One sec to talk at the Paley International Council Summit on November 12, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer did what every CEO must do when called upon: he talked about one of the company’s controversial failures.
Spencer appeared at the annual media conference as part of a panel on Hollywood’s collaboration with the video game industry with Jonathan Nolan, the film’s director and executive producer Fall TV series on Amazon. The two took a victory lap thanks to the show’s critical success and season two renewal, but Spencer still took the opportunity to tackle gaming issues as well.
It’s almost like Fall the adaptation surprised Microsoft. Similarly, last month, in an interview with Polygon, Wizards of the Coast vice president of design Aaron Forsythe said that the overwhelming success of the Fallout-inspired game Magic: The Gathering decks, released around the same time as the series’ debut, “wasn’t really planned, just surprisingly random,” suggesting a lack of communication with Bethesda and Xbox. We are constantly told that executives earn exorbitant salaries because they specialize in this type of high-level decision-making. But when exactly did this apply here?
Fallout developer Bethesda teased an Amazon adaptation in 2020. A year later, Microsoft completed the acquisition of Bethesda’s parent company, ZeniMax Media. After all this time – not to mention Microsoft’s massive operating capital – you’re telling me that Xbox couldn’t have come up with this something coincided with the series premiere? Of course, Bethesda was busy Field of Stars. But strangely, Spencer doesn’t acknowledge the missed opportunity, perhaps even offering a few platitudes about the difficulties of re-releasing or remaking beloved titles like Fallout 3 AND Fallout: New Vegas. (In their current form, these games are not very warm to non-gamers who are encountering the franchise for the first time, and most of them may not understand backwards compatibility or lack the basic knowledge needed to work on up-to-date PCs. Despite this and so many people flocked to these games after the series premiered.)
Spencer reportedly concluded his comments by pointing out the existence of a massive multiplayer mode Fallout 76 AND Fallout Shelter on mobile devices as potential Fall video games for people finishing watching a TV series. I would argue that while both have their advantages, neither is the most vital Fall experiences.
Oh well. I guess it’s not anyone’s fault, right?
