TwiztidElf
Gold Member
All the global regulators that green lit the Acti-Blizz acquisition look like absolute circus clowns. More than they already did anyhow.
I’m sure she’s a lovely lady but MS is 100% throwing her under the bus here, she’s the new fall guy/girl and Phil managed to dodge away, she looks crushed, sighing to answer every question. These decisions are likely not coming from her. Maybe Satya has said that they need to find the money, fast, or they will close down the whole gaming division, and everyone who’re in between projects are suddenly potential targets.
They are not even human to me, every life they have fucked up is just a number for then. Dont give then the empathy they lacked to their own employeesLet’s give this ‘poor executives’ stuff a rest, eh?
She’s as fucking guilty for this shit show as Phil.
A lot of you still can’t believe the people at Xbox are the greedy evil fucks doing this.
They are. They are on board with everything that’s happening.
His face time is more effective than his actual role.
You've been hit byAdam are you ok
Are you ok
Are you ok Adam
Okay fine but she’s been the head of Xbox since October, half a year. I just have trouble thinking that she’s already calling the shots on big stuff like this, unless she was put in that position just to literally clean out all the things not raking in enough money.Let’s give this ‘poor executives’ stuff a rest, eh?
She’s as fucking guilty for this shit show as Phil.
A lot of you still can’t believe the people at Xbox are the greedy evil fucks doing this.
They are. They are on board with everything that’s happening.
Where are all the goofballs that were cheering for these “pRo-cONsUMeR” acquisitions lol, you absolute fucking clowns
Where are all the goofballs that were cheering for these “pRo-cONsUMeR” acquisitions lol, you absolute fucking clowns
You sadly are omiting a few details that change the situation pretty drastically. Ghostwire was made with Sony so unless the deal was shit( and I doubt it because Sony and Bethesda made another for Deathloop and could have made another for Starfield if the rumors are true) it payed for itself.The correct answer is that while Hi Fi Rush was good, she thinks Tango wouldn't be sustainable for them to run in the long term.
Ghostwire was a flop, Hi Fi Rush was a commercial flop and it doesn't sell on PS5 either. And Mikami left earlier. They probably can't see Tango producing a hit game for them that offsets the cost of running that studio. Layoffs happen everywhere right now, but this one contradicts the praise Hi Fi Rush got when it arrived on GP, which makes it hard for Sarah Bond to come up with a straight answer.
I think Hi-fi Rush could have been a major breakout success (financially) had it been released on Switch. Such a shame we may never get to see now.You sadly are omiting a few details that change the situation pretty drastically. Ghostwire was made with Sony so unless the deal was shit( and I doubt it because Sony and Bethesda made another for Deathloop and could have made another for Starfield if the rumors are true) it payed for itself.
Hi fi rush had a plan when Xbox got control of the studio. Another exclusivity with Sony, who pushed Deathloop hard and could have done the same with it, and could use it as a showcase for the dualsense? A multiplatform game , that could have launched in PS5, Switch and even maybe the PS4 and Xbox One? A deal to put it on Gamepass/PS + after a few months to a year?
As you can see quite a few options that Xbox did not do, some of them for obvious reasons of course. But whay they did is as much if not more responsible for Hi Fi Rush lack of success as the game itself was.
Killing the studio for self inflicted wounds is not the "correct" answer. Nor for me at least. Do you really believe that Tango can't make a game that can't sell enough to be profitable, even barely? Or did Xbox made the calculus that they needed money now and did not want to wait? They have been clear that they want to focus on big IP, that can have the biggest returns.
With the proper marketing and without gamepass it could have been a success even on Xbox/Pc ... expecting financial success from shadowdropped small games that DONT HAVE TO SELL to be played is ludicrous. Bat shit insane.I think Hi-fi Rush could have been a major breakout success (financially) had it been released on Switch. Such a shame we may never get to see now.
