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Xbox Exec Speaks Out Against Exclusive DLC And Recognizes The Irony In Saying That

Speaking to GameSpot today at the Brazil Game Show, Xbox boss Phil Spencer spoke out against the idea of companies like Microsoft paying to secure exclusive content in games. He immediately recognises the irony of this situation, given that Microsoft had the timed-exclusive deal with Call of Duty before it shifted to Sony. The company is also working with Activision on a timed-exclusivity deal for Destiny 2, while Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2 will have some content that’s exclusive to PS4, at least for a time.

But on Microsoft’s side, it sounds like you shouldn’t expect these kinds of deals to happen on Xbox. “People always knock me on this; I’ve been on record… I don’t love the idea or practice of us paying so other platforms can’t play or use a certain gun in a game or do a certain level,” he said. “I know I say that and, Xbox history–DLC exclusivity windows with Call of Duty–I understand the fingers are pointing right back to Xbox. I can only be who I am. It’s not the best PR answer. But I don’t like that.”

In terms of timed-exclusives for full games, Microsoft recently reached a deal with PUBG developer Bluehole to bring the game to Xbox One this year as a “console launch exclusive.” It could very well come to PlayStation 4 at some point down the road, but no announcements have been made about that. Microsoft’s deal with Bluehole, which presumably includes funds to help support the game’s development (and may reportedly get extended), is part of Microsoft’s aim to make the “best games possible” for Xbox.

“People ask, when’s that coming to PlayStation? I’ve got a deal, working with [Bluehole] to build the very best version of PUBG,” he said. “That’s where I am focused. Right now, we’re helping that game come to console. Our focus is on making the best games possible.”

Another recent example of a exclusivity deal Microsoft made is with StudioMHR for the well-received and very difficult platformer/run-and-gunner Cuphead. The game is exclusive on console to Xbox One forever (though it is also available on PC). It is never coming to PlayStation 4. Spencer said Microsoft invested in Cuphead because it saw potential in the title and wanted to help make it all that it could be.

“When there are games that come along, Cuphead is a good example, and the team had certain ambition about what they wanted to go do,” he said. “And together with them we wanted to invest more. We saw more opportunity. And what that turned into was us having an exclusive game on our platform. That’s a game that probably wouldn’t have happened the way it did if we didn’t invest the way we did.”

Console exclusives are a way to drive sales of a particular system. Microsoft has Halo and Gears of War and Forza, while Sony has Uncharted, God of War, Killzone, and others, just to name a few. While there will probably always be full exclusives like these, Spencer said the future of gaming lies in games that may not necessarily be tied to a specific device.

“If you define the gaming market as console and that’s all you’re focused on, then maybe that’s an important part of the business consideration,” Spencer said about console-exclusives driving system sales. “I’d say one of the reasons PC is still so strong, is because it’s an open platform. Through things like cross-play we’re working to allow people to play games together regardless of where you bought the games. if you’re really about trying to drive just a specific device and say I just looked at the gaming opportunity all up as a single device opportunity, maybe that’s an approach. We don’t see it that way.

“When we look at things that are really large in gaming today, we look at Twitch, Steam, PUBG, Minecraft. People on Minecraft on Switch are playing with people on an iPhone. They don’t own a Windows machine or an Xbox. But they own our game or are using Xbox Live across multiple devices, that’s what gaming in the future is about. Getting caught in a definition of gaming that’s about me trying to do everything I can to get you to buy one specific device to play one specific variant of games, is not really about growing the business.”

For lots more on our conversation with Spencer, see the stories linked below, and come back soon to check out the full Q&A.

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Phil Spencer Talks His Destiny 2 Power Level And The Weapon He Wants

Xbox boss Phil Spencer was a big fan of Destiny 1, having played some 700 hours of it. He’s also logging time in the sequel, and now he’s told us more about his time with the game. Speaking to GameSpot at the Brazil Game Show today, Spencer said he keeps his fireteam (and sometimes his Xbox Live party settings) open so anyone can join him. His gamertag, which he frequently shares openly on Twitter and elsewhere, is P3

He has to kick people out from time to time, however, because he’s not a high enough level to play end-game activities like Leviathan raid. He told us at the show that his character is Power level 237. You need to be at least 260 to play the raid. Not being a high enough Power level for the raid keeps him awake at night, Spencer said, perhaps jokingly.

Spencer’s public page on Destinytracker shows that his character, an Awoken Titan, now has a Power level of 241. That’s not the highest, of course, but Spencer is a busy, busy person with a lot on his plate, so it’s understandable. He told us he’s traveled to Tokyo, the US east coast, and then Brazil just in the past few weeks.

