Xbox Boss Talks About the “Worst Game-Choice Decisions” He Has Made, Including Passing on Guitar Hero and Destiny

As a seasoned gamer and Xbox enthusiast with decades of gaming experiences under my belt, I can empathize with Phil Spencer’s confessions. His admission of passing on games like Destiny and Guitar Hero is relatable to many of us who have at times doubted the potential of innovative gaming ideas that later turned out to be massive successes.


During an interview at PAX West, Xbox leader Phil Spencer acknowledged some regrettable choices he’s made regarding game selection for Xbox, as reported by Eurogamer. Notably, Destiny – a game developed by the studio known for its work on Microsoft’s iconic gaming series Halo – was one of the games Spencer cited in his discussion

As a gamer, I’ll confess that when the original Destiny dropped, I struggled to grasp its gameplay. It wasn’t until the launch of House of Wolves, the first expansion, that things finally fell into place for me

Spencer elaborated by saying, “I’ve shared some of the most questionable game choices… For example, when a team proposed creating plastic guitars that could be plugged into consoles for playing Simon Says-like games. I was skeptical, thinking, ‘Is this something we truly believe will succeed?'”

In the narrative, Spencer chuckled at the fact that Guitar Hero, which became quite popular when it debuted on PlayStation 2, had been a hit. Subsequently, he shared his philosophy of not dwelling on past errors and not regretting the choices he made

He mentioned, “I don’t dwell on regrets, which might be a shortcoming of mine. However, there have been numerous occasions where I chose not to participate in games. Instead of looking back with ‘if only’ thoughts, I prefer to focus on the future and maintain a positive outlook about our ongoing endeavors.”

This year, Spencer discussed the tough choices to close a few of Microsoft’s original game studios, such as Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks, which were deemed necessary for long-term business success. These studios were recognized for producing hit games like Prey, Hi-Fi Rush, and The Evil Within series

In June, Spencer too showed enthusiasm for making more Xbox games available on other systems, considering the triumph of cross-platform launches like those of Sea of Thieves and Hi-Fi Rush

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2024-09-04 22:43