Xbox boss admits Starfield won't get people to sell their PS5s for an Xbox Series X

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has admitted that Starfield won’t get people to sell their PS5s for an Xbox Series X.

For generations, consoles have had 'system sellers' - going back as far as Super Mario vs Sonic the Hedgehog in the Nintendo vs SEGA wars of yesteryear. System sellers are still present today, even during an age which has seen more multi-platform games than ever before. In terms of key exclusives, PlayStation 5 has God of War Ragnarök and Horizon Forbidden West, while Nintendo Switch has Super Mario Odyssey as well as the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, to name a few.

As for Xbox Series X/S, it does have exclusive titles, but perhaps none are considered to be 'system sellers'. Halo Infinite was supposed to be that very title, but 343 Industries' latest crack at the Master Chief fell below standards - and the less said about Redfall, the better. Looking forward, Microsoft will be pinning its hopes on the likes of the Forza Motorsport reboot, the next Gears of War and Halo. However, later this year, we have the highly anticipated and much delayed sci-fi RPG from Bethesda, Starfield.

Take a look at Starfield in action below.

Yet, following the abysmal release of Redfall, fans have concerns that Starfield might also release below expectations. So, will Starfield finally be the system seller that Microsoft needs? That remains to be seen, but Xbox chief Phil Spencer believes that no one will be in a hurry to sell their PS5 for an Xbox Series X.

As reported by The Verge, when talking to Kinda Funny Games, Spencer claimed, “We’re not in the business of out console-ing Sony or out console-ing Nintendo.” What’s more, Spencer believes that creating a great game is not enough for a franchise to be a system seller. “I see the commentary that if you just build great games everything will turn around. It’s just not true that if we go off and build great games all of a sudden you’re going to see console share shift in some dramatic way,” he explained.

“We lost the worst generation to lose in the Xbox One generation, where everybody built their digital library of games. We want our Xbox community to feel awesome, but this idea that if we just focused more on great games on our console somehow we’re going to win the console race doesn’t really lay into the reality of most people.” He continued, “There is no world where Starfield is an 11 out of 10 and people start selling their PS5s, that’s not going to happen.” On the topic of Redfall, he added, “I’m upset with myself. The critical response was not what we wanted.”

I’m not sure that I totally agree on games not being enough to be a system seller - both Sony and Nintendo have proved otherwise. However, as a fan of every console, I really hope that Xbox can claw back some momentum.