Whether you’re a member of the much-revered Game Pass or not, it’s not tough to ignore Xbox’s overall impact on the video game industry at the moment. With drops in sales and an ongoing drive away from exclusivity, seems like the company is redefining its purpose with its take on gaming altogether.
Phil Spencer’s latest take on the same hasn’t been too promising, and it seems as if the company is genuinely finding it difficult to place its value given how Sony and Nintendo keep raising the standards for modern-day gaming.
Close your eyes and think of Xbox. What comes to mind?
The entire Xbox brand feels confusing and questionable at the time of writing. An article by Video Games Chronicle specifically highlights this problem. Based on the analysis done by VGC, Phil Spencer’s interaction with GDC recently has cleared something up; the company may keep finding new ways of diverting fans from the core issue, which lies in the quality of its exclusives and other titles.
This is not to say that some of the entries haven’t been great. After all, many games like Sea of Thieves and Hi-Fi Rush have already started a journey towards the PlayStation gamer base. This is likely to continue, and soon, there won’t be a blurry line between Xbox’s exclusives and PlayStation’s library anymore.
The article pays attention to how the ultimate truth keeps coming back to us; great games sell consoles, not the other way round. Series S/X may be promising consoles, but at present, they aren’t selling the idea of having great gaming experiences.
Is this Phil Spencer’s fall from grace?
In the last few months, Phil Spencer has been quite vocal about the shifting tides at Xbox. The company has slowly started moving away from exclusivity, bringing more and more titles to multiple platforms. This may feel like great news for gamers worldwide, but paints the company in a different light now.
Little by little, the organization’s brand is beginning to change, and this has only been crystal clear even since Phil took up the role of being the face of many things associated with Xbox. Unfortunately, his rise to fame seems to be coming to an end, as the failure of Xbox as a brand reflects the failure to shape a vision that’s healthy for the future of the company.
This information may distract you from the fact that earlier this year, over 1900 employees were asked to leave the very places that showed any kind of promise for certain franchises and departments that could have changed the trajectory a little.
Do you think things could get any worse for the company going forward? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments down below.
