UNSCleric.com

“I leave here with sadness in my heart.”

Microsoft Corp. today announced that Don Mattrick, a former president at Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), will lead the Interactive Entertainment Business (IEB), which includes overseeing the Xbox^® and Games for Windows^® businesses. Peter Moore, who currently serves as corporate vice president of IEB, has decided to move his family back to the Bay Area for personal reasons and has secured another opportunity in the video games industry.

Unbelievable.  I almost commented last week that the Microsoft Press Conference leaned way too much on EA presentations and games, and now I see why it was that way.  Putting the former President of EA Games, one of the most loathed companies in the gaming industry, in charge of your console brand is not a good idea either.

“Peter has contributed enormously to the games business since joining Microsoft in 2003 and we are sad to see him go,” said Robbie Bach, president of Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. “Since that time, he presided over the global launch of the Xbox 360™, spearheaded a revitalized and rebranded Games for Windows business, and helped steer the console’s ascent.”

Moore has decided to return with his family to Northern California, where they lived until he took the position at Microsoft. Moore will remain at Microsoft to assist in the transition through August and will then return to the San Francisco Bay area.

“While Peter will certainly be missed, we are delighted to have one of the industry’s most talented and passionate veterans on board to lead the business,” Bach said. “Don is well-known and respected throughout the industry for his deep knowledge, technical expertise and management savvy. Under Don’s leadership, the games team is looking forward to embarking on our biggest holiday ever, with a wide-ranging roster of some of the most highly anticipated titles.”

Moore is responsible for establishing industry-shaking alliances, including alliances with industry giant Square Enix and legendary developers Hironobu Sakaguchi (Mistwalker), Yoshiki Okamoto (Game Republic) and Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Q Entertainment), and bringing publishing powerhouse Electronic Arts Inc. onto the Xbox Liveâ„¢ global video games online service.

Moore joined Microsoft in January 2003, bringing with him more than 20 years of experience and leadership in consumer businesses. Most recently, Moore was president and COO of SEGA of America, where he was responsible for overseeing SEGA’s video game business in North America. Moore played a pivotal role in the company’s decision to change its business strategy to become a platform-agnostic software publisher. At SEGA, Moore also served as senior vice president, a position in which he was responsible for all marketing initiatives, including the launch of SEGA Dreamcast.

It’s a sad day for the Xbox brand, Peter Moore was the best guy they had.  The only good thing about all of this is that maybe he can turn EA Games around, and make them a quality company once again.  Peter Moore will become the new president of EA’s sports division.

- Peter Moore to Resign from Microsoft

Major Nelson is on his way to conduct one final interview with Peter Moore this afternoon, look for that later today over on his site.

Show has been posted - Peter Moore Says Goodbye

(Thanks to Asky314159 for sending this in)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 17th, 2007 at 4:28 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.