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Phil Spencer: "Not a fan of marketing deals with exclusive content"

RdN

Member
They've done it in the past, with The Division. But I'm glad they realize this kind of shit is bad for the industry.

Sony's deal with Activision for Destiny is beyond absurd. Holding back content for years, that should be unnaceptable, plain and simple. And seeing it shown during Sony's conference, and people applauding and cheering it.. That was fucked up.


So what about PUBG for PS4? :p

It's a timed exclusive. That's an entirely different subject.
 

Deepwater

Member
I remember back in the days of Soul Calibur 2 and we got version exclusives and that was a good thing. It's just product differentiation. Gaming is the only industry where the major competitors are expected to work with each other and I don't understand
 

TBiddy

Member
"Only", yeah, still a content lock from other platform which is something he is talking about.
And he said it was bad for the industry so he should cancel it? Seriously, just accept the fact that he's a business man, he will get any deals if he can

You don't just go around and cancel contracts, because you suddenly change your mind on what's good and bad for the industry. If you start doing that, you'd 1) have to pay a lot of money and 2) never get anywhere near a contract negotiation again.
 

Tjamato88

Member
But paying to keep games off another platform for limited time is ok, right Phil?

Not saying the Destiny situation is ok, because it's not, but this is typical Phil speaking from both sides of his mouth.

This.

Also if the shoe was on the other foot and they had the Destiny deal we wouldn't hear this at all.
 
You don't just go around and cancel contracts, because you suddenly change your mind on what's good and bad for the industry. If you start doing that, you'd 1) have to pay a lot of money and 2) never get anywhere near a contract negotiation again.

So you believe that Spencer has a change in heart and never do exclusive content deals again?
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Not a fan of exclusive content but A-OK with 'exclusive at launch window' for whole games ?

giphyrgupe.gif
 
Are you saying there are people going behind Phil Spencer's back to approve of all the things he disapproves?

Or that Phil can't control his own division?

More that Xbox isn't a dictatorship where every single decision must go through Phil Spencer for approval. That's not how any company, especially one as big as Microsoft, works.

We don't know anything about how their exclusive deals and meetings go.

Obviously. My point still stands.
 

TBiddy

Member
So you believe that Spencer has a change in heart and never do exclusive content deals again?

No. Many business men do things they aren't a fan of. It's how the world works.

More that Xbox isn't a dictatorship where every single decision must go through Phil Spencer for approval. That's not how any company, especially one as big as Microsoft, works.

I thought I was the only guy in this thread with any common sense left. I see I'm not. It's mindboggling how some people think a company works and how the industry in general works.
 

Burbeting

Banned
All sorts of content locking is bad, and not advisable, so in that sense Spencer is 100% right.

But,

It does sound fairly hypocritical for him to say this, when Microsoft's E3 was full of timed exclusives. I'd argue timed exclusive is worse than timed content exclusivity, full game vs parts of it.

So while he is definitely correct, it does ring very hollow.
 

SenkiDala

Member
Man, this guy is so full of shit.

Basically. He just always says everything and its opposite, depending on who he's talking to. He always says what the interviewer wanna hear.

And come on, MS have been professional of content exclusives for YEARS, even under his direction, so come on, they lost FIFA and COD so know, that kind of thing is "bad for the industry".

And what he says about content exclusive works also with timed exclusive, because basically what he means is: content exclusives or 1 month first on PS4 instead of XO just bother the gamer/user and it's bad "for the industry" blablabla, but... A game timed exclusive, it's way more bothering than a map pack exclusive for 1 month... Remember Rise of the Tomb Raider, 1 year timed exclusive for MS, when you know the licence is way more popular in the PS public than in the MS one.

Spencer is always, always, full of shit.

And don't get me wrong, I'm against all kind of "first on" blabla thing, whatever it's content or games, but his way of talking, it's insulting everyone's, and worst : MS fans, intelligence.
 
Fuck both of them for doing deals like this. Phil should probably shut up. I used to respect him, or at least some of the things he said, but this is pure bullshit.
 
yes double down on that embarrassing brand loyalty

Motherfucker I have every Xbox system and have been playing games in their ecosystem for twelve years. The OG is one of my favorite systems of all time; I even collect store kiosk discs for it as a side hustle. The first thing I did after the MS conference was to buy a shitload of OG Xbox titles that I hadn't yet before the prices got insane. I'm buying the new Duke, I'll be shelling out for the H2 expansion, and will get whatever non-Forza actual exclusives they release.

