COMMENTARY - Phil Spencer’s interview with Kinda Funny was necessary and honest, but the “lessons learned” sound familiar

The right questions.

By Jonathan Garrett
04/05/23

It’s always great to see antidotes to the “hot take factories” like Kotaku or console war hungry channels like them, who thrive on sensationalist clickbait to attract an audience. Redfall having a proper wonky launch has prompted a flood of “Xbox should shut down” and “It’s Starfield or bust” nonsense. Thankfully, Kinda Funny’s recent interview with Phil Spencer was like a soothing balm of integrity; the questions were specific and targeted at the biggest issues that matter, and Phil didn’t hold back.

The honesty is always appreciated, and I can’t think of another video game exec with similar willingness to engage with their community in such a frank manner. The lingering problem; a lot of the learnings and lessons are things we’ve heard before. How many “wonky launches” does it take for Xbox to address the issues around projects being announced too early, unrealistic release dates, or missing / borked features? Here’s looking at you Crackdown 3, Halo Infinite, and now Redfall.

Furthermore, after the draught that was Xbox’s 2022 release schedule, hearing these familiar talking points do little to engender trust in a brand that has struggled to capitalise on its unique selling points. With a first party that is so stacked (on paper), the worlds (supposedly) most powerful console, and a subscription / streaming service that’s best in class in terms of value and accessibility (no argument there, to be fair), Xbox should be dominating. But they aren’t.

Check out Kinda Funny’s fantastic interview here. While I agree with most of Spencer’s sentiments, one aspect doesn’t ring true for me; despite Phil suggesting otherwise, I believe great games can absolutely make the difference on their own. His point refers to the notion that massive titles aren’t enough by themselves to recapture market share or be the only aspect of ones console business strategy. However, you can be as PC friendly and platform agnostic as you want, but I bought a PS5 solely because of Returnal and The Last of Us Part 1. Make of that what you will.