Microsoft aimed to incorporate a cloud gaming service with their existing Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership, starting September 2020. Phil Spencer, as CEO of Microsoft Gaming, plays an integral role in executing these visions and continuing to develop the best Xbox games, fostering a culture of inclusivity and. [16], In January 2022, along with Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard,[17] Spencer was promoted to the role of CEO of Microsoft Gaming. One year after the Kinect was announced, Microsoft announced that the Xbox 360 would be getting a major redesign, with a thinner body, upgraded internal specs, additional USB ports, and built-in Wi-Fi. Initially known by its internal development name Scarlett, Microsoft officially unveiled the. Along with being able to connect with friends (and strangers), Xbox Live also made it possible to download new content and take multiplayer interaction to a new level. Spencer, who most recently served as the chief of Microsoft Studios, will now lead that. The systems lineup of exclusive games has been extremely limited, with Microsofts first-party development teams unable to compete with the much larger collection of Sony studios, and many of the Xbox Ones best games were also released on PC. And when I think about our new platform, Microsoft Mesh, which enables you to interact holographically with other people with a true presence in a very natural way, one of the most exciting applications, I think, will be gaming. Related: Fortnite Is Taking Over Twitch (And The World) Xbox boss Phil Spencer announced the company's intentions to sit out the popular Battle Royale wave in response to an inquiry via Twitter.When asked if Microsoft had any plans to focus on a Battle Royale game as a first-party title for the Xbox One, Spencer very clearly denied any plans to do so. Aside from the general nature of driving, racing sims like Forza Motorsport add complexity like vehicle, weather, and even environmental physics depending on the car and terrain that players drive on. Nadella: Thats right. Accessibility is not about competition. The Xbox Series X is a next-generation powerhouse that rivals gaming PCs, while the Xbox Series S is an affordable stopgap for those who are curious about trying new games. The final nail in the consoles coffin was hammered on April 14, 2010, with Xbox Live access eliminated for the original Xbox. I also brought them the perspective that when making this game accessible, the people theyre making this game accessible for may have never played a racing game, or ever driven a car before. The acquisition has considerable ramifications for Xbox and the gaming industry as a whole, but it also heralds a shift internally for Microsoft. In a sign of how gaming has changed at Microsoft under Spencer, he quickly moved into Microsofts senior leadership team in 2017, reporting directly to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella as the corporate vice president of gaming. With his team and game development partners, Spencer continues to push the boundaries of creativity, technical innovation and fun across gaming genres, audiences and . The Kinect arrived on shelves in November of that year. Already, more and more people are creating something new and magical every day. Please enter a valid email and try again. Upgrade your lifestyleDigital Trends helps readers keep tabs on the fast-paced world of tech with all the latest news, fun product reviews, insightful editorials, and one-of-a-kind sneak peeks. Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, wants better game preservation across the industry, per Axios. Since this was such an important conversation, we thought it would be best to share it in its entirety. Some of the best Xbox One games are first-party titles, but you'll find loads of other quality games from the likes of Electronic Arts, Bethesda, and Ubisoft that compose a huge library of games worth playing. Gamereactor UK. I will be hosting a webcast with investors at 6 a.m. PT with Phil and Amy, as well as Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision Blizzard, to share more details on our big ambitions for gaming. The console represents a sizeable boost in power from Xbox One X, with 6DDR6 RAM, 12 TFLOPS of GPU power, an NVMe SSD, and support for 8K resolution. The content is the driving force behind Game Pass growth, which is why Im so excited about our acquisition of ZeniMax, which brings some of the worlds most iconic, beloved games to the service. Even with all of the problems for early adopters of the system, the 360 sold amazingly well. 28 Apr 2023 06:18:01 We continue to build value proposition of Game Pass through building our first-party game studios. Scripps School of Journalism in 2016. Although itd be amazing if we only had to depend on game streaming services instead of PCs and gaming consoles, we havent arrived at this level of innovation quite yet. Not every racer needs the same accommodation, and the team wanted to ensure that everyone could find an appropriate range when using this setting. Fuente. [19], Spencer received the Lifetime Achievement award at the 25th Annual D.I.C.E. Even on top of all that tuning, we still allow the player to offset some of