Phil Spencer to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at the D.I.C.E. Awards - News

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Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer will receive the AIAS Lifetime Achievement Award during the 25th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony, announced the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. It will be held in Las Vegas and livestreamed by IGN on Thursday, February 24 at 8:00 pm PT / 11:00 pm ET. 

Bethesda Game Studios game director and executive producer Todd Howard will present the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award to Spencer during the awards show. 

"Phil Spencer has demonstrated both passion and leadership throughout his entire career at Microsoft. He’s responsible for countless impactful and pivotal initiatives that have reverberated throughout the entire gaming industry," said AIAS President Meggan Scavio.

"On behalf of the Academy’s Board of Directors, we are looking forward to celebrating Spencer’s important impact on video game history by presenting him with our Lifetime Achievement Award."

Phil Spencer has worked at Microsoft since 1988 and in March 2014 was promoted to lead Xbox, Xbox Live, and Microsoft Studios and in 2017 became the Executive Vice President of Gaming. Following the announcement of the Activision Blizzard last month he was promoted once more Microsoft Gaming CEO.

Previous recipients of the Lifetime Achievement award includes Minoru Arakawa and Howard Lincoln in 2006, Ken Kutaragi in 2007, Doug Lowenstein in 2009, Bing Gordon in 2010, Satoru Iwata in 2015, and Genyo Takeda in 2017.

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.

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2zosteven (on 03 February 2022)

Congratulations Phil!!!

• +19

NobleTeam360 (on 03 February 2022)

Absolutely deserves it.

• +17

Koragg (on 03 February 2022)

Phil has done a great job since taking over Xbox (from Don Mattrick?). Considering I only owned PS and a couple Nintendo consoles, I never really saw the appeal from Xbox. Gamepass got me in the Xbox ecosystem and it's easily the best thing in gaming imo.

• +14

KratosLives Koragg (on 04 February 2022)

It's alright, but not the best thing since bread. I can definitely see the appeal to many, but personally I prefer where sony is headed, what they did with the dual sense, it's potential , ps5's spatial audio tech vs atmos on xbox,and their new vr2.

• -11

smroadkill15 KratosLives (on 05 February 2022)

Okay but this award isn't about a specific piece of hardware or feature. It's about everything Phil Spencer has accomplished. Xbox can't get praise without someone being like, "But Sony..."

• +3

VAMatt (on 03 February 2022)

If Gamepass and XCloud succeed, I'd say he'll go down as one of the most important figures in gaming history. He certainly belongs in the same category with those other names.

• +8

Rafie (on 04 February 2022)

He made the XBox brand great and competitive again. THAT'S how you turn it around! He deserves the award!

• +4

LudicrousSpeed (on 03 February 2022)

We are humbled, Papa Phil

• +3

V-r0cK (on 04 February 2022)

Looking at the previous DICE lifetime achievement winners I want to say this is a bit too soon but whatever, I'm sure he would've gotten it eventually.

• -1

Kakadu18 (on 03 February 2022)

They should give it to him when he retires, not now.
Anyway, well deserved.

• -1

Azzanation (on 04 February 2022)

Bad guy Phil at it again.

• -9

LivncA_Dis3 (on 04 February 2022)

He doesn't deserve it.

The great Xbox turn around is just beginning and we haven't even seen any new things from their recent purchase.

Buying multiple developers and publishers shouldn't get you an award.

• -11

AJNShelton (on 03 February 2022)

Why ?

• -12

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AJNShelton Bristow9091 (on 03 February 2022)

Yeah but that's just trying to sell better, that's not what I would call a great contribution to gaming.

• -11

2zosteven Bristow9091 (on 03 February 2022)

been great for the industry

• +7

Libara AJNShelton (on 03 February 2022)

He only saved the Xbox brand.

• +12

AJNShelton Libara (on 03 February 2022)

He just asked more money to MS, that's not a huge deal (besides the actual big deals obviously)

• -11

Libara AJNShelton (on 03 February 2022)

He did a lot more than just ask for money, he had to prove he knew what he was doing before MS let him have access to the purse.

