Former Xbox, Sega and Electronic Arts executive Peter Moore believes that “serious questions” are being asked about the future of console generations.
21.02.2024 - 13:33 / eurogamer.net / Phil Spencer / Stephen Totilo
Xbox boss Phil Spencer has addressed lingering questions around the company stance on physical media following last year's leaks of an «adorably all-digital» Xbox Series X refresh, saying Microsoft continues to be «supportive» of the medium, and insisting «getting rid of physical, that's not a strategic thing for us.»
An all-digital (and distinctly cylindrical) new Xbox Series X design first surfaced as part of a mammoth leak of official Microsoft documentation during last year's court battle with the FTC over its Activision Blizzard acquisition plans. However, when Spencer later acknowledged the leak, he called its contents «old emails and documents», insisting that «so much has changed».
But still, the possibility of an all-digital new Xbox has continued to loom, whether that be a mid-cycle refresh or a future console, particularly following news of major layoffs acoss Microsoft's games retail teams. And Spencer has now shed a little more light on Microsoft's perspective on physical media as part of an interview for journalist Stephen Totilo's Game File.
To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings Newscast: What did we think of Microsoft's multiplatform Xbox soft launch?Watch on YouTube«We are supportive of physical media,» Spencer told Totilo, «but we don't have a need to drive that disproportionate to customer demand». Elaborating more plainly, Spencer continued, «We ship games physically and digitally, and we're really just following what the customers are doing. And I think our job in running Xbox is to deliver on the things that a majority of the customers want. And right now, a majority of our customers are buying games digitally.»
The implication then would seem to be that an all-digital future for Xbox is perhaps inevitable, if not necessarily imminent. Spencer observed that «fewer suppliers and fewer buyers» for disc drives means «the cost of the drive does have an impact», since gaming consoles have «kind of become the last consumer electronic device that has a drive».
But for now, it doesn't look like Xbox has immediate plans to drop support for physical media. «I will say our strategy does not hinge on people moving all-digital,» Spencer concluded, «and getting rid of physical, that's not a strategic thing for us.»
Spencer's conversation with Game File follows last week's confirmation Microsoft is — as heavily rumoured — planning to release four previously Xbox-exclusives first-party games across PlayStation 5 and Switch. Microsoft hasn't yet formally announced what those games will be, but reports currently point to Sea of Thieves, Grounded, Hi-Fi Rush, and Pentiment.
Former Xbox, Sega and Electronic Arts executive Peter Moore believes that “serious questions” are being asked about the future of console generations.
Microsoft is likely debating the future of Xbox consoles, as the market is rapidly changing, making launching new hardware more difficult and expensive, according to Xbox and EA's former boss.
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Last year, an all-digital Xbox Series X leaked via FTC court documents, which many fans worried was another hint towards an all-digital future. It's a concerning precedent because the Xbox 360 digital storefront is shutting down in July, meaning that physical media is the only way to get games for the platform going forward. If something similar happened to an all-digital generation down the line, it'd be a huge blow to preservation.
Xbox head Phil Spencer has clarified that Microsoft will continue to support physical media.
Microsoft Gaming’s Phil Spencer has indicated a change in strategy for the company.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has confirmed that Xbox will not be moving away from physical media anytime soon, despite the market trending towards digital purchases.
Even with its continued push for Game Pass, Xbox has no intention of fully abandoning disc-based games, according to Microsoft Gaming boss Phil Spencer.
Microsoft‘s head of gaming has claimed that getting rid of physical media isn’t a strategic goal for Xbox, but its support for disc-based games appears far from unwavering.
In case you missed it, Xbox's top dogs set live a podcast yesterday, publicly announcing the company's long-rumoured intention to bring a selection of first-party games to rival consoles. After so much noise around the subject, it hardly came as a surprise, but it's still a noteworthy shift in how the platform holder will handle its in-house titles going forward. While the messaging was kept fairly vague, we can get a touch more context from a company memo, sent from Phil Spencer to staff before the podcast's debut. It's now available to read in its entirety online.
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Many people are still trying to process everything that happened during Xbox’s “Business Update” that transpired yesterday. This is because the whole presentation read as nothing more than “this could’ve been an email,” as nothing truly significant was revealed. The only “big pieces of news” were that Microsoft would bring four titles that had been out for a while to other platforms and that Microsoft was already working on their next-gen console to follow the Xbox Series X/S. But now, a separate interview from Xbox’s Phil Spencer has further shed light on what he feels is “best for business” from both Xbox and beyond…and it’s really telling.