Phil Spencer is best choice to lead Xbox “by a f***ing million miles,” dev says

Start / News / Phil Spencer is best choice to lead Xbox “by a f***ing million miles,” dev says

May 28, 2014

Microsoft made the right, if not belated, decision of appointing 20-year company veteran Phil Spencer to the position of Head of Xbox earlier this year, according to Capybara Games (Super Time Force, Below) president Nathan Vella. Speaking with GamesIndustry International, Vella sung Spencer's praises through and through.

"Phil is the best case scenario for Xbox, by a f***ing million miles," Vella said. "To me it's inconceivable that he wasn't doing it before. I have a lot of respect for the guy and he's been a huge supporter of the studio."

Part of the reason why Vella, and gamers alike, seem to like Spencer so much is because he is known for his considerably candid comments and for his willingness to interact with fans on Twitter.

"He's a guy who will actually listen to people who tweet at him or message him on Xbox Live," Vella said. "He'll actually read it, and that's not that normal. But now it is normal for both Microsoft and Sony. And I think that's very interesting. That's them working in the present, living in the time we're working in. And I think that's going to be nothing but positive for both platforms... Both platforms have done way better than anybody expected. Part of that reason is because people are excited about new games, but the other part of it is that there are reasons for them to be excited. There are things they asked for that are in there, changes that got made when they asked them to be made."

Vella also said he was happy to see Microsoft recently announce a $100 price cut for the Xbox One.

"Anything that gets more people playing Xbox One is great," he said. "There's a lot of power in the hands of players. And in some cases, you've got to listen to what they want. Even if you're only listening to the most vocal 20 percent or whatever, that's still a huge audience of people. And those people wanted a Kinect-less Xbox One."

The $399 Kinect-free Xbox One launches June 9--the same day as Microsoft's E3 2014 press conference in Los Angeles. Microsoft promises that its showing there will be all about games.