Following the recent statement made by Phil Spencer that “we have to do business” after releasing Indiana Jones on Steam and PlayStation 5, Mike Ybarra, former president of Blizzard, voiced his disagreement. Ybarra stated that such a direction is akin to the excuses made by losers (“I think those losing push the narrative that fits for them”) because, in his opinion, consoles will never die.
The former Blizzard executive further emphasized that to dominate the living room gaming space with Xbox, there must be exclusive blockbuster games that excel on both the game itself and the console. A clear example is Sony, who understands the strategic approach required, whether by developing their own games or acquiring exclusive rights. If they were in control of Xbox, they would swiftly commit to this direction as Xbox is currently gaining momentum (blood in the water is all over the place).
Meanwhile, Phil Spencer’s perspective focuses on the necessity of releasing games across all platforms to expand the player base, as well as increasing the presence of Microsoft on consoles. This strategy contributes to the overall growth of the business.
Source: @Qwik via Eurogamer
TLDR: Mike Ybarra disagrees with Phil Spencer’s approach of releasing games on multiple platforms and emphasizes the importance of exclusive hits, citing Sony’s successful strategy. Meanwhile, Spencer focuses on expanding the player base and Microsoft’s presence on consoles through multi-platform releases.
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