The Axeman Cometh. Is Phil Spencer the Wrong Man for Xbox?

"With news of Scalebound's cancellation, we ask whether Phil Spencer is the wrong person to steer the Xbox to success."

Asa from Gameondaily discusses whether Phil Spencer should be blamed for the Xbox's recent failings.

[darthv72]

some will say yes and others no. Honestly though, the tough calls have to be made and that means having to deal with the backlash of making those calls. We don't know all the details about why certain games get canceled. All we have is speculation until both parties agree to disclose the reasons in a mutual decision.

Games like Scalebound and Fable legends and phantom dust all have been canceled with little to no explanation and it has been speculated that Scalebound was taking too long with development and/or MS was being pushy for updates. Fable legends was not turning out to be the game MS was expecting and/or the development team wanted to start over which would take even more time. Phantom dust was just not shaping up to be a good game (multiplayer only) and/or MS wanted the original game remastered instead.

Some of those statements may have some truth to them but overall the decision to cancel these projects was made under the guise of quality control. Anyone in a position of leadership has to make those tough decisions even when the consumer backlash is something they know they will have to face.

How you face it says allot more about a leader than just simply making these decisions.

[YinYangGaming]

This is one of the only logical and reasonable comments I've seen made on this site, even the internet, since the cancellation of Scalebound. Kudos.

[Vhampir]

It's a long winded way of saying nothing at all.

[LordMaim]

Phil Spencer has made some extremely good calls since taking over from Don Mattrick, turning around what was nearly a catastrophic launch and building back to a powerful brand. Asking this question is ridiculous at this point.

[CrazedFiend]

@Vhampir

And yet, with that one sentence I see I will have gotten more out of that one comment from darth than I would ever get from all your comments combined. I fear I may have to find a way to gain back the 10 points I lost off my IQ for having read it.

[morganfell]

@YinYang,

The problem with his comment is at the end:

"How you face it says allot more about a leader than just simply making these decisions."

99.99% of Xbox and potential Xbox gamers are neither aware nor do they care how the head of the division faces an issue. And comments from behind the scene are beginning to indicate this issue was generated by MS. So basically what he is saying is

"How you face something you caused says allot more about a leader than just simply making these decisions".

Suddenly that statement seems a great deal less inspiring.

[jmc8888]

@morganfell

Something he caused? Some of these games were green lit by previous leaders like Mattrick, and game developers might have said one thing in a presentation that sounded great, but then Spencer saw it wasn't up to snuff, and cancelled it.

It's a bit disingenuous to say he 'caused' it.

As for others saying darth was long winded, get over it. I don't see much enlightenment in twitter sized responses. If something takes a while to say, it does. Idiocracy is rearing it's heads, and yes, twitter is dumbing us down and giving some people what amounts to ADD.

[Ravenor]

Any time Scalebound been shown it has looked extremely rough, uninteresting and destined for the same bargain bin that The Order resides in. When Kamiya came out on stage the last time Scalebound was shown his intro was "ever since I was little I wanted to make a game where you fight big monsters" I'm paraphrasing but it was something along those lines, if I was banking his game I'd expect a bit more energy than what he gave.

Scalebound getting axed is not the least bit surprising, what is surprising is how quickly everyone forgets Don "hair flip" Mattrick. Yeah let's pine for the guy who thought during the Unveiling I wanted to see him speaking to Goodell.

[Godmars290]

And still, unlike other canceled titles, the issue with Fable Legends and Scalebound was that they were high profile. MS made a show of directly promoting them right along with Sea of Thieves and Crackdown 3. The new Phantom Dust as well, to such a degree they immediately announced the HD remake of the old. Also two of those titles were past due for unrelease, unlike normally canceled early in production games.

The only way MS can recover from this is to announce new games, but if those games only get canceled, and they now have an established record for do such, what's the point?

[TankCrossing]

They're doing a remake of the original Phantom Dust?

[rainslacker]

While I agree with you, the right guy would be able to explain why a cancellation is actually good for the gamers, instead of just stating it as a forgone conclusion.

I like Phil overall, but when something like this happens, it really annoys me that all he does is push out marketing platitudes with no actual explanation, all while showing some remorse that it had to happen. I don't mind that he mentions the good that is coming to try and assuage the disappointment, but MS in general goes straight to that, instead of actually being transparent.

He doesn't have to be ugly, or blame anyone. There are ways to express the problem without actually calling out the guilty party. Something along the lines of, "Development wasn't progressing fast enough and the game was becoming prohibitively expensive to make" would have been sufficient to remove all the speculation about what happened, and allows MS to look like they made a reasonable business decision, and gets the developer off the hook, because people don't know the actual reasons why it wasn't progressing properly. But he doesn't do that. He says, "We regret it, but it's good for you, the customer". Leaving everyone to speculation. Making MS look bad. Bringing a lot of negative focus on their current line up, and leaving a lot of unanswered questions which people are going to make up their own conclusions on.

I guess in short, it's more that I only see Phil as a PR head. Not an actual head of Xbox. It's hard to give him credit, because we don't know what he is actually responsible for implementing on his shift, and what he is just relaying that is the work of others or MS own directives. To this date, I really have no clue what exactly it is that Spencer has done. All I know is that he's given credit for any and all good things that have happened with Xbox since his promotion, and he gets no blame for the bad things that happen. Even things like BC, which came out way too close to his promotion for him to actually be responsible for getting off the ground, since his old job had nothing to do with that. But ironically, with SB, his prior job would have been directly linked to that project getting off the ground, so it's cancellation, and inception, were likely all on him.

[lastking95]

Phantom dust isnt canceled, another studio is working on it. Lionhead quality was plummeting. Made nothing but trash after fable 2. Scalebound......WTF HAPPENED EXACTLY? It was looking good everytime they showed it. Unless 0 story progression was made I dont see what went wrong.

[jmc8888]

Exactly. Imagine the backlash if they released some real turd games. Looks like either way Microsoft and Phil Spencer was going to have backlash, and imo for the Microsoft/Xbox brand it's better to have the backlash from cancelling the games and the consumers still have the money in their pockets.

I don't see that as being the wrong man for the job. The wrong man would of let turds come to market and taken the money.

Hopefully they take stock in their situation and endeavor to get more talent on board to make better games. Being strong enough to cancel games gives such feedback that it might be necessary. Letting turds come to the market doesn't as much, because then a corporation can say... well we made our money back. At least we know they know that something is wrong and consumers have the money in their pocket.

[YinYangGaming]

Can we just take a second to take a step back and observe the overblown nature of this news. When Phil and Xbox released the Xbox One S just a few months ago, it was called the "comeback" and his leadership was praised for turning the ship around for the Xbox brand. He cancels a game that was missing deadlines, stuck in development troubles and looking in bad shape and look how quickly people are to jump back on the Xbox hate wagon. It's embarrassing we wish failure on any brand/persons in this industry.