these values just a little bit to account for reaction time, and thats something that maybe theyll tune it lower when they first start while theyre learning the system, and as they get in there and start to recognize it and move faster and the reaction time becomes better, they can start to turn those values up.. The Xbox branch at Microsoft had been without a single, official leader since Don Mattrick, the president of the division, left the company last July to become CEO of Zynga. Microsoft announced that they have more than 100 titles ready to add once xCloud is officially made public. [22], He serves on the boards of the First Tee of Greater Seattle and the Entertainment Software Association. Spencer originally took over as the head of Microsofts Xbox division in 2014, reporting to former Windows chief Terry Myerson. would change course regarding online connection requirements, The best upcoming Xbox Series X games: 2023 and beyond, You cant share Xbox screenshots or videos directly to Twitter anymore, All Xbox One games with mouse and keyboard support, The best Xbox One games to play right now. At E3 2018, Phil Spencer confirmed that he had teams working on creating the next generation of Xbox systems, but unlike in the past, it doesn't appear that there will be one console . Now he wants to reinvent gaming. New York, Nadella announced today that Elop will serve as executive vice president of Microsoft's Devices group once the company's $7.17 billion acquisition of Nokia closes, which is expected to occur by the end of April. However, second place also led to a tremendous amount of innovation from Microsoft. Forza Motorsports new features are not the end of blind/low vision accessibility. Its being used as the backend for more than 5,000 games, so a lot of exciting things that the cloud can enable. Helsley notes finding the right noises took multiple attempts, as several trials werent distinguishable enough from the natural game audio. Regardless of the preferred platform, the creation of Blind Driving Assists is indicative of the growth of blind/low vision accessibility. All eyes are on Microsoft on Tuesday, following the company's announcement that it's moving to acquire Activision Blizzard in a monumental $70 billion deal. Microsofts $30 million purchase of Bungie a short time later made headlines in the game industry, but it was Bungies decision to adaptHaloto make the best use of the new consoles abilities and turn it into a first-person shooter. Alongside audio indicators, Helsley explains that another feature within Blind Driving Assists, the steering guide, took several years of fine-tuning before it was in an entertaining and usable state. From the audio cues to Steering Guide, each individual asset of the Blind Driving Assists needed to go beyond assumptions and cater toward real players. Because Microsoft is becoming so flexible and actively working to keep their customers, theyll likely push the Xbox back to the top of the gaming console list. We also believe that creative success and autonomy go hand-in-hand with treating every person with dignity and respect. Xbox release dates in Japan (February 22, 2002) and Europe (March 14, 2002) soon followed, though the system failed to catch fire in either of the two regions with the same energy that fueled its arrival in North America. Spencers new role officially, Head of Xbox sees him reporting directly to Myerson, who oversees the development teams on Microsofts operating systems (including Windows and Window Phone, in addition to Xbox). Games are a source of joy, inspiration, and social connection. Its been a game changer for me. Gameplay and accessibility producer Neha Chintala, and senior sound designer Todd Helsley explain the challenges behind opening racing games to blind/low vision individuals. Where the vehicle is, when and how to turn, and even how much cars should decelerate are just some examples of information that blind/low vision individuals can receive via audio cue with these features activated. NY 10036. it's moving to acquire Activision Blizzard, Activision Blizzard deal means a lot for Xbox as a whole, Microsoft begins adding Activision Blizzard games to the service, Activision Blizzard in its efforts to develop new metaverse platforms, New Xbox home page shows a simple layout for gorgeous backgrounds, Apex Legends: Arsenal introduces big changes for World's Edge and a new Firing Range, Dell XPS Desktop (8960) review: A monster powerhouse with a minimalist design, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Lightsaber stances explained, Brave Search makes its final split from Bing but keeps Google fallback, Mags delivered straight to your door or device. Phil Spencer, former head of Xbox, will now lead this team as it focuses on gaming across Xbox, PC, mobile, and the cloud. Ahead of Xbox's 20th anniversary, we sat down with him and Microsoft's gaming A-Team to discuss their wildly ambitious future. However, it comes with some extras that might make that price tag sound more reasonable. With Game Pass coming to the browser, the value of the subscription is going to transcend from the console to the PC to mobile, and its great to see the progress. We deeply value individual studio cultures. Digital Trends Media Group may earn a commission when you buy through links on our sites. