Since Microsoft took Activision-Blizzard under its wing, along with a host of development studios, it has secured its position as the biggest third-party game publisher ever. Recently, a few remarks made by Xbox chief Phil Spencer during an interview with Gamertag Radio stirred the waters. He hinted that Xbox games might soon find their way to other platforms, like Nintendo and PlayStation. These thoughts, while causing a stir, actually make a lot of sense.
In the interview on Danny Peña’s Podcast on YouTube, Phil Spencer expressed his wish for games and services offered by Xbox to be accessible on as many devices as possible. Despite his affection for the unique experience their platform and hardware provide, Spencer is eager to broaden horizons. This 26-minute conversation goes beyond just the future of Xbox. It delves into cherished memories of Xbox’s history, including fond nods to the original Xbox and Xbox 360 eras.
To grasp why Spencer’s comments are sparking debate, a quick history lesson might help. Remember Sonic the Hedgehog? Before he was a movie icon, he was famous in video games. Those games were once the pride of Sega consoles, never stepping out of that exclusive boundary until Sonic Adventure 2 hit the GameCube. Dreamcast was Sega’s last home console, but it couldn’t compete with the much stronger PlayStation 2 from Sony. This defeat led Sega to shift to a third-party developer role, a spot quickly filled by Microsoft’s Xbox.
Looking back, the “DirectX Box,” which would later evolve into the first Xbox, initially had a backward compatibility feature with Sega Dreamcast games (thanks to Dreamcast’s support of Windows CE). Although this feature was not retained in the final design, some sequels from the Dreamcast era, like Jet Set Radio Future, were launched exclusively for Xbox.
At first glance, Spencer’s comments might seem reminiscent of a struggling console maker’s last cries. However, Microsoft, as a whole, is anything but a faltering entity. With Xbox now standing as the largest third-party game publisher, the strategy has shifted. The aim is more about letting as many people as possible play their games rather than just drawing them to Xbox consoles.
“We want everyone to have the chance to play on Xbox,” Spencer notes. He mentions the increasing number of games likely to appear on platforms beyond just PlayStation, highlighting the ongoing collaborations with Nintendo and Valve on Steam.
Is Xbox headed down the same path as Sega? Not in the slightest—Microsoft’s deep pockets assure that. Nonetheless, the upcoming Xbox systems will need to bring substantial offerings. They have to lure users based on hardware capabilities amidst the anticipated hybrid appeal of the “Switch 3” and undoubtedly stronger PlayStation 6, each promising exclusive titles as is customary in the console realm.
Yet, if Microsoft isn’t cautious about framing Xbox not just as a hardware platform but as an amalgamation of games and services, they might face an ironic twist where, “When everybody’s on Xbox, no one will be.”