[ninsigma]

Jump back on?? We're seeing people on this site who have never had a bad word to say against microsoft now complaining about this decision. I don't even think it's because scalebound was meant to be this awesome amazing game (maybe some thought that I'm not sure) but because this is yet another game to get the axe as well as the studios that have been closed down under Microsoft while they have yet to show alternatives. Last year they had some good games in gears 4 and fh3 but before that was an only ok game in QB with very little to nothing for MONTHS. This year is no better. Crackdown 3 is no where to be seen lately. It will likely be shown again at e3 with a release date for end of year but that series has never been crazy popular. The next big name game is halo wars 2. An RTS won't cut it. Then sea of theives looks terrible. After that what big games are there??

[dcbronco]

The problem is if Microsoft goes ahead and releases a lackluster game they will get criticism. Quantum Break is an example. It may have been an issue of missed deadlines but it's a business and as long as the deadline is reasonable you only get so many chances. If Phil believes there is no more room for mediocrity then that should be reason to celebrate not criticize.

[dcbronco]

Apparently three people would prefer to get taken for $60. Or they're playstation fans that want Microsoft pushing out sub par games. I want them to have standards.

[jrshankill]

"Last year they had some good games in gears 4 and fh3 but before that was an only ok game in Q"
Ori, Forza, Sunset Overdrive, Halo 5 were all quality exclusives before QB. Let's get facts straight.

"sea of theives looks terrible"
Your opinion. Most think it looks fun and different.

[ninsigma]

I agree on all those except halo 5 being good games however they weren't last year (which is what I've been talking about). And no most don't think that's the case. It's mixed around for sea of theives.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Right MS released the slim in which allot ppl here didn't think it was gonna be that big of a deal or "cut in the sales of the Scorpio??" Since Phil been in charged hes turned the whole Xbox ship around. Scalebound's cancellation is a big deal and I personally am very upset and hell I'm even questioning MS games studios now but to question his stance over in the industry over a cancelled game is absurd. Hell Don Mattrick, Forced Kinect, Higher price W/ slightly weaker specs, DRM 24 hour check ins, can't sell used games, terrible indie policy. There was even a rumor about banning your games library if you were caught cheating or too many complaints on your profile. MS first major blunder in years since Phil's control doesn't stack up to the last boss.

You're absolutely right. Though I'm still upset at MS for cancelling there are some so I say "legit" reasons for the cancellations. The game had 2 major showcases and previews and both times the game looked rough half the game community couldn't help but notice. The cancellation could be quality control. The game could have launched and would of gotten hammered in metacritic and sales and articles popping saying MS is poor at managing quality games are bombing.

Catch 22 cancel it, MS gets hammered or release it with a big potential for disappointment, MS get hammered.

[RpgSama]

The Xbox One S was called a "comeback" just from certain pro Ms gaming sites and MS fans only because it sold more than the PS4 in only 2 countries for 4 months of the year, at a time that people where waiting for the Ps4 Pro to launch.

There was no "comeback", there is no momentum, and this year started in the worst possible way for them, I refuse to believe that the main studio at Platinum Games with their lead producer Kamiya were going to deliver a 6/10 game, maybe it wasn't going to get GOTY awards or straight 10/10 out of everybody, but not every game has to, look at Gravity Rush 2, a solid 8, there was a time when 8+ meant good to great and not trash like some people treat it today and 9+ amazing.

[itsmebryan]

You refuse to believe that game was a 6/10 but, why? Do you have proof? Do you have beside info? Or are you just making it up ?

[thejigisup]

I don't wish failure, I just recognize it.

[bluefox755]

I don't think people "wish failure" (well, maybe some), but I think when a company like Microsoft ignores the demands of fans for so long, it's kind of hard to feel any sympathy when things finally do fall apart. With core gamers, it's always been about "the games", but once again Microsoft doesn't seem to realize this. Or maybe they do and they're just not good at it, I dunno. The point is, they have really under delivered with regard to software, and they seem to be okay with that. The strategy seems to be: "Pay no mind to our underwhelming software catalog, look over here at Backwards Compatibility, 4k Bluray movies, and our upcoming Super Powerful Scorpio!!"

[rainslacker]

People way over blew just how awesome he was with the release of a slim version of the console, not to mention every other great thing that's happened since MS had to somehow try and gain back consumer confidence. It wasn't some monumental event which cemented his ability to run a console division. A slim revision was a forgone conclusion, likely started before Phil took over. Same with Scorpio. Same with any game that has released under his current tenure. Same with BC, which came out too soon after he took over for him to actually be responsible for initiating it. Same with DX, same with Cloud compute, etc.

Under Spencers leadership though, quite a few studios have been closed, and several games have been cancelled. The most recent, SB, he would have been responsible for helping to get off the ground from his prior job at MS. I don't think that Spencer's praise is well deserved. I think he's doing a decent job of delivering whatever message MS is trying to deliver right now. But his failings are completely glossed over and ignored by those who praise him, while they put him up on a pedestal which he can't possibly ever live up to.

To be fair, it wasn't all on Spencer that the bad things also happened, but he would have had to be the person which had to decide how to fit MS allocated resources for game development, and decide which studios had to get the axe. It's a hard thing for a business to do such a thing, and I don't envy him for it, but those would have been his decisions, because he could have made a case why they should have been kept open....and even then, he may not have been the ultimate decider.

I don't wish Spencer to fail. I just wish people would actually use some modicum of critical thinking before they go making it so Spencer's eventual failure is because people have come to expect too much from him, because right now, MS user base seems to expect MS to deliver the moon, and they can't even get off the ground right now.

Lets be real here. Spencer isn't the sole person running the Xbox division. He's certainly a rudder to help steer the ship, but he is restricted by MS own policies. His job isn't to make Xbox the best it can be, it's to make sure that it fits into whatever MS wants to achieve with the device and the game studios associated with it. His influence stems from being able to offer real critical reasons which can help both MS, and make the Xbox a better brand.

@DCBronco

About the criticism for releasing a bad game.

That's par for the course. There were a lot of people that liked QB. And QB wasn't a bad game. Negativity is going to come either way, and if they cancelled a game because they were afraid it would get negative feedback, then MS has much more serious problem than just cancelling this one game.

Luckily that isn't likely the case.

SB is a tricky case though. It was supposed to release soon. I can understand if there were production problems and MS didn't want to invest more money in it, but after so much investment, I wonder just how much effort was given to give assistance to helping finish the game. We see other publishers or console makers send in help when necessary, but it would appear that MS didn't do this. The big question is why? Was it because they didn't have faith it would make a return on investment, or was it because the game was really that bad and so far behind that it would have been prohibitively expensive, or was it because they had issues doing so with P* games trying to assert their own wishes on the development of the game?

Lots of unknowns, and without knowing all the details its hard to make a definitive conclusion.

[morganfell]

@Yin,

Hardware, regardless of how wonderful it happens to be, is not a comeback without the proper accompanying software. It isn't about power, players, headsets, controllers, or any of these issues at the end of the day. Instead what is important consists of three items.

1.Games
2. Games
3. Games

[obidanshinobi]

Quiet you, this is N4G, no room here for reasonable comments, debates and opinions, especially if it's Xbox One related. :)

[gangsta_red]

Very good article and I agree.

