Transcript
All right, here we go. It's about a day before the, uh, 2017 XBOX briefing. I'm sitting here in Phil Spencer's dressing room with Phil Spencer.
Phil Spencer: Wait a minute, wait a minute. Where are we?
Larry: We're in your dressing room.
Phil Spencer: This is not my, this is Larry's dressing room.
Larry: No, this is actually, this is a dressing room cause you were busy having, you, you, you a ... We're here, we're here at the Venue.
Phil Spencer: (laughs)
Larry: We're in Los Angeles, California.
Phil Spencer: Nice recovery.
Larry: We're at the, uh, we're at the Galen Center, which we've, we've been here for quite a few years.
Phil Spencer: Yeah.
Larry: Um, and we're-
Phil Spencer: It's a great venue for us.
Larry: We're, we're a little, little more than 24 hours away from you walking out on stage and revealing some cool stuff to the world.
Phil Spencer: Yeah. Yeah, this is, uh, this show's really come together. Uh, it, uh, I'm really proud of this-
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: And I think about my own personal taste and style and games that I love, and I feel like, uh, this is a show that I can, I can really get into.
Larry: And I'll say this. I mean, we're just, you, we only have you for a few minutes, and normally, we've done this like three years now, I think.
Phil Spencer: Yeah.
Larry: To get you out here and we just kind of chat right before the show. We're not, we're not-
Phil Spencer: You can fit me in. You gotta fit me in. It's hard. You're a busy man.
Larry: Dude, dude.
Phil Spencer: (laughs)
Larry: You, I sat through the rehearsal today. You were up on stage. You looked great. Everything was great. There's, there's a lot of film in this show. I can say that.
Phil Spencer: There's too much film.
Larry: Uh, but it, but more importantly, there it a blank-ton of games.
Phil Spencer: Yeah.
Larry: I mean that's, I'm really excited.
Phil Spencer: That's why we're here, right?
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: I mean E3, we usually don't do a lot of strategery on stage. We don't do a lot of pricey stuff.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: We don't do a lot of-
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: We went, we used to do that.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: We used to kind of show you how we built every feature, and what our deals were and stuff, and-
Larry: Power Point slides, (laughs) and all that stuff.
Phil Spencer: Yeah, and I'm like, "Let's make this show-"
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: "About what people care about."
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: Which is the games, and, uh, we have, obviously, Project Scorpio that we wanna show and kind of unveil to people.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: But, um, we're gonna get into the games really quickly, and the game line-up is, uh, I think it's special.
Larry: Is it, is it an unveil or re-unveil? Cause you kind, we kind of did it last year. (laughs)
Phil Spencer: We did. And, uh, it's, I'm, I'm proud of the way, I mean, you know cause you've seen this show. Um, I'm proud of the way it kind of bookends what we did last year.
Larry: Yeah, yeah.
Phil Spencer: And then how it's gonna, you know, come out. You know this, what I'm kind of talking about.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: I think people will get it when they see it.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: Um, yeah, maybe this is, I think it's a reveal.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: I think, you know, people are gonna ... they're gonna be able to understand now what we've been talking about for the last 12 months.
Larry: And you and I have been talking about, I think we first started talking about this E3 when we were, went down to Mexico last year.
Phil Spencer: Yeah.
Larry: I remember we were talking about that in the airport a little but, but I wanna ta, just let, let folks know, and you and I have tweeted about this, and certainly Aaron has and Mike has. We've been planning for this E3 for months and months and months and months.
Phil Spencer: That's right.
Larry: Yeah, I mean the first, the first big rehearsal, I think it was, I remember the exec review was like in December.
Phil Spencer: Yeah. Well, you know the, the thing about this show, and this isn't just true of our show, it's true of the other, uh, third parties, the other platforms selling Nintendo.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: You know, you go back and look at it, these shows are viewed like 50 million, 60 million times.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: Right? If you think about all the different places where they get put, and, so this is a serious place for us to tell our story.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: Um, I even think, in a certain extent, it's cool to go back and look at these like five years later, so I think about, these are really cool ways to memorialize where the platforms were at a certain time, and-
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: Um, so I, I think we, I think the, the shows are important. Being on stage, kind of, getting the creators out there. I'm glad we spend the time we do.
Larry: Yeah. Yeah, it's kind of a-
Phil Spencer: We use a lot of time. You're absolutely right. It's a lot of time.
Larry: You know it's funny you say that about, you know, every year you go back and look at it. It's almost like we do a yearbook every year.
