XBOX Brings In Matthew Ball as Chief Strategy Officer to Strengthen Consoles and IP Revival Plans

From the information above, it can be concluded that XBOX is slowly losing its leadership as it works to develop something that will shape the future of its brand. The emphasis at the moment is mainly on the growth of the console aspect of its business, and there is increasing talk about past XBOX franchises that entertained many gamers some years ago.

What is more important, XBOX has attempted to listen to gamers' opinions by using the Player Voice Feedback Forum. All the points mentioned above are quite compatible with recent news. It has been reported that Matthew Ball has recently been appointed Chief Strategy Officer at XBOX Corporation. His main task is to develop console operations and bring back past XBOX franchises.

For additional information about XBOX's plans regarding Matthew Ball, there is an interview that appeared on Bloomberg.

According to this source, Matthew Ball's current role at Team XBOX centers on two things in particular: the console itself and the revival of some of the old XBOX franchises. As might have been expected, this statement caused some speculation and discussion. Talking about XBOX, people would mention various games whose return could satisfy many fans.

These include franchises such as Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, and Crimson Skies, which were frequently mentioned because they are old XBOX games that fans want revived. Another franchise that could be revived is Brute Force. Then come those well-known franchises that inevitably surface whenever there is talk of possible revivals of XBOX games.

It's time for Conker, the series that always prompts questions about whether there should be another kind of revival for this franchise rather than the conventional one. Another one of those popular titles that will inevitably surface during talks about XBOX revivals is Perfect Dark. This title also remains one of those games whose revival would certainly provoke the appropriate reaction from fans.

One of those games that clearly qualify as potential candidates for revival by XBOX is Banjo. There will always be someone who mentions Banjo whenever XBOX revivals come up. The reason is that the franchise belongs to titles that were anticipated by fans on XBOX but never came out.

In addition, XBOX seems to have needed to produce such a game in-house; it could always have been outsourced to someone else. This is yet another instance in which the company of Toys for Bob comes into discussion, especially considering the relationship that already exists between the two companies.

The concept of collaboration keeps coming up time and time again when discussing bringing back some of the earlier releases, without needing XBOX to manufacture everything from scratch.

Then Blinx is mentioned again, showing that XBOX enthusiasts really do give considerable thought to what they would love to see return to their catalog. On a more objective note, it must be remembered that, in the discussion, we are talking not only about what XBOX can offer us but also about Activision Blizzard IPs, since the catalog belongs to the latter.

This merely adds even more conversation about what else might come from XBOX's mind. It will become apparent in the discussion that many people speculate about how the company can revive the franchise they are considering, given the new franchises it has gained access to through its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Phil Spencer cannot be left out of the conversation on this matter.

It would be interesting to review his comments on the game franchises he thinks could be revived. The most interesting franchise would be Guitar Hero. While it could very well be relaunched on XBOX, there may be certain conditions due to licensing issues. However, it can be said that XBOX management is quite alright with such cycling practices in the industry.

The franchise always surfaces, and it is clear that XBOX fully understands the phenomenon's cyclical nature. The fact that nothing has happened for a while doesn’t mean that the right moment won’t come soon. When analyzing all information related to the XBOX franchise from an outside observer’s perspective, it becomes clear that another issue may be observed here. This is not only about the franchise but also about XBOX's attempt to restore its reputation.

This finally leads us to the last point in the debate regarding the XBOX issue: the management of the importance of franchises like Halo. The general opinion here is that, were the XBOX able to manage its franchises well, the outcome would be the strengthening of its overall brand.

The thing one must remember at the end of the day is that this is a time when XBOX has been blessed with a new management style, new strategies, and franchises that have been there before. The role of Matthew Ball in all this can easily be gauged by the fact that there is talk of bringing back Banjo, Perfect Dark, Conker, and Guitar Hero.