I hate woke politics, but I think we just don't have any real evidence to claim this kind of thing. It's hard to point out any positives are negatives she's brought to the company, or how she climbed up to her current position. I do think she would run things just like Phil if she ever took over, though, so if she's a continuation of that, I'm not excited about it. She's clearly been groomed for the position.I know I risk being banned ... but Sarah Bond is the definition of a diversity hire. Sorry but it is the truth.
Kind of on topic
They got people to hype gamepass up for its Day One 1st party exclusives! What they forgot to mention was those were few and far between so the bullet point adds very little real value.Papa Phil thought that Gamepass would be a success due to amazing, next-gen, totally not niche titles like Pentiment - the GOTY from 2022 to all eternity (that's what green GAF told me).
That game amongst others is totally the reason why people spend 500 Eurodollars for a console - and in this case - the world's most powerful one.
Fucking Phil man, what a good guy, a friend to the gamers all around the world, cause, in the end, when we all play we all win.
Some of his Tweets really come across as being oblivious like the one of poor Phil's feelings after a bunch of people just got fired.I legitimately think Mike doesn’t understand the situation tbh.
Kind of on topic
There were a lot of people cheering it on in this forum. Where are they now? Do they regret licking the corporate boot?All the global regulators that green lit the Acti-Blizz acquisition look like absolute circus clowns. More than they already did anyhow.
Thats fair.. cant argue with your points... but if I had to tick a box and bet my life... I know what box I would check.I hate woke politics, but I think we just don't have any real evidence to claim this kind of thing. It's hard to point out any positives are negatives she's brought to the company, or how she climbed up to her current position. I do think she would run things just like Phil if she ever took over, though, so if she's a continuation of that, I'm not excited about it. She's clearly been groomed for the position.
Kind of on topic
Happy Friday. People have asked me what I think about the Xbox strategy and all this press. Publications have asked me questions about Xbox. I 100% love Xbox and think Xbox can find a path to great success for their teams and players around the world. 100%. 110%!
To answer some questions: Xbox has always been accountable for its business. Even when it was small, or in the red, pressure exists and always will. I see some articles today with anonymous ex-Xbox'ers talking about the Board....I don't see this as "the Board" doing something different. It's not the function of a Board to be operators that dictate to business units and teams what to do day to day. Sure, pressure and stakes are always high and only get higher as you grow. I've never seen Satya dictate something top down - he questions and pushes but empowers his teams. He is a fantastic leader.
The idea of 'the market isn't growing' is a PR excuse. As a team, it's your job to drive your own growth even if the overall market isn't growing at the anticipated rate. I think it's more 'the strategy isn't working as expected'. Which is OK - strategies have to continually shift in a market that moves as fast as gaming does.
I'll say again, this all comes down to making great games. If you make great games, consumer demand will follow and your business can do well even in low market growth years. A great game is a $500M-1B+ profit generator for the business (across platforms). Given the size of Studios, you need to get to a world where a few of the teams are delivering against this at the right cadence (you don't need all your Studios doing big, huge games... and shouldn't as the risk profile is too large). After all, your install base is big right now given where we are in this console generation (and of course big on PC as well) so the opportunity exists for success.
If you aren't making great games then your hardware isn't selling, and your subscription is flatlining .... the clarity of strategy or execution is broken somewhere and needs to be fixed inclusive of ensuring leadership and team capability to drive great game development and growth. They 100% have teams who can make great games. It just isn't consistently happening.
I see two paths here: If your North Star is the Game Pass subscription, you have to take that exclusive to your services and HW and be all in across games, HW, and services in an exclusive 'go big' plan. Pumping regular 90+ rated games into this will drive consumer affinity and satisfaction. That said, it is high risk/high reward and takes a strong desire to win. If you're not willing to do that, then you're on another path: you're a Publisher across all devices and you need to embrace that 100% and be clear (likely means out of HW, I fundamentally believe if you don't have great exclusive content your HW is doomed as people won't understand 'why' they need it.). Being the world's largest publisher of games is a great spot to be in - as long as you can make great games. If you can't, you'll be right back where you started. You have the pick your lane and go hard at it for success, with clear communication to your players. If you play in the middle of these two paths, IMHO you'll hurt your teams and you'll have constant churn and chaos.
