With news that Don Mattrick, head of the Xbox Division, is leaving Microsoft for greener pastures, what does this mean for the Xbox One and Microsoft's plans for the next generation of video games?
While Phil Spencer has been working hard to revitalize and rejuvenate the Xbox brand over the last few years, a lot of its problems are inherited from the tenure of Don Mattrick, under whose leadership Xbox steered away from an exclusives driven strategy to focusing on media and Kinect.
Mattrick lead Xbox for a few years before eventually leaving and ceding the position to Phil Spencer. However, the irony of the situation is that when he used to work at EA Canada before joining Microsoft, he flat out had no faith in a Microsoft created console ever working. Seamus Blackley, one of the creators of the Xbox, recounted on Twitter how when Microsoft had tried to speak to EA Canada to pitch the console to them ahead of the very first Xbox’s release, Mattrick had tried to block them, believing that Xbox would never work.
Neither does Phil. According to him there’s no money to be made on consoles. So going 3rd party and gaas is the way forward for them. Funny how Sony and Nintendo don’t have that problem.
This is the problem behind Xbox. They just don't care for the actual games themselves, only for the money they bring in.
It's why games like Sea of Thieves and Crackdown 3 have disappointing and why games like Halo and Gears are introducing microtransactions.
you are referencing last bastions of the gold guard instead of future plans for first party games and studios. (btw if you've played crackdown its actually pretty fun, if not all it was hoped to be.) I'd also argue Phil is a gamer and cares more about games than most executives from other platforms we've seen in a while.
@gamer, What future are we supposed to reference? They've made no announcements. Just what Microsoft exclusives are coming? Another Halo and Gears? You know nothing else and that doesn't scare you?
E3 2019 will be the most watched E3 of all time. You heard it here first.
I don’t think it’s any one person at MS fault. It’s a collective failure. Something about the decisions they make just doesn’t sit right with me. They act like they are all for innovative quality games, but their complete lack of quality says otherwise. Sometimes I believe them when they say they have passion, but I CANNOT ignore the complete lack of quality in their offerings....
Maybe they will prove themselves with the new studios. But if I’ve learned one thing, you can’t trust anything these businesses say. I’ve been burned too many times by MS. Sony and Nintendo I have more faith in, but they have also had their colossal blunders too. Have more faith in them though by a clear mile!
@gamer7804:
Phil might be a gamer, thing is, gaming like other entertainment mediums is made up of many genres. And if MS has shown anything over the years its that they probably have the most generic, if not bland, taste in gaming out of the three console makers.
Nobody does.. Just yesterday he said making consoles isn't good business and they still make them
Again, the xbox division never cared for gaming only for profit. Playstation has shown they do care about games, gamers, and after that, profit.
100s of top current gen games for $1.... yup they money hungry/s lol
No announcements? They just bought a boat load of studios. Ori, battletoads, and gears coming this year. Halo 2020. Ninja theory game, Playground games, Obsidian, compulsion game, undead labs next game, plus the initiative (new studio). You living under a rock?
@ gamer7804
What do you mean? Phil Spencer has been in charge of Xbox for almost the entirety of Sea of Thieves and Crackdown 3 game development, they are not last bastions of old leaders. Phil is responsible for those games, not Mattrick. Phil has been head of Xbox for 5 years now (and was head of Microsoft Studios prior). It's time people stop making excuses for him and trying to place blame on the "Old Microsoft". Under his leadership the Xbox userbase dwindled to less than half. I know you Xbox apologists will blame it on the Xbox launch, and Phil has done a good job mitigating the bad press from the botched launch, but Xbox is in its current state due to an underwhelming library of exclusives. That has been his responsibility for many years now. The last 4 years of Xbox has been a joke when it comes to games. But I guess it's ok right? Who cares about the quality of games when you have promises and services. Oh and future plans (I'll wait until they release games to pass judgement, Microsoft does not deserve the benefit of the doubt).
LOL, you totally inferred incorrectly from everything Phil has been saying. You act as if there are 2 different paths, focusing on hardware, or focusing on games and services. Companies have been doing this for a while, you sell a hardware platform for very little to no profit. Then you make up that money on services and software (in this case games). Nice try pitching whats been done for ages as an either or situation.
What you had said is correct. The guy is twisting Phil’s word to fit his own agenda.
