Phil Spencer and Xbox

 What is in an apology?

Phil Spencer has been the image of the trendy game icon for years now, perhaps even decades. We've seen his picture up next to the big sign of Microsoft and unlike many stuffy suited CEO's; I think most of us can actually identify with the man and see- yeah, this is a guy who actually cares about and plays games. It's just a shame then, that he is also a CEO doomed to be in charge of a company that absolute cannot turn it's fortunes around to be a force to be reckoned within the gaming market. They don't have the exclusive dedication of Nintendo, nor the catalogue of S-tier exclusives like PlayStation- and though Xbox has been trying so very long it's hard to objectively look at the pedigree of current Xbox and pretend it bodes well for the coming future. In fact, that would probably be considered a straight-up delusional prospective to maintain, and for good reason.

Of course this came to a head once again with the release of one of the most hyped-up Xbox exclusive of the past few years, a game that was being developed by a studio that Xbox just brought abroad as a follow-up to a Playstation exclusive they had just made which critics called 'a masterpiece'. Arkane has a pedigree that other developers can only dream about- know for quality management, sophisticated game design and a marriage to the greater tenements of the immersive sim genre- they've single handedly affected the action adventure genre with the quality of their games in the past and will undoubtedly do so again in the coming future- as soon as they're out of the rut that Redfall dropped them into. I don't think there's a single person out there that saw potential in that game being anything worth even thinking about prior to release, but after- damn...

Redfall is going to be a become for generic development at a AAA level, a damning indictment of the lack of creative ingenuity input from a core level, seemingly tell-tale hallmarks of a rushed development and warped sense of direction and a spit in the face to everyone foolish enough to slap down £70 for the game. That's right, it was one of those 'above market price' games. (Just stick it on the pile next to 'The Last of Us: Part 1' and 'Babylon's Fall') for reasons why that pricing model shouldn't even exist. It's gameplay is generic for the most part, whilst also quietly below the standard of equivalent first person shooters; its world is barren and designed without any understanding of the flow of open worlds, (after Dead Island 2's recent release, I'm starting to wonder if open world design is becoming something of a lost art) and the execution and presentation of the game is simply amateurish even when compared to Arkane's previous works! This is the first Arkane game to substitute stills in place of full-motion cutscenes- redflags abound!

But that hasn't been the only blow that the Xbox ecosystem has received. Additional to that is the apparent British blocking of the Activision/Blizzard merger with Xbox- something which I'll bet Microsoft has already filed away as a 'done deal' before our courts got their snouts involved. (We don't do anything about actual lootboxes but we jump on this merger deal? Way to have the public priority down, Britain!) Perhaps the one move that could really have thrust Xbox into lockstep with where Playstation currently is, probably the key-most reason why Sony launched themselves to try and prevent the deal, killed off by clueless Brits that hear the word 'monopoly' and perform kneejerk reactions instead of basic revision. I'm not a fan of corporate consolidation, but Activision needs to be reigned in- for god's sake!

Oh, and now there's another Xbox exclusive which was heavily advertised but is now being roundly panned by critics; although admittedly 'Ravenlok' isn't quite as high profile in comparison. Itself meant to simply be a stylish indie-style action adventure game with a Souls-like feel to the trailer, no one was expecting the world to be set on fire by Ravenlok, but I think there was an assumption for something different and unique. Whilst I haven't had the pleasure for myself, early reviews have hardly been glowing, calling the game somewhat bland and lacking that revolutionary spark of ingenuity. It's such as shame too, considering how gorgeous that 3D pop-out book voxel art style came out- you just assume creative visuals means creative game these days but I guess that's not always the case now, is it?

All and all, it's not looking particularly fruitful for the Xbox ecosystem. What's their next big exclusive? Starfield? The next attempt by Bethesda to convince the world that they haven't lost their creative spark completely? And aren't they the one's who published Redfall in that utter state? Yeah... it's really getting hard to believe in the spirit of Xbox these days. Don't get me wrong, I want to believe in Bethesda and I'm going to be playing Starfield the moment that it launches... but what else does Xbox have to match up to Playstation's 'God of War' or 'The Last of Us' or 'Ghost of Tsushima'? Pff... 'Perfect Dark'? Is that game still even being made? What can our CEO in chief say to douse the flames of derision spawning around him?

Phil Spencer was surprisingly forthcoming on his thoughts about the struggles facing Xbox right now. He apologised, claiming the fault was on him for not doing something about the Redfall situation before launch. Not really sure what he could have done, mind you; he himself noted that extra time for polish wouldn't have achieved much- but accepting some responsibility for the quality standards of your platform dropping off a cliff is a good start at the very least. Of course, he also reaffirmed the dedication of the studio to commit to supporting Redfall for as long as possible, which is just the worst possible way to handle this situation. Redfall isn't a diamond in the rough. It's not a situation of a 'near success' that collapsed into a failure. It's a miserable, mediocre mess. There's not a pot of gold at the end of the deluge of faeces and disappointment- just more disappointment. Why can't these companies ever know when it's time to just drop the game?

Once again Xbox has another false start to it's race and with all due respect for a company as venerated and special as theirs, it's nearing a hopeless state of being. Murmurs have drawn the rather dire conclusion that Phil Spencer needs to go and whilst I'm not really one for corporate punishment of such a degree for a man who doesn't himself seem to be the problem- it's clear that something about the Xbox family is rotten and he has been the common denominator in the past few years. The Bethesda purchase was a good move and Obsidian make for great bed mates, but someone even in 2023 all we have are the promises of in-house studios with apparently fruitful pedigrees behind them- nothing exists for the here and now.