In 20 years of market presence and four generations of consoles marketed, the Xbox brand has inevitably left its mark on the world of video games. Obviously, each individual’s experiences and tastes mean that opinions about the impact Xbox has on video games are not necessarily the same. But what does the Xbox Big Boss say on the subject? He recently answered this question.
Phil Spencer recently spoke about what he thinks is Xbox’s long-term impact on video games. The head of video games at Microsoft was asked about this by the English magazine Edge. According to website VGC repeated Phil Spencer’s words in this interview. And according to the Xbox boss, Xbox Live is one of the best examples of what his company has brought into video games.
Building the network on the first Xbox and making all Xbox 360s compatible with it blew up online console gaming. Whether you play online or not, it’s hard to deny the impact Xbox Live has had on console gaming. Microsoft’s network has made a major contribution to the democratization of online gaming. And his system was clearly emulated by other console manufacturers.
For Phil Spencer, Xbox isn’t just consoles
Aside from Xbox Live, Phil Spencer touched on another Xbox product that he says has had a profound impact on gaming. That product is Kinect. Phil Spencer doesn’t mean here that the impact of Kinect was to democratize motion gaming. Internally, Phil Spencer explains that the Kinect opened the eyes of the Xbox team.
The sensor actually showed him on titles like Kinect Sports that the game on Xbox could be anything but adult and / or violent games. Most importantly, Kinect pioneered Xbox’s accessibility work. Phil Spencer says he received grateful messages from parents whose children couldn’t play before the Kinect. This set Xbox on the path it has taken since:
When I think back on the work we’ve done on accessibility, be it the Adaptive Controller or the software we offer, I think a straight line can be drawn from Kinect. It’s not about the device itself, it’s about what a gaming platform can mean for more people. It is a journey that we always take part in.
Kinect the unloved?
The Xbox 360 Kinect was a huge commercial success with approximately 35 million copies sold. However, the playful qualities of many titles that the Kinect exploit are questionable. So was the decision to force early Xbox One buyers to get a Kinect too. But if the Kinect of the 360 was indeed the starting point of Microsoft’s work on accessibility, it’s hard to get Phil Spencer to lie.
As gamers know, the Xbox Series X is | S not compatible with the Xbox One Kinect. However, the technology behind the sensor is still used by various companies. As we informed you last October, the British operator Sky actually announced its own television recently. The latter will be running a new version of the Kinect next year. And among the uses of this camera will be video games.
What do you think of these statements from Phil Spencer? Do you share his thoughts on Xbox’s impact on video games? In what other important ways do you think the Xbox brand has influenced video games? Tell us all about it in the comments below.
