360°

Sarah Bond dodges questions on Xbox studio closures

While on stage with Dina Bass at The Bloomberg Technology Summit the President of Xbox, Sarah Bond, was asked about the Xbox studio closures of Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios

37d ago
ApocalypseShadow36d ago

Of course she did. She's part of the problem and will just tow the company line.

VenomUK36d ago (Edited 36d ago )

Bloomberg’s Dina Bass could barely read her scripted question without looking at her notes, whilst Sarah Bond who WAS expecting the question spoke without saying anything of substance or answering the question in any meaningful way. Clearly she’s had the same expert PR training as Phil, but this avoidance was disrespectful. In time the short-sighted decision to shut down Tango Gameworks will be seen as of the most notorious examples why Phil Spencer messed up his tenure in charge of Xbox. That’s a fully built out talented team that could’ve been put to work on any project.

Additionally, Phil Spencer should not be using Sarah Bond as a patsy for his mistakes- he should be answering that question.

gleepot36d ago

I think you are all really overselling Tangos value. Hi-Fi rush was a lot of fun. Ghostwire was incredibly dull. Evil within 1 and 2 were just okay.

lucasnooker36d ago

Evil within 2 was incredibly under rated. I thought that game was surprisingly good

NotoriousWhiz36d ago

Someone else said it best. I don't think it was a Phil decision. It was most likely a Satya decision. I think Microsoft is done giving out free money to Xbox.

Cacabunga36d ago

people please boycott Activision Bethesda next release and support Hellblade.
these people mus understand that they cannot treat their fans and employees that way.
scumbags.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 36d ago
XiNatsuDragnel36d ago

Yikes you don't help Sarah 😬 making a problem worse

Christopher36d ago

She's playing her role. There's absolutely nothing any of them can say other than the truth, this is about profit margins and not quality, so they just don't answer anything and wait for gamers to forget.

shinoff218336d ago

I think news is coming of more ps5 release but they gotta be careful cause Xbox is still sitting on store shelves. They can't get left holding all that stock

Lightning7736d ago

Come next month they'll flash nice looking games in our faces and expecting us to forget.

The only thing that'll be going through my mind at their showcase is how many of those studios will get shut down after release.

I'm not joking around either. MS probably expects every game to be like COD and do COD numbers. What a way to destroy gaming for the entire industry because they're dumb af at being realistic in what success means for each game.

-Foxtrot36d ago

Always feels she was brought in / promoted for this. Happened just before things started to be out in motion.

Phil and co have someone to throw under the bus and share the blame with

zaanan36d ago

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

darthv7236d ago

....won't get fooled again

Hofstaderman36d ago

Like a deer caught in the headlights.....

VariantAEC32d ago

A deer that just learned how to speak English.

notachance36d ago

I always wondered why xbox had multiple leaders with similar titles like Phil Spencer, Matt Booty, and Sarah Bond, like, how many heads do you actually need?

Seems to me it would be more cost efficient to cut 2 of them instead of all those studios.

DarXyde36d ago

Frankly, I suspect she is the most competent of them. I don't mean that I like her more, I mean that she's the best at articulating herself and giving the talking points MS wants to give. The others are starting to sound more like her than her sounding like any of them.

Are any of these people "responsible" for what's happening? No. This reeks of Nadella. But that being said, I don't see any of the Xbox heads stepping down in protest.

"Don't shoot the messenger", sure, but at the same time, the messengers don't seem to take umbrage with the message. Not enough to remove themselves from it, anyway.

CS736d ago

I disagree. Nadella is looking for profit as a CEO should in my opinion.

The problem is Dr. Phil & Co. had 10 years to bring Xbox back on track and have been failing woefully.

Phil needs to sell to Nadella that if we are to make a profit, we need to make great games. And to do that we need employees here for the long haul and the freedom to work on creative projects.

But as Phil said himself he doesn’t believe great games sell consoles.

VariantAEC32d ago

Profit is what keeps the conpany afloat from one month to the next. Selling a product people want is what keeps a company profitable. If Nadella is looking to profits first... he's running they company wrong.

RpgSama36d ago

Dude, 100%, forgot Major Nelson and Aaron Greenberg, like what is the point for all these suits? They have more C-level executives than games released in a generation.

This is just so they can all pass along the hot potato one at a time and in between all of them can say a lot without actually saying anything, misinformation at its finest.

Show all comments (48)
770°

IGN Instructed & Offered Prizes for Crowd to Cheer During Phil Spencer and Other Live Interviews

During the IGN Live interview with Phil Spencer, the crowd cheered even if the topic was about closures, and its because they were told to.

