Xbox head Phil Spencer told Microsoft to go 'all-in' on gaming when brand was threatened

Yesterday, GameSpot released an interview with Xbox head Phil Spencer in which he discussed the early on days of him condign the Caput of Xbox at Microsoft. Not but did he have to respond for the Xbox One reveal debacle, merely he also had to make certain that the future was secure for the make.

There was a time that Nadella was questioning what the time to come of the Xbox brand would be after the Xbox One reveal. Spencer told Nadella that the company needed to become "all-in" on gaming and the rest is history. What followed was the conquering of Minecraft, the Xbox Ane X, and countless studio acquisitions. Yous tin can read the passage that outlines what Spencer had to do below.

A few months later, Spencer took over as head of Xbox. Whatever jubilation he felt was brusk-lived; a few weeks into the task, he got a telephone call from Satya Nadella... 'I don't actually know a whole lot nearly why we're in gaming,' Nadella told him... Many developers who had worked on the Xbox Ane felt let downward by Microsoft'south big vision; it was, as some told Spencer, not in line with 'the soul' of what Xbox was. 'Satya was transparent that there could exist a future where gaming isn't a business that Microsoft should exist in,' Spencer told me... He looked at where Xbox had failed, and how the brand could exist saved — if at all. When he finally chosen Nadella back, it was to say this: 'If nosotros're going to stay in the gaming space, then let'south brand certain nosotros're all-in. The concluding matter I wanted to do was run the gaming organization here as kind of an afterthought of the company and kind of one-half-in, half-out. Permit's become fix who we are.'

Another somewhat surprising tidbit from the interview was how Sony called Spencer to make sure Minecraft wouldn't exist pulled from PlayStation. You can read that story beneath.

He pushed Nadella to acquire... Minecraft, for $ii.five billion — a movement that gave Microsoft exclusive control over the nigh pop game in the world... Microsoft announced the game would continue to be available on all platforms, including those of its direct competitors. It was an unprecedented move for a publisher of Microsoft's size. 'One of the outset calls we got after the Minecraft acquisition was from Sony saying, 'Are you going to pull it off PlayStation?',' Spencer said. 'And I'grand similar, 'Why would I do that? People like playing it on PlayStation.'

This is a great interview that you should read in full. Information technology as well discusses Spencer's groundwork and how he started working for Microsoft. It's always interesting to get a glimpse backside the scenes because nosotros ever learn more about the gaming make.

Huge shoutout to Klobrille for the tip.

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