The Xbox Series X's announcement during The Game Awards 2019 was met with both excitement and humor. Many fans compared the Xbox Series X's rectangular cuboid shape to refrigerators or other household appliances. But for some, or at least one, it wasn't a laughing matter. Randy Pitchford, the controversial CEO of Gearbox, has taken to Twitter to share his thoughts about the Xbox Series X and Xbox boss Phil Spencer's explanation for the console's size. It's not a pretty situation.
Spencer's original comments, as posted on Twitter as well, call attention to the slowdown of "Moore's Law." Moore's Law being, to put it simply, the speed of computers will increase and the size of computer hardware will decrease every couple of years. This law hasn't held up as well in recent years due to the limitations of our materials and technologies. Spencer notes that, due to Microsoft's performance goals for the Xbox Series X, the console's design required certain new innovations. That's why the Xbox Series X has such a unique shape.
Pitchford takes issue with, well, everything that Spencer says. First, he seems to disagree with the idea that Moore's Law is slowing down. "How Many transistors in the Series X? What if Moore's Law is like the 4-minute mile?" which is perhaps a reference to the race to be the first human to break the four-minute mile. "Your ambitious message for the Xbox One X was inspiring, but for the Series X, well, this feels more like an excuse."
It's unclear exactly what Pitchford is taking issue with, though clearly he has taken odds with both Phil Spencer and the Xbox Series X. The slowdown of Moore's Law is a rather well-documented reality. So it seems more like Pitchford doesn't trust that the Xbox Series X's power justifies the larger size of the console. Exactly what he means regarding Spencer's messaging being less inspired is also unclear. Perhaps he's referencing Spencer's pitch of the Xbox One X as the industry's most powerful console, while that's not a promise Spencer can make about the Xbox Series X until more is known about the PlayStation 5.
Again, the bigger issue at hand is why Pitchford feels the need to attack Spencer and the Xbox. It's possible that Pitchford has taken personal issue with the company. Gearbox has already announced that its published game Godfall will be PS5 console exclusive, after all. Perhaps Pitchford is just doing some mudslinging, some guerilla marketing. And perhaps that implies that Gearbox isn't going to be friendly with Xbox going into the next generation. Or perhaps Pitchford genuinely has an issue with the Xbox Series X's design and is just struggling to explain his feelings.
The Xbox Series X console releases during holiday 2020.