Phil Spencer talks first party exclusives, Xbox 1.5 and more at Build 2016

---

Microsoft’s Build 2016 took place in San Francisco last week, with Phil Spencer present and addressing a few Xbox related questions at the annual developer event.

---

By Liam Andrews

@pass_controller

---

---

Venturebeat spoke to Spencer during Build and probed the head of Xbox on HoloLens, openness, and an Xbox 1.5, among other things. You can read the full interview here.

One of the most interesting questions put to Spencer was in regards to console and PC exclusives.

It’s been well publicised that nearly all Xbox One first party titles are available on PC via the Windows 10 store, and it has left many wondering if the lack of actual AAA Xbox One exclusives (asides from Halo 5) is damaging to the console’s standing in an already lopsided ‘war’ with Sony’s PS4.

Spencer had this to say when asked if all Microsoft’s first party titles will be available on Xbox One and PC in the future:

“While certain people would love for me to say something as clean as “all of them,” the problem is…Ashes of the Singularity, a game we showcased. That’s a hardcore RTS on PC. It’s not a great controller experience. It probably requires a keyboard and mouse. Now, if I enable keyboard and mouse on a console, which we will do, and then you download that, and you’re playing on a monitor, is that a PC or a console game?”

Playing PC games on console and vice versa may appeal to many, but Microsoft are aware that making games available to both platforms just for the sake of it could be damaging to the experience:

“Our intent is for genres and where the creative makes sense in both spaces, we’ll put our games in both spaces. You see us doing that. But I don’t want to make it some kind of artificial mandate. Then we end up with Frankengames that weren’t meant for a certain platform. Because some suit said, “Hey, everything has to run on both platforms,” you end up with something people don’t want.”

With numerous rumours suggesting that Sony are working on a more powerful PlayStation 4 that could be capable of 4K, many have been wondering whether Microsoft have any plans of their own to release an upgraded Xbox One.

According to Spencer, we’ll be unlikely to see an Xbox 1.5 in the near future, and any move forward in the console market would most likely be significant one rather than simply improving on the current hardware:

“Not a big fan of one and a half. I think about what happens in most spaces. If I’m going to move forward, I want to move forward in big numbers… For us, our box is doing well. It performs. It’s reliable. The service is up. If we go forward with anything, I want to make it a substantial change.”
Resolution and framerates have been the big talking point for this generation of consoles, with only a few titles on both the PS4 and Xbox One hitting the coveted 1080p 60fps mark.

While there are probably many early adopters who would consider shelling out for an upgraded Xbox One that could consistently deliver the aforementioned specs, Spencer’s comments are no doubt welcome words for those who have only recently invested in Microsoft’s machine and are not looking to purchase another anytime soon (this writer included!).

Let us know your thoughts over on the forums.

Comment on the forums