Perhaps the biggest highlight of the most recent Xbox Showcase event was the platform’s return to exclusives with the upcoming Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution, taking the brand to their earlier years. However, the majority of titles for the Xbox are also set to appear on their rival platform and while it raises tons of questions regarding their future directions with exclusives and what kind of impact they can create within the brand’s overall revenue, thanks to Xbox Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball, we now have answers to some of those questions.
In a recent interview with The Game Business, Ball explained their decision making process and their current business model for the direction regarding exclusives:
“We are trying to build a healthier business overall. In the short term, yes, there are going to be titles that are probably going to sell fewer units. That’s an investment we are making. That’s a decision that our studios are behind because they all believe this puts us on a path to your question, which is: Can we take market share? Can we grow? Can we be stronger? I believe the answer to all three of those questions is ‘yes’, and that will hold none of our franchises back over time.”
In the interview, he also confirmed that they’ll not be moving away from the console business despite costs increasing dramatically in the current market conditions:
“We have no desire to move away from the console business. And dying? No. It’s not declining. It is growing. It’s going to have a great year this year. What is important is that we restore that business for us. Do we need to get better at PC? Yes. Do we need to get better at mobile? Yes. But we can’t ask publishers and players to bet on us on other platforms where we are behind, where our technology is inadequate, before we shore up the platform we have, the platform that many believe we’ve mistreated.”
Xbox has also announced plans to heavily restructure in the next month which will also involve huge number of layoffs.
