Bloomberg: Ballmer may name Windows boss as new head of hardware / Xbox

G

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
Remove my start button if old. Via MCV

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-...aid-to-give-bates-mergers-role-in-revamp.html

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Ballmer may also give Windows chief Julie Larson-Green oversight of hardware engineering for the whole company, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the plans are private. Ballmer is expected to reveal a reorganization as early as next week that aligns Microsoft’s business units around devices and services, the people said.
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The restructuring isn’t finalized and Ballmer may still shuffle roles around up until it’s officially announced, the people said. Xbox head Don Mattrick had been a contender for the hardware post before left the company to become CEO of Zynga Inc. (ZNGA), a move announced July 1.

Under this scenario, Larson-Green would oversee hardware engineering for all devices, including Xbox gaming consoles and Surface tablets, one person said.
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Has she had experience in the gaming/entertainment sector before?

EDIT: Seems like she only has engineering experience.
 
Visualante2 said:
Not sure if this is sidelining the entire Xbox initiative or moving it front and center of their business.
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Sidelining while dressing it up as a move to the forefront. Having Windows and Xbox led by the same person will basically make Xbox into a second class division, subservient to the needs of the Windows ecosystem.
 
I was hoping for someone more gaming oriented. Then again I really have no clue about this person so maybe it's too early to say what direction Xbox might take.
 
Just name somebody! Why leave so many doors open for speculation like the XBONE word-of-mouth mishap?
 
Well - she is going to have oversight of the HW division which includes XBox. I guess they will name a dedicated Xbox boss.
 
I don't know much about her.

However, I do know that the influence of MS at large on Xbox hasn't been good since they kind of got their mitts on its direction. And this move would seem to fold Xbox into Microsoft at large in a much bigger way again. That wouldn't be very encouraging - I would prefer Xbox be cut loose again.

It also seems like it might dilute gaming as a top priority. In that new division, mobile etc. will be top dog. I'm sure there'll be Xbox only execs reporting to her, obviously, but still.

That she apparently has no experience in games might not really matter to Ballmer if games aren't a huge priority.

So those kinds of signals would worry me a bit.
 
zomgbbqftw said:
Sidelining while dressing it up as a move to the forefront. Having Windows and Xbox led by the same person will basically make Xbox into a second class division, subservient to the needs of the Windows ecosystem.
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Yeah I think you're probably right. Especially when it doesn't pull the numbers they are probably expecting. Flash backs to GFWL in some sense.
 
People are delirious if they think Microsoft will put a "videogame" guy (or girl) in charge of hardware division, which is where the Xbox will be put under after their restructuring.

They need someone with broader qualifications as their job will entail much more than just video games.
 
Into said:
People are delirious if they think Microsoft will put a "videogame" guy (or girl) in charge of hardware division, which is where the Xbox will be put under after their restructuring.
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They were apparently going to put Mattrick in that position.
 
I'm not suprised that, if this rumour is true, that Microsoft would be directing Xbox away from gaming even further than they already have. They want it to be a general entertainment product, not an exclusively gaming product.
 
Into said:
People are delirious if they think Microsoft will put a "videogame" guy (or girl) in charge of hardware division, which is where the Xbox will be put under after their restructuring.

They need someone with broader qualifications as their job will entail much more than just video games.
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Yeah. J motherfucking Allard fits the bill. Honestly, doesn't bode well for the Xbox division if this is true.
 
ekim said:
Why? She is going to be the head of HW - there will be most probably a dedicated Xbox boss. It's like saying Ballmer was head of Xbox all the time because he was above Mattrick.
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No, they are sticking it in with Windows if this is true. Previous structure:

Ballmer > Mattrick > Xbox division

Now:

Ballmer > this Windows lady > some Xbox person > Xbox division

It has added a new layer of management between Xbox and the top, which means a lesser focus. Specifically folding it into the Windows division means that it will get treated like shit.
 
zomgbbqftw said:
No, they are sticking it in with Windows if this is true. Previous structure:

Ballmer > Mattrick > Xbox division

Now:

Ballmer > this lady > some Xbox person > Xbox division

It has added a new layer of management between Xbox and the top, which means a lesser focus. Specifically folding it into the Windows division means that it will get treated like shit.
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Well not the windows division, but the 'hardware' division, headed by the previous Windows boss.

But I do agree otherwise with what you're saying.
 
gofreak said:
They were apparently going to put Mattrick in that position.
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Yeah that was rumored by a few sites, odd that he would leave, either he did not want to be head of hardware division or he was never offered the position. There is much speculation that Mattrick left on his own, because MS did not have a immediate replacement for him, suggesting that they (MS) had no one else in mind.

I wonder if this is good or bad news for Xbox, like to believe it is good but as everyone else i am skeptical.
 
zomgbbqftw said:
No, they are sticking it in with Windows if this is true. Previous structure:

Ballmer > Mattrick > Xbox division

Now:

Ballmer > this Windows lady > some Xbox person > Xbox division

It has added a new layer of management between Xbox and the top, which means a lesser focus. Specifically folding it into the Windows division means that it will get treated like shit.
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Assumptions, nothing but assumptions. The confidence with which some of you pull stuff like this out of your asses is unbelievable.
 
Doesn't really send a lot of confidence that they are doing this kind of reshuffle before the platform launches. This looks like it could sidetrack Xbox even further from core gaming.

Personally, I think the best thing for the industry would be for the Xbox business to be made into a spinoff company.
 
gofreak said:
Well not the windows division, but the 'hardware' division, headed by the previous Windows boss.

But I do agree otherwise with what you're saying.
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It's not the previous Windows boss, it's the current Windows boss being given oversight of hardware (Xbox, Surface) in addition to Windows.
 
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http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/exec/slt.aspx

Posted this in the Mattrick thread.


I find it odd they won't have a dedicated exec for "entertainment" for things like Xbox, music and film services - I imagine Mattrick had some reign of that before.



Edit: holy shit, just read Julie's bio - sounds like she could have been responsible for the piece of shit that is the Office ribbon?
 
zomgbbqftw said:
It's not the previous Windows boss, it's the current Windows boss being given oversight of hardware (Xbox, Surface) in addition to Windows.
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Hmm. That doesn't seem totally clear to me. In the article it seems to suggest that Windows and Windows Phone will be merged into one group under Terry Myerson.
 
_woLf said:
These last few months have been absolutely astonishing to watch. Nobody could have seen this coming.
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Gerstmann said something similar, how just when you think it is over, something new (almost always negative) pops up regarding the Xbox. Who knows what the focus of the console will be now? Mattrick was a videogame guy afterall, many see him just as a suit who has probably never held a controller in his life, but the man started making games at age 17, he is videogames 100%.

Id like to believe this is good, i have to stay positive, they did the right thing with reversal of many disgusting policies regarding Xbox One and perhaps this is them turning a corner.

Or perhaps this is just them spiraling further out of control
 
Article doesn't actually say anything about Julie being the boss of Xbox in the way Mattrick was, it talks about her being in charge of all hardware, I don't see that this would put her in charge of the actual Xbox brand any more than it would put her in charge of Windows.


Having one boss of hardware kinda makes sense to me because the Surface (Pro at least) is a kinda awesome device, something that's probably the closest anyone has come to recreating that Apple feel of premium hardware for the mass market, and the Xbox one doesn't really seem to be up to that level.
 
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