Gaming Bolt today posted an article about Phil Spencer being the “Industry Personality” of the year. And that got me thinking, what does Industry Personality mean and why is Phil Spencer being recognized as it? Will when it says industry I presume it means the “Video Game industry” since Phil Spencer is the head of Xbox. And the Personality part means that someone who really cares about the business that he/she works for and that they strive to make a better image of that business and that business in this case is Video Games. So know we know what “Industry Personality” might mean but why Phil Spencer? To answer that we have to know who Phil Spencer is.
If you are part of the Video Game/Xbox community then you should know who Phil Spencer is. He is the head of Xbox since March of last year and leads Microsoft Studios. He helps produce games, entertainment and premium content experiences for Microsoft’s devices including the Xbox One, Xbox 360, Kinect, Surface, Windows PC and mobile phones. Microsoft Studios has been instrumental in building a community of 76 million Xbox 360 owners and 48 million Xbox LIVE members through blockbuster game franchises such as Halo, Kinect Sports, Fable, Forza Motorsport and more. Spencer and his team led the development of brand new entertainment offerings including a landmark partnership with the NFL and collaborating with industry luminary Steven Spielberg to bring a new Halo live action TV series to life. A 25-year veteran of Microsoft, Spencer has held a variety of technical roles including development lead for Microsoft’s first CD-ROM-based titles including Encarta, development manager for Microsoft Money, and general manager of Microsoft’s online and offline consumer productivity products including Microsoft Works and Microsoft Picture It! Before being named general manager of Microsoft Studios worldwide in 2008, and promoted to corporate vice president in 2009, Spencer served as general manager of Microsoft Game Studios EMEA, working with the European development community. Spencer holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and currently serves on the boards of The First Tee of Greater Seattle and the Entertainment Software Association. He lives in Bellevue, Washington, with his wife and two daughters. In his free time he enjoys snowboarding, playing golf with his family and traveling.
I got this from a bio of his so don’t call me a stalker :p
So now we know a little bit more about Phil Spencer but what has he done this year to deserve the title Industry Personality? Will he is known for making some huge moves such as unbundling the Kinect from the Xbox One console. But he is highly praised in the Xbox community. Not only for saying the right things but for his actions. When Spencer took charge we have seen the Xbox One have a major price drop, aggressive bundles, and a new look for the Xbox One UI. Even In the past few months there have been some huge announcements and changes for Xbox products. Such as Backwards Capability, on the Xbox One, A Xbox Elite controller, an Xbox One controller adapter, and Xbox being more integrated into Windows gaming. And Xbox has released a crap load of games such as Rare Replay, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, Forza Motorsport 6, Halo 5: Guardians, and Ori and the Blind Forest. Phil has also announced highly anticipated games coming to the Xbox One such as Gears of War 4, Rare Replay’s comeback with Sea of Thieves, Halo Wars 2, Quantum Break, Crackdown 3, ReCore, and Scalebound. As you can see that’s a lot of games he has helped produce or make interiorly.
Spencer also made some good moves with third part deals.Rise of the Tomb Raider timed exclusivity deal from last year timed perfectly this year when the game launched for the Xbox One, got great reviews, and then sold many copies in the marketplace; but his other plans this year were far more successful. From a bundle with Fallout 4 (which also came with a free copy of Fallout 3 on the Xbox One) to exclusive merchandize for the Xbox One version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Microsoft also upgraded the Xbox 360’s service to improve their offerings for Xbox Live Games with Gold. Offering players four free full price games for free every month. Earlier this year they announced that the Xbox One would get two free new games every month, and with the onset of the Xbox 360 BC, it would become four, since all Xbox 360 games on Games with Gold would also be made Backwards Compatibly on the Xbox One.
Since then, Microsoft have offered a lot of extremely impressive titles on the service. Such as Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Metro Redux, The Walking Dead, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, and more, Microsoft have been trying hard to get the biggest titles on Xbox for free for Xbox Gold members.
All of this is because Microsoft and Phil Spencer want Xbox to be better for their fans and for the image Xbox provides for the gaming community. Under Phil Spencer, the Xbox One has begun its path to recovery . At first the Xbox One was at a rocky start, now under Phil Spencer Xbox seems intent on making itself a brand that exists primarily to serve gamers first consolidating itself for the long haul.
Large amounts of the details provided in this article is helped by Gaming Bolt