If you listen to the Nintendo Entertainment Podcast, you’ll know that I never hesitate to barb Phil Spencer over certain statements and “promises” he makes. That’s mainly because he’s insulted Nintendo before in a way that has backfired hilariously, and he keeps trying to make it seem like “Xbox Is Fine” when the room is literally on fire all around him. You might recall an interview with Danny Pena where he talked about the Nintendo Switch 2 and how he was “excited” to potentially put Xbox games on it. Well, if you’re wondering where his own platform fits into everything, his answer is just as “interesting.”
When he was asked about the future of Xbox and how gamers should choose between them and other systems, Spencer noted:
“I want people to pick hardware based on the capabilities of that hardware and how that fits into the choices that they want to make about where they want to play, and we want our hardware to win based on the hardware capabilities that we have. I think the difference that we’ve seen in the last 20 years, and I think this is good because I come from building games, is it’s really games first, not platform first. Most of the games that you or I will talk about run across so many different platforms, and those are the games that are having success, those are the games at the top of the charts…”
As usual, Phil Spencer is telling a truth…while concealing a deeper/hidden meaning or two within. For example, while Phil Spencer made it clear that he wants people to “buy their consoles,” he also tried to make it seem like it’s “their choice alone,” which is how it’s always been…and many times over…including in this console generation, gamers have been fine with NOT buying the Xbox brand. Just look at the X/S and see how it’s WAY behind the PS5 and Switch for proof of this. Heck, recent reports say it’s not even going to catch up to the Xbox One!
Furthermore, yes, multiplatform games like Call of Duty and Hogwarts Legacy (just to state recent yearly top-sellers) do top the charts…but those aren’t the only ones that sell that well. There are exclusive games that have sold incredibly well in record time, and many of them in recent years have come from Nintendo platforms, such as Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Super Mario Bros Wonder, and Tears of the Kingdom. The POINT of exclusive titles is to bring people to YOUR table for YOUR specific games that you can’t get anywhere else, and then, when you find a multiplatform title you like…the system is ready to play it.
Oh, and speaking of Xbox systems, Phil said:
“I look at hardware as a critical part of what we do, but [we’re] not trying to gatekeep the games off of other places for the benefit of it. Let’s go build innovative hardware that people want to use to play, whether that’s in their hands, whether it’s on the television, or even other places.”
Again, another “contextual truth.” Sure, the Xbox brand is rumored to be going multiplatform with its games, but it’s not from a desire to “stop gatekeeping,” but instead, because their exclusive titles aren’t moving systems, and thus, they’re not making the money they want to. That’s a big difference, Phil.
Oh, and let’s not forget that the company’s last “innovative hardware” was the Kinect. How’d that work out again?
