Last week, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella appeared at an internal Q&A session alongside new Xbox boss Asha Sharma, and some quotes from that event appeared online courtesy of Windows Central last night.
A recent photo even showed that he was wearing an Xbox hoodie as part of it:
The main quote that’s getting all the attention on social media is Nadella’s pledge to “always invest in gaming”, highlighting its importance to Microsoft as a whole. Nevertheless, he also insisted that Xbox needs to be “best-in-class” at showing an “excellence in execution, and creativity”. Here’s a bit of what he said:
“Phil [Spencer], he’s always talked to me about how gaming is the largest entertainment category — what is gaming in its most expansive form going forward? This doesn’t mean we walk away from people are doing today — when we think about a AAA game on a console. The question is about where else can we go to extend that. For me, we’re long on gaming. We’ll continue to invest, and we’ll always do so. It’s up to this team to show an excellence in execution, and creativity. Software always carries risk, but this is software with lots of creation risk. It’s way different. But yet, we have to be the best-in-class at it.”
Nadella talked more about gaming’s importance elsewhere in the Q&A, insisting that gaming is one of the “main identities of what Microsoft has always meant, and will always mean”, and also mentioning that he jokes with the NVIDIA CEO about how NVIDIA wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for gaming.
He later discussed the importance of appealing to Xbox’s existing customers and “what they expect us to do”, as well as how console and PC offer a way to “immerse” players away from the passive distractions (like scrolling) of modern life.
Ultimately, Nadella is making it very clear that he and Microsoft are still committed to Xbox going forward, and supposedly “always” will be. That’s great news in our book, and hopefully it eases the pressure on Asha Sharma as well.