• +8

AJNShelton Libara (on 03 February 2022)

Well he's an employee, of course he had to do that

• -11

2zosteven AJNShelton (on 03 February 2022)

hes an employee with a pretty large salary and bank account

• +5

AJNShelton 2zosteven (on 03 February 2022)

That's already an award

• -5

2zosteven AJNShelton (on 03 February 2022)

i agree. no doubt he would take the money over the award

• +4

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AJNShelton shikamaru317 (on 03 February 2022)

That's what you do for selling your product, but I don't see it as an accomplishment for gaming industry. Without MS's infinite money, pretty much everything you listed wouldn't be possible.

• -11

2zosteven AJNShelton (on 03 February 2022)

id delete that comment.

• +6

Hynad shikamaru317 (on 03 February 2022)

"[…] more significant push towards Cloud gaming than any of the others who are pushing for Cloud gaming have done thus far“

Just no. PlayStation has pushed PS Now long before anything viable was made on Spencer’s side, continues to support it, and the catalogue keeps growing. On that point, you left objectivity out.

• -11

Azzanation Hynad (on 04 February 2022)

I wouldn't say Sony "pushed" PSNow

• +3

Hynad Azzanation (on 04 February 2022)

We know that, Azz. Your "objectivity" in regards to Sony is well known.

Sony isn’t focusing their business on Cloud gaming anymore than MS is. Yet they have made that option available before MS did, and are still supporting it and continually increasing the offerings. So, no, Spencer isn’t responsible for any kind of exceptional push on that side of gaming.

• -3

Azzanation Hynad (on 04 February 2022)

Your objectively in regards to my facts is well known. Don't need to try to explain and make excuses on this topic. Sony has not pushed PSNow on the same level as MS.

• 0

Hynad Azzanation (on 05 February 2022)

Indeed, MS hasn’t pushed PSNow at all. ?

• +3

smroadkill15 Hynad (on 04 February 2022)

Being around longer doesn't mean it's better. Xbox has made a bigger push in cloud gaming than Sony.

Xcloud is in 26 countries compared to 19 for Ps Now. Xcloud is playable on Android, IPhone, and tablets. PS Now is not. Way more compatible controllers on Xcloud. Better support for 1080p 60fps games. All this while being on the market for a much shorter amount of time.

• +2

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Hynad smroadkill15 (on 04 February 2022)

Being better or not is irrelevant. XCloud isn’t pioneering anything. There are many achievements to his name, but praising Spencer for that is blind fanboyism refusing to acknowledge the other party who successfully launched a service ahead of its time, despite people’s widespread apprehension for that kind of future.

• -5

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Hynad shikamaru317 (on 05 February 2022)

XCloud just started out. It hasn’t had any meaningful impact yet.

GamePass, on the other hand…

• 0

smroadkill15 Hynad (on 04 February 2022)

It actually is relevant.
Spotify wasn't the first of its kind, Zune Music Pass came before it, but does that matter now? No.
I'm well aware Xcloud wasn't first, but that really doesn't matter. Ps Now is already well behind Xcloud in a number of ways.

It's funny that you are getting worked up when the original comment said nothing about Xcloud being the first, and no one has said otherwise, yet you are calling people fanboys for it.

• +2

Hynad smroadkill15 (on 05 February 2022)

You should go seek the actual definition of worked up.

You display much more signs of it than I do.

• 0

LudicrousSpeed Hynad (on 04 February 2022)

“more significant push” and “first” aren’t the same thing.

MS has definitely made a more significant push into cloud gaming than Sony. All the proof you need is the fact that when Sony decided to make a deal for new cloud service, who did they call? Microsoft and their Azure servers.

PSNow is an often ignored, seemingly an afterthought service that Sony doesn’t focus on much at all. Same cannot be said for xCloud, it is a vital pillar in MS’s strategy.

• +3

Hynad LudicrousSpeed (on 04 February 2022)

Spencer is not Microsoft. He isn’t the creator of Azure. So bringing that up here is, well, ludicrous.