Phil Spencer: That's right.
Larry: Like a high school yearbook.
Phil Spencer: It's a time capsule.
Larry: Right? And we can go back-
Phil Spencer: Yeah.
Larry: And look at it and say, "Wow, that's, that's, that's a lot of stuff."
Phil Spencer: I mean I'll go back and I'll look at like the Halo 2 one, and you know-
Larry: That was amazing.
Phil Spencer: That, but at the time, and it's also just so funny to look at those old ones and realize how little production value there was. (laughs)
Larry: Well how sophisticated things are now.
Phil Spencer: Yeah, I mean it's a TV show now.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: And, and more than TV, online is way bigger than the TV viewership.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: Like, like you're all over the place with these things, and all the different languages, and we've got mixer here, we're going to be doing a lot of interesting things that. We're going to be broadcasting in 4K.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: How fantastic is that?
Larry: And not only that, but we, you know, the other thing is I, I've been tweeting this out as well, is, um, I'll be co-hosting a live show on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from, uh, from here on the show floor.
Phil Spencer: I've see, is that the, the crows nest-thing?
Larry: I think that, I think that's up there, but I think, you know, Tina's got us over on the show floor as well.
Phil Spencer: Oh, OK, yeah.
Larry: Right?
Phil Spencer: Right.
Larry: Right. When the show opens on Tuesday we'll be over there.
Phil Spencer: Cause you do go where Tina tells you to go.
Larry: Well yeah, Tina's, so for those-
Phil Spencer: (laughs)
Larry: Tina's the stra, who's Tina? Tina's, Tina's the producer of the, of the show, and she's great. But, uh-
Phil Spencer: Yeah.
Larry: We're really excited to-
Phil Spencer: What about our screen?
Larry: Cou, could we talk about that?
Phil Spencer: No, but we should just say, "What do we think about that screen?" We won't say what it is, or-
Larry: It is jaw-dropping.
Phil Spencer: Yeah.
Larry: That's all I'm gonna say. (laughs)
Phil Spencer: It's ridiculous.
Larry: (laughs)
Phil Spencer: It's stupidly good.
Larry: Yeah, it's-
Phil Spencer: That is, uh-
Larry: (laughs)
Phil Spencer: I think maybe it'll be close on when we talk about what the screen is, and when this gets posted-
Larry: Right.
Phil Spencer: So I think if people get confused when they see this, and-
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: Like, if we haven't talked about it yet just wait a little bit.
Larry: Yep.
Phil Spencer: And we'll talk about it so it's somewhat close, but I'm really proud of the work that the team did to do something new.
Larry: Yep.
Phil Spencer: Um, and the investment we put in that, and I think the way it's gonna pop for both. People at home have the, the streams that we've talked about for people in the arena, which, you know-
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: Is so incredib, important to us.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: Our fans are here, the Fanfest, like all that stuff.
Larry: There's energy in the room, cause when you walk out on stage, you, you know, you're sitting 20 feet, 10 feet from some of the fans and some of the members of the audience, right?
Phil Spencer: Well and the cool thing for me now, I know those people. Like-
Larry: Yeah you do. (laughs)
Phil Spencer: There are people every year-
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: This is when I see them.
Larry: Right.
Phil Spencer: And I don't see them other times of the year, but I see them, I recognize them by face.
Larry: Yep.
Phil Spencer: Uh, and, you know, then when I'm online at nights playing whatever I'm playing, like there they are. I'm playing with the people.
Larry: Right.
Phil Spencer: Uh, the fans that I've met here, and this is like, you, you know, you talked about your yearbook.
Larry: Yes.
Phil Spencer: Like, this is a little like family reunion-thing-
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: That happens. And every year the Fanfest gets a little bigger and better as we kind of learn how to do it. Um, but I love the fact that all the, the Xbox Fanfest people are right there on the floor. We know who they are. There's new people every year. Families come, and it's-
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: So it's, I think it's a real special time-
Larry: They have picnics out on the floor.
Phil Spencer: (laughs)
Larry: They're having a good time.
Phil Spencer: See that? (laughs) Yeah. They are having a good time.
Larry: Well the reason they have to, they have to pack a picnic lunch is because this is a long show. (laughs)
Phil Spencer: This is a long show.
Larry: Right? (laughs)
Phil Spencer: We just had that-
Larry: (laughs)
Phil Spencer: Cause I ... We usually go 90 minutes.
Larry: Yep.
