14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft's new Xbox head, Phil Spencer, has confirmed that the Games With Gold program on the Xbox One will take into consideration the feedback received from Xbox 360 owners who have already gotten to enjoy the service for almost a year.
Microsoft revealed the Games With Gold service last summer at E3 2013, promising to deliver two free games each month for active Xbox Live Gold subscribers.
While the idea certainly sounded great and got a lot of people excited, the actual selection of games wasn't that impressive, as it included quite a lot of older titles. Things have gotten better in recent months, but it's still far from the great collection in Sony's PlayStation Plus service, for example, even if the delivery mechanic is fundamentally different.
Now, while once again talking about the Games With Gold program's eventual appearance on the Xbox One, Phil Spencer has confirmed that Microsoft is going to deliver a slightly changed service than the Xbox 360 iteration.
"The Games With Gold program on Xbox 360 has been successful for us," Spencer told IGN. "It’s been part of the value people see in [Xbox Live] Gold, something we recognize that isn’t on Xbox One that isn’t there today."
"We haven’t announced a plan, but people should understand that we understand the expectation that people have around what the value on Xbox One Gold should be. It might not look exactly the way things have looked in the past, but the recognition that that form of content and that perk for being a Gold subscriber is important to people, something we definitely hear."
Spencer then emphasized that the company is taking into account the feedback from Xbox 360 owners about Games With Gold, as primarily it wants to deliver on the Xbox One something gamers want, not something that Microsoft believes they want.
"I think we’ve tried to respond to the feedback that we’ve received. We can’t always do exactly what people want for many different reasons, but we try to be open in terms of what we’re thinking about. So feedback to Xbox 360’s Games With Gold is being heard as we think about any future plans we might announce. The feedback loop is definitely active and we want to make sure we’re trying to match what customers want."
As of yet, however, Xbox One still doesn't have a time frame for the upcoming Games With Gold start, so it's unclear when owners of the console will be able to receive their free titles. On the Xbox 360, however, things are going smoothly, as Hitman: Absolution is current free between April 1 and 16.