Microsoft Xbox One chief Phil Spencer isn’t just someone who works in the video game industry, he’s also a gamer. That was confirmed when another Xbox exec, Mike Ybarra grabbed screenshot of Spencer’s dashboard that showed the bigwig had logged more than 300 hours in Destiny alone. That number would be impressive for people who have the time to sit down and play video games for a majority of their day. It’s even more impressive when you consider the amount of travel and work Spencer has been putting in.
It’s always refreshing to see that these execs are actually playing the games they are touting. When you’re putting in more than 300 hours on one game, it’s a surety that you are putting in some serious time looking at and playing the same products that the consumers are getting their hands on. That makes it easier for someone like Spencer to talk to the fans about an upcoming game, because he truly understands what people are looking for when they pop a disc in, or download a title.
It’s always assumed executives from the bigger companies are too swamped to actually play their product, instead relying on sales reports to tell them what titles are popular. Spencer of course, hasn’t come out and said exactly where he finds the time to play that much Destiny. It’s possible he’s not playing much else if he’s logging that much time. It also means he’s practicing what he preaches when Spencer made the comment that the video game industry is better off when the executives who make decisions actually play games.