards services and multiplat (PC and console) has made these systems an afterthought. Phil pushed this on the industry and forced Sony's hand. Sony was just much smarter than MS by staggering releases and not devaluing exclusives but both companies have treated us console gamers like absolute shit this gen. These consoles have been so underutilized to the point that neither company has released a single true next gen game its fucking crazy.
Phil shut down the great BC initiative too when it was just picking up steam. So many Xbox one games have never even been patched for higher framerates and resolutions. It's been a miserable generation in lots of ways and the amount of gaslighting that we've had to endure from fanboys, Phil and friends at the top, and the shill media has kept what should be an outrage from console owners to a minimum.
This and not only has he killed the Xbox but he's done irreparable damage to the industry at large. He "forced" the industry into consolidation of Publishers. He got Sony similarly hurting console gamers by their focusing on subscription services and PC. It has been a great few years for PC gamers but a horrible generation for console gamers with how both Sony and Microsoft have forsaken their own core audience as they shift to multiplat.
Both consoles were great pieces of tech with fancy SSD's and Backwards compatibility. The shift towards services and multiplat (PC and console) has made these systems an afterthought. Phil pushed this on the industry and forced Sony's hand. Sony was just much smarter than MS by staggering releases and not devaluing exclusives but both companies have treated us console gamers like absolute shit this gen. These consoles have been so underutilized to the point that neither company has released a single true next gen game its fucking crazy.
Phil shut down the great BC initiative too when it was just picking up steam. So many Xbox one games have never even been patched for higher framerates and resolutions. It's been a miserable generation in lots of ways and the amount of gaslighting that we've had to endure from fanboys, Phil and friends at the top, and the shill media has kept what should be an outrage from console owners to a minimum.
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Bumblebeetuna
Member
It wasn’t an “always connected” pivot it was an “always connected, no used games” pivot. Also was the TV push just “a few years too early”? It’s been over a decade and TV isn’t a major feature on any console.
Anyway thanks to Don they lost the most important generation. Now they are just trying to maximize revenue.
blue velvet
Member
Phil Spencer is getting paid millions ruining a good brand. Honestly, that sounds like a dream job to me. But seriously though, if this was happening to Playstation, sinking this low, there would be a massive shake up, dozens in the higher ups would get fired. Not Microsoft though, this is all fine and dandy.
hepfom
Member
This totally stinks of Microsoft PR setting up Phil's inevitable termination of employment.
Moonjt9
No Silksong? = Delivering the pain.
Iwata the GOAT. That’s real leadership.
ChorizoPicozo
Member
how?
ChorizoPicozo
Member
there are a bunch hidden asterisks and context missing here.
The whole purpose of xbox historicaly speaking is to counter Playstation from eating pc numbers, let's digress that for a sec, it's cause of Playstation's existence that kept xbox alive and preventing it from eating pc numbers, so basically they care about pc more than anything else, like it or not, it's the damn truth that kept them doing what they do, and without Playstation, they wouldn't care to pull xbox out of the market.
I've not heard the actual podcast (honestly, haven't listen to one since 2017) but I believe this statement was made in the context of Phil conceding that the Xbox One hardware cycle was "the wrong one to lose". He isn't wrong there, no amount of Halo, Fable, Gears, and Forza is going to result in someone abandoning the large PS4 software collection they have that runs on a PS5. What he sort of missed in the process of delivering a half-coherent statement is that we should be long, long, long past the point where Halo, Fable, Gears, and Forza are what is used in an attempt to win over or win back those customers. The amount of development talent and IP they own, relative to what they're actually putting out, is totally indecipherable and absolutely justifiable grounds for the golden parachute treatment.
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Crayon
Member
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Boots_the_God
Member
Ehhh as I play Diablo 4 with friends that NEVER would have tried the game otherwise but have now because of gamepass and are loving it...I can't be too mad with xbox's game plan. I understand the model is not for everyone. Luckily there are other options out there for those that want them.
Damian black
Member
People still blaming don mattrick...
Imagine if sony fanboys were still blaming kutaragi. If they werent able to turn things around in 10 years with the money they have, nothing could have saved them(him).
Both sony and nintendo recovered from their blunders. Only xbox couldnt. What does that tell you?
Imagine if sony fanboys were still blaming kutaragi. If they werent able to turn things around in 10 years with the money they have, nothing could have saved them(him).
Both sony and nintendo recovered from their blunders. Only xbox couldnt. What does that tell you?
Urban
Member
Mattrick lost the worst generation. People build their digital library in the Xbox one / PS4 generation and committed a lot of money to a Plattform.
Laptop1991
Member
Sorry i disagree, because the games have not been good enough from Xbox and it isn't just about Halo, Forza and Gears, I'm a PC gamer, so Starfield, Redfall and Avowed etc interest me more, but I'm not buying them as the games are disappointing, great games will sell hardware either Xbox or GPUS, i remember the thread well, i posted the same response in it, it's on Phil to make better games and he has failed to do that.
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