Microsoft has been endorsing its captivating “this is an Xbox” initiative for nearly a year, yet former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra remains unconvinced that devices like TVs and Meta Quests can be considered “Xbox” merely due to the advancements offered by cloud gaming. In a tweet dated October 19, Ybarra stated, “Ditch the ‘This is an Xbox’ campaign. Wrong idea, wrong time. Xbox is about games – games always rule the world.” He further elaborated, “If they don’t have parity between the console and any other ‘device,’ then it’s just not an Xbox. Confusing – whoever came up with this clearly doesn’t play games.”
You might find these insights intriguing:
- Xbox abandoning hardware and exclusive titles is “sensible,” claims former Microsoft executive and Blizzard leader, asserting that “only an idiot would keep making consoles as games shift to third-party.”
- “Your console is finished”: Ex-Microsoft executive and Blizzard chief tells Xbox supporters the console market isn’t a “thriving business” unless executed correctly.
- “Greed over gaming”: Game Pass price increase criticized by Xbox co-founder as a “betrayal” to fans, asserting the company “lost one of their final advantages.”
In contrast, Craig McNary, a marketing director at Microsoft, may hold a different view. In a November 2024 Xbox Wire article that announced the “this is an Xbox” initiative, McNary expressed, “Whether you own an Xbox console, game on PC, or utilize Samsung Smart TVs, handheld devices, mobile phones, Amazon Fire TV, or a Meta Quest headset with Game Pass Ultimate, you can play with Xbox.” He suggested that you might even be reading this on a device that supports Xbox.
For me, the claim of Xbox’s wide acceptance seems hard to believe, particularly as the costs for the Ultimate subscription service continue to soar. According to McNary, this is what allows gamers to fully embrace the Xbox experience. “It just feels like they keep pushing the needles in further and further,” Ybarra commented on Twitter regarding Microsoft. “Cuts heal – I don’t see any healing happening, just more needle pushing deeper and deeper.”