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Don Mattrick, Victor Lucas to keynote GDC Canada
Don Mattrick, head of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division, and Victor Lucas, creator and co-host of The Electric Playground will give a keynote address at GDC Canada this year. The keynote is entitled "The Evolution of the Canadian Game Industry: A Conversation with Don Mattrick" and will cover "the dynamic changes and growing influence of Canadian game development." As the title implies, Lucas will interview Mattrick on the topic of Canada's game industry.Just a heads up, we're already working on a screenplay for Lucas/Mattrick, so don't go stealing it. Interview movies are hot right now.
Microsoft 'can't say' whether they'll beat Nintendo
Is the Xbox 360 vessel struggling to stay afloat in the murky waters of the console race? Well, not quite, but Microsoft bigwig Don Mattrick doesn't sound convinced that his company will reclaim first place from the Wii. "I'm not at a point where I can say we're going to beat Nintendo," he told Business Week. He's probably correct. The Wii continues to outsell the 360 in every region, with only the small Polynesian island of Tuvalu holding out.*But Mattrick isn't preparing the lifeboats just yet, to take our tortured ships/consoles analogy one step further. "We will sell more consoles this generation than Sony," says he. Like we care, Mattrick. It's all about number one, baby!* This just in: Wii took over there as well.[Via Go Nintendo]
Microsoft settling in for second place?
OK, fanboys, before you hit that spittle-flecked "post comment" button after just reading that inflammatory headline question, hear us out. We're not just idly speculating here -- we're basing our query on an unusually frank quote from Microsoft Senior Vice President of Interactive Entertainment Business Don Mattrick. In an interview with BusinessWeek, Mattrick said that he's "not at a point where I can say we're going to beat Nintendo." Coming from a guy whose job it is to promote Microsoft's position in the market, that's a pretty big admission of doubt. It's not just Mattrick that's doubtful-- analyst Billy Pidgeon told the magazine, "I expect the 360 to remain in second place this generation. But it's going to be close."The question, then, becomes how much this sales position really matters. Microsoft's sales might fall just shy of Nintendo's, but that doesn't seem to be hurting the company's ability to attract big-name games or roll out new features for the system. In fact, with Nintendo's decidedly less powerful system catering to a decidedly different audience, Microsoft's position relative to Nintendo might not matter nearly as much as their position relative to Sony. And on that score Mattrick has no doubt: "We will sell more consoles this generation than Sony," he told BusinessWeek.
Bungie: E3 announcement cut 'no laughing matter'
It's a case of "he said, he said" in the latest chapter of Bungiegate. This time around, the news centers on a comment made by Xbox senior VP Don Mattrick regarding Bungie president Harold Ryan's reaction to being told his company's new Halo game announcement was being struck from Microsoft's pre-E3 media briefing.According to Eurogamer, the site was told by Mattrick during the show that Ryan had "just laughed" and said "We agree" upon receiving the news. Ryan recalls the conversation quite differently. ""Keeping things clean, I certainly didn't agree with the decision to delay our news until sometime after E3," he told Eurogamer today, adding, "Bungie is always concerned first and foremost with our fans. Whenever we are prevented from exceeding their positive expectations it is not a laughing matter." Oh snap. Begun, these Halo Wars have.
Microsoft: Bungie announcement 'held back' for special event
The saga of Bungie v. Microsoft in The Case of the Missing Haloes continues. The L.A. Times spoke with Xbox senior VP Don Mattrick regarding the omission of Bungie's announcement from its Monday press conference. Mattrick told the writers that Microsoft decided to nix the reveal during the show to "save time."Let that sink in for a moment, you 5+ million Halo fans. Time. Word around the campfire is Microsoft's conference was originally set to run for two-and-a-half hours, but Mattrick wanted to cut the show down to 90 minutes. Of the items to be cut from the show? Anything named Halo. Mattrick told the paper that Microsoft's conference already contained, "an embarrassment of riches," so the Halo trump cards were removed from the docket.At least we still got to see that sweet Lips presentation though. Now that's a franchise!Surely it had nothing to do with the fear of taking attention away from Final Fantasy XIII for 360. Balderdash! Or, Gears of War 2. Poppycock!Now the question remains, when will we see the new secret Halo game Bungie is working on? "We felt we could do this game more justice with a more dedicated event," Mattrick said in the L.A. Times piece. Sounds like it was planned all along, it's just funny that Bungie took it the way they did. It's almost like they were left out of the loop.
