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Should Phil Spencer be replaced at the head of Xbox?

longdi

Banned
The leadership at 343 has to date objectively produced (games wise, not all the other stuff 343 do) -
  • Halo 4 that dropped off population quickly but had a good campaign (if you include the terminals). Missing core Halo elements e.g. BTB. Solid DLC but population was gone.
  • Halo 5 warzone was well received but fell off the wagon, multiplayer was well received and is good. Missing core Halo elements outside of esports e.g. 4v4/BTB. Unified DLC free for all.
  • MCC, total cluster fuck that took 5 years to correct and finally is half way done coming to PC. It's in a good place now but could have been a massive return for Halo fans/population. Crossplay is arriving but not yet.
  • Infinite is missing XSX launch.
  • Halo Wars 2 was awesome, well made, good story, great characters, solid art/audio etc.
  • Who gives a fuck about those 2 basically mobile games they produced.
TL;DR: Phil stays and is making awesome moves, 343 leadership needs to go.

Phil has turned Xbox around in many ways (BC, GP, hardware, indies, brand, new studios, some new games) but seems to be soft AF on 343.

Spot on! Spoken like someone who have been invested in the Halo-verse. No fake concerns like TS.
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
Yes, the Xbox brand is damn near a joke at this point. Spencer sucks. You can’t sell consoles pushing no exclusives and the few you have are incredibly mediocre. Boasting about power and games than showing barely PS3 graphics and no actual games. I have much more business sense than him, I’d turn the Xbox brand around real quick.

Huh? Meanwhile, back on earth, xbox raked in millions in profit for Microsoft and they are on the verge of launching 2 new xbox products likely to be sold in the millions of units. Right.....complete failure......
 
Anti-consumer, poor salesman Don Matrick:

Ef-Lb6-Vh-X0-AAHSFh.jpg


Phil da Savior, pro-consumer King, 6 year prep for best ever launch:





z



zzz
 
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DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
No, people need to come to grips with the fact that Phil is carrying out Microsoft's perception of how a videogame console should be handled. The flavor is on the label. If he was replaced, can anyone confidently say he would be replaced by someone who would "bring back the glory days"? Isn't that who Phil was supposed to be?
 

Shmunter

Member
Right! Jim scares me, at least the direction he seems to have taken.
Why do GAF forgot the musical chairs around SCE the last 2-3 years? A lot of prominent passionate execs dropping off, and that with the PS5 final stage development.. :messenger_sleeping:
In all fairness, Sony leadership seems to be united and working towards a clear vision and mission of PlayStation, letting fans sleep soundly. However, they have clearly done stupid crap like closed certain triple a studios which is frankly abhorrent.

But on balance, Sony currently is in a mighty spot for ushering in a new gen.
 
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Texas Pride

Banned
If your flagship IP fails to launch with your new console after 500 million and 5 years that failure starts at the top imo. If this is how they treat their biggest IP who in their right mind would have faith they do anything different with future projects?
 
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His ass needs to get fired immediately. Xbox is going to get demolished by Sony next gen, It's going to be a massacre.

Whose bright idea is it to launch a next gen system with no next gen games for like the first few years? What the FUCK :LOL:

People are going to move on from Xbox just like that Crapgamer dude. They're going to be fed up with this company's empty promises with no content. Game Pass isn't going to be all that appealing with no new games on it, and mostly all just old third party titles with little value left.

He basically had an entire generation to fix the mistakes of Mattrick, and while I credit him for turning around the hardware focus and making good strides in BC, that's about it. His first party strategy is appalling. Did we REALLY need TWO GEARS OF WAR games on the Xbox One?

Fuck no. Instead of Gears 5, The Coalition should have spent the time making a groundbreaking, mindblowing new IP for the ground up on Xbox Series X for launch.

He's utterly fucking clueless.
 
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Neff

Member
His legacy seems to be

1) Saying things
2) Xbox/360 BC
3) Cancelling Scalebound
4) Game Pass
5) Lots of console SKUs I guess

I'll give him BC, I think it's really important, but otherwise I'm not impressed.

Oh and I forgot ditching mandatory Kinect, but I'm not sure how much credit one can take for undoing someone else's colossally stupid and obvious mistake.
 
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Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
Sorry but no. He's been in the job since March 2014. He was involved with shaping the future of the brand long before that when he worked under Mattrick. Why does he get a pass? The gap between Xbox and PS is bigger now than when he took over. I'm not saying he should be fired, but where's the accountability? He has overseen a lot negative stuff i.e. Scalebound cancellation, Halo MCC launch debacle, Crackdown 3 shitshow, this new Halo clown shoes scenario, a shit load of forgettable E3s in a row. The guy is far, far from perfect. He and his leadership team have a lot to answer for.

Lol, no.