That is correct, and its working fine if you are selling your hardware( console) well. You have large enough player base, or install base for your software. When your console sales are lacking then you try to migrate your services on other platforms aka pc...mobile...Switch.
The thing is...Microsoft is lacking in software department as well. Why would I buy Xbox live to play on PC? Or go through Microsoft store to buy a Pc game? Or Switch? For third party games? what? The only thing I see is if they enable game pass on pc.
How are they going 3rd party? Last I checked they will have 1st party games for Xbox platform and services. I didnt read anywhere(you can always link it) that MS was soley creating games for other platforms such as Playstation and Nintendo(which you still need Xbox Live or Gamepass to play) alot of your agrees come from fanboys with no logic.
I guess PS Now isnt a Gaas. Keep moving that goal post tho....
Edit: Phil Spencer probably beat more games than you have ever. He is always on Xbox Live playing.
First party sort of loses it's meaning when its games are on a competitors platform. Gamepass on Switch means that anything MS puts on there (their "exclusives") will be on a Nintendo platform as well. So MS will have their first party games on Xbox, PC, mobile, and Switch. That sounds a lot like a third party publisher.
The Xbox platform is losing it's relevance as MS moves to a more service model. That might not be bad over all but pretending like Phil's comments are totally cool for us console games, is being a bit too defensive. To me it's a signal that they want to move even further away from consoles and that's something I don't want to hear from a company that uses to tout its embrace of the hardcore gamer. However, if that means that they begin to build great games for a great service, I'm all for it, put it on every platform they can. Unfortunately for my hypothetical, we just haven't seen quality software from these guys in a long time. They have to actually creat content or their platform is sort of pointless.
(PSNow is literally not GAAS. Primarily because it's not a game)
uhm, he is right... it's a known fact that console hardware margins are paper thin and a lot of the times is sold at a loss even.
Yes Nintendo and Sony have that problem.
It's amazing how its taken less than a day for people to begin misquoting what was said and take it out of context. How about people fully quote what Phil said without being deliberately dishonest?
@sweet
You're surprised by this? It's nothing new. Unless we still think Sony told people to get a 2nd job to buy a ps3. Almost everything is taken out of context.
"rainslacker
What he actually said was
"Our ideal [for PS3] is for consumers to think to themselves, 'OK, I'll work more hours and buy it.' We want people to feel that they want it, no matter what."
Still a pretty ridiculous comment to make
Here come the people to cry foul, claiming Phil is again being taken out of context, as they ignore that Phil is making his comments in the context of struggling Xbox sales and questioning of how Xbox's strategy will affect their hardware, the same way defenders ignored the context of Phil voicing his single player games concerns at the time the competition's success invited scrutiny of Xbox's struggles in that area, the same way defenders ignored Phil's shortlived moratorium on showing games too early came in the context of people praising Playstation's E3 and askibg Xbox where the exclusives at, the same way defenders want us to ignore Xbox's crossplay push coinciding with their now admitted designs to put their services on other consoles.
PS4 was already profitable by 6 months https://www.engadget.com/20...
Their longest (PS3) took 3 years due to mistakes they shouldn’t repeat https://www.engadget.com/20...
You missed Phil's point entirely. The console business model has always been to sell the hardware as cheaply as possible in order to create a large userbase, which will then buy highly profitable games. Even selling the console at a modest loss can work, if the result is tens of millions of players buying games and related content on a regular basis.
The point wasn't missed. Nor is it some revelation. Which begs the question, why bring it up? He brought it up in response to concerns their approach may negatively impact hardware sales. There's a difference between selling a console at a loss and people not feeling the need to buy the console. Phil's response to that is pretty much "Meh. Hardware isn't where the money is anyway." That should cause people to question their commitment to consoles.
@RaeLeCreuset
"The point wasn't missed."
It was completely missed. How hard is it for people to understand that selling one piece of hardware in this industry does not generate much money at all. Sony, MS and Nintendo all know that money is primarily generated from 3rd party licensing, 1st party sales and subscription services. Add up how many consoles you've bought and compare the price to how many games, subscriptions and DLC you've bought for the system and it's clear that the console owner sees far more revenue through the latter by a huge margin.
"That should cause people to question their commitment to consoles."