The Xbox boss also told us about which weapon he wants the most in Destiny 2. After very much enjoying the MIDA Multi-Tool in Destiny 1, he’s looking to get the weapon in the sequel.

Spencer also said he’s bummed that Bungie won’t allow him to play his Destiny 2 character in the PC version right now. The game doesn’t launch for PC until October 24, but given his high-up position and contacts, we wouldn’t be surprised if Spencer received some form of early access.

For more on our conversation with Spencer, check out the stories linked below, and come back soon to see our full Q&A.

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Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Hasn’t Beaten Cuphead Yet, But He Has A Good Excuse

As the Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer played a key role in bringing the critically acclaimed platformer Cuphead to Xbox One and PC as an exclusive for Microsoft. One of the perks of his position is getting to play games ahead of release. He told us at the Brazil Game Show today that while he beat all the bosses ahead of launch, he hasn’t completed the retail version of the game–and he has a good reason.

“I think I finished all of the bosses at one point before it launched. But no. I’ve been traveling for four weeks in a row so I haven’t had much chance to play,” Spencer said. “It is [an excuse].”

Spencer also told us that Cuphead is selling “very well,” though he didn’t get into specifics about sales numbers. “I am so happy for the studio; they worked a long time on the game. And to have the success they’re having–it’s selling very well,” he said. “The reaction has been great. It’s just fantastic when those kind of things come together.”

As part of Microsoft’s exclusivity deal for Cuphead, the game is staying exclusive to Xbox One and PC forever. It is never coming to PlayStation 4. Spencer said the version of Cuphead that exists today might never have happened were it not for Microsoft’s investment.

“The team had certain ambition about what they wanted to go do. And together with them we wanted to invest more,” he said. “We saw more opportunity. And what that turned into was us having an exclusive game on our platform. That’s a game that probably wouldn’t have happened the way it did if we didn’t invest the way we did.”

For lots more on Cuphead, check out GameSpot’s review and tips here. For more on our conversation with Spencer, check out the stories linked below, and come back soon to see our full Q&A.

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It’s A Myth That Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Is Ignored, Exec Says

One of the Xbox One‘s standout features is backwards compatibility support for Xbox 360 games. There are more than 400 titles in the catalog right now, and the library is seemingly always growing. Microsoft is committed to backwards compatibility now and in the long run, Xbox boss Phil Spencer told GameSpot at the Brazil Game Show today.

In June, there was a report that said Xbox One owners “largely ignore” the backwards compatibility feature. Microsoft responded by pointing out that around half of all Xbox One owners have used the feature, tallying some 508 million hours using the service. Spencer doubled down on this, saying it’s categorically untrue that it’s an ignored feature.

“It’s not true that people don’t play it. I’ve seen those online arguments about nobody uses it or everybody uses it. It’s not true that everybody plays backwards compatibility games, it’s not true that no one does,” he said. “A lot of the data is third party data so I can’t really tell you how many people are playing a certain game; it’s not my game. I think the best signal we had so far is when Black Ops II landed and that month it hit NPD’s Top 10 that month for game sales. An Xbox 360 game that’s years old, that shows that people care.”

The Xbox One is the only new-generation console that has true backwards compatibility support. The PlayStation 4, by comparison, requires users to re-purchase older games to play on the system through PlayStation Now and the PS2 Classics program.

“We continue to invest in back-compat because it matters. Not because somebody else [Sony] doesn’t have it. If somebody else did it tomorrow, we wouldn’t stop. We see it as a commitment to our customers that the games you buy from us [will work on new platforms].”

In addition to Xbox 360 games, the backwards compatibility lineup will add support for Original Xbox games before the end of the year. Microsoft is “really close” to launching this, Spencer told us, also teasing some news about support on Xbox One X.

Also in our interview, Spencer spoke about how he wants to move beyond the old way of thinking that when you buy a new console, your purchases for the older device are rendered useless. That’s part of the reason why backwards compatibility is so important to Microsoft.

“I want to give gamers a choice. It’s about growing gaming not being divisive and artificially trying to move you ahead. That’s why Xbox One X plays the same games Xbox One S does. PC has done this for years. It’s not rocket science in how you figure this out.”

For more on our conversation with Spencer, check out the stories linked below, and come back soon to see our full Q&A.