It starts and ends with a strong desire to win and making great games that exceed player expectations. That is what is fragile now and needs to be addressed as soon as possible. These are all hard decisions, it's certainly no easy task given where things stand today, and both paths have dramatic implications. But I fundamentally believe in Xbox, its fans, and the opportunity ahead for great HW, services, and games OR as a publisher of games and services across any screen.
I'm cheering for Xbox and it pains me to see all the negative swirl. So for those asking, keep the faith in Xbox but ask for clarity on what the path forward is for the brand and product. Then make your own decision on what is best for you and your valuable time and money.
For those who think I'm one of the people talking to publications anonymously about Xbox, I am not. I was not a founding member of Xbox and I think by now you all know I won't be 'anonymous' if I have something to say .
These are just my opinions. This is the last I will talk about this here on X. It's easy to say what you think when you're not in the trenches living the reality of the challenges. I wish great success for Xbox now and into the future - it's good for gaming overall and I care deeply for Blizzard who is now part of the Xbox team.
He wasn't a yes man kind of guy, him and Phil had disagreements often and Ybarra didn't care if he made people mad to stand his ground (and likely why he isn't employed atm under that umbrella)For people without twitter:
I don't agree with all of it, but I agree with much of it. What I bolded is particularly interesting because it goes directly against what Phil and Sarah have said (in the case of Sarah, as recently as yesterday in that disasterclass of an interview with Bloomberg). I get the feeling that he's willing to take full accountability and do what's necessary to fix things, even if it might mean tough times, whereas the rest of them seem to like making excuses for themselves.
All in all, having read that, it becomes abundantly clear why he ended up leaving (or was let go). He doesn't strike me as a "yes" man.
I hate woke politics, but I think we just don't have any real evidence to claim this kind of thing. It's hard to point out any positives are negatives she's brought to the company, or how she climbed up to her current position.
You know what’s even simpler? Googling her merits. Not as simple as ranting about DEI hires or whatever, I guess.It's very simple. What are her merits? what's her gaming background?
If the answer is none, it's a diversity hire by definition. Her only merit is belonging to a certain demographic group, nothing else.
Xbox diehards are weird. Console warriors in general are too but with Xbox diehards, it's like they still approach the modern era as if the 360 is still a thing and there's some kind of legitimate/interesting console competition.Look at them gleefully smug asses
All they can think about is $1 games
Can I sell you on some Gamespass stock.Xbox diehards are weird. Console warriors in general are too but with Xbox diehards, it's like they still approach the modern era as if the 360 is still a thing and there's some kind of legitimate/interesting console competition.
Xbox is a gadfly. They serve no function outside of antagonizing the industry as a whole, they don't offer anything to the gaming world. It's just so bizarre to me that people rally for them.
I mean shit, I always said that I'd buy a Series X if Tango had some exclusives for it. I would have even bought a Series X if Amped Freestyle Snowboarding had BC compatibility.Can I sell you on some Gamespass stock.
Kind of on topic
After reading Ybarra's statements and opinion, I can only recognize you because those words clearly express the sensations that you have been filtering/pointing out for some time now about the reality of XBOX and also Ybarra's role during the time that has been linked to XBOX in one way or another.He wasn't a yes man kind of guy, him and Phil had disagreements often and Ybarra didn't care if he made people mad to stand his ground (and likely why he isn't employed atm under that umbrella)
What a fucking joke of a comment this is.It's very simple. What are her merits? what's her gaming background?
If the answer is none, it's a diversity hire by definition. Her only merit is belonging to a certain demographic group, nothing else.
Somebody in charge of a gaming brand should have a track record in the core business, otherwise, it's an intruder, either for nepotism or other reasons like diversity.
