Spencer congratulates Sony on PS5, "but we're in a good position" with Xbox Series X

Gamelab Live 2020's keynote is now over after head of Xbox at Microsoft Phil Spencer talked through several of the factors defining both this generation and the upcoming one, including several services such as Game Pass and xCloud or systems such as, naturally, the next-gen Xbox Series X console.

Spencer was also open to referring to his company's main competition, specifically to Sony and their recent Future of Gaming PlayStation 5 presentation, which made for a totally respectful, yet proud comparison between the two platforms.

"Yeah, I watched the show, I thought they did a good job," he told host Seth Schiesel. "I sent Jim [Ryan] a note afterwards and congratulated him, I thought that, in this environment, trying to pull off a high production value event is just not easy, so I applaud the team at Sony for what they were able to do. As a competitor, it's great to have them out there now, so we kind of know what the program is - we see the device, we see the games - just being honest, I felt good after seeing their show".

With that good vibration in mind, Spencer takes the chance to list the Xbox Series X features that he believes might make the difference versus PS5, as "I think the hardware advantages that we've built are going to show up as we're talking more about our games and framerates and other things. I thought that the games lineup that we're going to have at launch, I felt really good about. We've got more clarity on what they're doing obviously at their show, which just helped us focus on more of what we have, and I think that'll be a strength for us at launch".

In fact, Spencer stresses Sony's achievement but insists on their supposedly privileged position. "They do what they do very well, but when I think about the position that we're in, with the games that we're going to be able to show and how they're going to show up, and the hardware advantage that we have, I think we're in a very good position. So I feel good about July and the gameplay we're going to be showing there".

In July there will effectively be a new Xbox Series X event towards which "teams are working hard to get it lined up", according to Spencer, "and we've taken feedback from our last event", he added with a smile, "and I think people are really going to be pleased with what we're going to be showing there. Halo will be a big part of it, and that's obviously an important title for us."

Are you looking forward to seeing more Halo next month?