"Almost 10 years without a new game..." That was almost 10 years ago.

Banjo Kazooie 3/Banjo Threeie needs to happen stat.

Translated so...Maybe a bit inaccurate.

There was a time when first-party titles were not in plentiful supply, but was there a reason for this?

There are many reasons. Some of them have to do with the Corona Disaster and the fact that we acquired several studios, so it took some time to communicate, etc. We are confident in our current lineup and were happy to see Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks show up at the showcase.

What has been your strategy over the past few years in developing Xbox Game Studios titles?

Making great games! (laughter). This is very important. I want the team to aim for new and wonderful things. This does not mean sequels or anything other than what they have been working on. We want to provide teams with the confidence to be ambitious about what they are trying to create. And I think we have already seen a good example of that on the stage today.

One example is the RPG "Clockwork Revolution" from the new IP inXile entertainment. This title has a style that is uniquely inXile. The different camera locations, first person, and play style are all great as the team is trying to be more creative and innovative. Other than that, we want to release our familiar regular games every year so that gamers can expect great games to come out in the future.

If anything, are you more attracted to developing new IP than existing IP?

That is not what I mean. However, I recognize that we have announced a lot of new IP today. That is not what we planned to do, but that is what is currently happening. We want you to know that some of our teams are working on sequels to games we have made in the past, and there needs to be a good mix of new IP and the continuation of existing games that you have come to love.

Which Xbox Game Studios titles unveiled this time are you particularly looking forward to?

It's all titles (laughs). I guess that's what I'm saying, but yes, ....... When I first started working on Xbox, the first title I worked on was "Fable". I was happy to open the showcase today with "Fable" and it was a great announcement. I spent a special time thinking about the past in my mind and thinking about my career and the time I spent on it.

This title will be a franchise that will support Xbox in the future! What new IP do you expect to become a franchise that will support Xbox in the future?

Of all the games presented today, Obsidian Entertainment's "Avowed" has great potential. The "Pillars of Eternity" world they have built so far, and thus a deep world, but they are developing a different game here, and I think this kind of idea can continue for a long time.

Speaking of IPs that support Xbox, you didn't announce any new "Halo" or "Gears" IPs, what do you see in the future for both series?

There will be more shows in the future. We currently have over 20 studios and we want each team to have the time to properly create what they want to show. We have more than just "Halo" and "Gears" that id Software is developing that we can't show you today, and we have updates from many studios that we will be rolling out further in the show. This was a full show with 27 titles, but we didn't show all of them. It's good to give the team more time to flesh out the story and production.

Bethesda Softwork had a large presence at the showcase, especially with "Starfield".

Working with Bethesda Softworks was a pleasure, the idea for the 40+ minute "Starfield Direct" came from Bethesda Softworks and fit in well with the Xbox Games Showcase. It was a great fit with the Xbox Games Showcase. I think it's good and important for us as a team to improve what we're working on. With "Starfield," Todd (Todd Howard, director of "Starfield") and I have been working together for years. I've been working with Todd (Todd Howard, director of Starfield) on Starfield and have been playing the game since November 2022. We talk a lot about production and creativity, and it's a really fun time. This is one of my favorite parts of my job, and I love spending time with the creators and talking about making games. I was very happy to see your reaction to this game today.

At the same event, you mentioned that Matt Booty said that the goal is four first-party titles per year.

I have talked with Matt Booty, who heads First Party, about putting out at least four major titles per year. At this point, I think we are still there (in 2023). This year, in addition to "Starfield" and "Forza Motorsport," we will be releasing "Sea of Thieves," "The Elder Scrolls Online," "Microsoft Flight Simulator, and updates to Doom. In terms of next year's (2024) lineup, we have already released and announced some things, and there are a few things that are yet to be announced, so we feel confident that Xbox players know that there will be a steady stream of games released in the future.

Many Japanese titles were also announced at the Xbox Games Showcase. This shows the good relationship between you and Japanese game creators. Please tell us about the response.

As you know, Sarah (Sarah Bond, Head of Xbox Game Creator Experience) and I have been visiting Japan for a long time in order to get credit anyway. When a development team presents a game, there are many choices as to where to present it. Presenting on our stage means that they trust us to present their most important game.

It is very important that two new Japanese games, Capcom's "Gion: Path of the Goddess" and Atlus' "Metaphor: Refantaggio," were presented on our stage. I remember the moment when we had our partners on stage at past shows with "ELDEN RING" and "DARK SOULS III". Of course, I believe that we still have to work hard, and especially we would like to make progress in our relationship with Square Enix.

However, I am deeply moved by the fact that not only can Atlus games be played on the Xbox, but that "Persona" is also on the Xbox Game Pass, something I could not have imagined five years ago. I think this is the result of our hard work, and I am very happy that so many Japanese games made it to the Xbox Games Showcase and can be played on our platform.

However, the announcement of new games from Capcom and Atlus is very important to me. I have spoken with the creators of these games, including the teams at the publishers, and the response to the games has been fantastic, which is really good and will obviously help to further boost the Xbox worldwide. Some of these Japanese games will be released not only on Xbox, but on other consoles as well, and I think Xbox players understand that Xbox is more a part of the Japanese gaming community than ever before. We believe this is very important.

Director Kojima's work was not announced this time.

Everything is going well!　I have known Kojima-san for many years, but this is the first time we have worked together on a game. As you know, I visited the studio last year (2022), heard about their current ambitious efforts, and played a few games. The great thing about Kojima-san is that he has set very high goals for innovation and creativity. And he has a great team. I was asked by a few people who were not at today's show, and I told them that we will be holding more shows and making more presentations. We are very happy to be working with Mr. Kojima on such an innovative work.

Xboxトップのフィル・スペンサー氏に聞く。「日本のメーカーは私たちを信用してくれている」「ファーストパーティスタジオには野心的になれる自信を与えたい」【Xbox Games Showcase】 | ゲーム・エンタメ最新情報のファミ通.com (famitsu.com)

this was foreseen, I think I remember you highlighting this a few weeks ago. Although the final decision is a different story, will New Zealand accept the same remedy the EU accepted or not? IMO New Zealand is probably a too easy market for MS to leave entirely for them to issue a complete block, they probably look for any concession and call that job done.

That said they are painfully slow and I can't help but think this apparent slowness has been crafted specifically to help the CMA case.

Starfield Subreddit is the best, nothing but positive vibes and clapping back at the few haters.

I don't think Fallout 4 had this level of positivity and hype pre-launch, I can't remember Skyrim.