Microsoft, Sony And Nintendo Collaborate To Tackle Hacking Threat: Phil Spencer

The head Microsoft's Xbox division and Microsoft Studios, Phil Spence, has revealed that the big three console makers have been co-operating with each other and sharing information critical to battling the threat of hacking related attacks on their networks. The Christmas Day Xbox Live outage and the teething troubles with the "Halo: The Master Chief Collection" were the two major issues that plagued Microsoft's videogame focused arm in 2014.

Xbox head Phil Spencer touched on these subjects and reflected on what the company took away from the incidents in an interview with Game Informer. The Xbox head attributed the troubles with the "Master Chief Collection" down to the impossibility of simulating the real-world conditions in sterile internal testing conditions. In the course of the interview, he acknowledged the fact that the company couldn't handle the complexity of the collection, which led to a rocky initial release, which is still being patched to normalcy.

The company placated disgruntled fans by offering freebies such as Xbox Live Gold subscriptions, downloadable content and a remastered edition of Halo "3: ODST." The Xbox head used the platform to promise an improvement in the company's pre-release protocols to ensure that the debacle isn't repeated in the future, according to Gamespot.

"When it [Halo: The Master Chief Collection] launched, we learned some things we didn't know going into the launch – which is something we need to get better at," Xbox boss Phil Spencer said in an interview with Game Informer. "You're always going to learn something when you launch; you can't simulate the real-world environment completely inside of any sterile, fixed environment."

Spencer addressed Xbox Live's Christmas Day network outage by reiterating his commitment to ensure the service is not only robust against such security breaches, but he believes that the reliability of the Xbox Live experience is equally important. IGN reports that the Microsoft boss said that the company is breaking competition barriers to reach out and have conversations with rivals Nintendo and Sony regarding security issues.

Spencer mentioned during the interview that such conversations between videogame service holders actually happen in practice. He explained that even rival PSN network going down due to hacking-related attacks doesn't help Xbox either. The ensuing fear and distrust makes all gamers apprehensive, which could result in a loss of business for everyone. Spencer's revelation gave a rare insight into how security concerns have prompted the big three console makers to work together.

The sheer volume of money traded on videogame services such as Sony's PlayStation Network and Microsoft's Xbox Live, when combined with the relatively lax security protocols securing them, makes these platforms lucrative targets for cybercriminals. The PSN has come under attack several times, with instances of credit card and password details being stolen. While Sony has been tight-lipped about embarrassing security breaches, Microsoft has shown rare candour by speaking about the DDoS attacks suffered by both Xbox Live and PSN during Christmas Day in 2014.

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Phil Spencer Discusses 2015 (credit: Xbox YouTube channel)