When it comes to throwing shade over social media, head of Xbox Phil Spencer and his Xbox social media team aren’t about that life. Evidence of Spencer’s calm, collected, deliberately unconfrontational demeanor can be seen as far back as November, when Spencer celebrated the Xbox Series X’s launch as the biggest in Xbox history; in response to a question about whether the Xbox Series X|S was outselling its rival, the Playstation 5, Spencer both declined to comment and promised he wouldn’t make such comparisons.
“I think the people who want to pit us against Sony based on who sold the most consoles lose the context of what gaming is about today,” Spencer said. “There are 3 billion people who play games on the planet today, but maybe [only] 200 million households that have a video game console. In a way, the console space is becoming a smaller and smaller percentage of the overall gaming pie.”
Apparently, Spencer’s congenial attitude has rubbed off on the Xbox social media team as well, as the Xbox team isn’t interested in arguing with Playstation’s on social media. Steven Monterastelli, Associate Director of Data & Insights with Xbox shares Spencer’s view on a cordial approach to the company’s social media approach
“We have fans that have both consoles and we need to respect that,” Monterastelli said during a Socialbakers webinar. “We’re not here to say ‘Xbox is better than the competitor.’ Twitter has always been a high paced, real time platform driven by culture and community. Leaning into this and creating content based on shared insights has been key to sustaining mass interest for Xbox.”
Can’t we all just get along?
Monterastelli went on to explain that, especially in time of a pandemic, fans are looking for inspiriting messages when they visit Xbox social media — not negative ones or ones which disparage competitors.
“People are coming to social because they want to engage with the brands they love,” Monterastelli continued. “They’re looking for brands to amplify their shared values. Because of the pandemic, there are new feelings and emotions that haven’t been present in prior years. Being aware of that is key to staying credible and authentic. That’s been the insight we’ve gained. We need to be the fans. We need to show the fans that we understand them.”
Do you agree with Monterastelli’s implication that we should be united as gamers, especially during a time where the coronavirus pandemic has so drastically altered our everyday life? Is it better that the Xbox team isn’t interested in arguing with Playstation’s on social media, or should friendly bickering be part of the rivalry between competing companies and video game consoles? Tell us what you think in the comments.
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