Phil is doing the best he can with what he has been given and even though he has retconned a lot of the many blunders the console had at launch it seems the only uphill battle he now has to face is the "where are the games?" stigma that has been attached to Xbox. Other than that the Xbox has turned around real nicely and it has been under his watch.

"Let’s assume for the moment that Scalebound was terrible."

And here's the thing, the game supposedly had a lot of problems, from the engine not working properly, to framerate drops. It is said that the game just couldn't function right on the Xbox console. I keep reading from some on here that MS should have just released it...could you just imagine the backlash if that would have happened?

MS's games get scrutinized enough (all games do but...) Xbox games gets a special type of scrutiny not found on any other system. I can only imagine the articles and fan(boy) reaction if Scalebound released with technical issues and a meta score anywhere below 85.

Phil has been upfront and vocal on what he wants to do with Xbox, he answers tweets and keeps himself pretty accessible to Xbox fans. That alone IMO is what I can appreciate about the guy, who else in this console business does this as much as he does?

I wouldn't have had a huge issue with Scalebound being canceled if there was at least something else similar (action type game) coming in from MS for Xbox.

"The name will be etched on the Xbox memorial wall alongside Fable Legends, Phantom Dust and Project Spark."

Who is the R & D head guy at MS? Maybe we should be asking Phil this question before we all drop him into a pit of boiling acid. Who is green lighting these games and then finding out two to three years later when the game is in beta that it wasn't fun or technically possible on Xbox? That team or guy should be the one to be fired.

[BecauseImBatman]

I agree and there is plenty of blame on both sides. Platinum was clearly spreading their resoures to thin. Working on multiple projects at once. But my biggest problem from all these cancelled games (by Microsoft) is it's starting to set a pattern and now it's seeding into fans minds that whenever MS announce a new game, should we get excited for it ? Will it even get released ? etc.

They need to stop announcing games, if their unsure of the IP's future. That's the main issue for me anyway. One thing I do know for sure is Phil isn't axeing these games cause he enjoys it clearly, he thinks it's the right decision and he knows more than any of us. Of course I'm still upset about Scalebound cause I still think the IP was littered with potential from what we've seen but it's what we haven't seen is the reason behind they games cancelation and I can only hope that Phil made the right one.

Hopefully they can bounce back from this cause they were finally starting to get some momentum going into 2017 and this is not a good sign for xbox games going forward. And MS relationship with developers will get even more tarnished.

[gangsta_red]

"But my biggest problem from all these cancelled games (by Microsoft) is it's starting to set a pattern..."

There's now a cloud(ha!) of doubt hanging over anything MS says when before there was anticipation and excitement. Again, this is probably just an exaggeration if you step back and look at the bigger picture but right now this is how a lot of people feel.

My thing is Fable Legends looked great and if the whole 4v1 thing didn't work then why not make it a dungeon crawler like Diablo or better yet something similar to Divinity: Original Sin? Salvage anything, something.

Project Spark, great idea and giving IP assets like Conker to the gamer to make whatever was also good idea. But the UI, the layout and the strange F2P model in the beginning just completely killed the game.

Phantom Dust should have been handed to the original creator and to a Japanese team in the first place. The game just had that unique feel and action that only the Japanese can do. To do anything else with the game is just a puzzling decision.

All I can think of is Phil came in and saw all this goin on and said "Hell No, stop this shit now". Maybe, maybe we will see his supposed vision on the upcoming Scorpio which should be all him.

[RpgSama]

I agree that the game must have had development issues, the issue I have with Microsoft is that for them it seems that the answer is always to axe the game, it's never to support even more the studio, to give them more time, more resources, to let them do their own thing, I know it's a business, but developers are also artists doing their craft, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet, Look at the Last Guardian 10 year development, did it turn out like the best game in the history of the world? No, but it was a great game and it was it's own thing for better or worse, the developer got to share his vision with the world.

There are just too many precedents now, they just don't care for anything else than the bottom line.

[BecauseImBatman]

@RpgSama

I share the same concerns, I would have thought that giving Platinum more time to create their vision would have been the best call but this is the the thing perhaps Scalebound was a dumpster fire unable to be fixed with more time and money without basically restarting devlopment. We don't know.

And The Last Guardian I think was put on hold for a number of years, and then was revived for PS4. Clearly the problem with that game was trying to get it to run on a PS3, they had to wait a whole generation to bring it back. And with MS's new initiative to release every game on X1, PC and Scorpio - I don't think they were gonna be able to do that. But I agree ultimately that sometimes developers just need extra time to fully realize their vision. Maybe MS could have compromised on certain features like the MP it could have worked out. We'll never know.

[RpgSama]

@BecauseImBatman

So were all these cancelled games dumpster fires? That's the thing I find hard to believe, when there are so many hyped and then cancelled games, some from proven developers, they couldn't all be trash, there must be a deeper issue.

[BecauseImBatman]

@RpgSama

I agree, their is possibly an issue going on or Phil is just getting really unlucky and all the games he's having to cancel are being made publicly available but that's their fault for announcing and showing these games off at events and stuff even though their unsure if the IP has a future. So their inviting the criticism themselves. That's he underline problem of that their announcing these games, creating hype and then canceling. Games get cancelled all the time we just don't hear about most of them. Although Scalebound definitely had a lot of money already put into it.

And I didn't say Scalebound is a dumpster fire, just that it could possibly have been. And I don't know about Fable Legends. I played the beta, seemed fine but not much to do except the same missions over and over. The leaked Phantom Dust footage did look trash to me and I agree with Gangster that they should have given that back to the OG devs.

[Rob_Ko]

"Let’s assume for the moment that Scalebound was terrible."
solution - give them another year or two and make it good.
For company that is so rich they are afraid to spend a penny in good cause.

[gangsta_red]

You don't stay rich by spending and spending without seeing returns.

[darthv72]

sometimes it isnt so simple. In the case of last guardian, since Ico only works with sony... they had all the time to work on it because it was seen by the suits as a project they wanted finished when it was ready.

Platinum works with multiple publishers and their workload was probably something that was seen by MS as getting in the way of a contractual obligation that was signed years prior. you have to admit that their work on Nier is near done and that game probably started development after scalebound deal was made. (speculation).

so when you pay a contractor to do some work and they initially tell you a date it would likely be ready and that date comes and goes and you decide to be patient only to have the contractor come back and say its going to take longer and cost more $... what do you do? for some they would cut their losses and move on while others would just suck it up and keep paying and waiting. It really comes down to the nature of the work and how much was accomplished in the time frame.

[BecauseImBatman]

Throwing money at a problem doesn't make it go away or in this case fix it.
There is things we don't know. We don't know how troubled the game was or if it even could be fixed.

Knowing the little I know, it would have seemed to be a better decision to delay the game and release it in 2018 but again we don't have all the facts. We gotta assume they considered giving Platinum more time and money.

[Christopher]

Bill Gates wears cheap, off the rack clothing and makes more in a Day than we do in a year.

Rich people stay rich most of the time by knowing what to spend your money on and what to not spend your money on.