GaboonViper2d ago ShowReplies(15)
Snookies122d ago

Just reading this headline alone made me feel grimy. Disgusting, all around. Haven't trusted IGN since over a decade ago, so this isn't really surprising to hear.

Leeroyw2d ago

IGN lost a lot of credibility a long time ago. Now they're running on fumes.

MrDead1d 17h ago

MS are buying up the industry so you need a compliant media to tell you how awesome consolidation and mass layoffs are... and they know MS is IP hunting too, they will be cut off from review copies of some of gaming's biggest IP's if they don't play ball.

peppeaccardo1d 16h ago

The only way they can rise excitement in a crowd is paying for it. LAMENESS is MIcrosoft best product to date.

Skuletor2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

I think that kind of thing night be standard. I once was in the audience for Wheel of Fortune and there was a guy that briefed us before the show on his hand signals, when we were supposed to react/applaud and stuff like that and we were told to check under our seats because one of them had a prize underneath it.

Edit: Okay, read the article, this was definitely some slimy behaviour by IGN and it sounds like it wasn't just on the behalf of Xbox either.

Also, since IGN bought Humble Bundle years ago, they stopped occasionally giving a game away for free during certain big sales events etc, screw IGN.

Profchaos2d ago

It is for say a game show or similar shows for entertainment purposes but a interview not really.

Petebloodyonion2d ago

Bruno Rodriguez confirmed that his statement applied to the entire three-day Fanfest event, not solely Phil Spencer's interview. Regrettably, this part of his response is absent from the article, which raises questions about its omission.
Here is the complete explanation
https://x.com/BrunoRo115301...

DarXyde2d ago

Petebloodyonion,

It is an odd omission. While I do believe IGN has some problematic biases, one can't really say it's done for Spencer in light of this information.

Good follow up.

Inverno2d ago

IGN not being trustworthy? Yeah we've been knowing that.

GaboonViper2d ago

I remember when they gave Alien Isolation a bad review because the alien AI acted like a actual Xenomorph which was free to do what it wanted and hunt you down, and docked Days Gone points because it had a white female as Deacons Girl, oh and they have one of the worst fanboys in Dustin, he has no shame whatsoever.

Inverno2d ago

Don't forget "too much water". It's like they hate hire people that hate their jobs. This is a people problem, when people aren't humbled they become full of themselves. IGN and other news publishers have been given too much sway, and too much preferential treatment. They forget they're meant to inform the people, and have instead become a tool to sell an image these companies want to portray. Perception of power and authority and influence corrupts people.

Show all comments (127)
390°

Former PlayStation CEO Shawn Layden Was Baited to Mock Xbox Boss Phil Spencer

Former PlayStation CEO Shawn Layden mocked Xbox Chief Phil Spencer on Twitter over his comments in a recent interview, though it seems the former PlayStation boss didn't see the entire interview before reacting.

Sonic18812d ago (Edited 2d ago )

Must be a slow news day 🙄 😴 We're talking about a former ceo that doesn't even work for Sony anymore

VenomUK2d ago

@mp1st.com’s Ibrahim Kabir is so invested in the format wars that when Shawn Layden called out Phil Spencer for his hypocritical stance on Call of Duty exclusivity, Ibrahim got upset at the mocking of Spencer. So now he’s written a useless article to say Phil Spencer deliberately said that because IT WAS A TRAP?!!

Please stop this nonsense, just stop it. Write about news, not this crap.

DarXyde2d ago

The Heart Part 7 is even worse than Part 6 somehow. 🤭

neomahi2d ago

And not a very good one either. Jacky T!!! Now that guy

ArmrdChaos2d ago

Just more senseless crap in attempts to distract us away from all the DEI BS the industry is trying to pull.

derek2d ago

He wasn't baited, it was a stupid hypocritical comment from one Phillip Spencer which is par for the course for him.

Reaper22_2d ago

What was stupid about what he said?

CrimsonWing692d ago

Yea I was trying to figure that out, too.

VersusDMC2d ago

Well he saying he didn't want to do slimy tactics because he wants it to go to everyone like he's a saint...but we know Starfield still isn't on PS and the call of duty parity is due to a 10 year contract they signed to help get the Activision buy out to go through.
https://www.google.com/amp/...

He also complained that he couldn't advertize COD on their showcase because of the Marketing deal Sony had with COD when they had one with Cyberpunk and currently have one with all the Atlus games. It's just hypocrisy all around.

Giga_Gaia2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

@VersusDMC they're also the ones who did those deals first on the 360. You'd also bet if they were market leader, they'd be doing the same thing because Microsoft are a bunch of hypocrites.

Also, Phil Spencer is far from a saint. I've never seen such a despicable and worthless human being in my entire life. Plus his stupid smile, clearly evil and I just want to punch him in the face as hard as I can.