It's an honest and realistic analysis of the business model all of the big 3 follow. Stop pretending that this is some sort of moment where MS has shown themselves up because it's not.
Sw33tBoi
I'm not sure how you got from my comment that I need a lesson on how console economics. I did say what Phil stated isn't a revelation, right? Yeah, I did. In the comment you responded to. I haven't seen one person arguing that hardware profits are greater than software and services profits.
"It's an honest and realistic analysis of the business model all of the big 3 follow."
Okay. It's funny what they choose to be honest and realistic about. They could have used some of that honest realism in marketing Crackdown 3. Real honesty would be admitting they aren't selling as many Xbox's as they would like. These "honest and realistic" responses are more cover for their deficiencies than an honest and realistic acknowledgement of them.
Let them win an NPD, or even lose one but be the only console to have year over year growth. Then they'll be bragging about hardware sales. Case in point:
https://venturebeat.com/201... Funny how they went with trying to throw shade at the console that still outsold them that month, by bragging about year over year growth rather than being honest and realistic about that growth being the result of even worse sells the year prior. Funny that they were bragging about hardware sales at all, in light of recent honest and realistic comments, right?
"Stop pretending that this is some sort of moment where MS has shown themselves up because it's not."
It is what it is. They responded to concerns about people feeling less compelled to buy Xbox hardware by essentially dismissing it, because that's not where the real profits are anyway. That's not comforting if you're a console enthusiast.
@RauLeCrueset
One very long comment with very little relevance to the discussion. I guess you really did miss the point. Crackdown 3 and NPD have so much to do with this conversation don't they...
@Sw33tBoi
You should just stop talking. You came back 15 hours later to respond with that weak dodge? Just stop talking. I don't expect much from you, so the first paragraph of my comment was enough to address your nonsense assumption that we don't understand console economics.
"I'm not sure how you got from my comment that I need a lesson on how console economics. I did say what Phil stated isn't a revelation, right? Yeah, I did. In the comment you responded to. I haven't seen one person arguing that hardware profits are greater than software and services profits."
The rest was a remedial lesson.
"You should just stop talking. You came back 15 hours later to respond with that weak dodge?"
Forgive me for not being so timely in my responses old chap ಠ_ರೃ. I apologize for making you feel neglected during those 15 hours.
Your comment was a defence of Jin_Sakai by saying he didn't miss the point so I gave you a nice paragraph simply explaining the model that all of the big 3 (more or less) follow. The reason I don't need to respond is because you introduced things that are irrelevant to the discussion of Phil's comments. For example:
"They could have used some of that honest realism in marketing Crackdown 3. Real honesty would be admitting they aren't selling as many Xbox's as they would like. These "honest and realistic" responses are more cover for their deficiencies than an honest and realistic acknowledgement of them."
Not relevant and completely stupid. He was honest about the business model of the console market and people are quickly jumping to use it as an opportunity to defend their favorite piece of plastic and "question their commitment to consoles". Are you disappointed about me not caring about their commitment to consoles or something? Did you think I would respond to you with a defense of the Xbox One's failings? Nah. Sorry, but I don't jump and skip to your tune pal. I'm defending Phil's comments in this article and not MS's actions as a business. There's a difference big boy.
"It is what it is. They responded to concerns about people feeling less compelled to buy Xbox hardware by essentially dismissing it, because that's not where the real profits are anyway. That's not comforting if you're a console enthusiast."
Good thing I'm not reliant on a console for all my gaming needs then is it? More people can now play MS games and we'll see more support for the good ones they put out now and then like Ori, Halo, Gears, Forza and whatever else they put out that's worth playing. I'm happy about that and you should be too unless you somehow are able to spin it as something to be worried about.
Sw33tBoi
Posts 15 hours later to complain a comment is too long. Follows it up with a long winded fart. I don't care that you don't respond immediately, or if you don't respond at all. Just don't come 15 hours after the fact with some nothing comment to make yourself feel good for saying... something.
Your argument is irrelevant, because it is based upon a false premise. No one indicated they think hardware is more profitable than software and services. You chose to defend Phil's comments as "honest and realistic analysis" in your reply to me, so I responded by pointing out how conveniently selective Xbox's moments of "honest and realistic analysis" are. I don't give a crap about how that personally makes you feel or what you personally rely on for gaming. The response was not reassuring for console enthusiasts. I didn't ask if you are one. Talk about irrelevant.
