It is no secret that Microsoft and Xbox has had a rough couple of years regarding their reputation. As a fan of both consoles myself, it is great to see that since Phil Spencer has taken the reigns, he’s been very vocal with his desire to bridge the gaps between the competing platforms and create a better gaming environment for all gamers, including – for obvious reasons – Xbox players.

From speaking out on cross-platform play, backwards compatibility, and Nintendo partnerships – Spencer is definitely a step up from Xbox’s predecessor. His latest critique goes after an issue that gamers globally have voiced their concerns over and that is DLC content that is exclusive to one platform when the title itself is available for all of them. He takes it one step further by speaking out on how we can further expand the gaming market without expending the consumers themselves.

Exclusive titles aren’t anything new (let’s face it, this strategy has been around forever) – some absolutely loathe the idea, others understand it as a strong marketing strategy for brand loyalty. No matter where you stand on the subject, we can all agree that if a title comes out on all major platforms, it would be fair to assume that all have the same gaming experience. Unfortunately, that’s not the case and there are many titles that award certain perks and additional gameplay to a preferred console of choice, most commonly between the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Missions, weapons, characters – the differences in DLC varies greatly but Spencer wants to eradicate the forceful marketing, despite Xbox having been guilty of this as well in the past, that pressures consumers to become multi-platform for easily avoidable reasons. Becoming a multi-platform gamer for specific titles (such as Uncharted vs. Gears of War, Infamous vs. Halo, Bloodbourne vs. Sunset Overdrive, etc) is entirely different than having to pick between getting a weapon pack or not.

Paying marketing funds so another consoles base can't play a piece of content doesn't feel like growth

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) December 20, 2016

Spencer took to his Twitter account once more to speak out with his own personal opinion deeming the practice as halting stating that it “doesn’t feel like growth”. He goes on to speak on the balance of new content, new IPs, and old franchises. Console mod inclusion, Play Anywhere programs, and more are all examples he gives to promote market growth versus stagnation.

As mentioned previously, Microsoft has taken more than a few reputation punches in recent years and has even implemented the very same practices that Spencer is criticizing. And not just before his time either, Call of Duty DLC exclusives for Xbox and timed exclusives for DLC for other franchises have occurred under his watch so it will be interesting to see how he plans to integrate this change for the company as a whole. It is also important to note that he himself has addressed this saying that he is not “calling out” the competition and is not dying that Microsoft has had a guilty hand in this practice – he’s speaking about the future of Xbox’s hand in the market, not denying past “mistakes”.

Whatever your thoughts are on exclusive titles OR DLC, it is very apparent that times are a-changin’ on both sides of the spectrum. Whether you prefer PlayStation, Xbox, PC, or Nintendo – the market is changing and seemingly at a rapid pace. Not all changes are good and we want to hear YOUR thoughts on what some of these changes mean to you. What is something you wish would change in the current market? What is something you currently stand behind and fully support? Conversation is great so don’t forget to sound off with your thoughts below in the comment section. For more community, don’t forget to also follow us on our Official Facebook Page, as well! Happy gaming!