Phil Spencer talks about the decisions made to revive the Xbox brand

Phil Spencer, the number one in the division Xbox, recently discussed in an interview how he had to manage from the very first days of his arrival in Microsoft products as head of the division the delicate situation Xbox One and above all how to give the brand a certain future in the gaming sector. Years ago Satya Nadella he often wondered how the brand was Xbox would progress after the Xbox One reveal. Spencer told him that it was necessary to bet everything on the gaming market, although the vision of many developers was not in line with the thinking of Microsoft. What followed, among the most important events, was the acquisition of Minecraft, of Xbox One X and many other investments that have allowed Microsoft to be among the most important companies in the world in the videogame market today.

“When Spencer took over as Xbox boss, whatever joy he felt was short-lived. After a few weeks of work, he received a call from Satya Nadella who told him: “Actually I don't know much about why we are in the gaming sector”. Many of our developers who had worked on the first Xbox felt disappointed in the vision that Microsoft had, a vision that was not in line with the "soul" of what Xbox was. Satya was transparent that there could be a future where the gaming market would not be a primary business for Microsoft. Spencer looked at where Xbox had failed and how he could go about reviving the brand. Finally, when he called back Nadella said: “If we stay in the gaming sector then we will have to bet everything and give 100%”.

The acquisition of Minecraft it was a particular move for the market mainly because Sony, afraid of the possible exclusion of the title on her console, she immediately contacted Spencer to find out if he would remove the game from the platform PlayStation.

“Spencer pushed Nadella to acquire Minecraft for $ 2,5 billion, a move that gave Microsoft exclusive control over the most popular game in the world at the time. Microsoft, for its part, announced that the title would remain available on all platforms, including PlayStation. "One of the first calls we got after the Minecraft acquisition was from Sony asking us," Are you going to take this off the PlayStation? " Spencer replied, “Why should I do this? People like to play it on PlayStation. "