SmurfburgerX
01-18-2004, 11:11 AM
As many of you who follow the gaming industry news may already know, Vice President of Microsoft's gaming division, Ed Fries, has resigned. Some may see this as a negative but I prefer to see it as an opportunity. Microsoft now has the chance to hire someone whose name carries alot of wieght within the industry. Someone who has the experience that gives him the ability to spot a winner from a loser long before a game ever sees release. Microsoft Games Division can be revamped vastly under new leadership and hopefully a "earth shattering" level appointment will give third party developers reason to have to think about the Xbox and the Xbox 2 a little differently. Only time will tell if Microsoft has the cajones needed to be willing enough to shell out the big bucks for such a hire.
The past has shown us that Microsoft prefers to hire industry vets with long successful track records with recognizable names (within the industry at least) such as Peter Moore and Ken Lobb. Some have speculated that Microsoft might look toward its competitiors in the console business when deciding whom to poach and yet others have suggested that snagging a head of a large third party software publisher/developer could yeild good results if the company he leaves remains on good terms with him. In this scenario Microsoft would be banking not only his success with the company but that the company he leaves would improve its support for the console while remaining successful in his abscence. Microsoft could promote from within as well.
Hopefully, whatever Microsoft decides to do results in a upgrade at the position as many have criticized a few of MGS's studios questionable game releases and argue that some of the system exclusives from third party developers (that Microsoft paid for) were spotty at best. While the console is popular, its potential is weighed down by a lopsided game library that isn't focused on broadening its appeal. Currently the Xbox is focused towards hardcore gamers and few others. Numerous strong software offerings need to be made within several genres to help round out its software library. Convincing third parties to provide this software is the trick and only good management whom the industry trusts can make it happen.
http://gamegnome.blogspot.com/
The past has shown us that Microsoft prefers to hire industry vets with long successful track records with recognizable names (within the industry at least) such as Peter Moore and Ken Lobb. Some have speculated that Microsoft might look toward its competitiors in the console business when deciding whom to poach and yet others have suggested that snagging a head of a large third party software publisher/developer could yeild good results if the company he leaves remains on good terms with him. In this scenario Microsoft would be banking not only his success with the company but that the company he leaves would improve its support for the console while remaining successful in his abscence. Microsoft could promote from within as well.
Hopefully, whatever Microsoft decides to do results in a upgrade at the position as many have criticized a few of MGS's studios questionable game releases and argue that some of the system exclusives from third party developers (that Microsoft paid for) were spotty at best. While the console is popular, its potential is weighed down by a lopsided game library that isn't focused on broadening its appeal. Currently the Xbox is focused towards hardcore gamers and few others. Numerous strong software offerings need to be made within several genres to help round out its software library. Convincing third parties to provide this software is the trick and only good management whom the industry trusts can make it happen.
http://gamegnome.blogspot.com/