He was put in charge of nothing. The XBox brand was rotting when Spencer took over. MS treaded water for a few years, until he convinced brass to significantly invest in the company. They do so in 2018, and we'll be seeing the fruits of his labor in 2021/2022.

Judging him now means you're a low information gamer.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
he has been running the show for 7 years now. 10 years as head of xbox first party studios. how much longer does he need?

And coaches who coach NBA, NFL, MLB teams with low payrolls are often viewed as bad coaches.

When in reality, you can't win unless you have the horses. MS got their horses in 2018. They won't be ready to go until 2021 at the earliest.
 
Lol, no.

He was put in charge of nothing. The XBox brand was rotting when Spencer took over. MS treaded water for a few years, until he convinced brass to significantly invest in the company. They do so in 2018, and we'll be seeing the fruits of his labor in 2021/2022.

Judging him now means you're a low information gamer.

He greenlit Gears 5. He's part of the problem.

The investments he's made into studios won't be known until 2023 and beyond. Deep into next gen. He needed to be ready day 1.

Judging his entire career with Microsoft and it's all been a disaster.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
He greenlit Gears 5. He's part of the problem.

The investments he's made into studios won't be known until 2023 and beyond. Deep into next gen. He needed to be ready day 1.

Judging his entire career with Microsoft and it's all been a disaster.

Nah, Gears 5 was a pretty safe project.

Plus, he wasn't given the green light until 2018. Obviously, had he could, he would have purchased studios a few years sooner. He didn't get the OK to do so until 2018.
 
Nah, Gears 5 was a pretty safe project.

Plus, he wasn't given the green light until 2018. Obviously, had he could, he would have purchased studios a few years sooner. He didn't get the OK to do so until 2018.

THAT'S THE PROBLEM. IT'S A SAFE PROJECT.

He should have had them make a DAY 1 XSX 12TF Exclusive NEW IP.

Why the fuck did he need TWO Gears games during the Xbox One gen when there's literally NO OTHER STUDIOS CAPABLE OF MAKING A NEXT GEN GAME FOR LAUNCH....
 

quest

Not Banned from OT
And coaches who coach NBA, NFL, MLB teams with low payrolls are often viewed as bad coaches.

When in reality, you can't win unless you have the horses. MS got their horses in 2018. They won't be ready to go until 2021 at the earliest.
That sums it up it is like taking over a 10 win NBA team with no cap space or draft picks to rebuild with. Jim money hat Ryan took over the 80s showtime Lakers easy job as it gets.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
THAT'S THE PROBLEM. IT'S A SAFE PROJECT.

He should have had them make a DAY 1 XSX 12TF Exclusive NEW IP.

Why the fuck did he need TWO Gears games during the Xbox One gen when there's literally NO OTHER STUDIOS CAPABLE OF MAKING A NEXT GEN GAME FOR LAUNCH....

Safe projects are fine. Nintendo, Sony, EA, Ubisoft etc...they all fund safe projects. Gears 5 is in no way damnable.
 
Safe projects are fine. Nintendo, Sony, EA, Ubisoft etc...they all fund safe projects. Gears 5 is in no way damnable.

Safe projects are fine if you have a ton of devs and can spread out new IP vs Old IP vs Last gen consoles

Phil doesn't have that luxury. Where's his strategty? It's a total failure. The Coalition was basically his only hope of having next gen content for launch.
 

Aladin

Member
Bonnie Ross and her design and production exec teams should go lead an outsourcing studio and not a lead studio. They are average.
Halo Infinite is a good step forward, but they seem to be out of touch with what is expected of them. Looks like halowaypoint forum directs development team more than bonnie and her henchmen.
 
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Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
Safe projects are fine if you have a ton of devs and can spread out new IP vs Old IP vs Last gen consoles

Phil doesn't have that luxury. Where's his strategty? It's a total failure. The Coalition was basically his only hope of having next gen content for launch.

Phil still had a responsibility to current XBox One owners. Plus, he had to start pushing GamePass which Gears helped with. He's been excellent thus far.
 
Phil still had a responsibility to current XBox One owners. Plus, he had to start pushing GamePass which Gears helped with. He's been excellent thus far.

No, in his view he had a responsibility to sell you on Game Pass, which is exactly what Gears 5 was.

And you know what? That's not for me. And won't be for a lot of consumers, so we'll just move on.
 

Zannegan

Member
I'm going to say "no."

I don't really like Phil as a figurehead--I find his manner fake and offputting--but overall he's made good moves for the Xbox brand. Granted, making all their launch games cross-gen was a big mistake, but the next gen hardware looks solid, and if their investment in first party studios starts to pay off in a year or two, Xbox will likely continue building in popularity over the next generation. Unfortunately for MS, the start of the generation is when compelling exclusives carry the most weight, which is exactly why making everything cross gen was such a big misstep.