[vega275]

@ Rob_ko

So let me get this straight. If yhe game looks terrible then you keep throwing money at it? For what? Just to say " hey the game looks terrible, but at least we wasted money on it so the sonyfanboys that wasn't going to buy the game or system that are fake complaining would have more to bash us with"

Thats stupid. You don't keep throwing money at something just cause you got the money. You can spend millions dressing up shit. But its still going to be shit. Period

[rainslacker]

MS was the producer of this game. They could put their foot down and do what they had to do to make the game better. Even in early development, MS would have had a lot of input into the game and the game design. It's not like they just gave P* a check and said, "go to work". They were involved from start to finish. All producers are. Even Sony with their top studios don't just give them free reign. Even Nintendo doesn't just let miyamoto do whatever he wants. They discuss and build the game together. There really is no more team based AAA game development anymore. It's all done by committee.

Ironically, when this game started, Phil was directly responsible for the above work. He probably wasn't MS producer liasan, but he was certainly in the know about what the game would be, and likely had a lot of communication and input into the game itself.

Those trying to say that the game sucked, either don't realize the above, or willfully ignore it. If it sucked, then MS should have done something about it long ago.

As the producer, if MS saw there were problems getting the engine to work on the X1, they should have offered more support to fix it. If it couldn't be fixed, then as producers, they need to analyze the situation much sooner and switch engines or can the game back when these issues would have become apparent. These kind of things don't just crop up near the end. If they do, then it's within something in the game being implemented. If that's the case, then that implementation needs to be analyzed, and decided if it should be fixed or removed.

This is such a common part of the development process it's simply just par for the course. It's frustrating for the developers. It's frustrating for the producers. But months aren't spent pushing a feature that just won't work. Not by the developer because the producer will shut that down, and not by the publisher, because their concern is not to spend inordinate amounts of money on something that likely won't be missed by the end user.

I hate to blame either MS or P* here, but realistically, all signs point more towards MS mismanaging the project. Either they were giving P* too much freedom to do what they wanted, or they wanted something that P* couldn't deliver and did nothing to fix the problem. Too long was spent on allowing things be behind without actually setting the ship right, and that ultimately led to high stress on the development team, and MS just giving up, when all it probably needed was some analysis of the game, and seeing what could be done, and how much it would cost. Just hoping things work out, is never the solution.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Phantom Dust is still happening. https://www.vg247.com/2016/... Ii agree we need to question MS R&D and why games aren't being released.

[gangsta_red]

Right on for the link. Didn't know that at all.

I'm not a fan of remasters, but I don't mind them if the game is old enough to warrant it. I would rather see a reboot or a sequel but at least they're trying with this (along with Voodoo Vince). At least they are showing interest with some of their more obscure IP's.

[MasterCornholio]

"Dual Shockers are reporting that Microsoft’s Shannon Loftis mentioned a remaster of Phantom Dust during a YouTube Live stream at E3. The game is aiming for a 2017 release, and will be update many of the assets used in the original game"

I thought there was supposed to be a Phantom Dust 2?

[gangsta_red]

@Sparta

" Phantom Dust is still happening " lol no is not.
They cancelled Phantom Dust 2,

He never even mentioned Phantom Dust 2, he even left a link to the remaster...in fact how can you quote Angelic and then go on to completely miss what he said.

and leave a 'lol' to boot.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

@Master It wasn't Phantom Dust 2 it was suppose to be a reboot all together. Either way the Ip is still happening and I couldn't be happier about the game considering its literally my favorite Xbox game of all time. Its even suppose to support the arena functionality on Xbox.

@Sparta Remaster just as good for me again its my fave Xbox game of all time so I'm stoked.

[Godmars290]

"Xbox games gets a special type of scrutiny not found on any other system."

That's because typically high claims are made, often by fans, that don't get delivered. Kinect for instance was suppose to revolutionize not just the Xbox 360, but the gaming industry as a whole. It was only going to be this massive thing, despite early and later demos, but then when it didn't (over)perform as expected those same fans who had raised their own expectations touted every little crumb they could. That MS often does little to curtail such attitudes, foster it sometimes, is all the worse.

There also the issue that niche titles like this are treated like they'll have broad appeal. That the one game will turn everything around from any other issue.

[ziggurcat]

I don't think Phil is doing a bad job or anything. The only decision I still think was the wrong one was spending the 2 billion dollars to purchase Minecraft. While it stands to reason that that franchise will generate a lot of revenue for them, I just think that they could have used that money to bolster their 1st party line-up. The Scalebound cancellation doesn't exactly have me concerned at all because we don't know (or at the very least, I don't know) the exact details apart from Kamiya going through some mental health issues (likely just from the pressure that the industry imposes on devs on a daily basis), and I think it's a matter of extenuating circumstances that lead to that decision.

[gamer1138]

I do believe Minecraft has already returned that investment and is making MS money regularly now.

[game4funz]

And its selling well on the vita I believe. Lol

[WickedLester]

I must be some weirdo because I have never liked Minecraft, nor have I ever understood it's mass appeal.

[Kabaneri]

Thats actually the smartest decision they have made this generation. Minecraft as an IP is worth more than Gears, Forza, and Halo combined in potential revenue.

[ziggurcat]

I would have just personally liked to have seen them invest in new IPs. It was a smart decision as far as business goes, though, even if I didn't necessarily agree with it.

[StarElite]

It could be worse, they could've bought Candy Crush instead for five times that amount. *glares at Activision

[rainslacker]

That was likely in the works long before Spencer took over. Those kinds of deals take months to negotiate. Spencer didn't just take over and say, "Hey, lets go buy Minecraft. I only need 2 billion dollars".

MC was purchased because MS saw the potential for ongoing revenue streams. It wasn't a bad purchase, because the IP is worth more than that on merchandising rights alone.

In fact, most things I think Spencer is given credit for really weren't his doing. BC, Scorpio, and the Slim's success being the three biggest ones. He can be credited with delivering the message of slim and BC very well, but that's about it. Scorpio remains to be seen, because I feel they are delivering the message wrong, because they're doubling down on power while simply saying they have great games without actually showing them....and even taking some away.

[stokedAF]

He's much better than the last few in charge. It kind of seems like he's shifting away from first party studios and I don't know what to think about that yet. It's unconventional but maybe paying 3rd parties will be more productive in the end. It certainly doesn't seem like it with the cancellations and whatnot.

[Tedakin]

We don't know why Scalebound was canned. Maybe it was a bad game. Who knows.

[Kabaneri]

People thought he was the messiah of Xbox but really he was an angel of death.

[merciless]

Just look at what Phil Spencer has done?

Axed Fable
Axed Scalebound
Axed 8 and then another 5 first party studios
Axed Project Spark
Axed Phantom Dust
Diluted XB exclusives by putting them on PC
Relies on the milking of Halo/Gears/Forza - year in, year out

Do You Really Still Believe In Phil Spencer? I know I don't!

[gangsta_red]

Axed Fable - It was reported that the game wasn't fun or engaging (Fable Legends). It was a F2P game at that, you really believe anyone would spend a dime on a F2P game that wasn't fun?