@RaulLeCreuset
"No one indicated they think hardware is more profitable than software and services."
Then you have no reason to disagree with the comment do you?
"You chose to defend Phil's comments as "honest and realistic analysis" in your reply to me"
False. I said described his comment on the business model the big 3 follow as "honest and realistic". I said nothing about Phil's track record or anything similar. This is you attempting to make me defend something I haven't said anything about.
What your doing is trying to claim I've said Phil as a person or Xbox are honest and realistic and basically engage in Whataboutism.
Now before you "fart out" another response be sure to read what I've written and not twist what I said. It's a pathetic strategy that reflects from what I've actually said.
It's funny how people twist words to fit their narrative. I don't know how old you are but, all previous consoles were sold at a loss and companies made there money from games and licensing fees. As time pasted the tech got cheaper and then they start to make money on the hardware. Do some research on your own. Smh
He didn't say there's no money to be made on consoles, he said that most of the money made is from games and not from selling consoles. Which is common knowledge in the gaming industry. Nothing he said was surprising. You're just trying to twist it into something he didn't say.
It implies that the services are where the money is at, and that's the way ms is going. Hardware is moving towards being access to those services, so it's not as important to make the software and services to sell the console since there are other paths for accessibility to the service itself.
He's not wrong, and it doesn't mean theyre leaving the console race. It's just a different approach than the traditional.
@Jin_Sakai "According to him there’s no money to be made on consoles"
Can you point the interview where he (and nobody else) says exactly that or, (as I am sure you did) you have just taken that right from your ass?
I am sorry to tell you, but the Xbox consoles arent' going to disappear (actually, as the rumors say, it's exactly the opposite, there will be more than one model next time, so, eeer, they won't stop doing it, but I am sure you, as a a spoiled hater, would love them to do it...sorry, keep trying!), but surely the streaming and gaming services are coming in, for ALL (I said ALL) gaming platforms, as another alternative on gaming.
You either accept that or cry like a spoiled brand-slave child.
Says that the problems are inherited from mattrick, but mattrick had a service based future in mind. Service based future is all ms has really talked about since they launched game pass, and is just a different model to get people to connect
This is what happens on this site all the time. This guy knows full well that he is twisting Phil's words, but the fanboys here will upvote him anyway...you can't take the people here seriously.
I find it funny that after it was all about power early on in the generation, then X came out, it switched almost exclusively to games by the fanboys...Phil then comes out and says how important software is and that's where the real money is, only to have the fanboys attempt to switch the argument back to hardware LOL...you can't win with these people. You figure they would finally be able to get on the same page...no, they just move the goal post yet again.
Microsoft is showing they are focused on hardware by working on MULTIPLE consoles right now...they also show how they feel about software by wanting to extend their software and service reach across many platforms...this is hardware and software...but according to the fanboys, somehow this is all bad...go figure.
You're completely off base from what is actual point is. He is stating simply that the hardware itself doesn't generate profits as its often sold at a loss, and positive margin is made on software.
Are you being deliberately stupid, look at Sony's future messaging, they are doing the same thing and about time too.
Both companies see this new business model is the way to go.
As for sea of thieves and crackdown 3, I love them both. Nothing wrong with them. The new ms studios and their attitude has changed, so they have learned and moved on.
Pity you haven't!
lol. i think you grossly oversimplified Phils philosophy. He simply stated that you don't make money on hardware, you make it on software and services. considering that every console ever made is sold at a loss for the first 2-3 years of its production proves that. These numbers are all public. Even the ps4 was initially sold at a loss. Thats the whole business model of a console. Get them in at a low cost on hardware and make your margins up using that hardware to drive software/service revenue. Funny how Nintendo and Sony don't have that problem when your biased perspective is wrong in the first place. Read.
I don't know if you are ignorant or deliberately trolling but Phil thinking there is no money to made selling physical consoles is true as they usually are sold at cost. The money is made from things like Live, Gold and a cut from games sold on the platform. I think only Nintendo makes a slim profit on selling the actual console.
Mattrick however according to Seamus didn't think the Xbox would work as a product at all which has proven to be false in every way which is ironic since he became it's leader 8 years later.
Why does this article make out he had any control in massive decisions?