Gamepass is good for gamers, but the worst thing for developers and you can bet if it takes off even more, the monthly fee will skyrocket. Not that it will, the subscriptions aren't increasing and I seriously doubt they will, they've reach their peak already.

DivineHand1252d ago

@Giga_Gaia I don't know what's worse the comment or the people who liked your comment.
"Phil Spencer is far from a saint. I've never seen such a despicable and worthless human being in my entire life. Plus his stupid smile, clearly evil and I just want to punch him in the face as hard as I can."

He is the CEO of a video game company. I can think of a hundred other people who deserve that level of hatred.

You failed to mention what vile act was done by Phil Spenser but I suspect the main thing he is really guilty of is that he is Sony's main competitor. Xbox in the 360 days is much different than the Xbox of today so whatever was done back then doesn't apply to how Xbox is being run today. Had Xbox continued with that style of management, they would likely have remained the market leader by a significant margin as they would purposely outbid Sony on every deal. Except what we are hearing Phil Spenser say is that Sony is making all these deals which are detrimental to Xbox which is odd because he has more money than PlayStation. This leads me to believe that his style of leadership is much different from what we know Xbox was back in the 360 days.
Leave this console war nonsense behind. They are just pieces of plastic for your entertainment. Start thinking like a consumer and show no loyalty to either side.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 2d ago
Lightning772d ago ShowReplies(3)
Lightning772d ago

"And Microsoft absolutely ripped Hifi rush, redfall and Starfield off playstation as they had PS5 versions in development."

Big difference between knowing the back room politics of what we found out and those games not being formerly announced to be on PS in the first place, vs a game like Stellar Blade that was announced to the world that its coming to Xbox only years later no longer coming to Xbox. Again those games weren't announced to be on PS. Plus, just like COD they own those games which means they can do what they please with those games. Hi FI made it on PS5 eventually.

Unlike Final Fantasy remakes, keeping a 3rd party IP off other platforms. IP Sony doesn't own. You're right MS was very slimy mainly during the 360 days and early X1 days. As of late in the past 8+ years or so Sony has been doing more 3rd party deals and having timed exclusive things compared to MS. Again I go where the facts are, as you know.

shinoff21832d ago (Edited 2d ago )

Ms hasn't had many 3rd party exclusives games cause all the 3rd party games their paying for day 1 on gamepass. Idk how tf yall can't see that. They can't pay for both. Well won't pay for both. So what do you want. Day 1 3rd party or 3rd party exclusives

Also come on we already know game sales just aren't there

VersusDMC2d ago

So if Sony bought Square and every Square game was exclusive to playstation it would be fine but 3 Square games exclusive to PS5 and several on other consoles is worse?

And Microsoft is slimy for not releasing Indiana Jones on PS5 because it is IP Microsoft doesn't own, right?

Lightning772d ago ShowReplies(1)
Lightning772d ago (Edited 2d ago )

"So if Sony bought Square and every Square game was exclusive to playstation it would be fine but 3 Square games exclusive to PS5 and several on other consoles is worse?"

Yeah since they would own them. They can do as they please. If the roles were reversed you would be real mad at MS for keeping those games to themselves instead of investing in new IP MS would poach 3rd party constantly, like they use to do. Everyone would hate MS for making the remakes only on Xbox, I mean everyone. Let's not pretend ppl won't.

From a PR standpoint Phil won't mention all the slimy stuff he used to do constantly. Like the entire 360 generation and early x1 days until fans and media blasted him when it came to TR. That's just common sense he won't talk about that.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 2d ago
MrBeatdown2d ago

Everyone knows exactly what Phil was doing.

Hofstaderman2d ago

Misdirecting, lying, projecting....the list can go on and on.

anast2d ago

These are two professional sleaze bags. They know what they are doing when it comes to lying, being slimy and turning a profit. They might be okay outside of work, but while they are playing out their drama for a paycheck, their characters are the moustache twirling bad guy.

Reaper22_2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

I think most people knew that was just click bait stuff meant to get a rise out of sony fans. Unfortunately, some fell for it. Phil wasn't taking a shot at sony or anyone else. All he meant was we are giving you a choice.

Show all comments (41)
160°

Xbox Needs to Embrace PlayStation and Nintendo for Sustainability

Ybarra, who spent two decades at Microsoft, acknowledged concerns about the future of Xbox hardware by fans once more first-party games go multiplatform.

Read Full Story >>
playstationlifestyle.net
ThinkThink3d ago

As an xbox guy, If porting some exclusives to sony and nintendo allows MS to continue offering gamepass day one, I'm all for it. Port them all if you need to.

