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Microsoft's Phil Spencer not ready to embrace 3D tech yet
If you're hoping for Microsoft's first-party efforts to follow Sony in championing 3D gaming, it sounds like you could be in for a long wait. As Microsoft Games Studio VP Phil Spencer recently told CNN, "we're trying to do things that millions of people can go enjoy today and for better or for worse, people just don't really have TVs in their house right now that are going to do 3D in a way that's going to work." Spencer was, of course, taking a not-so-subtle jab at Sony's big first-party push for glasses-based 3D technology, but it's also a good indicator that Microsoft isn't in a rush to enter the space as it stands today. In fact, Spencer says even though he hasn't seen it in person, he likes Nintendo's 3DS because it doesn't require glasses. "As a corporate mandate, I don't need to sell you a new TV," Spencer added. "That's not part of my business model. Other companies maybe have that part of their business model. I don't." (Spencer almost continued, "Do you get it yet? I'm talking about Sony. See, they sell TVs and we don't. Do you understand now?") While Microsoft Game Studios waits for the technology to be more widely adopted, third-party Xbox 360 developers are already delivering titles in 3D. EA highlighted next year's Crysis 2 as a marquee title with 3D support, and it doesn't get much bigger than Call of Duty: Black Ops, which has already demonstrated its implementation of a 3D graphics mode.
Microsoft's Phil Spencer rains on Sony's 3D parade, thinks 3DS has potential
Is 3D gaming on the verge of completely revolutionizing your world? If you're a hardcore PlayStation fan, you might believe the answer to that question is "yes." However, given the recent DisplaySearch findings on 3DTV adoption, we're thinking more of you fall in with the leanings of Microsoft's Phil Spencer, who is making it clear that he isn't pushing the technology at this point: For better or for worse, people just don't really have TVs in their house right now that are going to do 3D in a way that's going to work... As a corporate mandate, I don't need to sell you a new TV, that's not part of my business model. Other companies maybe have that part of their business model. I don't. "Other companies," eh? Yeah, we think you can figure out who he's talking about there. Phil isn't just dishing up the Haterade, though, throwing props to Nintendo: "I like the 3DS, you don't have to wear the glasses."
Fable franchise expected to incorporate Milo's technology
It seems like just a couple months ago that Peter Molyneux was on stage at the prestiguous TED conference sharing "Project Milo" with the attendees, and now rumors suggest the virtual boy-shaped tamagotchi has been put down and carved up. We spoke with Microsoft Game Studios boss Phil Spencer in Tokyo last week and asked him about the commercial prospects of the always commercially vague Milo project. "If I had to bet, which I guess I do, I think you will see the innovation that that team put forward come to market, absolutely," Spencer told Joystiq. "Will it be under the idea and framework of 'Milo,' I'm not as convinced of that."
Microsoft: One Halo game every three years 'probably not frequent enough'
"I will say I think one Halo game every three years -- which was kind of our old cadence -- is probably not frequent enough," Microsoft VP Phil Spencer told IGN. For Spencer, it's a matter of keeping players "engaged" and "not going dark for two years" at a time, akin to what Activision has done for Call of Duty. "I used to look at annual releases of non-sports games as people just trying to milk me," Spencer said. "I figured nobody had enough time to do a good job, and all of the negatives that we would associate with those kinds of scenarios. Kudos to Activision because they've done a good job building a good game, continuing to release each year and I think the fans feel like it's a good thing that they do that." He added that, "watching them and seeing what they do -- we take inspiration from a lot of places -- but obviously they're a big success." For Microsoft, the hurdle is now going to be a change in developer -- Bungie's leaving some big shoes to fill.
