Phil Spencer has become the new public face of Microsoft’s game division as of late, after taking control of all things Xbox. While some feel the next-gen console needs more than a management change, there is at least one who is absolutely ecstatic about the move.
Nathan Vella is president of Capybara Games. In a recent interview, not only did he emphatically state that appointing Spencer to Xbox head was the right move; he’s not sure why they took so long to do it! “Phil is the best case scenario for Xbox, by a f***ing million miles,” Vella said. “To me it’s inconceivable that he wasn’t doing it before. I have a lot of respect for the guy and he’s been a huge supporter of the studio.”
Spencer also has a reputation for being one of the most accessible insiders of the gaming industry, regularly reaching out to fans via Twitter and other social media. Vella touts this as the corner stone of his success, saying that, “He’s a guy who will actually listen to people who tweet at him…actually read it, and that’s not that normal. But now it is normal for both Microsoft and Sony. And I think that’s very interesting. That’s them working in the present, living in the time we’re working in.”
Microsoft is currently riding a wave of momentum heading into E3, as the Xbox One price drop is expected to give them a nice bump heading into June’s convention.