E308: Mattrick confirms that Bungie is developing new Halo game
Maybe all the drama revolving the Bungie announcement and subsequent postponement wasn't worth the headache.In an interview with MTV Multiplayer blog Microsoft's head of Xbox Don Mattrick confirmed that Bungie is working on a new Halo title. Mattrick told MTV that Bungie's next title wasn't revealed because Microsoft felt they had enough content and excitement surrounding its other announcements (Sup, Final Fantasy XIII). When pressed on the lack of Halo news, specifically regarding Ensemble Studio's real-time title, Halo Wars, Matrrick told MTV not to worry and announcements would be coming and then let it slip that Bungie is working on a Halo title. Matrrick then clarified that the Bungie project is not related to Halo Wars or the the long-announced Peter Jackson project, codenamed Halo: Chronicles. Was this the 10:07 AM PT announcement, the rumored Halo-based tactical shooter or were they the same?[Thanks, Dan Dizzle]
Surprise! Mattrick says Bungie working on new Halo game
In an interview with MTV News, Xbox bossman Don Mattrick confirmed that Bungie was indeed working on a new Halo game for Microsoft Game Studios. Asked to clarify if this project was either Ensemble Studios' upcoming Halo Wars or the still mysterious Peter Jackson Halo Chronicles project, Mattrick said neither. Evidently, this would be another Halo game. We know, you're shocked. The real question is: Is Mattrick talking about the long-rumored Halo Recon Advanced Warfighter title or the recently teased game whose announcement was unceremoniously canceled? Or perhaps those two are one and the same? Regardless, Mattrick wasn't sharing that info; he quickly changed the subject.
Wii closing in on the 360's U.S. lead
After Microsoft's brag-fest on Wednesday, during which Don Mattrick essentially declared the Xbox 360 as this generation's console winner, Nintendo made sure to strike back with a press release of their own.Mattrick's exact words were, "History has shown us that the first company to reach ten million in console sales wins the generation battle. We are uniquely positioned to set a new benchmark for the industry." Nintendo's response: "Oh no he didn't," followed by some snapping and a "talk to the hand" gesture.In all seriousness, Nintendo replied to the comment in a more subtle manner. The company just released a press release to gloat over its success in April's NPD, casually stating in the process that over 9.5 million Wiis have sold in the U.S. In case you haven't noticed, 9.5 and 10 million aren't all that far apart, so Nintendo is trying to stop Microsoft from marking its proverbial territory just yet. Since the Wii outsold Microsoft's system 4:1 last month, many analysts are even predicting that the little white console will overtake the 360 some time soon.So, which PR tactic do you enjoy more? The in-your-face, Mattrick approach, or the subtle "by the way, we're right behind you" statement from Nintendo?[Via press release]
Former EA Chicago studio head heads to Xbox division
The Electronic Arts and Microsoft executive shuffle isn't over. Former EA Chicago studio head Kudo Tsunoda is the latest to move from the venerable game maker to Microsoft's Xbox division, according to GameTap. Tsunoda joins Xbox division head Don Mattrick and VP of Live John Schappert as recent EA expatriates. In July 2007, Mattrick swapped companies with Peter Moore, taking his job when Moore became head of EA Sports.EA shut down the Chicago studio in November last year. Tsunoda's position will be General Manager and will report to Mattrick. Sources tell GameTap that his first task will be project lead for "an upcoming Gears of War title." There's another Gears of War game? We're shocked. Shocked!
MS memo claims 360's record success in '07 and a next-gen victory
Dean Takahashi over at the Mercury News posted a memo he received from Microsoft games head Dan Mattrick, one that is far from ordinary and reeks of success, pride and optimism. Actually, the memo is so optimisticlly enjoyable it goes as far as to claim that the "Xbox 360 is on track to register the biggest year in video game history" for 2007. Yeah, it's that good.In the memo, Mattrick goes on to gloat about the 360's success in North America including figures like $3.5 billion in Xbox 360 hardware, accessories and software were sold in 2007, which is $1 billion more than the Wii and $2 billion more than the PS3. And the goods don't stop there. Mattrick also talks about the 360's third party revenue eclipsing both the Wii and PS3's totals combined and that the 360 should break the record for most revenue generated in a year, breaking the PS2's record. Wowzaz!Dan Mattrick continues his celebration memo with other facts and figures including such gems like Xbox Live serving 380 million downloads since launch, Live hosting more than 560,000 years of network time and that Halo 3 has logged over 1.5 billion multiplayer matches to date. And with all that info we think it's safe to say that the Xbox 360 is in a solid position among the big three and that 2008 will bring more success. We guess Dan says it best; the Xbox 360 will be "the leader of this generation of consoles". Oh it will.[Via Joystiq]
MS memo: Xbox 360 to have 'biggest year in video game history,' XBL surpasses 10m users
Mercury News writer and Microsoft guru Dean Takahashi has published a memo penned by Microsoft games chief Don Mattrick, who expects that "Xbox 360 is on track to register the biggest year in video game history."According to Mattrick North American hardware, software and accessory sales for Xbox 360 exceeded $3.5 billion, reportedly $1 billion more than Wii and $2 billion more than PlayStation 3. "When December data is added," he said, "we expect Xbox 360 in 2007 to have generated more calendar year revenue than any other gaming platform ever, including PS2 at its peak."Mattrick's biggest claim comes in implicitly hailing the Xbox 360 as this generation's console winner. "History has shown that the eventual winner of each console generation was the console that generated the most 3rd party revenue, and according to the most recent NPD data, Xbox 360 generated more 3rd party revenue in 2007 than Nintendo and Sony combined."Unsurprisingly not mentioned in the memo is the Xbox 360's performance in Japan. The memo also revealed some new Xbox Live statistics, including mention that the service has surpassed 10 million Xbox Live users, "over six months before our stated goal of July 2008 announced at E3 last year." We've compiled those after the break.
