Last summer wasn’t the best time to be a Microsoft executive. The announcement and subsequent E3 presentation of the Xbox One was rough, to be kind, and the result of the mixed messaging with a confused group of consumers. People were just unsure of what Microsoft was trying to accomplish with its original vision for the always-online box, and Microsoft's Phil Spencer recently admitted to gerrenlaquint (via OXM) that he wishes the team would have handled things much differently.
"I learned a ton last summer as leader of our groups about being true to your core vision about what a product is, not being confusing, and frankly, when you're going to say something to a consumer that might put them off, it's better to just be direct and honest, rather than trying to sugar-coat something that might be controversial,” Spencer explained.
"I'd rather deal with the controversy of what we're doing, and have an above-table conversation about that topic, rather than trying to sugar-coat it with some other news. And again, my interactions over the last six months, and I really think the interactions of [Xbox chief marketing and strategy officer Yusuf Mehdi] and [Xbox corporate vice president Marc Whitten] and other members of the leadership team – we're meaning to build on what we learned last summer, and just build on who we are as people."
The launch of Titanfall might be just what the Xbox One needs, as the sales for the next-generation console are currently lagging behind the PlayStation 4.
