Mike Ybarra, known for his tenure as an executive at Microsoft and president of Blizzard, doesn’t believe that gaming as a hobby competes with social media platforms. Taking to social media himself, Ybarra specifically mentioned short-form video content in this comparison, referring to platforms like TikTok, Instagram’s Reels, and YouTube’s Shorts.
According to Ybarra, the fact that video games tend to be long-form sources of entertainment since most games tend to take several hours to finish means that they’re not in competition with short-form video platforms for a customer’s time. Instead, he believes that gaming competes with ‘time’.
“Gaming doesn’t compete with short form video. It competes with ‘time’. It’s different,” wrote Ybarra. “Video games are multi-hour, premium, experiences. They are so good you forget the sense of time, you escape reality and the challenges and stresses of today (of reality). Short form video is what you do when you have a few minutes multiple times throughout your day.”
Responding to this, one X user noted that the average time spent by a person on their phone amounts to roughly 4 hours and 37 minutes. Taking into account that the average adult also has to go to work, the user questions Ybarra’s assertions. In response to this question, Ybarra noted a belief that most of the time spend on phones and social media tends to happen during school and work hours. When people get home, he notes, is when they are looking for long-form entertainment like movies, TV shows, and video games.
“It is well known that people do the most social networking (Insta, TikTok, etc.) at work and at school,” wrote Ybarra. “Yes, not working and not studying – but sitting on social networks hours every day.”
“It’s the time when you get home after work and after school that video games takes. So competing with movies/TV – sure, but not social networks. I just don’t believe it. Maybe I’m wrong, but either way the messaging is way off.”
Ybarra’s statements come just a couple of days after Xbox game content and studios president Matt Booty said that Microsoft isn’t competing with other consoles. Rather, the company is competing for the time that users spend with apps like TikTok and other mediums like movies.
“We are all seeking to meet people where they are,” said Booty. “Our biggest competition isn’t another console. We are competing more and more with everything from TikTok to movies.”
Booty made this statement in light of Halo Studios recently having unveiled Halo: Campaign Evolved, along with confirmation that the title would be the first one in the entire Halo franchise to also come to PlayStation alongside its planned PC and Xbox Series X/S release. This decision was announced in the wake of Xbox president Sarah Bond referring to the concept of console exclusives as being “antiquated”.
“The biggest games in the world are available everywhere,” said Bond. “You look at Call of Duty, you look at Minecraft, you look at Fortnite, you look at Roblox. That’s actually what’s really driving community in gaming. That’s where people gather. The idea of locking it to one store or one device is antiquated for most people.”