To be fair. Sitting on boards and graduating from Yale/Harvard kind signals that you're likely incompetent and possibly got a boost in status due to skin color. I don't make the rules, you can base these things on what these ivy league universities say themselves.What a fucking joke of a comment this is.
Have you even looked into her career background and her education other than literally going she's "from a certain demographic group."?
If you did would know her background as an economics major, who under John Legere turned T-mobile in the USA from the joke of the cellphone industry to the position of buying out Sprint, one of the top 3. Did her education not related to building the cellphone directly affect her ability to her job there?
Her gaming background? What the fuck does her gaming background have to do with her job? - She says she plays videogames. Does she need to code the games or manufacture the disc's for her to be viable?
Does your gaming habits have anything to do with your job?
Did you get a degree from clown college to make these kind of joke statements? - Is this your track record?
For the record, based on a quick linkedin lookup, she sits on on several boards for quite some time now, that have to do with entertainment, video games, digital arts and more- several of which aim for the preservation, creation and advocating of these mediums. I think that alone gives her enough of "track record" validity.
Considering all the shit Phil Spencer is getting, and he has only experience working in Microsoft's gaming division means your comment about having a track record means absolutely nothing.
You literally did no research, and went straight to "its because of her being from a demographic" - At least have the balls to say its because she's black or a woman or both. You've said this constantly in other threads - "what do you expect from a diversity hire?"
At least have the conviction in your racist or sexist beliefs with proof without just dropping the "its because of DEI" narrative.
With full disrespect, you cant even back up your statement without waffling on - oh its either nepotism or diversity.
Except she didnt just graduate from harvard and go into these boards, nor did she become President overnight.To be fair. Sitting on boards and graduating from Yale/Harvard kind signals that you're likely incompetent and possibly got a boost in status due to skin color. I don't make the rules, you can base these things on what these ivy league universities say themselves.
Her own words/actions at Xbox show that she has no integrity and is incompetent.
I dunno. I didn't make the DEI rules, nor do I agree with them. All I know is that DEI is a thing and the term 'diversity hire' was invented by companies who said they wanted diversity hires.Except she didnt just graduate from harvard and go into these boards, nor did she become President overnight.
She's worked her way up from entry/analyst roles to where she is. She joined these boards before she was President of Xbox.
For the record: Her position on these boards are as a member- not a BLACK member or FEMALE member. Its just member.
Why cant a POC work/participate in these roles without someone reducing their role as some sort of token participation. Why cant i just say "all those white members are shit" - how has one or two "diversity" additions suddenly the focus when theres issues? I mean by all means - they are just there for show right? why are they ignored in the good times, but blamed on the bad times.
Got damm, that was a textbook bitchslap.What a fucking joke of a comment this is.
Have you even looked into her career background and her education other than literally going she's "from a certain demographic group."?
If you did would know her background as an economics major, who under John Legere turned T-mobile in the USA from the joke of the cellphone industry to the position of buying out Sprint, one of the top 3. Did her education not related to building the cellphone directly affect her ability to her job there?
Her gaming background? What the fuck does her gaming background have to do with her job? - She says she plays videogames. Does she need to code the games or manufacture the disc's for her to be viable?
Does your gaming habits have anything to do with your job?
Did you get a degree from clown college to make these kind of joke statements? - Is this your track record?
For the record, based on a quick linkedin lookup, she sits on on several boards for quite some time now, that have to do with entertainment, video games, digital arts and more- several of which aim for the preservation, creation and advocating of these mediums. I think that alone gives her enough of "track record" validity.
Considering all the shit Phil Spencer is getting, and he has only experience working in Microsoft's gaming division means your comment about having a track record means absolutely nothing.
You literally did no research, and went straight to "its because of her being from a demographic" - At least have the balls to say its because she's black or a woman or both. You've said this constantly in other threads - "what do you expect from a diversity hire?"
