Tag: xbox

Microsoft Is Toast

AdamLeave a comment

Did anyone know that Microsoft literally has their own toasters that they have been selling since like 1998?!?! Nothing like a bit of delicious irony in the morning, huh?!

But yeah, Microsoft isn’t doing so hot these days! From it’s terrible handling of the Xbox brand for the past several years to it’s lackluster support over Windows and their PCs to it’s absurd pricing with their latest RAMs and consoles to going completely balls deep into A.I., it has not been a great time to be a fan of Microsoft! And as if the Xbox starting to dip their toes into the third-party gaming pool with Gears of War and Halo wasn’t bad enough, this latest leadership shake-up might just be the final nail on the coffin!

A few days ago, it has been reported that current CEO and longtime employee of Microsoft, Phil Spencer, has announced his retirement. Mr. Spencer has been working for the company since 1988, joining the Xbox team in 2001 and later gaining significant leadership roles as his tenure with the company grew. He became the general manager of Microsoft Studios in 2008, the leader of Xbox division in 2014, and the CEO of Microsoft gaming in 2022! He was the man tasked into trying to right the wrongs that was caused by previous Microsoft/Xbox executive Phil Spencer after the company’s disastrous launch handling of the Xbox One. And after the results of that aftermath have been mixed at best, he is set to leave Microsoft after nearly four decades.

Another person that is set to leave their role in leadership is current president of Xbox operations, Sarah Bond. Arriving at Microsoft in 2017 and even winning the VentureBeat Visionary Award in 2022, Ms. Bond was thought of as being the clear successor to Mr. Spencer for Xbox gaming divisions after his time with Microsoft has passed. However, that is not meant to be as she is too suspected to resign from her presidential role after nearly a full decade working on Xbox.

Who is expected to replace the two you may ask? Well, the new CEO of Microsoft gaming is expected to be Asha Sharma. And if you don’t know who she is, she is currently the Microsoft’s top executive with AI. Yes, you read that correctly!

A woman that has played a role in the controversial “copilot” features of Microsoft Windows and shoving A.I. “slop” down everyone’s throat with Microsoft’s own products is now about to be the next person up as the CEO of Microsoft gaming. And there’s also Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty that is also being promoted to Chief Content Officer, expecting to work closely with Ms. Sharma as she is believed to have very minimal experience in regards to gaming development.

I don’t think I need to explain any further why these leadership moves seems like a disaster waiting to happen. You are taking the two people that (despite their flaws) have been basically the glue that has been holding Microsoft together for the past 12 years and you are replacing them with folks that champion the “A.I.” bubble features that no one likes and has cost Microsoft billions plus throughout for the past year. That surely seems like the ideal candidates!

And that’s not even going into recent reports that confirms that Phil Spencer’s retirement was not actually planned and Microsoft might have actually fired him in secret. And that because Sarah Bond wasn’t offered the role as oversight of Xbox and Microsoft or massively disagreed with Spencer getting cannoned, she chose to step down herself. That’s TOTALLY a sign that everything is going just fine at Microsoft!

If I’m going to be as fair as I can be, Asha Sharma has been doing everything in her power to say all the “right” things since it’s been announced she’s taking over for Microsoft gaming. She’s been getting into nice and friendly banters with players on Twitter/X on what their favorites games are and what they may want for the Xbox. She even claims she doesn’t want to just turn Xbox games into “A.I. slop”, valuing human creativity when it comes to gaming development! And there’s even been a not-so subtle hint of her intent to commit to gaming exclusives that’s only for the Xbox!

However, if you are being completely honest, can you trust a single thing that Microsoft says or does nowadays? This is a company that has constantly tripped over themselves and have done everything in their power to annihilate their consumers since at least 2013! Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, Activision-Blizzard-King, Former IPs going Third-Party, Windows, CoPilot, OpenAI, etc… Do you really believe after pulling all of that B.S. for nearly the past 15 years that THIS is the leadership shake-up that will help them turn things around after so many years of their brand being tarnished?! I’m pretty sure you know your answer to that question!