Axed Scalebound - Again, rumors are that Platinum spread themselves to thin, missed deadlines and couldn't get the game to work properly on Xbox. You really want another technical mess of a game released?

Axed 8 and then another 5 first party studios - Besides Lionhead name another studio that had something in the works that you were looking forward to for Xbox One?

Axed Project Spark - Another F2P game that had a confusing UI and strange F2P model that didn't catch on at all.

Axed Phantom Dust - Which has now been reported to be be in development as a remaster of the original. https://www.vg247.com/2016/...
Which if you ask me is even worse but oh well.

Diluted XB exclusives by putting them on PC - You mean the Win 10 platform that is supported by MS, sure I guess that could fly if you're into fanboy wars,

Relies on the milking of Halo/Gears/Forza - year in, year out - One Halo so far, one Gears so, Forza like any other sports game gets the treatment.

"Do You Really Still Believe In Phil Spencer? I know I don't!"

I have my doubts but not for the reasons you posted.

@Rob_Ko

"but...but...backwards compatibility."

One of the phil promises that he delivered, maybe we should trust the guy.

[Gazondaily]

Love the people mocking backwards compatibility. Because paying for the failure that is PS NOW is so much better.

[Liqu1d]

It's funny how Xbox guys claimed Fable and Project Spark were great games before they were cancelled but after they were cancelled apparently they were always bad games.

@Septic Because PS Now is the same thing as BC right? You really are clueless.

[gangsta_red]

"It's funny how Xbox guys claimed Fable and Project Spark were great games before they were cancelled but after they were cancelled apparently they were always bad games. "

Its even funnier how Sony guys are always claiming what Xbox guys were doing.

[Kiwi66]

Fable Legends ended up being different to the original plan for it and that made some fans of the series unhappy ........ edit if people don't believe it then look it up

[oof46]

Cancelled games are nothing new.

I remember being awed by ps3 game trailers last generation and then waiting...waiting...waiting and then they got cancelled.

Eight Days (that one really hurt)
The Fixer
Getaway 3
War Devil
Coded Arms Assault
Heavenly Sword 2
Strelka Stories
Kurayami
etc, etc...

I love games, period. But, the bottom line is, they get cancelled for one reason or another.

[Godmars290]

I'm sore over Eight Days too, because it just looked that damn interesting, but then we only got the initial trailer then some post asset clips after it got shelved. MS talked up Scalebound and Fable Legends multiple times.

[SKullDugger]

I know I don't as well.

[Gwynbleidd]

"Diluted XB exclusives by putting them on PC "

That one I would connect to the general business decission of MS CEO Satya Nadella to streamline all MS products as cloud-service like offerings on different hardware-products under the hood of one unified Win10 platform.
Xbox Live is no exception to that. Having all your games on one Win10 platform and always with you no matter the hardware is IMO the right direction and a necessary step for future proofing the business.

"Relies on the milking of Halo/Gears/Forza - year in, year out "
I am a huge Forza Motorsport fan and a new Forza Motorsport, offering an evolution of a great experience, every 2 years is a great development cycle for this franchise IMO.
Halo and Gears are 2 big players in the Xbox universe and they belong in it and have every right to be represented as such. 1 new Gears and 1 new Halo so far is no "milking" IMO. Granted a few more new 1st party studios and IPs would be great, but please don't change Forza, Halo and Gears!!!!

IMO Phil is the right man to steer Xbox through this process of change within the MS company. His focus is on the experience for gamers and I am certain he is the right one to insist on delivering that in front of Nadella!

[Relientk77]

Phil is a million times better than Don Mattrick. Don is an idiot

[Rob_Ko]

at least Don Mattric was clear about his agenda, Spencer is just fake

[Movefasta1993]

Yeah like when he said stick to the 360 if you want offline console gaming

[oof46]

After all he did to fix the mess that Mattrick and the other suits did? No, he shouldn't be fired.

[Rob_Ko]

what did he do exactly? dropped kinect, always online bullshit etc? You could ask anyone in a gamestop store and would tell you same thing. It was the only thing MS could do.

[oof46]

Also, de-emphasized TV and put the focus back on games. It wasn't the only thing MS could do. They could've been bullish and stayed on that course. I think Phil has been doing a fine job.

[game4funz]

I'd say. Wait till E3 2017. And Im not talking scorpio.
Don't think anyone cares about a new console if there are no games for it.

If at next e3 there aren't a large number of new IP announcements for the xbox then yea.
Phil will at that point not have done much in the game department and he'll only be known for axing studios which of course may not be entirely his decision but we don't know.

I've been waiting for all the previously announce don mattrick era games to release so we can all get a clear picture on if Phil is doing anything good for gaming on xbox. The only remaining game is Crackdown 3. So everything moving forward is all Phil.

[Rude-ro]

No, Microsoft is the wrong "guy" for Xbox.
Phil tried to do the right spins, but Microsoft signs the checks and approves decisions like building game developers.
This is 6 years + in the making going in the exact direction of not being a gaming business.... way before Phil.

[rainslacker]

I think Phil probably wants to make Xbox what it was set out to be. Despite MS mandate for it to be the center of everyone's living room, and take steam away from Sony, the original people involved in the project at least knew how to make a great console, and how to support the user base. Phil is one of those kinds of people. He is intrisically aware of the principals involved in a successful console.

Unfortunately, I think he has to contend with MS mandates to steer the Xbox brand towards a certain end, and likely has to deal with issues which are more restrictive than when MS first started dabbling in the market. The console business has become exponentially more expensive than it was when MS entered the market, and the investors are more demanding now. There was a lot of pressure on MS to change or spin off the division. MS corporate likely had to step in and assert their own desires to make it so investors wouldn't put so much pressure on them. One of these moves was likely integrating the Xbox brand into Windows to make Windows more relevant.

It's a tough spot for Spencer if this were the case, because likely he does have a lot of ambitions and goals for the diviison. But at the same time, he's restricted.

OTOH, it's also possible, he may be directly responsible for integrating the Windows and Xbox brands to achieve MS overall goals, because he is far from a console fan boy, and has always had an appreciation for PC gaming, so who's to say.

Ultimately, his tenure will be judged through history. Not by individual moves that are made now. If Xbox survives, he'll be given the credit for making it successful. If not, he will be part of the blame for it's failures....although some of that will likely be directed towards Mattrick as well, who probably did more to hurt the brand than any other exec has done for any company to date. Heck, even at Sega, they are well appreciated despite the many blunders of management.

[2pacalypsenow]

Phil Spence still answers to his Boss, I'm sure it had more to do with MS than with Phil, same thing as blaming Mattrick for the Original Xbox one, when MS was the one to blame, he's only the face doing what MS tells him to do.

[ScreenCritics]

Of course he's the right man for the job.

[Movefasta1993]

I don't think so,I think scalebound looked great graphically but everything including the e3 demo looked boring as hell.WHO KNOWS, maybe people would have said Microsoft should have seen that scale bound was a flop and invested elsewhere if it released. Either way who cares enough of scalebound it's gone now

[trooper_]

Is this a trick question?