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Xbox Boss Unsure If Cross-Play With PS4 Will Ever Happen

Back in March 2016, Microsoft extended an invitation to other online networks to connect to Xbox Live to allow cross-play between Xbox and competing consoles. The head-turning announcement made waves, as this has never happened before. At E3, Microsoft and Nintendo announced a partnership for Minecraft cross-play between Xbox and Nintendo Switch, but Sony has held out. The company says it won’t connect PlayStation Network to outside networks, in part because it fears for the safety of its users.

Now, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has provided an update on where things stand with Sony. He told us at the Brazil Game Show today that Microsoft speaks with Sony all the time, but the conversations haven’t amounted to anything–and they may never.

“We talk to Sony all the time. With Minecraft on PlayStation, we have to be one of the biggest games on their platform in terms of sales and gameplay,” Spencer said. “Same with Nintendo. The relationship with Nintendo on this front has been strong. They’ve been great supporters and we continue to collaborate with them. But I think Sony’s view is different. They should talk about what their view is…”

Asked if cross-play between Xbox One and PS4 is a lost cause, Spencer said he doesn’t want to speak for Sony. Nothing is ever set in stone, but the way things are now with Sony makes Spencer believe the company may never come around.

“I have a real struggle making comments about their motivation or timelines. I know there is a certain view that says if my friends have this console, they can’t play with people who buy another console. That’s a reason they go buy my console,” he said. “That reason is not going to go away. So we’re putting Minecraft out there as one of the biggest games on any platform and allowing people to play together regardless of what device they bought. I don’t think everybody is taking that same approach to the ecosystem. So I’m never going to call anything a lost cause but I think some of the fundamental reasons and certain scenarios, they’re not really going away. So I don’t know what would change.”

Speaking generally about the appeal of cross-play, Spencer said it allows the multiplayer environments for games to stay rich, because the player pools are larger than they otherwise might be.

“I think people look at [cross-play] and say is it better for gamers. If it’s better for gamers, I have a hard time thinking why we shouldn’t go do this, especially when you’re trying to make the gaming business a bigger business; grow it, get more games, create more opportunity,” he said. “Especially in the indie space, actually. If you’re creating an online indie game and you’re going to create five [shards] of your game–the Steam version, Xbox Live on PC, Xbox version, the PlayStation version, the Switch version creates hard matchmaking scenarios. We should help developers, not make their lives more difficult.”

Getting cross-play up and running between Xbox One and PS4 is not a technical issue, as Epic’s Fortnite accidentally added this recently before quickly removing it. It’s a matter of politics and deal-making, it seems, between Microsoft and Sony. Rocket League developer Psyonix has said it’s just waiting on Microsoft and Sony to give the go-ahead to unlock cross-play.

Our conversation with Spencer covered a number of other topics, and you can check out the stories below to learn more. Check back soon for the full Q&A.

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Xbox One’s Original Xbox Backwards Compatibility Still Coming This Year

One of the pleasant surprises Microsoft had in store for E3 this year was the announcement of Xbox One backwards compatibility support for original Xbox games. At the Brazil Game Show, we caught up with Xbox boss Phil Spencer, who provided some insight into where things stand with the upcoming feature.

“We’re close, we’re really close,” Spencer said when asked for the status of Xbox backwards compatibility. “I have a little dashboard I go to and I can see all the games [and] where they are in getting approvals in the pipeline. I know the games that are coming for the original Xbox but I don’t think we’ve announced them all. We have to do this in partnership with partners, but we’re still on track. I feel really good. The games look great.”

Spencer also remains confident that the feature will be out before the end of the year, as planned. “Oh yeah,” he said about his certainty of a 2017 launch. He also teased that there are still details about backwards compatibility will work on Xbox One X that have yet to be revealed: “There’s some stuff we’re going to talk about in that space in terms of how compatibility’s going to work on [Xbox One] X specifically that I think people will find pretty interesting.

“Some of the games hold up really well; some of them don’t. But the gameplay mechanics and the smile [you got] on your face 15 years ago playing those games, those are things that are still there. I see it, like getting back to playing Crimson Skies, [it’s] fantastic, and the game actually looks really good even though it’s obviously been around.”

Spencer mentioning Crimson Skies is expected, as it’s only one of two games–along with Fuzion Frenzy–that have been confirmed as part of the program. “We have multiple games up and running–we just decided to tease the first one[s],” Microsoft executive Dave McCarthy explained about Microsoft’s E3 reveal of the first two games. “There will be a library of games available, for sure.” However, you shouldn’t expect the library to be as big as that of Xbox 360 backwards compatible games.

For lots more on our conversation with Spencer, see the stories linked below, and come back soon to check out the full Q&A.

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