Xbox head Phil Spencer supports emulation, wants the industry to accept it
Spencer called legal game emulation a "North Star" for the industry and hopes it gains traction among larger developers.
In an interview with Axios, Microsoft’s Executive Vice President of Gaming and Xbox head Phil Spencer discussed emulation and video game preservation. The executive desires to see the industry accept legal software emulation going forward — a goal that would require the big studios to work together.
Spencer believes the industry must view emulation as a crucial part of the business, something Microsoft has touted for years. He noted:
My hope (and I think I have to present it that way as of now) is as an industry we’d work on legal emulation that allowed modern hardware to run any (within reason) older executable allowing someone to play any game.
Phil Spencer, Executive Vice President of Gaming at Microsoft
Phil Spencer, Xbox, and the state of emulation
The Xbox line is no stranger to emulation support — though not on the level Phil Spencer wants to achieve. Microsoft recently added 76 titles to its already-sizable backward compatibility library as part of the Xbox 20th-anniversary celebrations. However, in the same announcement, it mentioned that this will be the last batch of games they can bring over because of legal, technical, or licensing issues.
The situation Spencer outlined would take years, probably decades to achieve even if most of the industry was on board. It may never happen, especially when it relies on so many companies playing ball. But he remains hopeful that it would be a pinnacle accomplishment for gaming:
“I think in the end, if we said, ‘Hey, anybody should be able to buy any game, or own any game and continue to play,’ that seems like a great North Star for us as an industry.”
Phil Spencer, Executive Vice President of Gaming at Microsoft
Emulation, as well as game preservation as a whole, remains a hot topic in the gaming world. More and more games are becoming unavailable due to delistings, service takedowns, and cut-off support from developers. It’s important that industry figureheads take stock of the benefits it brings to consumers. That’s what makes Spencer’s comments so important.
What do you think of Phil Spencer’s points? Do you think Microsoft and Xbox will lead the path towards achieving full, comprehensive emulation? Let us know!
Via Axios.