Limbo was top Summer of Arcade title 'by a long stretch,' part of 'changing' XBLA market
Five of the top six spots on Xbox Live Arcade aren't just Japanese; they are all ports of classic titles. When we asked Microsoft Games Studios VP Phil Spencer about the observation, he said he could challenge the assumption that ports and existing IPs dominate sales on the platform. His ammunition was Limbo, the superb platformer that kicked off this year's Summer of Arcade. "Our number one Summer of Arcade game is Limbo," Spencer said, "by a long stretch." Other games in the five-week lineup included updates of classic titles like Hydro Thunder and existing – and highly visible – IPs like Castlevania and Lara Croft. "I think there was a time when Live Arcade was about IP that people knew," Spencer acknowledged, while conceding that those games are "always going to be important." "It's changing though," he said. "I really think coming out of Braid, Shadow Complex, Limbo [...] that it's changing a little bit. We see that in the market, that it's becoming less about iconic IP that people know and it's becoming more diverse." And that's a good thing for everyone involved, including Spencer. "I love Limbo. I think Limbo's probably my game of the year right now." Us too.
Project Draco 'inspired by' Panzer Dragoon, not a Panzer Dragoon game
Despite looking like Panzer Dragoon, being developed by Panzer Dragoon creator Yukio Futatsugi, having a codename referencing dragons with the same initials as Panzer Dragoon and, most suspiciously, having a codename at all, Microsoft Game Studios VP Phil Spencer told Joystiq he "woudn't call [Project Draco] a Panzer Dragoon game." "It's a Kinect game for one thing, which is going to have its own take on it," Spencer said, referring to the concept of riding a dragon. Spencer added that "there are some differences between -- as a Panzer Dragoon fan -- the stuff we've seen in the Panzer Dragoon series and [Project Draco]," but he didn't elaborate on those differences. During the Microsoft keynote where the game was announced, Futatsugi explained, "What I wanted to do most is to fly." So perhaps Draco is more flying and less on-rails shooting? So if it's not a Panzer Dragoon game, then what's up with the whole dragons-you-can-ride thing? "Futasugi-san does have a passion for dragons and the interactions between humans and dragons," Spencer said. "I think you could say 'inspired by' and obviously Futatsugi-san's heritage with that franchise is an important part of his history." But Spencer still "wouldn't characterize [Project Draco] as a Panzer Dragoon game." "I think there's some great things about the mechanic in Panzer Dragoon that can work really well, but we're not in any way trying to diminish the value of that franchise or steal from it." So we're guessing they're not going to call it "Tank Leviathoon."
Microsoft TGS 2010 liveblog
We're queuing up outside Convention Hall B at Makuhari Messe convention center for Microsoft's TGS 2010 keynote, titled "Xbox 360 Vision and Strategy 2010." If you can't tell from the title, it's all about the Xbox Vision camera which is coming back in a big way. Watch out, Kinect! Oh, and here's an interesting note: We spotted Metal Gear Solid: Rising producer Shigenobu Matsuyama entering the room. You know what that means, right? Kinect support for Rising totally confirmed. Zan-Datsu!
