We just welcomed Xbox Series X e Serie S, the two next-generation consoles produced by Microsoft. The US giant inaugurates a next-gen with great technological potential, a next-gen that also has the task of remedying the ‘mistakes’ committed by previous platforms. In an interview granted to colleagues from Shacknews, Phil Spencer recalled the disastrous launch of Xbox One, an event that almost forced the Redmond company to distance itself from the video game market.
Phil Spencer: The Xbox brand was about to be abandoned
With the announcement of Xbox One, dating back to 2013, Microsoft introduced an all-in-one entertainment system that would allow users to play games, access their multimedia content and interact with the machine through the use of Kinect. The company’s plans were ambitious, perhaps too much for a ‘simple’ game console: users did not appreciate the always online, as well as the restrictions on the games used – not to mention the mandatory purchase of Kinect itself.
When Don Mattrick stepped down as head of the gaming division, the new CEO Satya Nadella decided to re-evaluate the position of the Xbox brand in the market. It was a particularly dark period for Microsoft’s console: within months of the Xbox One launch, control of the brand was entrusted to three different teams, including a team dedicated to first-party games.
The latter group was led by the same Phil Spencer who would soon take over the reins of the Xbox division. In the interview with Shacknews, Spencer talked about Xbox One and what were the concerns of the company regarding the debut of the console: “The question was: will we move forward with Xbox? Because at this point we will be overtaken by PlayStation on the market. Will we continue to invest (in the brand)? Or do we make a different decision?”.
At the time, Spencer explains, Nadella had serious doubts about the importance of Microsoft’s gaming division. Nonetheless, the company’s CEO decided to offer the same division his continued support, entrusting Spencer with the task of reunite the Xbox team. “I think the reason I ended up doing this job, frankly, is the fact that all the other leaders were gone.”.
In any case, given the last few years of Xbox One – and of the best performing Xbox One X – we can say that Nadella has made the right choice. Phil Spencer got the Xbox team back on track and ushered in an ambitious new strategy, which he finds in Game Pass one of its winning weapons. In the meantime, we will follow ‘the deeds’ of Xbox Series X and Series S, just hit the market.
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