We’ve talked plenty about the situation with Xbox and Microsoft lately. The company went from “buying up plenty of developers to push their own brands” to not getting the hardware and software sales they were hoping for and shifting to a multiplatform approach, not unlike certain other struggling publishers. Phil Spencer, in particular, has been the face of this “shifting movement” and continues to do interviews and statements about what he feels “Xbox’s future” is and how it pertains to other companies like Sony and Nintendo.
For example, he did an interview with Xbox Era and made the following statement about how gamers will know which Xbox titles will be multiplatform. Specifically, they’re going to show the Sony and Nintendo logos on trailers from now on:
“I think it’s just being honest and transparent about where the games are showing, and we actually even had this discussion last year for the June showcase, and by the time we kind of made our decision, we couldn’t get all of the assets done and it felt weird to have some of them in and some of them out. But I just want to be transparent with people – for shipping on Nintendo Switch, we’re gonna put that. For shipping on PlayStation, on Steam…People should know the storefronts where they can get our games.”
On the surface, that’s a good thing, as multiplatform titles should be clear on their landing points. Given other past statements, though, you have to wonder if this is almost a “necessity” versus just being “transparent with gamers.”
Speaking of which, Phil Spencer also made a curious statement about the “future of Xbox” and what the company should be focused on:
“Games should be the thing that we’re focused on. And the strategy that we have allows us to do big games, while also supporting our native platform from hardware to the platform and services that we have and that’s going to be our approach.”
Again, on the surface, that sounds fine, except, games should’ve been what it’s ALWAYS focused on. Yet, as recent history proves, that’s not always been the case, and that’s why the Xbox brand has had to shift its strategy, including potentially putting loads of titles on the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2.
