Spencer believes that Xbox live is a difference maker for Xbox One

Sony has beefed up the PlayStation Network with its premium offering on the PlayStation 4.  Party chat and other features that were long requested by the PlayStation fanbase have arrived, PlayStation Plus is doling out games on a month-in, month-0ut basis, but Phil Spencer believes that Microsoft’s Xbox Live service is still a differentiator.

Xbox Live can be a long-term differentiator, according to Spencer

Spencer, head of the Xbox division for Microsoft, believes that winning with the core gaming customer is important, and making Xbox Live the best online service is at the forefront of Microsoft’s plans.

“I know this console has to win first and foremost with the gaming community out there, the gaming fans, the gaming customer,” said Spencer in a recent interview with Games Industry. “Winning with the gaming customer, focusing on Xbox Live as a long-term differentiator, and the entertainment experiences are incredibly important to our long-term success, but you have to sequence the focus in such a way that the core customer for your box understands what you’re about.”

Spencer has spearheaded sweeping changes for the vision of the Xbox One brand.  While the console may have been introduced in a rather confusing way, Microsoft has recently put more focus on games, instead of these other entertainment experiences.  While Spencer’s comments obviously show that they are still committed the other aspects of the Xbox One,  they’re obviously looking to win gamers over in the meantime.

Microsoft has been hitting a lot of the right notes with the Xbox One lately.  Constant updates to the console see a very different product in consumer hands now, then was released last year.  Games, there are plenty, and Microsoft has made it clear that there are more on the way.  The console also saw a steep price cut, effectively, when Microsoft decided to unbundle the Kinect Sensor from the Xbox One.