robbie bach
Latest
Ex-Microsoftie Robbie Bach: I wouldn't have made Zune MP3 players, we were just 'chasing Apple'
It took some time after Robbie Bach left Microsoft for the Zune device line to wind to a close, but that hasn't stopped the former music (and gaming) executive from suggesting that it should have been ramped down much, much sooner. While discussing the best way to get a startup company humming at a Northwest Entrepreneur Network event, Bach mentioned his view that Microsoft should never have started down the MP3 player path to start with and should have instead gone service-only. The Zune was a too-little-too-late reaction to the iPod, according to him, and the option to squirt your songs apparently wasn't enough of a lure: "We just weren't brave enough, honestly, and we ended up chasing Apple with a product that actually wasn't a bad product, but it was still a chasing product, and there wasn't a reason for somebody to say, oh, I have to go out and get that thing." We've had some affection for the Zune in the past, but there's no denying that it faced an uphill battle from the start. Sales leveled off almost immediately, and the damage was primarily to smaller competitors like Creative and SanDisk that couldn't throw their weight around the way Microsoft did.
CNET details the death of Microsoft's Courier and Bill Gates' 'allergic reaction'
For those that follow the twists and turns of the technology news business, the Microsoft Courier has practically become the stuff of legend. First leaked on Gizmodo in the fall of 2009, the device was never even officially confirmed by Microsoft until it axed the project in April of last year. And while we wound up learning quite a bit about the dual-screen tablet despite that lack of official information, we never really got the full story of its rise and fall within the company. Now CNET's Jay Greene has published an extensive look at the device's short history, which he says was "pieced together through interviews with 18 current and former Microsoft executives, as well as contractors and partners who worked on the project." The story, as you might expect, is fascinating -- read on for some of the details.
Microsoft names three new division presidents following recent departures
As you may have noticed, Microsoft has seen a few pretty significant executive shakeups as of late, with Robbie Bach and J Allard announcing their departures back in May, and Steven Elop leaving just last month to take the top job at Nokia. Now Microsoft has officially filled in some of those gaps, naming Kurt DelBene as president of its Microsoft Office Division, and Andy Lees and Don Mattrick as presidents of its Mobile Communications Business and Interactive Entertainment Business, respectively -- Windows Phone and Xbox, in other words. All three divisions are actually new (at least in name), but DelBene is effectively succeeding Elop, who led Microsoft's Business Division, while Mattrick and Lees are more or less splitting up Robbie Bach's former duties as head of the now dissolved Entertainment and Devices division. Head on past the break for the complete press release.
Don Mattrick now more official-sounding Xbox boss
Microsoft has promoted executive Don Mattrick to "president" of its Interactive Entertainment Business, which includes the company's Xbox business, as well as its PC and mobile gaming efforts. Previously, Mattrick was labeled a "senior vice president," though his responsibilities have not appeared to change in quite some time. He has led the Interactive Entertainment segment since July 2007. In May, Microsoft announced the pending retirement of Xbox head Robbie Bach from his position as president of the Entertainment & Devices Division (under which Mattrick's Interactive Entertainment Business is filed). Since that time, the company has seemingly done away with Bach's position (just what was he doing, anyway?), since Mattrick and colleague Andy Lees, now president of the Mobile Communications Business, where already overseeing the E&D Division's two main businesses. Both executives report directly to CEO Steve Ballmer.
Entelligence: Market caps and dunce caps
Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide. The buzzword of last week was "market cap." To those unfamiliar, market cap is the total value of outstanding shares of a company, and on May 26th at around 3PM Eastern, Apple's market value reached $225.1 billion, surpassing Microsoft's $222.3 billion. Apple isn't the largest technology company around, but it's become the most valuable, and it's valuation is second only to Exxon in the US. Later that same week, Microsoft announced that Robbie Bach and J Allard, the head of its Entertainment and Devices group and the division's CTO, were both leaving the company. There's been speculation that these two events were somehow intertwined, but I don't think that's the case. In addition, as good as Robbie and J are, there's more to the E & D team than two people -- as grandpa used to say, the cemeteries are full of people who couldn't be replaced. Historically, Microsoft has always been two companies, the parts that made lots of money (Windows, Office, Server) and the parts that don't make money yet but might someday soon. E & D is the latest incarnation of the latter. Let's take a closer look.