[TankCrossing]

Yup. Phil Spencer isn't a man at all, he is 50% android, 40% unicorn, and 10% potato. Well spotted.

[Germany7]

Phil Spencer is all talk and no action, he is great on Twitter only.

[SKullDugger]

Not true sir Phil is a man of action closing studios and giving games the axe he is truly a man of action.

[Artemidorus]

The focus in my opinion is Windows 10 and beyond. They will use Xbox as a platform for PC gaming and offer an alternative ways of playing like a console but it's PC focused.

Consoles are on the change.

[LoveSpuds]

Spencer does what he can, but MS as a company has never fully embraced the console market. Having said that, he was just as much a part of the XB1 design and launch strategy as the other execs so he cannot be completely absolved of any responsibility for the XB1 launch.

I never liked or trusted MS before they entered the console market and I cant honestly say I like them now. I acknowledge and am thankful for the role they played in revolutionising the online side of console gaming, I believe it forced Sony to step their game up rather than rest on their laurels last gen however, they have never been honest or straight with the consumer. I always felt they put profit above all else, they launched a console they knew to be defective in the 360 and they never took risks on games, they relied way to much on the same 3 or 4 series.

Spencer has been involved in all that has come before and I am far from convinced anything changed when he took the reigns.

[TankCrossing]

Lol the dodgy solder in the 360 cost Microsoft $1billion. What kind of clowns would do that on purpose?

Also, those 3 or 4 series must have been risks once...

[drunkenspy007]

I see Phil as the face of Xbox, but I don't know if he's the end all decider of all things Xbox. If you replace him, are you really replacing the decision making process?

[Lennoxb63]

He doesn't have final say so. That's Satya Nadella. But Satya lets him run things independently until he feels the need to interfere.

[feraldrgn]

No matter who's the head of the division, they make bad decisions.

[Hardiman]

Not sure it should all fall on him but they for sure need to get their stuff together.

[SKullDugger]

IMO yes he is the wrong person for the job he has done nothing but cancel games and close studios and now IMO the whole Scorpio project has lost a lot of credibility what good is a game console without games? I'm so glad I bought a PS4 PRO and now the waiting game begins for Scorpio, MS and Phil Spencer have done nothing to improve the lack of new IP's and studios to make exclusives for the XB1 or Project Scorpio same old titles FORZA, Gears,Halo and I would not be surprised if Crackdown 3 gets the axe nice job Phil for the lack of games and all the lies you have told to the loyal gamers who have trusted you and believed you would bring new IP's and new gaming experiences to the gamer in which you have failed and the total destruction of RARE a once great studio thanks for nothing Phil.

[jznrpg]

Firing Phil won't make the board members invest in Xbox or change the culture, they want a service and thats what is happening. They just put Phil out there to try and spin it some more and in the end it will cost him his job and his image but he is just a mouthpiece .

[Christopher]

Phil does his job really well and is something I can personally relate to.

Phil works for MS and does what they want him to do, but in the best way he can. He makes hard decisions, but that doesn't negate his goals or desires.

I work for others, I don't own or decide how this site works or the like. I do the best I can. It's rarely good enough, there's always criticism, people often hate the decisions I make, but I keep trying anyway.

Phil isn't the issue, it's the decision making of the business that ties his hands that is the issue. He's going to make mistakes, we all do, but he gets blamed for them all without understanding how things work and yet keeps working towards his goals. He doesn't talk about the good of Xbox one just because he's required to, he does it because he wants it to be what he envisions it to be. Whether he gets there or not is not what he should worry about, only that he continues to strive for better and do his best.

Every company has their mistakes. Xbox mistakes are not the only ones out there. Phil is in charge, but he is limited and having to make hard choices doesn't make them the wrong ones.

[TankCrossing]

There there Christopher, I forgive you. Just keep trying your best.

[iceman06]

Agreed. Both you and he are tied to the expectations of those above you. Within the confines, you try to do what you can do but, often, would like the leverage to do more or at least do it differently. Xbox, as a division, has a clear direction. (we might not be privy to it or it might not be clear, but hey do.) Phil's job is to execute the moves that lead in that direction. That might not please everybody. Hell, he might not always be pleased. But, it's THEIR vision...not his. He remains the default "face" of Xbox. So, disappointment and criticism are as much part of his job as praise. I know that's something you face here. It's your fault when everything goes crazy because we only see you. Not those that have given you the guidelines as to how they want N4G run. Keep doing what you do. It's not ALL hate out here.

[conanlifts]

My concern as an xbox fan is i have now lost trust in whether they will actually release the games they showcase. This is something ms and phil need to address. If not what's the point in me following them at E3 when they show these new games. 4 games so far ( most people forget about project spark) and 1 service ( xbox fitness). Thats not good at all.

[SKullDugger]

IMO MS cares nothing about console gaming or introducing new IP's to the gamer when was the last time MS brought the gamers a new IP that was great or actually was finished and released its a sad fact but I think its true and Project Scorpio is not going to change any of these practices. The most powerful console in the world cannot produce its own games and MS has total control of this sinking ship and Phil Spencer is the Captain.

[TankCrossing]

Quantum Break was fairly ambitious. Recore was... er... not so ambitious, but it was new. They threw their weight behind Sunset Overdrive, Ryse, and Titanfall as well which were fresh IPs even if they didn't own them. They dabbled in things like Crimson Dragon and Ori too. Scalebound has obviously been cancelled, but pretty safe to say that wasn't the intention from the start. Sea of Thieves is new too.

I don't think it is all that accurate to say they don't care about new IPs. They just can't seem to get them right is all :)

[iceman06]

They care about new IP as a weapon to remain competitive. However, they don't seem to care enough to invest in studios to make sure that new IP will continue to be curated under the Xbox brand. It's like they want to date the industry for 20 years. But, they don't see enough (or are scared) to put a ring on it.😂

[0ROSOY]

We can't trust spin spencer he basically mattrick 2.0 and should be axed as well

[CrimsonWing69]

Look I think it was the wrong decision to pull the plug on Scalebound. Obviously have Platinum hand over all assets and code to a dev Microsoft felt would be more capable than to have spent money for nothing. This isn't some half-baked game concept this would've been a great addition to the Xbox library that isn't Gears, Forza, or Halo. So, Phil and company made a really bad call on this one.

That being said Phil has turned the Bone around from the train wreck that was Don Mattrick. I don't think it's fair to poo poo Phil, but this is definitely a strike against him.

[jokerisalive]

He has done some good since getting onboard but he also hasnt been able to help with their first party studios situation much and that is something I thought he was really going to bolster for them. So maybe he is just a puppet and someone is pulling his strings. I know he wasnt happy about the reception Recore was getting from reviewers and he was vocal about it. Maybe Phil is starting to look at the whole thing and say "Whats the point anymore?' Hope he delivers Crackdown 3 to us or else I am OUT.

[Petebloodyonion]

Simple: is the Xbox brand in a better position than it was under Don Mattrick in 2014?
If the answer is yes then yes he's the man for the job.