Hofstaderman3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

Your way of thinking is why Microsoft is where they are. All they had to do was hold the line of the 360 circa 2010. Had the continued with thay strategy they would not have had to introduce gamepass which has spectacularly kneecapped them.

ThinkThink3d ago

@hof, but then they would still be in the same position as sony, fighting for those same 150 million customers. As a publicly traded company, they still need to show growth. Once sony is day and date on PC, they will also need to find new customers, likely by embracing 3rd party. What you consider "kneecapping" I consider an incredible customer value in gamepass.

Ironmike3d ago

Kneecapping the xbox and pc owners are loving it I do t think u telise how popular gamepass is

MrBaskerville3d ago

They were faltering in the last year or two of the 360 era. Don't forget that they doubled down on Kinect, which might be part of the reason why they didn't have much to show going into Xbox One.

QuantumMechanic3d ago

But GamePass is not MS' consolation effort; it was always the endgame! MS is all about subscription-based revenue-streams now! They have turned almost all of their businesses into software-as-a-service; only Windows remains. Stay tuned for that one in the next 5 years.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3d ago
KevtheDuff3d ago

As a consumer, I really get that point of view.

As an ex dev seeing what's happened to the industry I have no doubt that GP is harming the industry I love by devaluing games, so my thoughts are little less positive about it.

I can agree with the sentiment that most of their games should be multi platform. Until they swallowed up these devs, most of the titles we are wating for would have been multi platform anyway.

Obscure_Observer3d ago

@ThinkThink

"As an xbox guy, If porting some exclusives to sony and nintendo allows MS to continue offering gamepass day one, I'm all for it. Port them all if you need to."

I won´t say all, but definitely some games I wouldn´t care either as long excellence continues to be delivered to us.

Cockney3d ago

If some then why not all? Think think isn't wrong, his reasoning is quite concise in that yes multi platform brings more funds to develop more games all available day 1 on gamepass, he's happy as Larry.

purple1012d ago (Edited 2d ago )

you keep saying continues mate, like its been happening all a long, I see on another post, you used the same word,

xbox has forza, which is a quality game, and the rest are 8/10's

they have very little 9 or 10/10s. quality bar is set lower for xbox.
also on topic, which would Playstation fans buy ported 8/10 games when they are accustomed to 9's

Obscure_Observer2d ago

@Cockney

"If some then why not all?"

Because if MS wants to remain in the console, business (like they already confirmed multiple times been working on a next gen Xbox console), they would never allow all of their flagship first party games to be available on the main competitor´s console.

Zeref2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

Yeah it's better for the games too.

Like yeah Playstation gets Doom and Call of Duty. But they have to pay 70 dollars for it or 100 dollars if you want a special edition. Meanwhile we get it for nothing extra or 30 dollars for upgrades like the Black Ops 6 Vault Edition.

If Playstation and Nintendo players are used to fund my gamepass content I'm fine with that.
It benefits the games and me as well.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 2d ago
Lexreborn23d ago

I still find it funny that Microsoft is spinning its obligations that it has to releasing on other systems as if it is some noble decision. Before they bought the companies they did these games were all in development easily the last 3-5 years and had some type of standing agreement they absorbed.

People are acting like this is a dependency when in reality it’s them just trying to avoid major lawsuits. I am willing to bet any game that’s started development in the last year that would release in the next 5 will eventually be Xbox only unless in the next 5 years Xbox just fails hard.

And with the new skus they released I REALLY don’t foresee them having a huge jump. When now the disc version is a HUGE luxury at 600 with them not even having a physical presence anymore it’s them killing their physical market.

Eonjay3d ago

It's not just about them avoiding lawsuits. It's about them trying to maximize their returns. They didn't buy multiplat publishers to become exclusive. That wouldn't make sense money wise.

Zeref2d ago

The 600 dollar console is a special edition.

The regular Series X is still 500 dollars.

CrimsonWing693d ago (Edited 3d ago )

They just need super strong games and consistency. This showcase was the first time since the 360 era where I actually was excited for what Xbox has. I already own a paper weight Xbox Series X, but now it’s looking like it’s time to blow the 3 inch layer of dust off it and give it some loving.

What Xbox needs to do now is be consistent with the releases. Don’t let this be a one time thing and then back the the poultry exclusives and typical Forza, Halo, and whatever else they just release. If they can do that I honestly believe they can rebuild the brand and possibly get it back to how it was when the 360 was alive.

Ironmike3d ago

I agree with article and I believe sony will follow suit budgets to big development times to long none can sustain this forever and sony won't be able to either

ThinkThink3d ago

I also think in 20 years we are going to look back and say "Remember when we used to have to buy a game publishers box to put under your TV in order to play their games?"