Phil Spencer has shared his enthusiasm for the Switch 2.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, he shared these statements in GamerTag Radio’s 20 year anniversary podcast to hosts Danny Peña and Paris Lilly:
“I was exchanging emails with Furukawa-san, the CEO of Nintendo. I gave him a big congrats and said my old eyes appreciate the larger screen.
Nintendo, their innovation, and what they mean in this industry… I just always applaud the moves that they make. They did a little flash video, and I know we’ll get more detail over time. I’m really looking forward to supporting them with the games that we have, and I just think they’re a really important part of this industry.
It’s hard with what’s publicly out there right now for everybody to get their [heads] around it, but who would ever bet against the success of that team? They are just masterful in what they do, Switch is a massive success, and I think Switch 2 will be as well.”
Since Spencer first emerged as the head of Xbox team, he has been magnanimous towards their competitors in the console space, Sony and Nintendo. But perhaps he doesn’t see them as competitors as much as they are colleagues, as he has done much to get to working with both companies when their interests did align.
While many gamers will remember that Sony acted to hinder Spencer’s plans to acquire Activision Blizzard King, to his credit, Spencer offered them publishing contracts for Activision’s games in return. Before that, it was Spencer who decided to keep publishing and supporting Minecraft on PlayStation after they had acquired that platform and its studio, Mojang.
Microsoft has a close relationship with Nintendo. This has allowed them to make collaborations such as the Mario content for Minecraft on Nintendo platforms, rereleasing GoldenEye 007 on both Nintendo Switch and Xbox, and bringing Banjo and Kazooie officially to Super Smash Bros.
While some are critical of Spencer for giving content to competitors when they could be using them as selling points for Xbox’s consoles and/or Game Pass, we can’t miss the obvious fact that Microsoft is also making a lot of money from these deals.
This is why fans put a lot of weight to rumors that Microsoft plans to support the Switch 2, to the point that they will become Nintendo’s biggest third-party publisher. For sure, a lot of Nintendo fans would love it even if we just got a run of some of Microsoft’s classic game library, from Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Microsoft Flight Simulator, the console versions of Age Of Empires, etc. In fact, imagine if there was a Windows 95 category for Nintendo Switch Online, even just for crusty beloved classics like Solitaire, Minesweeper, and of course, 3D Pinball – Space Cadet.
But what’s implied here is that Microsoft might push their eight and ninth generation games on the Switch 2 as well. Wouldn’t it be something if games like Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, that can’t run on a Steam Deck, came to Switch 2? Or what about Starfield, which isn’t blocked from coming to PlayStation, but Bethesda might make the time for an easier port to Switch 2 first? We already know Bethesda and Activision will have a big presence with Nintendo, so we’ll see just how far Microsoft is willing to take it.
In the meantime, you can check out the full episode of Gamertag Radio below.
