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Defining Duke Ultimate, Episode 4: Is Xbox Mismanaging Their Studios? (Patreon)

Published:
2021-02-24 17:00:06
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

It's a bite-size Defining Duke Ultimate episode this week (yes, we need more write-ins), but the conversation is as delicious as ever! From taco trucks to Halo being "niche," we discuss! More importantly, is whether or not Xbox is mismanaging the talent they have acquired. Taking a look at games like Quantum Break, Scalebound, Crackdown 3, and certain trends they lined up with creates a compelling argument. But, is that the case? Let's find out.

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Comments

Anthony J Sanchez

Defining Duke is my favorite podcast! I love the Ultimate episodes as well. Keep it up Matty!

Daniel Mitchell

"This is my favorite podcast on the Citadel."

yosh_wah

Jak and Daxter HD is only on PS3 unfortunately. While the games are on the PS Store, they are just ports of the PS2 versions. I agree, though, Matty. I miss that franchise! Personally, I'd like to see them get the remake treatment that Spyro and Crash got.

Will Hahn

Ayyyeee shoutout to Matty reading my question about tacos! Haha thanks my dude!

Hawk_757

I don’t think a better question could have been asked about Xbox’s management of its studios. Personally, I believe the answer to that question is a resounding “yes.” As a long-time gamer, I’ve watched Xbox’s moves over the years and occasionally they get their consumer friendly practices right. However, I still don’t think they really know what gamers want. I’ve heard from devs that working with Xbox is great, but maybe Xbox is a little too hands off. They don’t seem to steer their devs in the proper direction and just seem to green-light whatever their devs want to do, even if the concepts aren’t really resonating with their core gamer. After numerous new game cancellations, struggles with their existing franchises, policy missteps, etc., maybe it’s time Xbox starts making some drastic changes with how it handles its devs and maybe with the manpower behind its failures. I see a potentially bright future for the Xbox brand with new studio acquisitions, but as it stands, something needs to change with how these devs are handled for that to come to fruition.

Dave Carsley
>>54405552

A well reasoned comment. But I wonder if perhaps it's simply a matter of having decent leadership in place at each individual studio (not at Xbox as a whole)? Most reasonable people would agree that making great games is specifically where Sony excels over Microsoft (and arguably, it's really the only area where they excel), and yet, Sony is known throughout the industry for having a very unique and famously "hands off" approach with their internal studios. No doubt they keep an eye on progress, but unlike almost all other major publishers, Sony is well known for choosing to not get in the way and instead just letting their creatives do what they do best-- create. And mostly, they let them create whatever they want to. And with a few notable exceptions (like Dreams), it seems to work out very well for them. I think having an experienced studio head (who has proven they can get successful games out the door) at each studio might just be what Xbox needs rather than more over-arching leadership from the top. But who knows. There is also the small possibility that their developers simply aren't very talented. I only mention this because these days, I hear so much "Don't blame anything on the developers; nothing is their fault; everything is always, always, always the fault of upper management", and it kind of irks me a bit. As a long time Project Manager myself, I can tell you it is absolutely possible to have a team you are managing who simply doesn't have the talent to do what you need them to do! Yes, a team's failures are very often the result of poor leadership, but that's not *always* the case-- especially in large corporations where the project manager isn't allowed to hire/fire as they see fit. Even with the greateat management on earth, a team of people who isn't good at making video games isn't going to make a great video game... period. I certainly don't think this is the case with all of Xbox's studios, but it's entirely possible that some of the studios simply need to train their people better (or get new people).

Hawk_757

I appreciate your thoughts. I actually considered the scenario you suggested prior to formulating my opinion. Ultimately, the answer may may lie somewhere in the middle between Xbox and dev management. We all know the highs of which a couple of their devs can reach. Unfortunately, the frequency of blunders with other studios tends to draw my attention toward Xbox for answers. Sony just might be better at picking the right teams that require less management.

Danomind

Whoa! I can’t believe my question got read on the show and it sparked a TMNT conversation from Matty, this was such a cool moment for me.

Stephen Short

Yo I bought a physical copy of out of the shadows for way too much money bit enjoyed it. If I wanted to get into tmnt comics where should I start?