As cool as it’s been to make fun of Microsoft and Xbox for the past several years, it really is sad how far they have fallen! I still have great and fond memories of the original Xbox and the Xbox 360, the latter of which might just be my favorite gaming console of all time. I even gave the Xbox One a chance when I got it for Christmas in 2015 since there was still exclusives I wanted to play on it. But once I switched over to my PS4 and PS5, I have not given an Xbox a second thought ever since. And with all that has gone one since the release of Xbox Series S/X, it looks as though I made the right decision.

To be sure, I HOPE I am wrong here and that Microsoft doesn’t turn out to be literal toast with this leadership shake-up. I do hope that Asha Sharma and Matt Booty turn out to be the people that helps save the Xbox brand. I do hope that Microsoft is able to return to form in amazing ways with their next console, giving them the comeback that helped fuel Sony and Nintendo after their previous missteps surrounding the PlayStation 3 and Wii U. But if hope is the only thing you have in this day-and-age, you can expect nothing but disappointment.

Once again, Phil Spencer is set to retire from Microsoft and Sarah Bond is set to step down as President of Xbox. They will be succeeded by Microsoft’s top A.I. executive Asha Sharma and Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty! The transition is expected to come into effect today, February 23rd!

Here’s a full piece on Microsoft Blog about this latest shake-up:

And here’s Greg Miller’s brief mention about how Phil Spencer’s retirement might’ve actually not been planned:

The Console Wars Are Over

AdamLeave a comment

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it’s finally happened! Most of us probably thought this day would never come but it finally has! This week, Microsoft has announced that Halo is coming to the PlayStation 5!

I repeat because this bears repeating: HALO IS COMING TO THE PLAYSTATION 5!

Imagine telling yourself that over 25 years ago, around the time where SEGA was failing in the console business and would eventually be forced to put Sonic on Nintendo consoles! Xbox and Microsoft fans all around the world got to experience just that this week when Microsoft announced Halo: Campaign Evolved, a remake of the campaign for Halo: Combat Evolved, for the PlayStation 5, set to come out in 2026, alongside the PC and Xbox Series S/X!

To say this announcement is big news would be a MASSIVE understatement! This was not only an announcement of a new remake of a beloved classic but this was the announcement that Microsoft has finally thrown in the white flag in the console war!

They have acknowledged that they are no longer serious about convincing others that their console is the best of them all! They have acknowledged they are no longer at the top of the game at what they do in regards to console making! They have acknowledged that their once beloved exclusive IPs such as Halo are better off being shared with their neighbors rather than staying strictly at home where they previously belonged! Above all, they have acknowledged that the console war is now officially over, and both Sony and Nintendo have won!

For those that have been following the gaming world for the past few years, you probably saw this coming from a mile away! It was just last year where Microsoft was considering the idea of moving their well-known IPs and prior exclusive franchises to other consoles in response to the lackluster sales of the Xbox Series S/X! (Something which I did write about and will leave a link for at the end). And for the most part, we are starting to see that in action!

First came Sea of Thieves, which made it’s way onto the PS5 on April 30th, 2024! Next, came Indiana Jones & The Great Circle, which was previously an Xbox exclusive that eventually made it’s way to the PS5 around Spring time of this year! Then, came Gear of Wars: Reloaded, a remaster of 2015’s Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, came to the PS5 in August of this year! And finally, for the final nail on the coffin, Halo, perhaps Xbox’s biggest and most beloved gaming franchise, is set to come out on the PS5 next year!

Not gonna lie, a big part of me is sad about this! The console wars was among the most fun things about pop culture and entertainment throughout the 21st century! It made for a nice distraction for all the political chaos that was going on from around the world, going back and forth on who is delivering the best among video games! Sure, there might’ve been a bit too much name calling and obnoxious fanboy behavior but to most people, it was mostly all tongue-and-cheek and felt it was always encouraging the likes of Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo to deliver the best possible product imaginable for players and gamers all around the world!