Robbie Bach: Project Natal a 'midlife kicker' for Xbox 360, 'absolutely confident' Courier innovations will appear elsewhere
Now that the proverbial cat's out of the bag, Tech Flash has caught up with Robbie Bach about his impending retirement from Microsoft. In a far-reach interview, the former President of Entertainment & Devices Division says he made his ultimate decision just last Thursday, and that while he and also-gone J Allard "had been talking [Allard's] situation for awhile," the conversation never went both ways and the timing of the departures is "pure coincidence... serendipity." Bach further claims that it was his choice and was not asked to leave, and as for pundits who might've thought he was in line for one day taking the reins from CEO Steve Ballmer, Bach downplays that possibility and says he never had interest and such discussions never took place. But enough business talk, what about some of the projects Bach oversaw? There were a couple choice quotes we noted from the report. First up is Natal, a motion-sensing project that he views as a "midlife kicker for the [Xbox] 360." For those watching a calendar, that would give the console an approximately nine-year perceived lifespan on the corporate side -- from November 2005 to 2014. Of course, we could be reading too much into that, but we could certainly believe it. On the subject of Courier, Microsoft's now-cancelled internal tablet project, Bach is "absolutely confident... a bunch of that innovation will show up in Microsoft products." It's a stronger wording that what we originally read, and given just how excited we were watching that leaked video, we can only hope his prophecy is foretold. Do yourself a favor and take 15 minutes to read through the interview -- hey, you're welcome.
J Allard and Robbie Bach officially exit Microsoft
Xbox department head Robbie Bach and "Chief Experience Officer" J Allard (considered by some to be the father of the Xbox) will be ending employment with Microsoft this fall, according to an internal memo sent from company head Steve Ballmer and acquired by TechFlash. Allard will stay on in some form, serving as an "advisor" to Ballmer, though Bach will be outright leaving after nearly 22 years with Microsoft. "For the past 22 years, Robbie has personified creativity, innovation and drive. With this spirit, he has led a division passionately devoted to making Microsoft successful in interactive entertainment and mobility," Ballmer said of Bach's departure in the company's official release. And Bach expanded on his departure, saying, "I'm at the time in my life where I want to dedicate more time to my family and my nonprofit work, including my work with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America." The shakeup additionally sees current senior VP of Interactive Entertainment Don Mattrick and senior VP of Mobile Communication Andy Lees taking new positions, reporting directly to Ballmer himself, while David Treadwell will now head the core technology group inside the Interactive Entertainment division at Microsoft. Oh, and as you might expect, no mention was made of the Courier in any of this. [Via Engadget]
Microsoft's Robbie Bach and J Allard leaving as part of broader shakeup; Xbox and Windows Phone teams now reporting directly to Ballmer
Well, it looks like the rumors were true. Not only is Microsoft's J Allard now officially leaving the company, but so is Robbie Bach, President of Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division, amid what's described as a broader restructuring that will effectively dissolve the division and give CEO Steve Ballmer more direct oversight of Microsoft's consumer initiatives like Xbox and Windows Phone as of July. Contrary to earlier reports, Allard says that he's not leaving due to the cancellation of the Courier, but instead says that after nineteen years with the company, he simply wants to devote more time to his personal interests, "particularly adventure sports." Allard also insists that he won't be moving on to Apple, Google or any other Microsoft rivals -- in fact, he's staying on as an advisor to Steve Ballmer. Robbie Bach's departure is equally curious -- despite being just 48, his move is being described as a "retirement," and he says that the decision was his own and that he wasn't encouraged to leave. He'll also apparently remain with Microsoft through the fall to aid in the transition. When all's said and done, mobile communications VP Andy Lees and interactive entertainment head Don Mattrick will each separately report to Ballmer -- both have headed their divisions for some time now, so we'd assume that things will otherwise proceed as planned. Still, the loss of talent at the top is certainly noticeable -- we'll see how Microsoft responds now that Ballmer is firmly driving its mobile and gaming efforts. We've got Ballmer's full letter to the company and Microsoft's official PR after the break, so take a peek. Update: Mary Jo Foley has J Allard's parting email to his employees.
WSJ: Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division getting a 'shakeup,' J Allard expected to leave
We were surprised enough to hear tales of J Allard possibly leaving Microsoft, but the Wall Street Journal is painting a bigger picture, saying "the organizational shakeup is broader than Mr. Allard's departure." We're taking that to mean there could be a larger changing of the guard here, particularly since the article is worded somewhat oddly and seems to imply the reshuffling could reach even Entertainment and Devices Division president Robbie Bach. As for Allard, WSJ reaffirms Mary Jo Foley's earlier report that there's a strong correlation between his departure and the Courier's swan song. An announcement pertaining to these moves is said to potentially come as early this week, so stay tuned -- this could be big.