As for the rest, you guys worship Spencer saying he’s pushing Cloud gaming like no others, yet, most (if not all) here dislike the idea of playing through streaming from the cloud and barely anyone uses that option. So I wonder what makes you believe it is a better achievement on Spencer’s side than any others.

And when I ask this, I want to make sure that we don’t mix up GamePass and actual gaming through streaming from the cloud.

I don’t see how Spencer (not MS) made any kind of meaningful dent in that regard.

• -3

LudicrousSpeed Hynad (on 04 February 2022)

Nope, Papa Phil isn’t Microsoft. He’s the Xboss. And under his wings, they have made a more significant push in cloud gaming than anyone else.

Yes Sony had a service first, but they literally just bought a company doing it on PC and had them bring it to console.

Whether the masses care for the cloud or not isn’t relevant. I don’t think PS Now or xCloud are at the place they need to be. But it’s obvious Xbox has made a more substantial push.

• 0

Hynad LudicrousSpeed (on 04 February 2022)

Sony and MS invested differently on the tech. But they both invested. That’s the point. Just because Ms used their Azure infrastructure to kickstart their own version of the service, doesn’t negate in any way the investment Sony did in another way on their side.

Both advertise the Cloud gaming service pretty much the same. As an offered option that’s in no point the current focus of their business.

• -1

LudicrousSpeed Hynad (on 04 February 2022)

Nah, they don’t advertise them the same way at all. I guess you don’t use Xbox or the PC app very much. Cloud gaming is integrated into the store on both. On Xbox it’s constantly advertised on the home page. In the PS store on PS4 you have to scroll to the PS Now section to see anything about it.

Also I can play xCloud on my iPhone right now. Sony never ventured into mobile AFAIK, and their standalone device was discontinued after like a year.

• -2

Hynad LudicrousSpeed (on 04 February 2022)

On PS5, it is on the front page of the store.

So I guess you haven’t experienced those on the PS5?

But, regardless of each sides’s marketing methods: Cloud gaming isn’t one of Spencer’s achievements, and a Lifetime Achievement Award should focus on what sets him apart from the rest.

• +3

LudicrousSpeed Hynad (on 05 February 2022)

I have used it. In my experience PS Now is at the very bottom of the store.

xCloud is an achievement for Phil, and surely contributed to him receiving such an honorable award ?

• -1

smroadkill15 Hynad (on 04 February 2022)

So you don't care for cloud gaming yet you want to argue who is best? ?
Nobody is confusing cloud with gamepass.
Of course you don't recognize anything Phil has achieved. Big surprise.

• 0

Hynad smroadkill15 (on 04 February 2022)

@smroadkill, your replies have nothing to say. So please, don’t try to comment anymore.

• 0

smroadkill15 Hynad (on 04 February 2022)

Thank you for providing rhe most ironic comment from this entire article. Good job ?

• +4

Hynad smroadkill15 (on 04 February 2022)

Coming from you, it doesn’t mean much.
I am not what you think I am. You try to portray me as anti-MS/XBox or something.

That’s shallow and laughable, same as your comments are more often than not.

You equal me not agreeing with people who claim he is pushing Cloud gaming like no others to an extent where it’s a defining aspect of his lifetime achievements (despite it being a very recent development for XBox that hasn’t clearly bore fruit yet) to me not recognizing anything he achieved at all. That’s facepalm inducing.

You’re the one who’s worked up.

• 0

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Azzanation AJNShelton (on 04 February 2022)

Turned Xbox around while also pushing GamePass which will change the industry forever. The industry is following Phils footsteps.

• 0

smroadkill15 AJNShelton (on 04 February 2022)

Turning around a sinking ship, pioneering the Xbox adaptive controller and pushing accessibility in gaming, introducing Game Pass and XCloud (best cloud service), Xbox being the standard for a great environment for devs, showing a huge amount of support for indie studios, ID@Xbox program, actually listening to feedback from the community and making real changes, and being very consumer friendly (ie smart delivery, play anywhere, game pass, free next-gen enhancements, FPS boost.)

• 0

AJNShelton smroadkill15 (on 04 February 2022)

That's just marketing

• -6