Phil Spencer Is Committed to The Success of Xbox One; Not Yet Ready to Announce Xbox VR

Phil Spencer Is Committed to The Success of Xbox One; Not Yet Ready to Announce Xbox VR

Giuseppe Nelva September 26, 2014 6:04 PM EST

Many have doubted Microsoft’s commitment to the Xbox brand, and analysts here and there keep calling for the spin-off of the console business, yet Phil Spencer is committed to make the Xbox One a success, and he explained this sentiment in an interview on the Japanese site AV Watch.

Creating the appropriate tools, finding the right developers, we have gathered such a great community. With Xbox 360, our efforts were crowned by considerable success. And I’m committed to the success of Xbox One. In the past six months Xbox One has changed. We introduced to gamers the version without Kinect and broadened the choice. We will continue to update the system, and starting with Japan we’re launching in new markets. The launch in Shanghai in China will happen next week, and I believe that by such changes we’ll gather an even bigger audience.

Spencer also talked about the upcoming virtual reality technology, praising the competition, but also mentioning that Xbox is still not ready to talk about its own investment.

The industry as a whole continues to invest in research and in new elements. New technologies invite us to explore new gaming worlds. I believe that Kinect, voice and virtual reality are those key new elements. That’s why I’m glad that Sony and Oculus are investing in VR. We’re also working on an investment of our own, but it’s not at a stage in which we can talk about it yet. The fact that the industry as a whole continues to invest in those new technologies will result in better games. Gamers are always interested in new tech, because it brings you towards a new horizon. Gamers play and convey their feelings to the world. That’s why you can say that this is a great testing ground for new technologies.

Considering the already considerable investments made on Kinect, I can’t say I’m not rather eager to see what Phil Spencer and Xbox will bring to the VR table when they’ll be ready to announce their own initiative. When will that be? We have no way to know. But hopefully we won’t have to wait for Xbox Two.