Switched On: Kin dread spirit
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. When deciding how to bring technologies to market, companies face the decision of whether to offer them in its own products, pursuing a strategy of vertical integration, or license constituent elements for inclusion in others' products. In the wireless operating system space, Apple, RIM and Palm (since Web OS) have chosen the former strategy while Symbian, Google (via Android and Chrome OS) and Microsoft have generally pursued the latter. It is difficult, if not unwise, for a licensing company to compete with its partners. Attempting to avoid this dynamic led to the disastrous split of Palm, Inc. into the PalmSource software company and PalmOne hardware company back in 2003. With the imminent release of its teen-targeted, social networking handset, though, Microsoft is seeking to have its Kin and eat it, too.
Bach: 70-80% of publishers working on Natal-based games
In an interview with Financial Post, Microsoft president of entertainment and devices Robbie Bach said "something like 70% or 80% of the publishers in the world" are already working on Natal-based games. The interview followed Microsoft's CES 2010 keynote during which Bach announced the hands-free controller for the Xbox 360 would launch during the 2010 holiday season. Bach also respectfully outlined what he believes is the major difference between Microsoft and Nintendo's respective business models: third-party success. "Our model is certainly about third-party publishers making money. We design our system for third-party publishers," he told the Canadian news outlet. "[Nintendo makes] most of their money through first-party games that Nintendo produces. That's absolutely their business model. And it's a great business model, it's just different, but it makes it hard for third-party publishers." As for upcoming Natal-based games, Bach said Microsoft's first-party developers are focused on the hardware to help lead other developers down an "innovative" path. "We want to have a few titles from Microsoft that show the way and then we want the breadth and power of the ecosystem from our partners to bring lots of new ideas, new innovations, new concepts to the marketplace." Microsoft's Project Natal appears to be a direct response to a mainstream audience that has turned to Nintendo's hardware when spending disposable income. Considering the Xbox 360 and PS3 have effectively cracked the third-party code, Microsoft's focus continues to be set on capturing a demographic that may feel intimidated by the hardware and its core (read: jerkface) players.
Microsoft's Bach says 'there are other places where Zune logically could go'
So that meeting a few days ago where financial analysts physically beat a few choice WinMo 7 nuggets out of Robbie Bach yielded something else that's pretty interesting, too: the expansion of the Zune franchise. Virtually everyone and their mother has been calling for a Zunephone since the day the first Zune 30 rolled off the assembly line, and a very, very carefully-worded statement by Bach in the meeting has us believing that we could finally see it make the bold leap to GSM (or CDMA, or both) this year. In response to a question about how Zune fits into Microsoft's mobile strategy, Bach had this to say: "Now, your other question was about I'm getting old. Zune, so Zune has been critically successful. And the way Zune is going to be successful for us in the future is you should think of that as our media service across multiple screens. We'll continue to have the Zune device screen. But, we now have Zune on Xbox. We have Zune on the PC. There are other places where Zune logically could go that we don't get to talk about yet. And I think lots of different screens with that capability can go." If you read between the lines there, it certainly sounds like Robbie's got his eyes on the prize -- but whether Zune will come to Windows Mobile or live as its own brand remains to be seen. No guarantees, but we're hoping all will be revealed at MWC next month.
Windows Mobile 7 coming to MWC in February, not just 'evolutionary'
We'd heard some rumblings, but apparently Robbie Bach let the cat out of the bag at an analyst briefing this week, stating that we should expect a showing of Windows Mobile 7 at the Mobile World Congress show in Spain, which begins on February 15th. He also added that the OS (which he's played with, surprisingly) will "set the bar forward not in (just) an evolutionary way," and that Microsoft is going to be "more engaged" with OEMs in its "go to market approach." We love a good buzzword or three, but the hope here is that Microsoft has learned its lesson from iPhone and Android and is ready to compete in the next-gen smartphone game in a big way -- a WinMo 7 showing just four months after the release of Windows Mobile 6.5 certainly smacks of that. [Thanks, Matthias]
Alan Wake will stay up late with post-launch DLC 'episodes'
Remedy's Xbox 360-exclusive Alan Wake, described as "the TV show Lost, as written by Stephen King, and filmed by David Lynch," by Microsoft Entertainment & Devices head Robbie Bach will -- much like Fable II -- be expanded upon via additional downloadable episodes. Bach made the announcement concerning the long-in-development title during the company's CES 2010 keynote this evening, saying, "story-driven like a TV series, Alan Wake will be told in episodes with even more episodes available on Xbox Live after its launch this year." Let's just hope Remedy isn't taking cues from The Sopranos when deciding how long it will be between the release of the game's episodes.
