Spencer and Mattrick are polar opposites. It wasn't a simple job to tank Xbox so fast from a position of real strength but Mattrick is not your average disaster merchant! Spencer's recovery job is a hell of a long one now as a result but he has been making all the right steps since day 1.
I think an advantage that Spencer has over previous execs (my opinion only) is that he won't get arrogant and start enacting dumb policies when(if) Xbox gets back to the top, a strange unexplainable affliction that seems to have affected the teams who took Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft to the top in the past.
And Spencer said the reason he revealed the existence of future consoles at this conference even when there was nothing to say about them aside from that they're being worked on, was to assure those who were worried that Xbox was moving to a streaming-only future that they were still very much also committed to future physical consoles.
The future setup is designed so that people can jump in any time and not be disadvantaged. With every console being BC and forward-compatible you don't lose anything when a new updated console launches as you can still play all new games on your old one for at least the life of that first new console. And on the flipside, when you do move you take all your digital games with you and can instantly play a huge library of disc games from the old system. There will also likely be multiple SKUs (always one targeting the hardcore) launching right at the start so there would be plenty of options.
yeah. that's one thing I like about MS/Xbox current approach. at least with them, I have a more reasonable expectation that the current X1 games ( and BC 360 and OG games ) will work on the next console.
and that's part of the "brand/vision/ecosystem" about Xbox that appeals to me. for some reason, I just don't get that from Sony and PlayStation. or at least not at the same level. It's hard to explain, but it's just a feeling I have. y'know?
I'm hoping the PS5 will adopt a similar approach to BC with at least PS4 games.
I'm also hoping the next Xbox and PS5 will serve as multi-function, multi-media machines, without sacrificing the core gaming focus.
that's one of the biggest disappointments this gen. Both the X1 and PS4 felt like they took steps backwards when it came to serving as multi-media machines. The PS3 was an awesome multi-media, multi-function machine ( better than the 360, imo ). But then the PS4 felt so sparse and lacking in that area, especially at launch. Couldn't play USB media files. Couldn't play cds. Couldn't change the background to custom image. etc.
And with the X1. at launch they focused too heavily on the multi-media stuff ( Kinect and tv integration, yay! ), but sacrificed the core gaming experience by releasing an underpowered machine with the OG X1. They finally fixed that performance gap with the X. but it's too late in the cycle. Something on par with the X should have been released at the beginning of the X1 cycle.
so hopefully both MS and Sony learn from their mistakes and missteps this gen as we look forward to next gen.
which is hard to believe we are already talking about next gen, cuz it just seems like yesterday when the PS4 and X1 came out.