TGS 2010 liveblog calendar: Electronic Arts, Capcom, Microsoft
We've got three Tokyo Game Show liveblogs coming in the next 24 hours, so we thought we'd list the URLs here so you can bookmark and come back. Electronic Arts is the first to go, and we know it's going to be showing off the long-awaited Shinji Mikami, Suda 51 EA Partners horror project. But that's not it! There are supposedly "several all new game reveals and announcements," but we're not sure if that includes the Zelda-esque Tsumuji. It can't be a reveal if you've already announced the game, no? Electronic Arts TGS 2010 liveblog Wednesday, 5pm – Tokyo Wednesday, 4am ET – New York Wednesday, 1am PT – Los Angeles Capcom is next and @CapcomEuro is guessing that we'll see "4 new games announced" and some new Marvel vs. Capcom 3 characters and we're guessing that its guesses are better than our guesses. We may be hearing about a new, Western-developed Devil May Cry, with Enslaved developer Ninja Theory behind the helm. Capcom TGS 2010 keynote Wednesday, 8pm – Tokyo Wednesday, 7am ET – New York Wednesday, 4am PT – Los Angeles Lastly, Microsoft is bringing a little bit of the west with its Tokyo Game Show keynote titled "Xbox 360's Vision and 2010's Strategy." We don't want to be jerks, but we're going to spoil it for you: Kinect. That's it. That's the whole keynote. Microsoft TGS 2010 keynote Thursday, 10:30am – Tokyo Wednesday, 9:30pm ET – New York Wednesday, 6:30pm PT – Los Angeles
Microsoft executives delivering keynote at TGS 2010
CESA, the group responsible for planning the annual Tokyo Game Show, has announced the parties responsible for delivering one of the event's two main keynotes on its opening day, September 16. Microsoft entertainment exec Takashi Sensui and Microsoft Game Studio vice president Phil Spencer will take the stage as TGS 2010 kicks off, delivering a speech titled "Xbox 360's Vision and 2010's Strategy." We can only hope this means we'll get to see Spencer break out into a full-blown Kinect rave. Sony's Kaz Hirai delivered a similar presentation during last year's festivities, one which was chock-full of news about PlayStation Move and the PSP Go. Hopefully, Microsoft's speech will be equally rife with hot scoops.
Spencer: Project Natal launch 'fraught with risk' for Microsoft
Speaking to Eurogamer, Microsoft Game Studios head Phil Spencer responded to criticism that Microsoft takes fewer risks than Sony in first-party development by referencing Project Natal -- "if there isn't risk in Natal then I don't know what's keeping me up at night." "We're trying to build a set of new games, new experiences that will have the same quality metrics of our past games," he said, "but really entice both existing 360 customers and new people. It's a huge challenge, a huge investment and it's fraught with risk." Much as he did in our interview, Spencer equated Natal integration with Live integration, suggesting that it will eventually be ubiquitous. "At the beginning of Live it was all about sports, racing and shooting games," Spencer said. "Now if you found a game that didn't have some kind of Live functionality it would seem like it wasn't a complete game. I think Natal is likely to get there as well." That is somewhat at odds with Aaron Greenberg's statement that Natal games would be almost entirely "completely unique, brand-new experiences." And, as a bonus, he also found time to make one wacky statement about Peter Molyneux. "Haha! Working with Peter is amazing, he's a very creative, inspirational person. Sometimes it's like riding a bull with no saddle, and sometimes it's like reading a great novel, but it's a fun experience." Look for Peter Molyneux's Literodeo among the Project Natal launch lineup.
Interview: Microsoft Game Studios' Phil Spencer
If given the choice of becoming a (presumably) anthropomorphic vegetable, Phil Spencer would opt for an eggplant. Sure, we spoke to the confident head of Microsoft Game Studios about other things -- Halo, Project Natal, Fable, Crackdown, the Xbox 360's successor, blah blah blah -- but with that profound scoop out of the way, there's barely any reason to read this interview. Mind you, the part where Spencer suggests that alternate forms of input (whether in addition to or in substitute of traditional controllers) might become a common expectation is pretty interesting. You should definitely read that. Joystiq: We just came out of the Tokyo Game Show panel discussion for Project Natal ... Phil Spencer: The creators panel. Yes, the creators panel. Hideo Kojima was there; they brainstormed about all these games. How much focus is Microsoft Game Studios placing on Natal development internally in comparison to other projects? It's a big focus for us in first party. As a first party, I think it's our duty, it's our responsibility to look at the new technologies that we bring to our platform. We did this with Live. We did at launch of 360. When we look at Project Natal as an opportunity for first party to truly innovate on our platform, creating new experiences, new intellectual property, we're very focused. A large percentage of the studio right now is thinking about Natal as part of what they're doing.
