Phil Spencer wrote that the scale of the Xbox’s success cannot be measured by its sales figures alone.
Xbox chief executive Phil Spencer has clarified that a gaming company’s success shouldn’t be measured solely by sales numbers of consoles, and he specifically noted the much-discussed guideline.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer made it clear again that Xbox’s success cannot be measured solely by the number of consoles it sells. He points out that Xbox’s business plan isn’t just about the number of consoles sold, which became very clear during the Xbox One era in 2016.
At that time, Microsoft announced the Play Anywhere initiative, allowing gamers to play on either platform by purchasing a single digital installation on PC or Xbox.
The question on many people’s minds was how Microsoft could stay competitive in the gaming hardware market if it was not necessary to buy a console to play Xbox. With the PS5 sales figures exceeding those of the Xbox series consoles, the point was presented as a benchmark that Sony’s gaming ecosystem is as famous and successful as Microsoft’s.
However, during Gamescom 2023, Phil Spencer revealed in several interviews that he has big plans for Xbox. He also said that the measure of success for him is how many people are playing and how much they are playing. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Xbox reported improved sales as well as a record number of monthly active users and a 22% increase in hours played through Xbox Game Pass.
He also pointed out that it was not important what platform the players played on, but rather emphasized that gamers love to spend time in the Xbox ecosystem.
The upcoming Starfield RPG will be made a part of Xbox Play Anywhere, indicating that they have furthered the larger plans of Xbox as a brand.
Sony is also recognizing the importance of building a gaming ecosystem that isn’t limited to just one or two consoles and endures across generations.
Their PlayStation Portal Handheld is trending again in the portable gaming market and, in recent years, has also made moves to PC. The PS3, PS4, and PS5 have a Remote Play feature similar to Xbox’s Play Anywhere that allows players to broadcast game audio and video to another device. It was previously limited to the PSP and PS Vita but is now available on Android devices and PCs as well.