Breaking news: Xbox boss says Xbox best value
In a surprisingly candid interview with MSNBC Don Mattrick (AKA the new Peter Moore) shared his heartfelt opinion that the Xbox 360 represented the best value of the three major consoles, saying, "On a price per value basis, I think we win ... relative to Sony and Nintendo." He elaborated that his "consumer instincts" told him that the Xbox offered "the best blend of performance, price, online and games - by far." He elaborated further that the Xbox is really starting to rack up hit games, saying, "If you look at our quality ratings, there [are] more 85-plus rated games on Xbox 360, by a long shot, when you compare it with PlayStation 3 and Wii." He then tossed a bone to GTAIV, noting that it could be a "Halo equivalent" when it releases next year. Finally, Mattrick said that the Xbox 360 should be able to compete with the PS3's vaunted ten year lifespan, concluding that Microsoft will push its "fundamentals" and "over-deliver value and satisfaction to consumers." In this world of public relations, spin, and press releases, it's really nice to see someone step up to the plate and tell it like it is. Hit the "read" link for the full interview, which also discusses Games for Windows, Xbox Live, and Mattrick's humble beginnings.Author's note: the above article is written in a sarcastic tone. For maximum entertainment value (of which X3F provides the best), please read the article with this in mind. Also, we kid Don Mattrick, we kid![Via gamesindustry.biz]
Moore: motion control on 360?
Speaking to Game Informer, Don Mattrick and Peter Moore discuss the future of the Xbox 360. Specifically, Moore discusses the great stable of games heading to the platform -- Mass Effect, Forza 2, Too Human, etc. -- and how Microsoft plans to combat the tiny white elephant in the room, the Wii. According to Moore, Microsoft began to see the significance of the casual market when the Wii was still known as Revolution. Moore states that Microsoft's strategy is more than simply throwing more E rated games onto the 360, saying "it's more experiential than that." This quickly leads to the speculation that Microsoft may have a motion controller of its own in mind. At this point it remains pure speculation. After all, Mr. Moore could easily be talking about more games involving the Vision Camera. Whatever it is, Moore states that there will be announcements within the next couple of months. With any luck, we might just hear something during GDC next week.Do you think Microsoft has a Wiimote up its sleeve, or is it something entirely different?[Via Evil Avatar]
Former EA head joins Microsoft
Sooner or later, everyone winds up working together. It should come as no surprise then, that former head of Electronic Arts Worldwide Studios, Don Mattrick, is joining Microsoft as a "strategic adviser" to the Entertainment and Devices division. The Entertainment and Devices group houses the Xbox 360 as well as the Zune. Peter Moore was ecstatic about the announcement, claiming that he had been looking forward to working with Mattrick since he left EA in 2006. Moore -- once the head of SEGA during the Dreamcast era -- claims that there is no bad blood between himself and Mattrick. Game history buffs will remember that EA refused to support the Dreamcast, has a long rivalry with SEGA sports, and was hesitant to allow its games on Xbox Live (seems they can't get enough of it now). Moore is happy to welcome Mattick, though he admits some disdain for EA CEO, Larry Probst.Exactly what Mattrick will be doing seems unclear though it seems he will be heavily involved in developing concepts like Xbox Live. Mattrick admits that online gaming is the biggest trend in the industry and he hopes to push Microsoft to the top of that arena.[Via Joystiq]
Former EA prez joins Microsoft as strategic adviser
Former president of Electronic Arts Worldwide Don Mattrick has joined Microsoft as a strategic adviser for the Entertainment and Devices group. Details of Mattrick's new duties are vague, but Peter Moore has compared his arrival to a baseball superstar signing with the Yankees. Meaning he'll choke come playoffs?Moore insists that there's no bad blood between him and Mattrick that might stem from "long-ago" tensions with EA -- not that Moore wouldn't consider goin' a few rounds with EA CEO Larry Probst. While with Sega, Moore battled through EA's refusal to support Dreamcast, and then a bitter rivalry between Sega Sports and EA Sports; and more recently, EA's stubbornness with regard to Xbox Live. But apparently, Mattrick and Moore have been exploring opportunities to work together ever since Mattrick departed EA.Mattrick did so in the fall of 2005; ending his obligations to EA in February 2006. In the interim, Mattrick focused on family and friends -- and fitness. While most excited about contributing to Xbox Live's growth, Mattrick will extend his advice beyond games, reaching out to J Allard and the Zune crew.