Fact is, they blew it this E3 and are lashing out, plain and simple. They had a chance to turn shit around and fucked it up. Now Phil is out spinning as hard as he can, throwing shade at companies that are experiencing actual success and acting like Microsoft is somehow more ethical than them because they don't have the capital or marketshare to play the game that they fucking started. All we need is for Major Nelson to attack someone again and the circle will be complete.

I wasn't gaga about a lot of the games shown at the Sony conference, but come the fuck on. MS is grasping at straws after Sony shined their metaphorical asses.
 

Bunta

Fujiwara Tofu Shop
More that Xbox isn't a dictatorship where every single decision must go through Phil Spencer for approval. That's not how any company, especially one as big as Microsoft, works.

Lol, what? You think they'd be making exclusive content/timing deals without his knowledge? hahahahaha
 

shmoglish

Member
Man, the spencer defense force is on fire.

"Spencer is not responsible for everything ms does, obly for the good things"

"Exclusive stuff like a strike and horse armor are worse than whole games"

And so on.
 
They've done it in the past, with The Division. But I'm glad they realize this kind of shit is bad for the industry.

Sony's deal with Activision for Destiny is beyond absurd. Holding back content for years, that should be unnaceptable, plain and simple. And seeing it shown during Sony's conference, and people applauding and cheering it.. That was fucked up.




It's a timed exclusive. That's an entirely different subject.

Folks are like that. They like saying "my shit is better than your shit, now deal with it"

MS have done cut these type of deals in the past when they were market leader. But this goes to show that this is a business and companies will do what's in the best interests of their bottom lines. Sony may want this to come across as good for the gamers, but make no mistake they're doing it for themselves.

Seriously, what does someone who owns only a PS4 get out of Destiny content bring exclusive to their platform for a year besides bragging and putting down other folks and lording the fact that they have it for a year? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Xbox or PC folks getting the same content day and date wouldn't mar the experience or make it any less fun. Moreover I think this sucks for developers. I can't speak for them, but if I was a dev I'd want my content to be enjoyed by as many folks as possible.

Many will think Phil is coming across as a hypocrite and maybe he is when his company has cut these type of deals in the past, but I'm glad he is speaking against this and hopefully these type of practices come to an end. It isn't fair for either player base on PS4/Xbox or PC.
 

TBiddy

Member
Poor Phil.

I think he'll live. I don't get the need to act like a tough guy though.

Then he's full of shit with that comment. He needs to stop pretending a good guy here

I think you need to take a deep breath and read the article again. He's saying that he thinks it's bad for the industry and that he isn't a fan. How do you go from there to "pretending to be a good guy"?
 

Tecnniqe

Banned
More that Xbox isn't a dictatorship where every single decision must go through Phil Spencer for approval. That's not how any company, especially one as big as Microsoft, works.



Obviously. My point still stands.
BUT this is GAF plis
All sorts of content locking is bad, and not advisable, so in that sense Spencer is 100% right.

But,

It does sound fairly hypocritical for him to say this, when Microsoft's E3 was full of timed exclusives. I'd argue timed exclusive is worse than timed content exclusivity, full game vs parts of it.

So while he is definitely correct, it does ring very hollow.
While they have done things in the past I disagree with timed exclusive being worse than gates content.

On one side you can't play it until later but once you do pay you get everything, the full deal.

Then you got extremes like Destiny where it release at the same time but new content is locked for a year because you didn't buy it on X platform, but you still paid the same.

I think Destiny as a thing is a lot worse than a exclusive because in one case you can't pay or play it and in the other you pay just as much to play a purposefully gimped version.


Fuck everything exclusive
 
I do not think it is a small thing. I do think that marketing departments would work on those deals without running everything they do past Phil Spencer.

Interviewer: "Hi Phil, could you tell us about the exclusivity deal XBOX has with so-and-so gaming studio?"

Spencer: "....We did what now?"

How bad do you think this would look?
 
Like when they try to sell to PS4 owner Rise of the Tomb Raider one year later full price.
They still received the opportunity to purchase the full game without being locked out of content, no?

If anything PS4pro gamers got a good package showcasing what's possible with the console with multiple resolution/framerate configurations.

Aren't we also seeing timed exclusivity with monster hunter world?
 

Kinyou

Member
I remember back in the days of Soul Calibur 2 and we got version exclusives and that was a good thing. It's just product differentiation. Gaming is the only industry where the major competitors are expected to work with each other and I don't understand
Soul Calibur 2 was cool because everyone got something different. The exclusivity deals nowadays are all about someone else not getting an extra dlc. etc.
 
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