Schiappa: Microsoft exploring own virtual world offering

Daniel Schiappa, general manager of strategy for Microsoft's entertainment and devices division spoke yesterday at the San Jose Virtual Worlds 2007 conference (this conference came in two parts – the first being in New York earlier this year). Schiappa spoke, somewhat elusively, about Microsoft's potential foray into theVirtual Worlds space.

Microsoft excels (no pun intended) at a last-to-market business model, letting rivals make the mistakes and take the heat before moving in with an offering of its own, building on industry experience – so while it is possible to see this as a purely reactive tactical project, the odds are that it isn't. Microsoft sees the value and is planning to take as large a piece of the pie as it can, spreading across consoles, PCs and mobile plaftorms.

"I think we've got a good understanding now of the landscape, we have a strategic plan in mind ... now we have to decide how we follow-through," Schiappa said.

Nothing appears to be set in stone yet, however. Schiappa said, "If a year from now we don't have anything, then we probably won't have anything," which suggests that the announcement itself might be the tactical portion of the project. It's early days, but Microsoft is always one to watch.

[via Austin360.com]