TGS 2009: The Recap Post
Last week, the Tokyo Game Show brought in over 100 posts worth of news, previews, interviews, galleries, and videos. Clearly, a lot happened. If you're looking for a comprehensive list of all the goings-on during TGS 2009, Joystiq has you covered -- and organized! Click on a platform below to scan the highlights: (On the far right: that's "News" and "Culture" on the top and bottom, respectively)
TGS 2009: Microsoft's Phil Spencer easily envisions Fable, Natal crossover
Microsoft Game Studios' corporate vice president, Phil Spencer, doesn't seem like the easily startled type. In fact, on the list of things that wouldn't catch him off guard, the incorporation of Project Natal into a high-profile, Xbox 360-exclusive franchise probably doesn't sit very high. Perhaps a few spots below lots of people buying a new Halo game.During a Tokyo Game Show interview (look for the full transcript soon), Spencer told Joystiq that the innovation fostered inside Lionhead Studios made it a good match for Microsoft's forthcoming motion control system. "You know, Lionhead's been a real innovation studio for us," he said. "We have the release of Fable 2 episodic this week, where they're taking Fable 2 and breaking it up into chunks, allowing people to buy the content at their pace. Fable 2, I thought, was a great release, with the orbs they added with Live, adding new functionality to the franchise. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if Natal found its way into future iterations of Fable."Whether or not motion functionality will show up in 2010's Fable 3 is a matter of speculation, though your role as king in that game would certainly lend itself to some interesting ... regal maneuvers. Waving your hand to permanently dispense with an annoying peasant? That's our kind of role playing.
Microsoft Xbox head honcho Shane Kim retires, declines to offer us a piece of cake
Microsoft VP Shane Kim has been anything but a stranger to these pages over the years: we first had a sit-down with the man way back in the halcyon days of early 2006, and as recently as this summer he was discussing the probable-possibility of Xbox games making their way onto mobile devices. Now, after nineteen years with the company and a career spanning the original Xbox through the present day (and Project Natal), our man has officially announced his retirement at the end of the year. Apparently his duties will be split between Dennis Durkin, who's been named chief operating officer of the company's video game unit, and Phil Spencer, who will oversee Microsoft Game Studios. Kim has yet to proclaim any post-Microsoft plans, saying he intends to relax and spend time with friends and family. Now that that's out of the way, Microsoft, when can we expect to see Live Anywhere up and running?
Project Natal: How Dimitri met Milo
In a March 2008 interview with GamersGlobal, renowned designer Peter Molyneux divulged few details on "Dimitri," an "experimental thing" which he claimed was given life by a mysterious discovery. "And then it moved from that experiment to a moment in time that happened six months ago when a discovery was made, and this discovery has been so exciting that it has lead to Lionhead focusing on it and sculpting a game around that," he said at the time. "I think that discovery is so significant ... This discovery has lead us to start a game and that game will be on the front cover of Nature magazines and Science magazines."According to Microsoft Game Studios head Phil Spencer, the discovery was actually "the right platform for an ambitious software idea" -- namely Project Natal, Microsoft's forthcoming motion control system for the Xbox 360. "Peter [Molyneux] and I saw the first [Natal] prototype about 2 years ago," Spencer recently told Develop. "He focused on what people want to do in this environment, and that's where a project of Lionhead's, called Dimitri, become Milo – the team's previous idea took on a whole new lease of life with Natal." Now that we've become acquainted with "Dimitri" in his new, boyish form, we can lay the old codeword to rest and attempt to discern the reality within Molyneux's enthusiastic words. Though we're undecided on Milo's future as a Popular Mechanics cover model, we're fairly confident he'll wind up on Game Informer sooner or later. Shall we file this under Molyknew or Molyno?
