Roadmap for updates???
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Well that makes me hopeful to hear. Mainly because it means that Xboxās vision of a wider ubiquitous ecosystem under Phil and Sarah isnāt dead. Thatās great. All the talk in social media givss the impression that a lot of console gamers want to go back to the Xbox 360 days in all the ways that meant a much smaller and more limited walled up ecosystem. I was worried that Sharma would listen to that feedback too. Give her a kudos for that on Twitter for me (I wish these updates were on bluesky or Youtube posts; maybe even threads (though I donāt have threads either and Iād have to download it)).
its nice to see Xbox employees so excited. keep the updates coming!
Seamus Blackley is meeting with Asha tomorrow and you can propose questions 
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Why? Blackley seems to hate Xbox in about every way these days. And he speaks from a high horse as if his Xbox wasnāt an unsustainable financial mess.
Shaun Leyden doesnāt like Game Pass, yet Asha Sharma has invited him to talk with her.
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He doesnāt hate Xbox, but I think everyone wants to believe their tenure is the best. If anything, she can glean from him. Only thing is sometimes guys like this seem stuck in the past so letās hope for the best. It certainly seems some of this old Xbox execs still want to be part of Xbox then there is also the 25th which might entail coordinating on how to bring all Xbox leaders present and past together to celebrate Xbox 25th anniversary.
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he doesnt hate xbox and has lots of experience in multiple fields. there is no harm in having a conversation and picking his brain.
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Sheās said she is here to learn in the space, so I appreciate the sentiment, but Iām really not sure what she can serve to learn from them. Blackleyās Xbox would literally crater the brand today. The original Xbox had to be rushed out because Microsoft was losing too much money. Layden talks about game pass being unsustainable but we can see in real time how sustainable his strategy with Playstation first party titles have been (those ballooning costs to chase high profile games). It probably wonāt amount to much of anything. I hope she doesnāt give too much credit to either person.
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Thereās harm if she walks away from the conversation thinking Xbox needs to go backwards 20 years. Which I donāt think will happen based on how sheās presented the sentiment so far. If anything this just seems like a publicity stunt. Maybe thereās some genuine interest in hearing about the experiences and mindsets of past executives in the space, but these people are disaligned with the modern outlook and state of the market and so blatantly against Xbox (in a way that feels like itās for the clicks most of the time), I donāt think itās possible to come out with anything constructive.
Personally, I would prefer Asha and Xbox to take the Sony/Nintendo route. Stay quiet, donāt engage with all these people (most of which are against Xbox) and just do what you want to do. For better or for worse, hereās what weāre doing and like it or not, itās up to you.
To simplify, let your actions talk for you.
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I think that would be the ideal. Itās like saying as a boss I should treat all my employees the same but in reality, some I may need to give some more directions and others I can leave alone. The issue with xbox is they have to fight a very negative behavior from content creators and journalist against xbox. A perfect is example is when xbox stays quite everyone is complaining why arenāt they providing their future roadmap? Are they leaving the game business? Sony and Nintendo donāt get the same treatment. Thatās the reality they have to deal with.
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While I donāt disagree, I donāt believe anything will ever change in regards to how Xbox is perceived or looked at by gaming media and whatnot. I believe itās set in stone and thereās nothing Microsoft can do to change that. They should just concentrate on making Xbox as great as it can be for those like me who play on the platform as opposed to trying to get people from other platforms to jump ship which isnāt going to happen.
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I think a good middle ground would be doing what theyāre already doing now. Shut down the rumors and have their own steady stream of shows and news do the talking. No one can say Xbox is leaving gaming when they have developer directs, partner previews, first looks, xbox presents, ign id@Xbox indie showcase, Xbox Games Showcase, Blizzcon, Quakecon, and all the third party event presences happening year round. They donāt need to have a fireside chat with people that are openly against virtually Xboxās entire strategy or coming out with the wildest claims. The problem is that constantly acknowledging them can give these people and their negativity against Xbox more credibility. āSpeak softly and carry a big stick.ā The internet itself only works off of engagement. These people are relevant because their names and comments (Ex-Xbox creator says Microsoft has killed Xbox for the billionth time) get clicks. They arenāt going away until they donāt get engagement. Just donāt engage with them.
IGN is too big for Xbox to completely ignore though, theyāre how most people get their gaming news.
They partner with them for the indie showcases. They donāt have to ignore them, but they also donāt have to feed into the more click bait takes. If thereās not a constructive conversation to be had then thereās not one to be had.
I disagree. PlayStation and Nintendo donāt have the gaming media writing negative articles with clickbait headlines. I like Asha jumping in and making announcements herself about Project Helix, Fanfest and Gamepass.
Thereās none to be had, but they will unfortunately have to respond to them regardless. As IGN has had some credible sources before, itās not just clickbait all the time.
The problem is Sony/Nintendo donāt have gossip news as much as Xbox does. Itās why they are far more quiet because thereās nothing to āseeā there. Xbox is basically being cancelled if I have to be cringe and use kidsā terminology.
Something that struck me was Ashaās response to Shawn Layden and said letās talk. She had a choice to private message him that and then they could get in touch. Or she could respond publicly like she did. She made a deliberate choice for reaching out to him to be public. Itās a small thing but I think it is calculated. Whatever that message is, she wanted to send it to xbox fans that follow such things.
To your specific point, I fully agreed with you while phil was ceo. Iām not sure how he got this status but so many people flat out hated that guy. When phil opened his mouth a big part of the gaming community instantly turned into 10 year olds and just let him have it. Once that started happening, I was thinking, phil please stop talking.
Now that Iām seeing how the public is responding to Ashaās public comments, Iām going to reserve judgement on her staying quiet. The community seems to be backing her so keep doing what works. Time will tell.
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