Phil Spencer Responds to Microsoft’s ‘This Is an Xbox’ Ad Campaign, Which Is Already a Meme

Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer has responded to the launch of the company’s ‘This Is An Xbox’ ad campaign, which is already a meme online.

This week, Microsoft launched a new advertising campaign designed to hammer home the fact that you can play Xbox pretty much on any device and anywhere, sparking yet more backlash at the company’s console strategy.

The ‘This is an Xbox’ campaign includes images of cats and a bento box among other devices that play video games. The idea Microsoft is trying to get across, which is in keeping with its previous messaging, is that Xbox is less about consoles these days and more about being able to play on any device capable of playing a video game. So, in this sense, a TV is an Xbox, a phone is an Xbox, etc.

That hasn’t gone down well with core Xbox fans already dissatisfied with Microsoft’s gaming strategy in recent years. Not only have they seen the Xbox console fade from importance as sales of the Xbox Series X and S collapse, but the Xbox console exclusive become extinct.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer discussed the future of the Xbox brand as well as the advertising campaign. “It’s an interesting topic because as we look at the brand, as we’re changing the brand, [it] means something different,” Spencer said. “It literally was a box when it first launched. It was the Direct X box. What it’s grown into now is more accessibility. Xbox isn’t just one device, Xbox is on your smart TV, Xbox is on your PC, Xbox is on your phone, and we’re in the middle of that transition.”

According to Rolling Stone, Spencer acknowledged that some fans would be turned off by the campaign. Some people “long for the simplicity of a single box, single platform, single game,” he said, before insisting “today’s largest games are bigger than any of the individual platforms.”

That’s a nod to the likes of Fortnite and Roblox, which have become enormous platforms with monthly player counts comparable to the likes of Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo consoles. For Spencer, then, the focus is on the games.

“I think the thing that should really have longevity are the games, characters and world — and the platforms should enable us to experience those games where we want to play,” he said. “That’s how we think about Xbox today.”

Image credit: Microsoft.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.