Those hoping Bonnie Ross will take the fall over Infinite, don't hold your breath. Given how invested MS has been in the optics of having her in charge of the studio, they can't afford the bad PR of firing her any more than Disney could dump Kathleen Kennedy. Phil will likely be moved out before she is, regardless of who is more "to blame" for the state of Halo.

There's a time for heads to roll, but the eve of a generational transition doesn't feel like it. I don't see what dropping Spencer right now gets you, and I'd like to see how Infinite looks at launch before giving Bonnie the boot. I think the IP has been mismanaged since Reach, but from what little I saw of the gameplay, this seems like it could be the "right the ship" game for the franchise, graphics notwithstanding. Or not. *shrug*
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
No, in his view he had a responsibility to sell you on Game Pass, which is exactly what Gears 5 was.

And you know what? That's not for me. And won't be for a lot of consumers, so we'll just move on.
dont forget. They were working on a new IP that was announced with a trailer at E3 2013. After phil took over, he paid a $100 million for gears IP, cancelled their game and turned them into a gears of war studio.

thats why they are in the mess now. this guy has made one bad decision after another.
 

Justin9mm

Member
His ass needs to get fired immediately. Xbox is going to get demolished by Sony next gen, It's going to be a massacre.

Whose bright idea is it to launch a next gen system with no next gen games for like the first few years? What the FUCK :LOL:

People are going to move on from Xbox just like that Crapgamer dude. They're going to be fed up with this company's empty promises with no content. Game Pass isn't going to be all that appealing with no new games on it, and mostly all just old third party titles with little value left.

He basically had an entire generation to fix the mistakes of Mattrick, and while I credit him for turning around the hardware focus and making good strides in BC, that's about it. His first party strategy is appalling. Did we REALLY need TWO GEARS OF WAR games on the Xbox One?

Fuck no. Instead of Gears 5, The Coalition should have spent the time making a groundbreaking, mindblowing new IP for the ground up on Xbox Series X for launch.

He's utterly fucking clueless.
Agreed.. Either that or he's just a puppet on a string!
 
Absolutely. Xbox Series X needs quality exclusives by the truckload and he isn't getting that done. He should have been gone quite a long time ago!
 

DryvBy

Member
Phil is hot garbage. He'll get praise for Game Pass and that's it, which I can't wait for the 3rd parties to creep in and make their own pass. Wasn't EA and Ubi already trying that?

They even said it's not very profitable right now. I don't get what MS is even doing anymore. I'm just gonna throw a wild card and say they will be Sega 2 before the gen is done. Halo on Switch and PS5 before long.
 

bender

What time is it?
They even said it's not very profitable right now. I don't get what MS is even doing anymore. I'm just gonna throw a wild card and say they will be Sega 2 before the gen is done. Halo on Switch and PS5 before long.

Losing money while trying to acquire a user base isn't unheard of and like the article mentions, Microsoft can afford to take a loss. It will be interesting to see if they can keep the quality of the offerings high and convince those people who took advantage of $1 upgrades to stick around. We may not see the real story for years to come. I know I redeemed all my discounted XBL codes and then upgraded to maximum Game Pass time.
 
First of all this isn't like the release of the last gen, its not that bad. But it's bad.

next most people don't read our forums or give a shit.

But people still need to have a reason to spend $500+ on a console, and they don't give consumers one.
 

Shrap

Member
Where's that skeleton on the park bench meme? Xbox could become a mobile F2P publisher in 10 years and people would still be saying "come on guys, we haven't seen what Phil can do yet."
 

Chairman

Banned
“I honestly think we’re in the best launch lineup position that we’ve ever been on Xbox,” Spencer said.

News of July 20, 2020.

From my point of view Spencer has not kept any of his promises so far, he only knows how to sell smoke year after year. It is time for someone else to take over.
Where's the poll?
 

DinoD

Member
He's doing what he can. Hardware wise, superb consoles Xbone One X and Series X. Trying the different approach (probably mandated from the top) of turning the Xbox brand into paid service. I don't know how anyone could have expected him to level or beat the quality of Sony's 1st party output.
 
Keep him I say! Whilst their AAA output has been less than stellar, the pivot to Games Pass and more recently, xCloud are the real game changers here in my opinion.

Anyone saying Mattrick was better weren't paying attention. Not only did they try to lead with the Xbox One as a cable TV box (and for the US only, of course), they also tried to turn into some weird TV content creator (hence Quantum Break) to compete with Netflix.

This pivot is much better for Microsoft and arguably, the industry in the long-term imo.
 

MrS

Banned
Lol, no.

He was put in charge of nothing. The XBox brand was rotting when Spencer took over. MS treaded water for a few years, until he convinced brass to significantly invest in the company. They do so in 2018, and we'll be seeing the fruits of his labor in 2021/2022.

Judging him now means you're a low information gamer.
Haha yeah ok pal. Whatever makes you feel better. I’m not sure how you can brush off his many failures, but ok. Just makes you look like a low iq individual.
 
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