'Xbox Game Room' and 2010 Project Natal launch leaked in CES interview
[Update, 5:30pm: And off comes the rumor tag! Microsoft may have pulled the post but the original video is still live on its own servers, which you can find right here! We'll scrub through it for more information. Update, 5:47pm: Full transcript after the break.] Microsoft's Channel 9 developer community site accidentally posted a video interview with Robbie Bach, President of the Entertainment & Devices Division, several hours before the company's annual CES press conference. Initially tweeted by @ch9, the video was pulled, as evidenced by this tweet from none other than @microsoft: "Sorry, spoke too soon, or, tweeted too soon. This video later tonight." Vigilant tipster Iced_Eagle wrote us just after the video was pulled, giving us a quick breakdown. "Go to the 11:53 mark in the video to hear them start discussing Game Room," our tipster writes. "They aren't totally concrete on the details, but they talk about how this is supposed to bring back that retro fun to gaming." That sounds an awful lot like that consumer survey we spotted in October for a virtual Avatar arcade, one of the potential titles of which was "Game Room." You don't say ... Iced_Eagle also unsurprisingly reports, "In the video they confirm Natal is on for this year." Considering everyone from Ubisoft's Yves Guillemot to Microsoft's own Steve Ballmer have alluded to a 2010 release, we're not the least bit surprised. But if they're still calling it Project Natal in this video, that means we're probably looking to E3 for an official reveal, with branding and all. Microsoft's CES keynote begins at 9:30pm Eastern and we'll be delivering all the news straight from Las Vegas. [Thanks for the great tip, Iced_Eagle!]
Microsoft discusses Wii-esque Project Natal branding strategy
digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/15/microsoft-discusses-wii-esque-project-natal-branding-strategy/'; While we may be nervous about Microsoft's Project Natal branding strategy -- remember, that's just a codename -- the suits in Redmond share no such concern. That's because the Natal project is following Nintendo's lead in more ways than just easy-to-play, motion-based technology. It's also following Nintendo's branding strategy. On May 11, 2004 Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced the "Nintendo Revolution" to the E3 audience and, while he didn't show off the motion-based controller (we wouldn't see that for another sixteen months, at TGS 2005), he did promise "an unprecedented gameplay experience." The Revolution would offer "something no other machine has delivered before." The following May, over two years after first announcing the "Revolution," Nintendo revealed the product's final name just before E3: Wii. When we asked Microsoft's Robbie Bach, "When can we stop calling it Natal?" at a recent Open House event, the exec wasn't shy about comparing the company's strategy to Nintendo's. "When Nintendo came out with the name 'Wii,' people sort of said 'Oh gosh, that's kind of a goofy, weird name.' I haven't heard a comment about it being a goofy name since the week after they announced the name," Bach said. "And suddenly, people just called it the 'Wii' and moved on." And, specifically, they've moved on to buying them en masse.
Robbie Bach unsure about the future of handheld gaming for Microsoft
When questioned about the possibility of a dedicated gaming handheld vs a phone with multimedia functionality, Microsoft's Robbie Bach expressed his hesitation to enter either market to attendees of yesterday's.First Annual Microsoft Open House. The Entertainment and Devices division prez said, "The portable market's an interesting market ... you have to decide which direction the market is going." Rather than pursue the phone with gaming/media functionality route that Apple has taken, Bach thinks current technology simply isn't good enough yet."You have to decide if the dedicated devices in the portable market are going to continue to grow, or whether the phone that you get is going to get powerful enough and battery power management is going to get good enough that people are going to look at it and say 'No, I just want one device that's going to have some games on it, some music on it, some video on it.' I'm probably more biased to think that's the direction where the market is going." Though he didn't mention an iPhone competitor or a dedicated gaming device, Bach hinted at the possibility, saying the Xbox and Zune are integrating at "a steady drumbeat." That steady drumbeat likely won't lead to much in the coming months though, as he noted, "There is a CES two years from now where people will look back and say 'Wow! Look at everything they did.'" At that point we'll only be four years from flying cars and hoverboards, so let's hope that Microsoft has some serious future stuff up its sleeves.
