Phil Spencer: Xbox Strategy Is Not to Just Copy Someone Else - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 September 2021 / 2,343 Views
Head of Xbox Phil Spencer in an interview with GamesRadar was asked about the lack of epic single-player games on Xbox like Marvel's Spider-Man and The Last of Us. Spencer doesn't want to just copy someone else and wants to do something different than what other platforms are doing.
"Our strategy is not to just go be like someone else," said Spencer. "I get a push sometimes of 'where's your version of this or that [game]?'. I've been in this industry for a long time, I have a ton of respect for creators on all platforms, and I know many, many of them.
"But it's good if we're doing something different than what other platforms are doing. We're not in the business of just trying to create a green version of somebody else's blue or red coloured platform. That's not the example of creativity that I want to see in the games industry."
Xbox has been growing its first-party lineup of studios since 2018 with multiple acquisitions, the biggest being Bethesda and its eight studios.
Bethesda's next big title, Starfield, will launch on November 11, 2022 as an Xbox Series X|S console exclusive, as well as on PC. The game is the first new RPG IP from Bethesda in 25 years.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
More Articles
Is this supposed to be a new article? I swear I saw pretty much this exact quote from Phil like a year ago.
He's literally said this exact thing before though lol. Speaking in a Gamelab Live fireside discussion with journalist Seth Schiesel, Spencer said: "We are going to create our first-party around the things that we feel like we need to do in order to stand up for Xbox. Sometimes we get suggestions of, where’s your X game or, where’s your Y game, when people look at the other hardware platforms. But I don’t think our goal is to replicate what other people have done. It doesn’t help the industry to have people that are trying to do exactly the same thing with their platforms, services, or content."
This was over a year ago. Nothing has changed. There's no news here.
Hey man, don't knock the clickz...
Phil likes to reiterate. He's just one of those guys. Though he tends to say the opposite of what's really happening often enough. Like it wasn't that long ago that XB Studios were hiring for a new HZD like game if I'm correct. He more recently said competitors don't want something like GP, even though he was hyped about bringing it to so many other platforms not that long ago. You also really gotta wonder whether PS Now in 2014 had anything to do with GP in 2017, as well as xCloud now.
Reiterating is supposed to make things more transparent, though it can also cloud things as well.
Regarding the Gamepass thing though, it's very possible he actually talked to Sony and Nintendo and they actually didn't want any part of it. In fact, we do know that MS and Nintendo talked about Gamepass on some level because of the documents that were revealed in the legal battle for Epic Games v. Apple.
Not saying he is honest all the time or anything, but in this case I could see how things could have changed from being excited to realizing it isn't going to happen.
So basically Phil wants a Big Mac, is excited for it, drives thru BK and wonders why he can't get one?
You guys have a Whopper? No way! Never woulda guessed...
'Spencer says BK doesn't want halo burgers like Big Macs.'
Now there's a headline for ya!
Dude, your metaphor doesn't even make sense with what I said...
And he said this after the trial revealing that MS is acti ely looking for gaming experiences such as TLOU 2, so I don't know why he states this kind of stuff
But you forget, he didn't deny copying others, he said they don't want to JUST copy others. So copying others is fine, if you also release sequels of your existing IP and buy Bethesda.
And this is why the Xbox ecosystem is by far my favorite, there are things that the other two simply will not or cannot offer. I’m glad they are so far out of the box with GamePass, “optimized for X|S”, play anywhere, etc etc
!OAML
Why copy someone when you can buy what you want.
Remember when XBOX's Avatars ripped off Nintendo's Mii's almost exactly. Or when Playstation Plus existed first then Games With Gold came out after that. There are examples of rip-offs from every brand but Mr. Spencer has some very select memory here...
Remember when Nintendo and Sony have GamePass, xCloud, all games day one on PC, etc etc? Oh wait they don’t have any of that. You’re cherry picking small elements of the Xbox experience from generations ago when it’s blatantly clear that the current Xbox experience differs wildly from what the others offer. Though Sony is trying to catch up to offering this same experience.
Yes you’re right, all of these companies copy each other. But that doesn’t negate what he said. Even the games MS has in the pipeline are very different than what Sony offers.
Saying Sony is trying to catch up the XBOX is like saying Usain Bolt is trying to catch up to Drew Carey in a foot race. Also didn't Phil Spencer just say they need to update their controller based on PS5 success? I'm pretty sure this update won't be "wildy different" it will try and incorporate as many Sony features as possible.
He said the same stuff about DS4 yet I don’t see a touch screen on the Xbox pad, just a share button, which Sony didn’t create. They didn’t create adaptive triggers or haptic feedback, either.
yeah microsoft not copying playstation by making xbox isnt copying allright haha!
Chevy copied ford? the PS designs made on a windows PC?
Xbox is basically the most original and innovative gaming brand. Just look at all the original IPs and new ways to play Xbox introduced.
Cant wait to see the their not copied version of the dualsense or games on par with naughty dog that internal documents at the epic court case said they was their goal to match.
Good, but i still want to see a Rare's All Star Kart Racer one day.
Essay Pro