Why would Microsoft hire someone who, as they seem to obviously know about here, has "no faith" in the Xbox and then let him run the division anyway he likes. No one would do that.
He went to big meetings with all the other heads of their divisions, talked about where they were, profits, the boring shit and then all decided with the big chiefs in charge where they wanted each division to go.
The bigger guys at Microsoft obviously wanted the original Xbox One when it was first revealed but it came under such fire by the industry that they used Don as a scape goat.
Sony doesn't make a whole lot off consoles either. Phil is right. Games are where the money is made, Unfortunately, Xbox doesn't have alot of exclusives but they still make a lot off third party games and game pass/xbox live
I had faith in MS's first XBox when everyone else considered it to be a laughing stock. Now? Not so sure... MS have lost so much good-will and fan support this generation. Going "multi-platform" with awful exclusives hasn't helped.
Forza,Gears, Halo Wars, Quantum Break, Cuphead, Ori, Sunset Overdrive are awful exclusives?
I wouldnt call Crackdown 3, Sea of Thieves or State of Decay 2 awful either. Their all great games that people enjoy.
Awful to me means that the game is broken and doesn't work. All those game do what they're supposed to. Therefore deserve at least a 7.
Sunset and cuphead are probably the only great games from that list the rest are sequel generators on their 7th plus release or just ok.
Nothing awful or bad just ok
Unfortunately ok just doesn't cut it
@Zeref
Just because *some* people enjoy something doesn't make it worth the time, effort, and money put into the products, and the wait that consumers have to endure to never receive any genre-defining and actual good games aside from Forza Horizon which they've just been cookie cutting now.
Why are you defending overhyped and underdelivered games that have extremely long wait schedules with vast lengths of time without exclusive content in-between, and are never properly represented before release so that consumers know? You don't want better games? You need to ask for them. Not excuse what has happened and keep finding slivers of hope to latch onto.
Some of you really get to digging between couch cushions for some exclusives to name drop. I don't doubt exclusives like Gundam Versus would be getting name dropped to pad exclusives lists if it was an Xbox exclusive.
@RauleXreuset
I can see that happening if it were the case, Gunder Versus was such a let down and departure from the previous ones but at least there’s the extreme vs series that’ll hopefully get dropped on PS4.
When the game is broken and doesn't work is called: broken. Of course the game must work, that's a given... I'm not gonna give you extra points because the game works!
"Oh great, the game works, I think it deserves at least a 7"
@Profchais you just unknowingly threw god of war, uncharted, GT and other ps games under the bus trying to take a shot at xbox
That bullet ricocheted and hit Kratos lol
Your metric for great games seems exceptionally low.
The way I look at it is if the game wouldn't even be noticed if it wasn't a console published exclusive, and that exclusivity is the only reason people are interested in defending it, then it's probably not a great game.
Not that they're all bad games, but to me, outside Ori, they're all pretty forgettable. Filler games, which went unnoticed in prior gens, so they stopped getting made as much. Games that would fall into what Sony said set the 9 to 10 games that don't make money. While there is nothing wrong with releasing them, or even losing money on them, it is a problem when that becomes a more defining part of your console than the big games. Last gen, people talked up gears, halo, forza, and fable. All great games. They didn't talk up crackdown, or any of those other games that fall into the same production quality of the AAA exclusives, and half the ones you mentioned aren't even that fun to play according to most.
@xXRawD3alJRXx5h
"No point arguing. PS Fanboys roam this site just to downvote"
And, you aren't roaming to do the same thing? You're a brand new account. You sure must know how this site runs by now. Or, are you gonna say you've been on this site a while? Cause, you can change your account name. But, the ones that make brand new accounts tend to be the ones that are known for constantly trolling, twisting facts at any opportunity, and notorious for pushing hype for anything for one side. You can't tell us that XBox hasn't been dragging its feet this whole generation and that it has a lot of undue hype trains people push around here. Obviously, they're going to get a lot of flack anywhere they go that isn't a legit XBox domain because it's the least popular platform.