Microsoft explains why Ruffian is the right choice for Crackdown 2
Before Microsoft revealed that Ruffian Games would be developing the upcoming Crackdown sequel, the original game's developer, Realtime Worlds, expressed some skepticism towards the idea. "I very much doubt that Microsoft would harm an otherwise fruitful existing development relationship by gambling on funding Crackdown 2 with a startup on RTW's doorstep, for obvious reasons," RTW's Colin MacDonald said last year. Things weren't so cut and dry for self-accused Crackdown fanboy (and Microsoft exec) Phil Spencer, who recently told Develop, "When Billy Thomson, the lead designer of the game [Crackdown 1], left Realtime Worlds, there was an opportunity." Apparently, it would seem Mr. Spencer believes Realtime Worlds is simply too busy developing APB to give a Crackdown sequel the attention it deserves. "I wanted to make sure that anything we work on is correctly nurtured ... we had to find the right team who really understood what game it is – and that was Billy [Thompson] and the team at Ruffian." Crackdown 2 will be the first game developed by Ruffian Games since the studio's inception late last year.
Spencer: Project Natal will 'feel like a new generation has arrived'
Another Microsoft rep is comparing the 2010 launch of the Project Natal peripheral to a new console release. Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft Game Studios, told MCV that Natal will be like a new launch for the Xbox 360."When Natal comes out it will feel like a new generation has arrived," he said, echoing comments made by Shane Kim. "I see it as like the launch of the Xbox 360 back in 2005 – there will be a launch portfolio of games to support it." Will there also be a massive shortage into the next year?Spencer denied the rumors of an actual new hardware launch once again, saying that Microsoft intends to make sure the original 360 is a "huge return on investment" for Microsoft, developers, and owners. And if enough Microsoft staffers tell us there won't be a new console next year, we might even start to believe it.
MGS4's Payton joins a different kind of 'MGS'
That particular "MGS" we refer to would just so happen to be Microsoft Game Studios. The rumors regarding Payton's shift from Metal Gear games at Kojima Productions to work on a new Halo title are true -- well, half true.Speaking to Edge Online, Microsoft bigwig Phil Spencer sets the story straight noting that Payton, along with other industry heavy-hitters, have been initiated into the Microsoft fold. Meanwhile, the other half of the rumor regarding Payton directing a new Halo game is still yet to be proven. A rep had said that the team is currently working only "on upcoming and existing Halo games." So, what does this all mean for you PS3 Fanboy readers? What do you care? Well, if you've grown to like Ryan Payton for his stint on the Hideoblog podcasts and all the work he's done for MGS4, then you'll have to say your good-byes -- he's batting for the other team now and it looks like they're going to be keeping him quite busy. We still wish Ryan the best of luck.
Spencer says Lionhead safe from closure, hints Rare is too
With the recent closure of Ensemble Studios eyes were on other teams Microsoft has under their wing. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft Game Studios, said the publisher has no plans to close Lionhead Studios -- developers of the upcoming RPG, Fable 2.Spencer noted that the studio is an important element to Microsoft's European development presence. Spencer also hinted that fellow European developer, Rare, is secure from closure. "[Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts] will be their fifth game in the first three years of the Xbox 360 - that's crazy. Two launch games? What studio on the planet signs up for two launch games? That's just crazy."But what of the losses Microsoft have suffered in the wake of closing FASA Studio -- developers of Shadowrun -- and the breaking off of Bungie?"Our customers care about exclusive content," Spencer said. "I'm not sure they care what business card the people who are building those games have. Is anybody going to look at Gears of War and say it's not a pillar franchise for us on 360? No, because it is. But we don't own Epic, and Mark Rein and those guys are their own people. That's good."
MS: 'More than two or three teams' working on Halo
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, head of Microsoft Game Studios Phil Spencer talked about where the Halo franchise is headed (among other topics) and confirmed that multiple development teams are indeed working on numerous Halo projects. "There's more than one team building Halo games right now. There are more than two or three teams building Halo things right now" says Spencer, adding "some of them we will own, some of them we won't." Hmm, interesting stuff. Currently, we're aware of two Halo titles, Halo Wars and the Peter Jackson projected dubbed Halo: Chronicles. So, if there's more than three teams working on games, how many Halo titles does that equate to and when do we get to hear about them? Whore that Halo franchise MGS, whore it out good!
