Animal Talking, Star Wars: Rogue One writer Gary Whitta’s talk show set inside Animal Crossing: New Horizons, has aired an interview with head of Xbox Phil Spencer. The man, who has always seemed to have a soft spot for Nintendo, appeared inside Animal Crossing to talk about the next generation of Xbox, and the recent delay of Halo Infinite. Though he struggled to sit down on the couch at first, once he did it was a lively interview with some insights into how he has made recent decisions. And just check out that Xbox-green shirt!
You can watch their full chat below–Spencer joins at about the 19 minute mark–but we’ve rounded up some of the highlights.
Spencer says that some other plans were considered for handling the delay of Halo Infinite, including shipping the game out in parts. There were rumors ahead of launch that the game’s free-to-play multiplayer could come after launch, but Spencer says that Xbox did not want to do this.
While he knows that people are “bummed” about the game’s delay, he also believes it’s the right move–and a decision he would not have been able to make 5 or 10 years ago. Spencer says he has Microsoft’s full support in the decision, even though it would have been nice for the Series X to be the first system since the original Xbox to launch with a Halo game.
He also reiterates that the system itself will not be delayed, and reminds us again that he has had one at home since last year. After playing games on Series X, he says, it’s “hard to go back” to Xbox One, as games feel better on the new system.
Spencer also teased that more “big” Game Pass announcements are coming. Many of the games announced for Series X so far are heading to Game Pass.
Spencer touches on some other topics, including the PS5, why the systems have such radically different designs from one another, and how Microsoft and Sony’s strategy differ. He also promises that the Xbox Series X won’t be a loud console, saying it makes only as much noise as the Xbox One X.
This isn’t the first time the competitor’s next-gen systems have been discussed on Animal Talking–God of War director Cory Barlog recently talked about the PS5. Now Whitta just needs to get someone from Nintendo on the show.
The Xbox Series X is expected to launch in November.
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