In a recent interview with Squawk Asia, a markets-focused vertical of CNBC International, Xbox head, Phil Spencer talked about how Microsoft is open to further acquisitions in the gaming sector. Although the renowned publisher is still in the process of settling its staple $75 Billion buyout of Activision Blizzard, he expressed that it is important to continue with such daring moves to stay relevant in the competitive world of game publishing.
Microsoft intends to keep Xbox at the forefront of innovation and competition
Spencer recently visited Japan to attend the Tokyo Games festival and meet with its finest developers. He expressed Microsoft’s aspirations to be more integrated with the talented production houses, whether they are existing partners or independent creators. Spencer further assured that Microsoft will always stay hungry for acquisitive opportunities whenever they see potential, keeping in focus that Xbox remains at the forefront of innovation and competition.
“This is such a competitive market, I don’t think we get to press pause on anything. Tencent is the largest gaming company on the planet today, and they continue to heavily invest in gaming content and game creators.”
Spencer continued, “Sony is a larger business than we are in gaming today, and they continue to invest. It’s a highly, highly competitive market.” The executive concluded, “We strive to be a major player. We want to deliver great content for our players, and we’re going to remain active, whether through internal investment or building new partnerships”.
The company is making efforts to grab the Japanese RPG market and is satisfied with the partnership with Discord
The Japanese market of RPG games has remained a lucrative pie among publishers. As Sony and Nintendo still own the largest chunks of share, Spencer pointed out that this is why Microsoft is putting more effort into building relationships with Japanese creators by sharing Xbox’s vision of next-gen gaming and what kind of gaming environment they are striving to build for gamers as well creators. He wants the esteemed Japanese developers to witness Microsoft’s vision and inspire them to join forces in their upcoming creative ventures.
Further, in the interview, Spencer emphasized that the business had no interest in acquiring Discord. He stated that he was satisfied with how the two firms had been working together as a team so far. Recently, Xbox partnered with Discord to integrate its voice chat services to the platform which received wide acclamations. This keeps Xbox ahead of the major competitors on the console platforms in terms of player engagement.
Microsoft has no plans to hike prices of Xbox consoles
In light of PS5‘s recent price hike, the Xbox head was asked if there are plans for the same Xbox consoles. However, Spencer denied any such current plans from Microsoft. And is more concerned about enlarging its user base, especially in these times of “economic challenge”.
As a platform, Xbox certainly caters to the interest of its users. Whether or not they can achieve the same relationship with developers remains to be seen. With competitors releasing highly acclaimed AAA titles in a row, Xbox surely needs to up its game in exclusive titles.
What are your thoughts as Microsoft is open to further acquisitions for competing with Sony and Tencent? Let us know in the comments below!
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