New Xbox boss makes bold promise.
He went from Microsoft Studios lead to Xbox’s new president, Phil Spencer will lead this new generation of Xbox and has already come out of the gate running. Announced this past Monday, Spencer has already promised the “best content lineup at E3 2014”. Brazen words coming from the man who previously championed Xbox One’s media-savvy virtues. This new position affirms his commitment to using software as a means of closing the gap with their competition from Sony’s PlayStation 4.
One of the first mandates of Microsoft’s new structure is a tighter loop between the console division, Xbox live, music, video, and gaming studios. This new philosophy would cut unnecessary production time between developers and peripheral divisions in the company. As for what we’ll see come this June; Spencer isn’t quite ready to talk about that but we already know Quantum Break, a new Halo, and a Gears of War are all in Microsoft’s future.
What could the Xbox One surprise us with at the show? We’re certain to hear more about cloud computing for Xbox One. Currently gamers are seeing a bit of that technology at work in the latest killer app for the system, Titanfall. The power of cloud computing has yet to truly manifest in gaming, but Microsoft could get out of the gate with Watch Dogs updates and a follow up to Titanfall fully utilizing the feature. There’s also the partnerships Microsoft has with developers like Sega. While the publisher did lose the Shenmue rights in North America, it’s not farfetched to see those rights come to Microsoft. Could we finally get a Shenmue 3? With Microsoft needing more exclusive content to close the gap, it seems highly likely. While Capcom is releasing a new IP on Sony’s platform, Xbox did get the new Dead Rising sequel. One thing Microsoft does better than Sony is push sequels from reluctant developers and publishers. E3 2014 could bring us a new Dino Crisis or Onimusha for the Xbox One.
Regardless of what Microsoft has planned for the show, they’ve already demonstrated they’re willing to change coaches mid game if it means victory. While the Xbox One launch was a successful PR campaign that overcame many pre release criticisms, the team is not where they’d like to be in terms of market. A showing that delivers on the promise of the strongest lineup would erase last years stumbles and bring Bill Gates house one step closer to regaining the lead in the console war.