[uth11]

I think Phil is good at saying what people want to hear. I'm not convinced he's been great for Xbox though. Better than his predecessor, sure.

Of course his hands could be tied by higher-ups

[MasterCornholio]

Why don't we wait and see how he handles Scorpio before saying that?

[iceman06]

Handling of Scorpio won't be the issue. A continuous flow of games will remain the issue. As much as we all like new tech, that will only carry it so far. It's the games (exclusive to Scorpio or to Xbox) that will be the real driving force for the console. I don't think Phil is doing a bad job. I think he's hamstrung by MS and their view of what they want out of the gaming industry. While he is part of that view and that future, I don't think he's the end word.

[dmetripaulpavlin]

People talking shit about M$, Phil and XBOX. All I can say without any doubt is that I enjoy XBOX as a service, I see the potential it has based off of where it has started. M$ will always be one of the best tech companies, period. Phil is great, he is better at Larry who feels like some shit being shoved down our throats straight out of r/fellowkids.

[TimeSkipLuffy]

I'm a PS guy and that probably will never change because I like a lot of J-Games BUT I prefer Phil Spencer over any other Sony Representative. It's always difficult for the loosing side to gain momentum again and MS was never really keen on getting a lot of exclusive games. Phil Spencer probably would need to buy more game studios but I don't think he can do that without permission. So at the end he is just someone working under big MS.

[FallenAngel1984]

What killed the dragons? The Microsoft Axe Age!

[King_Lothric]

I think Greenberg is the wrong man for Xbox. Every time he open his mouth, he cause more damage to Xbox than any good. About Phil, I don't know... I am neutral. I don't think he is bad but also I don't think he is good.

[StanleyRoper]

Out of all the pod-babies that MS has grown in the lab, he is the most realistic.

[sdplisken]

Xbox is a one trick dude bro console that annually spams halo/gears/forza and multiplatform shooters appealing to the simple minds of Americas youth.

M$ does not and will never care for the hardcore gamer. Shoddy hardware, dlc, microtransactions, and paid online are their gifts to gaming. I choose not to support them in any way. Imo the only company more evil is gamestop...

[3-4-5]

* I thought he was, but I'm not so sure anymore. His actions haven't always matched his words and I honestly just want and expect more out of him and Microsoft.

I'm a bit disappointed in the XB1...I mean it's a really nice console, but the game selection isn't as good or fun as the original Xbox or the Xbox 360.

I still like it and play it but I wish Phil would surprise us with something awesome this year at E3.

[hirobrotagonist]

This question is largely irrelevant in terms of context since Phil isn't calling all the shots and is just representing xbox as a whole. I actually think Phil has done a ton of great things for Xbox. I do agree that Microsoft needs to learn how to better work with third and second party studios though. Sony is almost completely reliant on Playstation in order to survive as a business and Microsoft is fundamentally in the complete opposite boat - so honestly them embracing and pushing more into makes a lot of sense. Yeah, it may take away exclusivity from Xbox one, but if you have a great PC and an xbox one, you should be playing most of your games on pc anyway. Microsoft is still a PC focused business and the shifts at Xbox are pretty reflective of this.

Finally Scalebound had some promise as a concept, but the generic protagonist and terrible dubstep showed how out of touch with Western gamers Japanese devs sometimes are and it wasn't helping the situation.

[bluefox755]

The biggest problem with the Xbox brand, I think at least, is that people are now beginning to lose trust, much as they did at the beginning of this gen. Spencer was supposed to be the savior, now he's become Mattrick.

[Segata]

He's more of a public face than anything.

[Orpheo]

I admit to being out of the gaming news loop for a while now, but last I read Phil Spencer was the savior of the X-Box brand. Can the cancellation of a few exclusive titles really push opinion so far away from what they were just a couple years ago?

[343_Guilty_Spark]

His most successful push has been backwards compatibility and increasing hardware sales. But under his leadership no studios have been opened. I wouldn't call him a failure but he couldn't sniff J Allard's jock strap. That man gave Sony the business.

[Meltic]

I say Yes

[lastking95]

#InPhilWeTrust

[PistolsAtDawn]

I think Phil has been great for the Xbox brand. He's giving gamers all sorts of options and constantly expanding what Xbox is and does. As a gamer for over 30 years I'm extremely excited about what Xbox is doing. True, I wanted to play Scalebound as much if not more than the next guy, but cancelling a game isn't the end of the world, esp if it looks like the money being used for it is not well spent. Every indication I have heard says that Platinum, while a great game maker, was not meeting deadlines, refused help, and didn't assign a large enough team to make the game properly. I wish that was not true and that later this year I would be playing the game...but at the end of the day, you have to spend your money where you think it will help gamers the most. Giving game devs an endless leash is not normally the best approach to making games. I don't know any gamers that were looking forward to this game that are genuinely happy that Scalebound isn't coming, but I can't help but notice that the ones acting the most upset about this are people that openly trashed the game since it was announced and had no intention of playing it. That being said, there is still a lot to be excited for with Xbox, even if 2017 is their slowest exclusive games year since launch. Sea of Thieves, Crackdown 3, State of Decay 2, Halo Wars 2, Below, and Cuphead are still some of my most anticipated games...plus who knows, maybe even Phantom Dust and other unannounced games will show up. Either way, 2017 looks to be dominated by multiplats anyway...I mean sure, PS4 has Horizon that I want to play and Switch has Zelda that I REALLY want to play...but other than that, it's a year dominated by multiplat games like RE7, Mass Effect, Prey, Wildlands, Red Dead 2 and countless others I'm not even mentioning. A silver lining to this is that...eventhough I'm losing Scalebound, it just means I can fill that slot with another game I really wanted to play...and/or spend more time with a game I would have had to rush.

Aside from games, MS will also be launching Scorpio, which will make it the best console to play Multi's on...not only for best UI, controller, and network...but now also adding best res/FPS and the best optionS for VR gaming and perhaps the only option for AR gaming.

Losing Scalebound isn't fun, but who knows what that funding will go towards next...it may end up being something else I would prefer over Scalebound anyway.

[ierotitan]

Phil is the reason i bought the xbox one. certainly wasn't after Don told people to buy the xbox 360 if we didn't like it!

[LastCenturyRob]

Oh...a click-bait opinion piece......yawn.

[Rd89]

The question is how many original IPs microsoft produced during last gen and this gen, and you will see how far Microsoft has fallen, btw i was on the Xbox 360 at the start of last gen, but i go where the games at so eventualy bought a PS3 and then a PS4 then a Pro and sticking with Playstaion in the forseeable future, i was gonna buy an Xone for Ori and the blind forest and Scalebound now i guess tough luck Xbox, because Playstation never disappoints really when it comes to games and each year they keep proving they,re for the gamers and innovation over and over again, Playstaion has soul and passion, Xbox they used to have those and i votte for my wallet so case closed.