Phil Spencer: We all know that. TV broadcast, 90 minutes, you kind of get the time booked with the broadcaster. All that stuff's important. Um, we were back in Redmond, we're kind of grinding on it. I'm like, "No, I really want these games in."
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: "We're gonna go long. So let's go talk to the TV, television. We're gonna, we're gonna go long."
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: And we just ran it today, and, and it's longer than even it was when I tweeted out that we're gonna be a little long.
Larry: Right, right.
Phil Spencer: So, uh, maybe I'll be talking fast (laughs) in certain sections.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: Or something. But, uh, I just think that there's, I mean you've seen it.
Larry: There's so many games to show.
Phil Spencer: I don't know what you would take out. And I'd feel bad.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: And it's not like we're reaching five years in advance to go pull something into the show.
Larry: No.
Phil Spencer: I mean, most of the things that are in the show, and this is kind of a principle I've learned is let's focus on the things that are kind of the here and now and we can put our hands on.
Larry: Right.
Phil Spencer: And even that I can't fit this stuff in the show.
Larry: Right.
Phil Spencer: So, um, show's gonna go long, and I will apologize for people if it happens to run past your DVR if that's the way you watch this.
Larry: But, but if it doesn't matter. Even if it runs past your DVR, which is, you know, which is unfortunate, you can always go get it online.
Phil Spencer: Yeah.
Larry: Or there's the VOD, the Video on Demand, and-
Phil Spencer: Which would be in 4K.
Larry: Yeah, and you know-
Phil Spencer: That's the way we'd go see it anyway.
Larry: Go, go to Mixer and you can, you can see, you'll be able to see the whole thing, and it's, it's, it's gonna be an extraordinary show.
Phil Spencer: Cause we had some new people in the arena today, and I was, cause I've seen, you, you and I have seen the show probably multiple times.
Larry: A few times, yeah.
Phil Spencer: And, and it always changes, and we tweak it a little bit, but, you know, it's always great to get the impressions of the new people that are here.
Larry: Fresh eyes.
Phil Spencer: And, yeah. People always, they kind of hit new things that maybe we've become kind of accustomed to.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: But the impression's really been great. I mean, in the end what's important is what our fans and customers think, and-
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: Uh, we'll know that Sunday night, and-
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: Onto the week. But it's gonna be a great week. And E3, I know, is a time that you and I both love.
Larry: Now I gotta ask you this question. You, you're out on stage. I'll, I will say this. You're out on stage a couple of different times.
Phil Spencer: (laughs)
Larry: A few different times.
Phil Spencer: Too many times. This is, yeah.
Larry: Now are you gonna go backstage? Are you gonna flip your phone open and see what's going on on Twitter? Do you want me to text you? I mean, how do you want to handle that? Cause, I mean, that's-
Phil Spencer: No, I-
Larry: Do you, cause it gets distracting. You, you know, cause you're focused on making sure you can hit your marks.
Phil Spencer: I-
Larry: (laughs)
Phil Spencer: I get so nervous in coming out. I'm actually less nervous now, and most people think it's just cause I've done it more times.
Larry: Right. You're comfortable.
Phil Spencer: It's actually, again, because the people around me.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: You know, when I'm down there, and I see th, and they're like, "Oh OK." It's, and I always have this thing. I come out and I'm like, "How long can I go?" You know, you think it's gonna be perfect. It's like buying a new car.
Larry: Right.
Phil Spencer: No scratches, no dents or anything.
Larry: Right.
Phil Spencer: And all of a suddenly I'm going to mess something up in the first five minutes.
Larry: Right.
Phil Spencer: And then kinda once you get your first door-
Larry: You're comfortable.
Phil Spencer: Then you're like, you just go.
Larry: You just have fun.
Phil Spencer: So you, so, uh, you roll with the thing. I try not to figure out socially, like, what's going on.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: Because I wanna stay ...
Larry: In the game.
Phil Spencer: Yeah.
Larry: (laughs)
Phil Spencer: And this is going longer, but let me, like, one ... The games that are in our show this year mean something to me.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: And that's not to say they haven't in past years.
Larry: Sure.
Phil Spencer: But I really wanted to put, um, certain developers, certain ideas into this show.
Larry: Yep.