At least have the conviction in your racist or sexist beliefs with proof without just dropping the "its because of DEI" narrative. You couldnt even back up your statement without waffling on - oh its either nepotism or diversity.
For a second, lets ignore MS's failings for a second here. Weirdo's like you keep equating success and failure in this industry and more with "DEI". People that play AND make \video games have always come from various backgrounds and cultural experiences. Ignoring these "diverse" people when successfull and scapegoating them in failure isnt the win you think it is- It's weak minded, and if anything it only panders to the other weakminded.
Be Better.
If someone see an exec who is praised for being "the first black Xbox president", and who shows herself to be a complete hypocrite and incompetent, it makes sense for someone to call them a diversity hire. Hell, even MS is all-in with diversity hires. They've made that loud and clear.
Agreed. I was mostly just playing devil's advocate because the guy implied such and such was being racist. I have no desire or intention to get further into that kind of discussion .I'd agree except I thought the same about Phil and he's clearly not a diversity hire. So at this point I just blame MS from the top down and how they run their gaming division.
I’m sure she’s a lovely lady but MS is 100% throwing her under the bus here, she’s the new fall guy/girl and Phil managed to dodge away, she looks crushed, sighing to answer every question. These decisions are likely not coming from her. Maybe Satya has said that they need to find the money, fast, or they will close down the whole gaming division, and everyone who’re in between projects are suddenly potential targets.
Apologies- i was not trying to imply that you were being racist. I was just equating being told someone being member on a board was primarily due to their skin color. I meant to only indicate that her position is simply member- Not POC Member and what not.Agreed. I was mostly just playing devil's advocate because the guy implied such and such was being racist. I have no desire or intention to get further into that kind of discussion .
No ill will whatsoever to the person I was replying to.
What a fucking joke of a comment this is.
Have you even looked into her career background and her education other than literally going she's "from a certain demographic group."?
If you did would know her background as an economics major, who under John Legere turned T-mobile in the USA from the joke of the cellphone industry to the position of buying out Sprint, one of the top 3. Did her education not related to building the cellphone directly affect her ability to her job there?
Her gaming background? What the fuck does her gaming background have to do with her job? - She says she plays videogames. Does she need to code the games or manufacture the disc's for her to be viable?
Does your gaming habits have anything to do with your job?
Did you get a degree from clown college to make these kind of joke statements? - Is this your track record?
For the record, based on a quick linkedin lookup, she sits on on several boards for quite some time now, that have to do with entertainment, video games, digital arts and more- several of which aim for the preservation, creation and advocating of these mediums. I think that alone gives her enough of "track record" validity.
Considering all the shit Phil Spencer is getting, and he has only experience working in Microsoft's gaming division means your comment about having a track record means absolutely nothing.
You literally did no research, and went straight to "its because of her being from a demographic" - At least have the balls to say its because she's black or a woman or both. You've said this constantly in other threads - "what do you expect from a diversity hire?"
At least have the conviction in your racist or sexist beliefs with proof without just dropping the "its because of DEI" narrative. You couldnt even back up your statement without waffling on - oh its either nepotism or diversity.
For a second, lets ignore MS's failings for a second here. Weirdo's like you keep equating success and failure in this industry and more with "DEI". People that play AND make \video games have always come from various backgrounds and cultural experiences. Ignoring these "diverse" people when successfull and scapegoating them in failure isnt the win you think it is- It's weak minded, and if anything it only panders to the other weakminded.
Be Better.
Nooo! I didn't take it at all that you were saying that about me. No worries at all.Apologies- i was not trying to imply that you were being racist. I was just equating being told someone being member on a board was primarily due to their skin color. I meant to only indicate that her position is simply member- Not POC Member and what not.
No ill-will here either.
The irony of hoping a lot of people lose their jobs in a thread about people losing their jobs.We can only hope and pray that Xbox ends the same way as Windows Phone did
That's the gif for that hall of fame retort.