@Bane351h
"You cant say nothing nice about Microsoft on here"
You can if you don't have a hidden agenda about it. If you are objective about their negatives then you can certainly speak of their positives. But, everyone, including core XBox gamers, are fed up with Microsoft's excuses, deflecting, and constantly moving on to the next "big" hype campaign for peripherals, disappointing games, and technologies while ignoring their AAA exclusives business to push the platform. It's not just the fact they've disappointed time and time again where it counts. It's that they've been advertising and pushing other things and trying to appear as "the good guys" for having a couple "pro-consumer" features now, but in reality it's just damage control for their brand image. They're even pushing more console SKU's while gamers are getting no memorable and genre-defining exclusives until next gen, which we have no information about and may be a barren launch.
Damage control on Movies aren't the same with Video games but some people don't get it.
I don't think people had a problem with the hardware of the original. At most, they claimed it was just a repurposed pc.
But at the time, MS didn't have this devoted fan base in gaming, and most people saw MS and not the Xbox. MS At the time was coming off several bad press moments, and a rather large anti-comparative suit by the FTC, and in general were usually the butt of a lot of jokes about how bad their business practices were, and how they only cared about monopolizing an industry to either destroy it or make it fit their own goals.
Right around the launch of the 3660, MS acknowledged this perception and said they were going to work to change that. Just change the perception though, not their actual practices, which really haven't changed that much.
With the launch of the PS3, MS got the press on their side and pretty much got rid of the negative press and general discord that the rest of their business had, and still gets to this day. MS rode high on this last gen, and found that it can quickly dwindle. They talk like people are really into their products and services, and maybe some are, but when looking at general feelinvs around the internet, and of course extrapolating sales, it's apparent that not as many people actually respect them that much, or that they have a desirable product for most. Some of that is going to be based on peoples perception of the brand, which is why MS spends so much time saying how great it is, or it's going to be. It's why they don't talk about how bad they are now.
Next gen isn't going to help them If people still feel this way, and it'll probably take unusual circumstances to change that...like last gen where Sony made some mistakes and they had a significant price and release window advantage. MS may be doing things right now, or at least to be ready to do them right in the future, but people aren't just going to forget that on the next year or two. However, if they have a strong push in the lead up to the x2 reveal, they could maybe appear like they actually care to some. People also have a short attention span sometimes.
There was little reason to have faith in any American console after the crash of 1983 before Xbox released to the masses. The console market was primarily dominated by Japanese manufacturers.
Why anyone put Don Mattrick in charge of anything, I have no idea. How long did he last at Zynga? 2 years and then told him to GTFO? And since then he is unemployed. Yeah....took the industry long enough to stop putting faith into Don Mattrick.
Don Mattrick was around for most of the Xbox 360s generation and that console was epic. I’m sure he would have backtracked on the Xbox One as Phil did only it would have turned out better. People seem to put all the blame on Don when in fact it is Phil that has royally screwed Xbox fans. Don’t get me wrong I will always have a place for Xbox and own an Xbox One. I got it for Christmas just gone. I pre ordered the PS4 this generation and am glad I did. Xbox is lacklustre to say the least, even the UI pales in comparison to the 360.
I don't believe for a second that Don Mattrick would have done anything other than drive Xbox out of existence. Phil Spencer has done a tremendous job for Xbox. Folks are free to disagree with that, but he brought the console back from the brink of total disaster that Don Mattrick created. I don't see how anyone could suggest Mattrick would have Xbox in a better place right now than Phil Spencer. To me, that is just a bad joke.
BS Don basically said F the gamers that have a problem with forced Kinect, 24 hr checkin, $500, etc. Phil? He said okay let us hear your voice so we can fix it. And we got BC, Crossplay, a more powerful console , a better u.i, etc. Ps fanboys trying to make Matrick look like a better guy and leader than Phil is hilarious and a joke
The XB360 was a different generation, connectivity and games as service weren't that big of a focus. The XB360's business was shaped on how Sony did business in the PS2 era but they capitalized on the online infrastructure they created and pushed with XBL market place. Don and other leadership put XB in a great spot while Sony's Hubris pulled the PS3 down. However, Don thought consoles would need to adapt to stronger social and connectivity features, he thought media would drive the game industry forward and so his his own hubris led to incredibly poor decisions that was sure to cripple the XB brand. He's not a gamer he's a business suit.
Phil is a much better lead at XB and the person that understand the Xbox gamers more than any of the MS execs that has ever ran the brand. But I will worry about XB because it's really trying to do more than they need.
Just double down on gamers, and give them games, the industry will rally behind that message over trying to spread yourself thin, thinking you need to compete with mobile or be there for streaming so heavily. And putting xB branded software on other platforms.