However, things have changed! Now, Microsoft more than likely has slammed the door shut on being serious on participating in any future consoles wars! They no longer se themselves as being enough to compete with Sony or even Nintendo! Those two companies have their consoles, exclusives, and overall brand pretty much logged in for the foreseeable future with no momentum slowing them down! Sure, they might’ve made their mistakes in the past with the likes of the disastrous handlings of the PlayStation 3 (at least at launch) and the Wii U but they were at least able to bounce back from those missteps and come back stronger than ever with the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch! It doesn’t seem like Microsoft will be able to have that kind of redemption arc in the near future!

And you know what, they literally have NO ONE to blame but THEMSELVES! Everyone has been calling our their bulls**t ever since the Xbox One reveal back in May of 2013! And not only did they not improve from their mistakes of that but they basically doubled down on it! From confusing console titles to severe lack of exclusives to absurd prices to the killing of physical media to the focus on anything but the actual gaming experience, Microsoft brought down the downfall of the Xbox on themselves! Despite having over the past 12+ years of getting a chance at redeeming themselves, they have only dig themselves further and further down! And it’s now gotten to the point where they have no choice but to share their exclusives onto other consoles for the foreseeable future!

While Microsoft has gotten on record in saying that they are in preparation for their next gaming console, I don’t think anybody will ever take them seriously as being a legit threat to Sony and Nintendo ever again! Unless they are able to complete the biggest comeback arc in the history of gaming with their next console (assuming that even gets made), the days of Microsoft being an absolute dominate force in gaming and entertainment are long gone! So much so that they shouldn’t even bother with a new console because that will likely do even worse numbers than the DreamCast, especially if the rumors of it being over a thousand dollars is true!

Once again, Halo: Campaign Evolved, a remaster of the campaign of the original Xbox exclusive, Halo: Combat Evolved, will be coming to the PlayStation 5 in 2026, alongside the PC and Xbox Series S/X!

The console war is officially over!

RIP Xbox (2001-2025)

Also, Microsoft, if you are seriously considering shipping your prior exclusives onto other consoles, would you be willing to get together with another certain gaming studio that once partnered with you but are now with Sony for a remaster of a certain gem of game from over a decade ago?!

*Hinty hint hint*

PLEASE MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Is Microsoft About To Become The Next Sega?

Adam1 Comment

This week, it has been reported that Microsoft is considering bringing most of their exclusive IPs and upcoming games to PlayStation. These games include Starfield, Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, the Gears of War franchise, and Indiana Jones & The Great Circle. This was all reported by Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb, an insider within the gaming industry. While this is all not 100% guaranteed, it is certainly being considered by Microsoft.

To see this many prior exclusive games and franchises from Microsoft consoles such as Xbox Series X and PC potentially going to their main competition of Sony and their PlayStation 5 is quite mind boggling to here. While it’s far from the first time that a previously exclusive game off Microsoft consoles would make it’s way to Sony consoles (Just look at, Rise of the Tomb Raider!), to have a big portion of Microsoft biggest IPs and franchises working it’s way to their main competitor is certainly a sign that things could be changing drastically for Microsoft and for gaming. So much so, that it’s starting to make folks wonder whether Microsoft’s days in console wars are being numbered and shall soon fall into the footsteps with the likes of Sega, abandoning console making and going full-third party with their games.