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. I mean, the cloud and Azure have sort of fundamentally allowed us to truly put people at the center of gaming, enabling them to play the games in high fidelity, as you said, wherever, whenever they want on any device. On Tuesday, Microsoft announced its intention to acquire Activision Blizzard in a landmark move for the company. Despite the marketing teams belief that the abbreviated Xbox name wouldnt fly, the label went over well with focus groups, providing the company with one of the final elements it needed to pull back the curtain on its creation: A catchy name. They need to be considered in the mix. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). Accessibility features for blind/low vision players need to offer as much information as possible for them to be able to play without any form of sighted assistance. In the meantime, we know you will have a lot of questions. Nadella:Thats so well said, Phil. Update, January 18th 10:50AM ET: Article updated with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadellas memo to staff. So it won't be long before mobile catches up to desktop in terms . Nadella: Yeah, absolutely. If you buy something from a Polygon link, Vox Media may earn a commission. While the last-gen Xbox One isn't as powerful as the Xbox Series X, it's still a worthwhile console and has a huge library of great games. Phil Spencer shows that the console war is dumb. . There have been reports of a second, significantly less-powerful machine that will omit a disc drive and be offered at a reduced price. Simultaneously, all of Microsoft's gaming leadership now report directly to Spencer, including Jerret West, CMO of Gaming, and his marketing team. Phil Spencer on the future of Xbox: we still want to take risks with games While developing traditional narrative games is harder than it has ever been, Microsoft's Xbox chief sees an. As technologies advance and as more disabled individuals offer their skills to developers, the design practices and features that disabled people use will eliminate even more unintentional barriers. Microsoft is committed to our journey for inclusion in every aspect of gaming, among both employees and players. That built-in catalog is an extra value on top of all the new games available on the system that take advantage of its impressive technical specs. And now, blind/low vision players can experience a brand-new feature set called Blind Driving Assists a series of audio cues that provide track and vehicle information allowing blind/low vision players to complete races. You also see the power of the cloud when you look at the evolution of some of our first-party games, like Flight Simulator. Phil Spencer has been with Microsoft for a very long time--longer than many of us at GameSpot have been alive. For Turn 10 Studios, not only does Blind Driving Assists open the Forza series to a new group of people, but its creation is also indicative of a growing acknowledgment of often-underrepresented players. Time is running out. Gamereactor uses cookies to ensure that we give you the best browsing experience on our website. Even with the next-generation rumors, sales of the 360 continued to assert Microsofts powerful position in the console gaming industry, and by September 2012 the company announced that it had hit the 70-million mark in units sold, and by December that number had jumped to 75 million. Our oldest currently supported software franchise is in fact our game Microsoft Flight Simulator, which we released three years before the first version of Windows, even. published 29 September 2016. Find Ryan online at: In this role, Spencer is accountable for leading Microsoft's gaming business across all devices and services. Blind/low vision accessibility is still relatively sparse in video games compared to other accessibility options and design practices. Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. Microsoft announced that they have more than 100 titles ready to add once xCloud is officially made public. Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. Theyre creating entire college campuses on Minecraft. You can find Zachary on Twitter @BoddyZachary. The system resembles a PC tower, but can still be placed on its side, and features a large number of vents in order to keep itself cool. Heres how it works. All the latest news, reviews, and guides for Windows and Xbox diehards. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Prior to that, he was the general manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa of what was then known as Microsoft Game Studios. [4] He is currently the head of the Xbox brand and leads the global creative and engineering teams responsible for gaming at Microsoft. The various flaws in these early models forced Microsoft to repair and replace countless systems, and eventually led to an extension of the consoles warranty to account for all of the issues. Spencer, who most recently served as the chief of Microsoft Studios, will now lead that division as well as the entire Xbox business, including Xbox Live, Xbox Music and Xbox Video.
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