Phil Spencer Calls for People to Stop 'Dividing Gamers and Developers'
Xbox brand chief Phil Spencer used the 12th annual New York Game Awards gala to address a few words to game developers.
The annual New York Game Awards gala was held recently, where a number of industry awards were presented. One of the winners was the head of the Xbox brand, Phil Spencer. When receiving the statuette for "Legend of the Industry," the American gave a speech in which he called on game companies to unite. According to him, the most important issue in the industry is that it should deliver joy to gamers, not divide them..
"Today, as creators, as leaders, as world builders, our greatest responsibility is to inspire and invite joy. Each one of the hundreds of titles that players have at their fingertips today and tomorrow is a calling card for joy.
Halo, God of War, Vampire Survivors, Peppa Pig - big games, small games, mobile games indie games – each one is designed to deliver an infusion of joy in the midst of our lives, to give us so much joy people want to talk about it, to share it.
We, all of us here today, all of our teams around the globe, we’re all part of creating this echo effect of joy" (via VGC).
According to Spencer, video games provide a lot of positive experiences that should be shared - whether by gamers or developers. The Xbox chief said that only the right actions will enable us to bring a lot of joy to our otherwise harsh reality.
Our creators who bravely and intentionally release their visions to the world, particularly in the current culture of criticism and cancellation. Our players who bravely and intentionally carve out time for our games to invite, rest and rejuvenate their lives. And business leaders – we’re called upon to have the courage to protect and nurture this collective joy. We’re called on to incubate these experiences, create them and grow them.
We turn away from dividing players and creators, and instead towards each other, as we advance and amplify joy together. This is the echo effect of gaming joy," Spencer added.
There is no doubt that Spencer's statement clearly refers to the dispute between Microsoft and Sony and the concerns of regulators and some developers regarding the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by the Redmond giant. Will Spencer's pretty words, because let's face it - that's what it is, have the intended impact on developers and officials? We will know the answer to this question in the coming months.