In case one doesn’t know, Sega at one point in time did in fact develop consoles of their own. This included the likes of the Sega Genesis, Sega Saturn, Sega CD, Sega Dreamcast, and many others. However, in the 2000s, due to not selling enough consoles and facing potential bankruptcy, Sega had no choice but to stop developing consoles and sell software onto the consoles of their previous rivals. With the Dreamcast failing to compete with the original PlayStation, Xbox, and the GameCube, the days of Sega consoles were no more and would eventually see the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends on every other console known to man for the foreseeable future. While this is likely won’t be as sudden as the way Sega dropped out of the console war, one has to wonder whether Microsoft is destined for a similar fate. The main difference being that this has been in the making for quite a while, a making that is the textbook example of death by a thousand paper cuts.

I plan to make a separate piece about this in the future but Microsoft has had a hard time keeping up with Sony and even Nintendo for quite some time now. This largely goes back to their reveal of their eighth generation console, the Xbox One, back in May 2013. The Xbox One was promised to be more than just an evolution in gaming but evolution of entertainment medium in general. Microsoft marketed their console as an “all-in-one entertainment system”, which was the reason it was called Xbox One. Unfortunately for Microsoft, the concept of the console itself involved a lot of controversy.

From the overreliance of television features to the required online connections to the lack of backwards capabilities to the potential erasure of physical media to barely any focus on their upcoming exclusives/IPs, it was about the worst possible reveal for a new console imaginable. Things got even worse when E3 came around and Sony promised the PlayStation 4 would be the exact opposite of everything that Microsoft was trying to force onto gamers. It would put the major focus on gaming, online services weren’t required, backwards capabilities would still be a thing, physical media still had a major presence, and there would be plenty of exclusives/IPs made strictly for that system.As if all of that weren’t bad enough, a little salt in the wound was added when previous Microsoft CEO Don Mattrick responded to the criticisms of required internet by telling those who didn’t have internet to just get an Xbox 360.

Despite having all the momentum in the world heading into the eight generation with coming high off of the Xbox 360, Microsoft fumbled the ball big time when it came to trying to sell the Xbox One. Sony was basically handed the eighth generation console war on a silver platter and made for the best use of it. They were able to steamroll the Xbox One and made way for the PlayStation 4 being one of the most successful gaming systems of all time. Microsoft found themselves passed by Sony during the mid to late 2010s and eventually Nintendo once the Switch became a thing. The mistakes that Microsoft made for the Xbox One before and after it’s release was simply baffling. So much so that one could argue that they are still paying for it to this day.

Even if the way Microsoft handled the build up to their next console, Xbox Series S/X, wasn’t nearly as bad as the way that they handled the Xbox One, some of their biggest fatal flaws from that console would eventually carry over. From still too much focus on other entertainment assets such as televisions and music to not enough intriguing exclusives or IPs to doing jack s*it with the exclusives and IPs from companies that they actually bought to it’s confusing as hell console titles, unable to tell the difference between which is which, the Xbox Series S/X was not the answer they were looking for, following their humiliating defeat in the eight generation. To this day, I still am confused on what the Xbox Series is even to suppose to be. And when I’m confused about something that should be so simple, then that must mean the majority of the human population would feel the same way.

Because of all of the mistakes I’ve mentioned and more, one can’t wonder if what’s happening with Microsoft right now could be something that has been nearly a decade in the making. The aftermath of a disastrous console reveal, the constant focus on everything except the actual games themselves, the lack of self awareness with the consumers they are suppose to cater to. It’s now all beginning to crashing down hard on Microsoft. Over ten plus years of bad company decisions and focusing on the wrong things had led to this moment. The moment where Microsoft waves the white flag to Sony and Nintendo and will now find themselves joining alongside SEGA and others where they will only deliver software to consumers and no longer hardware.

Regardless of what the future holds for Microsoft and the Xbox, things are not looking too bright right now for them. According to Microsoft CEO Phil Spencer, the company will share details about what their future awaits them sometime next week. It’s only then will we know exactly where Microsoft head is truly at and if it’s heading in the direction we all think it’s going. And if it is, then I would be lying if I said I didn’t see it coming. And Microsoft has no else to blame but themselves for letting it happen.

Another link with more detail from Jeff Grubb himself: