Peter Moore, the public face of the Xbox 360 and the corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business, has left Microsoft. In his place, Don Mattrick, a former president at Electronic Arts, will take the reins.
Moore leaves Microsoft just a few weeks after Microsoft announced it would take a $1 billion charge in fiscal 2007 to extend the Xbox 360’s warranty to three years. The extension came after months of speculation about the reasons for faulty hardware, and Moore, in an open letter on xbox.com, accepted full responsibility for the faults.
Did the $1 billion charge lead to Moore’s resignation? That may never be officially known outside of Microsoft, but it certainly can’t have helped his job security. What Microsoft was able to divulge was that Moore “has decided to move his family back to the Bay Area for personal reasons and has secured another opportunity in the video games industry.” He will remain with Microsoft until August.
Most interesting about Moore’s departure is where he’s going: Electronic Arts. Just minutes after Microsoft announced Moore’s departure, EA announced that Moore was taking charge of the EA Sports division. Why is this interesting? Because the new Xbox VP, Mattrick, has his own strong past with EA.
Mattrick brings 23 years of game industry and development experience to Microsoft, having helped bring to life such franchises as Need for Speed, Harry Potter and The Sims during his tenure at EA. With EA and Microsoft trading executives, there’s no longer any doubt about the incestuous nature of the videogame industry.