Project Natal price to launch with room to drop
Speaking at the First Annual Microsoft Open House in Manhattan yesterday, E&D Division prez Robbie Bach danced around the issue of pricing the company's upcoming motion tech for Xbox 360. "Relative to Natal, we'll see how the pricing/costs work out," Bach said. "But I think people should expect it to be like other things: We work through the price curve, just like we have with other products." Though muddled, Bach's comment does not suggest that Natal will hit retail costing an arm and a leg (geddit?), but rather the device's launch price will be set high enough for significant discounts to go into effect over time. Using Wii as the bad example, Bach emphasized that Nintendo's launch price and its new discounted price aren't notably different. "When you start at $249, I don't know that a [price drop to] $199 -- I don't know how much difference that's going to make in the marketplace," Bach observed. "We'll see."
Robbie Bach sits down for a roundtable discussion, Engadget is there
We're currently at a multi-purpose Microsoft event right now -- an event touring the company's holiday lineup, as well as today's launch of Windows phone devices (AKA, Windows Mobile 6.5). We had a chance to sit down with Robbie Bach, President of Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division, and ask him some questions about where the big M is headed with its recent lineup. Here are a few of our takeaways. We asked about convergence (or lack thereof) across Microsoft products. Zune, Xbox, and Microsoft phone products don't really play nice at this point. Robbie was hesitant to tackle the actual question, sticking mostly to the party line, though he did admit that their plans stretch further down the road than this -- a theme thus far. It sounds a lot like Microsoft isn't where it wants to be. In a later question, he asks us to "look where [Microsoft] is in two or three years." That's a long time to wait guys. An HTC HD2 is doing the rounds at the show (though it's in someone's pocket) -- when we asked why the company hasn't highlighted the device (which is pretty darn slick, by the way), Robbie seemed to glaze over the presence of the device. The line was "we want to work with all our partners." Why they wouldn't call out what is a groundbreaking device for Windows Mobile is somewhat perplexing. Michael Gartenberg, one of our contributors, asks about if the company is "still committed to pen computing" -- Robbie says yes, and that there's a lot of "research" going on right now. "The pen has been around for a long time," he says. "There's work that has to be done." Robbie says, "Microsoft is as proactive as it is reactive." On the Zune HD "Where we broke through is in software." Gartenberg asks about "devices that fall between a PC and a phone." Robbie chuckles pretty hard at that one. "Here's my favorite survey of the year... which will you buy, a Microsoft tablet or Apple tablet?" "Do I believe there are other devices out there that people want to use, like a Kindle-like device... yes." Peter Rojas asks about the company's acquisition of Danger. Robbie: "There were clear reasons for us to acquire Danger -- I think in time that will pan out. It wasn't another OS, it was services... the Sidekick isn't our brand, it's T-Mobile's brand." We ask Robbie about Pink and if a Microsoft phone is in the company's future: "I don't see that." Robbie was pretty vehement that making a piece of hardware for the mobile space isn't really in the company's plans. "Apple demonstrated that the end to end experience worked, so we did that with the Zune." He says he doesn't think it makes sense for the scale of the mobile market. On the experience with current Windows Mobile devices: "We're part of the way there with Windows Mobile 6.5." Andrew Yoon from Joystiq asks: "When can we stop calling it Natal?" Robbie laughs: "When we tell you to call it something else. I'll tell you this -- when we announce what we're calling it, you guys will report it, and people will get it." A question about Google's business model being similar to Microsoft's -- Robbie laughs and makes a face: "I'm confused about you calling it a 'business model'... I'm not sure what they're doing exactly." Ouch. "If you use a Google phone, that's fine, but what do you do about your music experience? What do you do about your photo experience? Then it starts to feel like another version of Linux."
Microsoft: Avatar clothing changed 150 million times
Speaking at the First Annual Microsoft Open House in NYC, Robbie Bach, president of the company's entertainment and devices division, was touting the strength of the 360 platform. Along with the impressive news that the results of 425 million games had been crunched for matchmaking, Bach also said that Avatar clothing had been changed more than 150 million times. When you divide that by the 20 million Xbox Live users the company's claiming, that's ... more than 7 changes each. We're a bit worried about some of you. Gang, please, keep your dignity intact: Set it once -- walk away. It's the only sane thing to do. Of course, Bach also said that 200,000 games of 1 vs. 100 were being played every weekend, so maybe you guys are just trying to get spiffed up for Chris Cashman. We hope it was worth it.
