Even with the PlayStation 4 leading new-gen console sales by a wide margin, thanks in part to its strong start this fiscal year, Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox, told Eurogamer that his team doesn’t make decisions based on how well Sony is doing.
First asked how they’re going to catch up to Sony, Spencer said, “Honestly, I think it’s about growing Xbox. Sony’s had great success with PlayStation, they’ve earned that success over multiple decades of building a great product.” Adding that Microsoft has more work to do in central and southern Europe, he then answered whether or not he thinks the Xbox One can catch up to the PS4 in the next year or two:
I honestly don’t goal the team on how many units Sony sells. I think about what we’re going to do, and how many Xbox customers we have across 360, Xbox One and Windows – thinking about the combined community of people on Xbox and playing those games, and that number’s never been bigger.
He knows there are ways to sell consoles by “losing more money on hardware and building an unnatural business construct that I’d never want to do,” but he also knows that it doesn’t make sense to “sacrifice the long term for any short term gain.”
After saying the Rise of the Tomb Raider exclusivity deal was “no doubt” worth the money, Spencer talked a bit about virtual reality and how it isn’t coming to Xbox One:
I like the fact that the industry’s innovating with VR – and I include Morpheus in that, I applaud Sony for the work they’re doing. Where we are in the adoption of VR, Windows is just a better platform.
In the long-term, Spencer says they’ll let consumers choose when it comes to VR on Xbox One.
[Source: Eurogamer]
