As someone who used to really like Phil, I agree with this. He’s clearly banking on his popularity as a “celebrity” within the gaming community to put a smiling spin on what is a clearly horrible business record.
It's Time To Stop Giving Xbox Boss Phil Spencer A Pass It's Time To Stop Giving Xbox Boss Phil Spencer A Pass (Opinion)
Submitted 6 months ago by Hdcase@beehaw.org to gaming@beehaw.org
https://kotaku.com/xbox-phil-spencer-layoffs-hi-fi-rush-studios-closed-1851461546?
FiniteBanjo@lemmy.today 6 months ago
Idk, Kotaku isn’t exactly a good source for ethics in this industry. They list something that every single large game company does: buy studios, move talent around, close the old studios. They also talk about how he claims to champion preservation and emulation, something we all agree with.
I vote he stays.
scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech 6 months ago
Yeah their head editors just left saying that they were being forced to write lower quality stories and things with agendas. I wouldn’t trust Kotaku much anymore.
Hdcase@beehaw.org 6 months ago
No one’s asking you to trust them.
dsemy@lemm.ee 6 months ago
Not every large game company acts this way. This is also not what he did at all - he didn’t restructure the studios after buying them, he closed them and laid off their employees.
He’s a known liar (just a year ago he claimed Arkane will continue to polish Redfall, now Arkane Austin has closed before giving people DLC they already paid for)
Phil Spencer has been the head of Xbox for a decade, a decade where Xbox consistently got worse. The only smart decision they made this entire time is Game Pass IMO.
FiniteBanjo@lemmy.today 6 months ago
I’d like you to name a large game company that hasn’t done this, I’m not aware of a single one.
Incorrect, employees are being moved to different studios. I’m unaware how many, if any, are being laid off. For example, Roundhouse is being assigned to Zenimax who run Elder Scrolls Online which is admittedly actually a pretty cool game.
A corporate hack who is in touch with what gamers want is still better than some other out of touch corporate shill, as the state of gaming exemplifies every single day. On the subject of Redfall, it’s no surprise that studio got shut down after the incredible failures at launch, they clearly were never qualified to work on the title anyways, and that’s hardly Phil Spencer’s fault.
Why are we quoting each other? I remember the comment before yours. I made it. Idiot.
angstylittlecatboy@reddthat.com 6 months ago
Game Pass is a profoundly stupid decision. It doesn’t make it’s money back and now Xbox users are used to not paying for games. And from a consumer perspective, enshittification always eventually happens with subscriptions.
t3rmit3@beehaw.org 6 months ago
The article didn’t say he needs to go, they said people need to stop treating him as though he is actually on the side of consumers and employees, rather than investors.