Most of the work was done during the original Xbox's generation and the first 2 or 3 years of the 360 when Mattrick was not in charge. Mattrick's influence would have been seen in the last 2 years of the 360 and the first few years of the Xbox One.
Please don't credit the 360 console success to Don Mattrick. That was more Peter Moore than anyone else as the dude was a well-known savage to the competition. Mattrick was brought into the fold a few years into the 360 success and is actually credited and more known for the Kinect. That was his baby and exactly why it was packaged into the XB1 from the start with no opt-out options. The guy was a nitwit suit who struck fools gold with a peripheral in an already growing user base and a community willing to spend money on their investment (same reason the PSVR has done pretty well). He was clueless as to what made the 360 a success to begin with which is why you got his version of XB1 out the gate.
Don Mattrick sucks out everything he get a hold of. The guy shouldn’t be the leader of any company.
1st off Mattrick was bought in only a year after 360s release, he was there almost the entire generation. Sure he pushed Kinect but don’t tell me all other MS employees and head honchos hated Kinect.
I liked Kinect back in the 360 days, was great fun on a Saturday night with the family... Sure you should have been able to choose whether or not you wanted it but meh.
A lot of you must be blind Phil did what Don would have done, backtrack and change it because the E3 backlash was insane. So many cancelled pre orders including mine had to be remedied by back tracking. Put any man in Phils position and he would have had no choice on the matter as the E3 sucked.
Phil has then gone on to promise us every year that games are coming, features are coming and then nothing shows. He’s now introduced game pass (which I like) and no true Xbox exclusives which imo sucks as I too have a PC. The guy is a class A muppet who can’t even manage his own wardrobe, let alone the Xbox franchise..... It makes me so angry, especially the scalebound and Fable fiasco.
In this weeks episode Kiaun will be talking about his impressions of Cuphead,the Commodore 64 is getting a mini edition,a complete edition of Horizon Zero Dawn will be released,Assassin's Creed Origins is getting a guided tours mode,Playstation gives a little hint on what to expect at Paris Game's Week. This and quite a bit more on this weeks episode.
VGChartz's Daniel Carreras: "Phil Spencer and his team at Xbox have managed to turn the Xbox brand's image around. By the middle of 2013 it was almost reviled - an easy butt of jokes and source of derision - but it finally feels as though the ship has been righted and things are back on track, with Microsoft taking the initiative rather than constantly trying to put out fires of its own making. One thing's for certain from this E3: Xbox is back."
Replies(6)
Dark times back then. Online check ups,DRM,no used games and multimedia features pushing aside the games.
Added with mandatory Kinect installation I found the Xbox 1 was trapped in a PR nightmare and I almost considered ending console gaming and stick to PC and portables. Thankfully that scenario has been brushed aside and Xbox looks to a brighter future.
I agree but he killed a lot of them to. There will of also been a plan in place of ips to. Don't forget ms had a lot riding on the always online and had to change a lot in the background to which has also had a knock on affect as well as some games being kicked aside.
Look how long it has taken Sony to get some big exclusives out it takes time and will still take Microsoft a little longer but I would expect some big names comes next year.
I think this is one big exaggeration here. I get the price comparisons but you got a beast of a system folks.
Nothing has been gimped or thought less of in this system. $399 would of been great but was a dream.
I dont think this needs to be a comparison to the earlier start of xbox. Comparing what you get.
4K GameDVR,4K Bluray Player, and 4K native games and 4K assets. Its not really the same comparison to a xbox one launch price in value.
4 years later this new edition to the family is more powerful and superior.
Indeed, imagine where they could of been without the absolute clown fiesta announcing and launching the X1.
PR suicide after PR suicide. "Don't have the internet? lol play 360 then"
No. On the contrary, with Ballmer becoming boss of the Xbox division, things look more dismal than ever.
Honestly it'd probably help even if it's just a little
I for one definitely do not like Don Mattrick
what happens if you have no internet, then you can buy an Xbox 360
yeah ok Don, sure be that way
bush has been out office for 5 years now.....the country is still digging its way out....smh.
It all depends on who takes his place. Hopefully it's someone with a better vision.
between now and launch things will not change drastically. It may help but the next CEO will have alot on their plate.