Xbox boss Phil Spencer takes a sly dig at the PS5 following specs reveal
Phil Spencer has taken his latest shot at Sony this week, finally reacting to the release of the PS5 specs. This is the latest piece of posturing as the release dates of PS5 and Xbox Series X draw nearer – there are no exact dates just yet, but both consoles are pencilled in for “holiday 2020”.
After a long wait, the PS5 specs sheet was finally shown off back in mid-March, in a very, very dry and technical presentation, when Sony’s lead system architect Mark Cerny appeared in a live online broadcast.
Related: PS5 vs Xbox Series X – Sony reveals its grand plan to beat Xbox
Ever the outspoken figurehead, Spencer claimed that the PS5 specs had made him feel more confident about the upcoming Microsoft console. He told IGN: “I felt really good, no doubt. I felt really good about how Series X lines up.”
The head of Xbox conceded that Sony has achieved some impressive stuff in designing its next-gen console, though.
“I think Mark and the team did some really good work on the audio processing that they’ve talked about,” he added. “Their SSD technology is impressive – we like that and we saw the work that they did.
“The planning takes a long time and so I will definitely have respect for any platform team that’s launching… it just takes a lot of work. But I will say when we finally saw the public disclosure, I felt even better about the choices we made on our platform and I kind of expected that I would.”
Ultimately, Spencer believes his team at Xbox has the skills to out-hustle Sony in bringing a next-gen console to market. However, if current-gen sales are anything to go by, then Xbox has a lot of ground to make up with the Series X, as the Xbox One was absolutely dominated by the PS4 in terms of sales and popularity.
Related: PS5 System Architect Mark Cerny takes aim at the Xbox Series X
Spencer believes, this time around, things might be different. He said: “The hardware team… that did Xbox One S, Xbox One X… I just have a lot of confidence in them, and if I give them the time and the targets to go hit, I just believe in their ability to create a great end-to-end program. The work that Jason Ronald and the team have done is just fantastic.”
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
