Phil Spencer says diehard PC gamers might not want an Xbox, and that's okay

As the head of Microsoft's Xbox division, Phil Spencer is probably the one guy you would expect to have an “Xbox for everyone!” sort of agenda. So it's interesting that, when Polygon asked him what reason a diehard PC gamer would have to purchase an Xbox One console, he replied that there might not actually be a reason at all.

"So they might not [buy an Xbox One]. And I want that to be okay."

“You might not want to buy an Xbox One” is perhaps an unusual position to be taken by a guy whose job is, first and foremost, to sell as many of the things as possible. But it jibes with our own recent interview with Spencer, in which he said that Microsoft's strategy isn't to “unify” the PC and consoles, but rather to “embrace those differences.”

“There are games I was talking about earlier, like Ashes of the Singularity, a fast-paced RTS game—probably not the best controller game, and I want to make sure those games are great,” he said. “What I want to make sure is that gamers on our platforms, you feel like you have access to as many games as you can, and as a developer you feel like you have the tools and service to reach as many gamers as you can.”

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.