[TheDivine]

Not alt all he turned Xbox around. Fable was a terrible corporate decision as was the other cancellations. Its unthinkable MS would tell Lionhead they couldn't make Fable 4, one of the Xbox's premier exclusives and my personal favorite. They failed to green light Alan Wake 2, Lost Odyssey 2, Blue Dragon 2, Quantum Break 2 and Recore 2 prob won't happen, Phantom Dust and Scaleboud seemed like train wrecks maybe due to MS maybe the developers themselves, we have no new Banjo, Battletoads and other great ip's and exclusives they own or are associated with Xbox. It seems MS refuses to green light games that won't sell over 10 million. A million sales isn't enough. 5 million isn't enough. They could easily set aside 80 million for 10 games budgeted at 8 million a piece. We could have tons of good games and still get the bigger AAA blockbusters like Gears, Halo, and Forza. I also think they spread themselves thin pumping money into a Netflix like service that never happened, Kinect which nobody wanted or liked, online drm exc. They're focused on shit we don't want and neglect what we ask for.

Now they're righting the ship in my eyes. Play anywhere is amazing, BC for xbox one rocks, and we got two of the best new ip's ever in Recore and Quantum Break. We also finally got a Killer Instinct which people waited twenty years for. Since launch we got
Halo MC
Halo 5
Forza Horizon 2 and 3
Forza 6
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Sunset Overdrive
Quantum Break
Recore
Gears 4
Halo Wars 2
Dead Rising 4
Ori and the Blind Forest
Killer Instinct
And more.

That's a very good list of games on top of BC and third party games. Problem is the games we ask for we don't get. They also lost almost all support from Japan. No jrpgs like Tales or Star Ocean and instead of an exclusive Ninja Gaiden ps4 gets Nioh which looks amazing for sure! I just want Fable and Lost Odyssey. Maybe fund Jade Empire 2, Otogi 3, and a new Panzer Dragoon game. The xbox is a killer system especially the slim its just bad perception that started with the no used games crap. That lost the gen in one blow. Coupled with canceling fan favorite system sellers like Fable and its a pr mess. They better come hard for Scorpio or they're done up.

[Condemnedman]

I love how most of the people moaning have no interest in Microsoft in the first place and spend all their time slating the company . yes this is disappointing but inlts not earth shattering bad news , games get cancelled move on.

[Fishy Fingers]

He inherited the situation he finds himself in. Anything that he has control over since it's inception is likely still in the works. Software development can be a drawn out affair.

So while I don't really follow him, he at least appears to be on a similar wave length to gamers and deserves at least a few more years to see his plans though.

Cancelling a game for reason we don't know doesn't mean calling for his head on a pike.

If nothing else, he's been the best thing (at MS) from a PC gamers perspective in years.

[hiredhelp]

This is funny I remember when he first came in charge everyone who was on side on ms here thought he was great then less than a year later all them titles that excited everyone well guess what most of them hit the pc too then he reveals how he loves PC.
Now i read this article oh how times change is he the right man for the job well hes better than most ceo MS of had.

[DJStotty]

what a ridiculous question. What Phil has done for the brand is phenomenal. From when the xbox one was announced with its policies to where it is now. He is absolutely the right guy for xbox. But dont forget what Phil wants and what Phil gets are two different things, he still has to follow orders from the suits above.

[Kano]

We have someone we can trust in Phil Spencer he is only doing what is best for xbox

[XXanderXX]

Phil been okay till recent moves ,but compared to the last guy.
Am willing to see what else Phil can do for Xbox .
Unless folks have anything to contradict my comment , Phil's in charge for as long he does right.

[Wotbot]

The right man in a difficult job.

[wutang4ever]

I'm not an xbox 1 fan but I am a Phil Spencer fan. If MS doesn't want him, Sony I'm sure will be happy to pick him up.

[Viryu]

It's funny how from the most anticipated Xbox game it turned into "it's better that it was cancelled."

http://n4g.com/news/2000037...
http://n4g.com/news/2001484...
http://n4g.com/news/1971648...
http://n4g.com/news/1968397...

And the commenters themselves:

http://n4g.com/news/1946680...
http://n4g.com/news/1926264...

Just to name the few news posted in the past.

To be fair though, it's a tad sad, since Scalebound was a ray of hope for a good Japanesee game on the market.

[majedx9]

no
the damaged already done(Xbox one tv tv tv) he just trying to fix it

[MilkMan]

I think Phil is the right guy for the job. However I feel MS, Nintendo and Sony are stuck in trench warfare and they are all looking for the "thing" that will break the stalemate. Remasters, new hardware mid-cycle, introducing new gimmicky hardware, and digging up old titles for sequels are NOT, in my opinion, the way to go.
You have to go back to basics. Heavily invest in new, exciting IP's to get the gaming public back to playing and less about comparing and complaining.
The truth is gaming is just stale at this point. Speaking personally, I've bought every single game last year and found myself more just looking through what I had rather than playing anything. The thought of playing ANOTHER open-world, sandbox, crafting game was just tiresome, even to think about it.
Also, games that rely on others to have a satisfying game experience is also not something I wish to have.
In short, I, am bored. I look at the landscape and I see nothing but nonsense. There are a few titles I am hoping will be good, but I can't be sure at this point.
Those are my personal opinions, however, that all these companies are stuck is a matter of fact.

[hiawa23]

Of course he is the right man, tough decisions have to be made, they were made, and that is that. As an Xbox owner since day 1 2001, I am okay with that, as I was not looking forward to the game anyways, not into RPGs, so I expect Microsoft and their Xbox division to keep on moving forward this year, this gen.

[Sevir]

Cancellations are apart of game business, no studio or publishing company is immune. The industry was up in arms over Sony's decision to cancel SSM's new IP that Stig Asmussen was heading...

It's tough to lay the axe to projects, we don't know the reasons why these happen, but no project is safe from it. So saying Phil is the wrong Man for the job is just silly. It's unfortunate that Scalebound is stronger coming, I'm more worried for the fate of Platinum as the This game was a huge investment from MS and them. A cancellation of this magnitude can cause the studio to shutter if they don't make enough from Nier and SE on PS4. They haven't announced any other titles in the pipeline.

So I hope they can recoup this hit to their finances and strike up another deal with another publisher.

Phil being in charge of portfolio IPs for MS's platform isn't an easy job, and it's important to know that if a games development is not coming along, it's his duty to invest more into the project to fix and get it on track or determine that it's best to cancel it's production and eat the loss.

Not all games are like The Last Guardian and FF15 or too Human, with troubled development and a passion to release something that will be gold, so no I don't believe Phil is wrong man for the job. I feel If this was with Sony it would still have been cancelled.

The game as interesting as its premise was still looked rough all the 3 times it was shown.

I'm pissed it's cancelled cause I wanted to play it, but I feel overall Phil made the right choice to cancel production because it may not have been turning out as a great product... I'd rather them release a fine product than a turd.... aka ReCore.

Phil has a tough Job, just like Shu, lay off the guy and just take the sting and look forward to new announcements at E3 for all the MS centric gamers.

[GamerGT]

As a PlayStation guy, we really just have to see what Microsoft has to offer and has completed for 2017 and 2018 for their fan base. That's just the generic truth. We can forecast this and hope for that but what ends up on store shelves and how well it's received will be the evidence of Microsoft's success.