Well, I think a problem here is that many people are too quick to panic or are too myopic. It's all about short-term kneejerk reactions as we're seeing in this thread.

For example, if one platform doesn't sell as well as its predecessor, it's automatically labelled a "flop". Well wait, hang on...that seems a bit unfair to me. The Xbox One isn't a Wii U, and even the Wii U did some stellar software sales for Nintendo.

Also, this whole discussion is a bit premature. Scorpio will be an extension of the Xbox One platform, like PS4 Pro is for PS4. So, the Xbox One - as a platform - will be around potentially for years yet. This is a long game, not a quarter-by-quarter, winner-takes-all grudge match. And I think a lot of people don't realise that, they simply react emotionally.

I mean, as a new Xbox One owner, of course I can always say that I want more of something - I want more exclusives, I want more backwards compatibility, etc etc... but how long is a piece of string? That argument is so rubbery, it's always going to be there. It makes sense that it becomes louder when a big game like Scalebound is cancelled, but geeze...does everyone think that the games that have been announced for Xbox One so far are the only new games that will ever appear on the platform forever? Of course not! We'll see new games being revealed throughout the year, especially as Microsoft turns its attention toward the Scorpio upgrade.

The combination of panic, irrationality, and short-term thinking all coalesces into this magic idea of "Phil Spencer should step down" - as though this would be some magic bullet solution to a poorly-defined problem. It reminds me of the other thread which called for Miyamoto to step down; it was just so divorced from reality in the end.

That's what I'm saying about Phil, as well as others who write about games. The decisions that Phil took right after his appointment speak directly to that goal - the initial decision to unbundle Kinect and drop the hardware price was one of the big ones that occurred right away. The evidence is certainly there.

Also, Phil himself expressed that he was specifically tasked to change the strategic direction of Xbox One to be "gaming first".

You can argue that the Xbox team hasn't done enough, secured enough exclusives, etc etc...but you know, you don't win 'em all. A team can put in huge effort and still not best their competitors every time. It's not a zero-sum question.

To be fair though, naysaying is easy and effortless - it's why so many people do it.

If Microsoft didn't care about games at all, they wouldn't have appointed Phil Spencer in the first place - that appointment was in direct response, in large part, to the prevailing view that Xbox One was less about games and more about being a generic entertainment hub.

Also, Microsoft have done significant work to fund indie stuff that they could have totally ignored if they weren't interested in games. That charge makes little sense.

Although this is a possibility, I don't think there's any need for panic or hand-wringing until there is an announcement. I mean, ultimately all we can rest upon is speculation until we hear from the horse's mouth.

We've got E3 coming up in a few months anyway, and we may hear more before that as it is. I'm very much a fan of taking a "wait and see" attitude to these things.

Before I say anything I just want to know, honestly, are you trying to create a cesspit or are you legit with this?

I think the Xbox One is wonderful (I just picked up an Xbox One S), and I think you're right about Ori being brilliant.
But "the only exclusives that matter" could only be written by someone who hasn't played exclusives on other platforms or someone who is just looking for a fight. Pick one. :-)

The drama! Phew. No need to panic, OP.

At any rate, I think you make a lot of large assumptions with few facts. I mean, Don Mattrick was an utter disaster for Xbox and for gamers in particular - go back and look at the original unveiling of the Xbox One, and compare that to what happened after Satya Nadella appointed Phil Spencer to run the Xbox group. Night and day.

Yeah, both are video games. And sure, you can compare the fun you had - but it's going to be hard to get much meaningful comparison going.

I mean, if I ask you which is better in the end - a Corvette or a semi-trailer - I'm asking a question that can be answered, sure. But how can you really assess which is better in general, given that they both do very different things (and are designed to do so)? You could say the semi wins because it can haul heaps of cargo, but that's utterly irrelevant to the Corvette. You know?

Bear in mind, I still answered the question. I didn't dismiss it, I just pointed out that these kinds of comparisons don't tend to be as fruitful as they could be. :-)

I'm sure it can exist in some form. Technically it probably can exist with just one console (or even no consoles!) - but who in their right mind would get behind the idea of an impoverished game industry with less choice?

I have to admit, I find these kinds of questions a bit odd sometimes because it's very much an apples vs oranges comparison. I mean, it's a bit like saying "Which one was better: the latest Super Mario or Forza?"

With that rather large caveat out of the way though, my personal answer is Dragon Age: Inquisition. I thought it was the best Dragon Age game overall and a significant step forward for the franchise. Yes, it had some annoying contrivances (some of the fetch quests and stuff), but I thought the characterisation and writing was the best the franchise had seen, the battle system was superb, and the overall world and gameplay was wonderful.

I enjoyed Fallout 4, but honestly, it felt like more of the same to me. The plot was incredibly flat and uninspired (or at least, the key drivers of the plot were fairly flat), the mission structure was very same-same (especially the numerous uninteresting side quests), and in general I just didn't see evidence of the franchise being pushed forward in any significant way. If Fallout 5 is ever made, I'd really love for it to be very different - the franchise has become too stale in my view.

Congrats to Square Enix - I'm glad the game is doing well for them. :-)