Phil Spencer: So I really, like I have something to say, and it's why I'll apologize for how many times I, I'm saying something about a game. But I'm, I have something I wanna say about certain games, and why is this game here? And what does this game mean to us? And why do I think it's an important part of the portfolio? Third party games, exclusive games, like ah, it's not about-
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: Uh, being exclusionary of anybody. Um, so, like, I wanna have my head in the moment. Like when I'm looking at some of these assets that the game, these game developers have, again, some of the game play and stuff, it's like jaw-dropping.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: Where we are. So I'm gonna stay in the moment, and uh, if you wanna text me like, "Hey, your fly's down," or something. (laughs)
Larry: I'm not going to bother you. (laughs)
Phil Spencer: (laughs) I appreciate that.
Larry: I don't wanna bother (laughs) ... your, your shoes ... Yeah, I was gonna say your shoes are untied, but you didn't even have shoelaces. I'm just looking at your shoes. (laughs)
Phil Spencer: (laughs) This is not the outfit. I'm not exactly sure what I'm wearing yet.
Larry: Right.
Phil Spencer: Uh, but this is, this is not the outfit. We'll figure that out probably tomorrow.
Larry: Well it's, just a reminder to folks, uh, if you're, if you're, you wanna watch this one the air, it's on, gonna be on Mixer.com/xbox. You can watch it at 2 o’clock. That's Pacific Time.
Phil Spencer: It is, yeah.
Larry: And that's 5 o'clock Eastern. I'll have, I'll have the links on my blogs, and, of course, I'll be tweeting it out. If they follow you at XboxE3 I'm sure you're going to be a backstage photo or something.
Phil Spencer: Major, what's Major Nelson at now on Twitter followers? A couple billion or something?
Larry: I, oh, one in, 1.6 million or some point? Awesome, awesome.
Phil Spencer: I don't, I don't know, I just, I just, you know-
Larry: Good job.
Phil Spencer: I'm just-
Larry: Hey, it's, it's, it's, it's, this is the, you know. You know better than anybody. We have an incredibly passionate audience, and I-
Phil Spencer: Yes.
Larry: I love waking up every day and coming to work with you, for you, um, with you, and the team members that we have. Cause we have some incredibly smart people that work with us that just want to make great games and great systems and great, great experiences.
Phil Spencer: Yeah, I, I appreciate you saying that. And I, I love working together. I think, you know, we've had a long history of working together.
Larry: Yeah. Yeah.
Phil Spencer: And going into this week, a lot of people don't see this. I see this. Um, nobody works harder at E3 than you do. Nobody works harder at Xbox than you do.
Larry: Oh you're kind, man. You're very kind.
Phil Spencer: But this week I know-
Larry: (laughs)
Phil Spencer: You've probably slept for the last month kind of trying to save up energy-
Larry: To get ready, yeah. (laughs)
Phil Spencer: But I, as, like, as a member of the Xbox community, as somebody that loves their games, loves our platform, honestly the work that you do-
Larry: You're very kind.
Phil Spencer: Through the year, but during this week, I know, is just a, is, is, like, a, a lot of hours.
Larry: Yeah, it, well I really appreciate that.
Phil Spencer: Thanks for that.
Larry: Thank you, man. I appreciate it. And I just want, I just get, I have fun because like you, you and I get to represent the, the thousands of people that work in Redmond, and around the world on Xbox.
Phil Spencer: That's right. That's right.
Larry: So we're, we're just fortunate-
Phil Spencer: That's how I feel.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: When I'm out there, it's as a member of the team.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: It's somebody who represents the work of the team. I do very little work on my own. Like, you know, it's, I'm a figurehead in a lot of ways. Um-
Larry: Yeah. Well you, you make a lot of decisions. (laughs)
Phil Spencer: (laughs) If somebody needs a decision and they're looking for somebody that ... Like, I have no problem, uh, making decisions that the team needs made.
Larry: Yeah.
Phil Spencer: Like, I think that's my job. But, um, but yeah, you know, the, the team ... some of them get to come down here, most of them don't. Um, so yeah. Being, uh, a representative of the team there. But you, you're just fantastic, and I appreciate that.
Larry: Thanks, man, I appreciate it. Well listen, I'll, I'm gonna let you go. I know you gotta g, get ready, and I'm looking forward to seeing what people think.
Be sure to tune in, uh, at Mixer.com/xbox at, uh, 2 o'clock Pacific. That's 5 o'clock Eastern. I'll put a link for all the times around the world. And if you miss, don't worry about it. Video on Demand-
Phil Spencer: There you go.
Larry: You can watch it anytime. It's gonna be, it's gonna be a long show. I'll say that. So all right. Phil, thanks, man.
Phil Spencer: Thanks Larry.
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