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Peter Moore resigns as head of Xbox
It's hard to call the Xbox 360 anything but a success, but having missed some sales numbers, ringing up an extra unexpected $1b on the corporate card because of warranty issues, and still generally failing to make a profit, it looks like Peter Moore, who we just sat down with a few days ago, has stepped down from his embattled position as the ringleader of Microsoft's Xbox group. Successor to his role is Don Mattrick, who is taking over not just Peter's position as VP of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, but leading the group (including Games for Windows) entirely. Moore's new job? Prez of EA Sports, down in the SF bay area. Take THAT, Microsoft.
Peter Moore resigns from Microsoft, replaced by Don Mattrick
Microsoft has announced the resignation of Peter Moore, current corporate vice president of the company's Interactive Entertainment Business. Moore will be replaced by former EA president Don Mattrick, who will become senior vice president of IEB on July 30. Mattrick joined Microsoft in February as a "strategic adviser."Moore will remain with Microsoft through August, and then will return to his old stomping grounds in Northern California to begin a new, unspecified job in the games industry. Earlier today, 1UP cited a rumor that Moore was headed to EA Sports.Update: The rumor has been confirmed. Moore will leave Microsoft in order to return his family to the Bay Area and head EA Sports.Joystiq has a scheduled call with Microsoft later today. We'll bring you updates as they become available. Details here: Robbie Bach & Don Mattrick talk to Joystiq
CE-Oh no he didn't, part XXXVIII: Peter Moore tells Sony it's failing
While Peter Moore wasn't exactly this forthright when chatting it up with us, it's not totally out of character for execs to lash out at rivals from time to time. In the latest chapter of CE-Oh no he didn't, we find Mr. Moore claiming that Sony's "long-term business plan of being successful in Japan is crumbling." Moreover, he continued to knock the PS3 by sidestepping questions of why the Xbox 360 has sold so miserably in the Land of the Rising Sun and suggested that Sony was the one that should be worried about "getting outsold six-to-one." As a finisher, Peter added that he had "built a business plan for Japan," and while sales have indeed been lackluster, he claimed that "Sony was missing its plan by much more" than he was missing his. Seriously, them's fightin' words there.[Via DailyTech]
X3F interview: 4 minutes in the dark with Peter Moore
Peter Moore with Rock Band producer, Helen McWilliamsOn the second night of E3, we stepped into a large, dimly lit room filled with tables -- 8 tables to be exact. At each table sat important folk from the ranks of Microsoft. Bungie's Frank O'Connor, Peter Molyneux: there's some big names in this room (we'll have more on them soon). Sitting in front of us is Peter Moore, VP of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division -- i.e. Xbox. On the right hand side of the room is large LED chess clock. We have four minutes. That's it. The clock starts and we ask him the first thing we can think to ask. We've only got four minutes here, so there's no point in being coy about it. How do you like Rock Band? I love Rock Band. I actually, as you may or may not know, I actually went on stage again last night down in west Hollywood, and got up on the stage with the guys and had a good time. Once I can hear the music I can play the game, you know, so I think it's a great game. I love it, I flew to Cambridge, Massachusetts about six months ago, got my first taste of it. Just knew right then we needed to make it part of the briefing, and knew I'm stupid enough to go and put a guitar around my neck and give it a go.
Engadget & Joystiq interview: Peter Moore, head of Xbox
We got another opportunity to catch up with our pal Peter Moore, the man at the top of the heap over at Microsof'ts Xbox division. We chatted it up about the usual stuff: games, Microsoft's E3 presence, the 360 warranty debacle, and what's up with all the special edition stuff Microsoft keeps pumping out.So, any new tattoos this year?None. Out of limbs. You were there the other night...What, no chest piece? You've got legs, too.No, my PR handlers would -- well, I'm game for a lot of stuff, and then they go, "No, I don't think so."You could do full sleeves, the back...I think the next thing would be what's (horribly) called a tramp stamp... [laughter]So no tramp stamp for Peter Moore, unfortunately. So last time when we spoke with you last year, your competition hadn't launched yet. So you guys were kind of in a unique position to be the first next gen company out of the gate. Your system, you know you have a lot of second wave titles showing up. Even though the Wii was certainly a phenomenon at last year's E3, there was a lot of excitement about the Xbox. So now here we are, a little over a year later obviously and your competition has launched, in your own press conference your materials show that the Wii is -- not by much -- outselling the 360. Numbers don't lie! So where do you think the 360 stands in terms of your competition? You have the Wii that's actually outselling the 360 and you have the PlayStation 3 which obviously isn't although, sales have increased after the price drop. So where... Apparently they have. I haven't seen any independent data that supports that.
Overheard@E3: "You pulled a Peter Moore!"
After Peter Moore's not one but TWO inopportune game pauses during the Rock Band demo at the Microsoft keynote, it looks like a new phrase has been born -- "Pulling a Peter Moore."According to folks at the Rock Band booth, people have been inadvertently pausing the game when they're trying to rock out, causing the music to come to an abrupt halt, and their friends and observers will shout out "Aw man, you just pulled a Peter Moore!"Reminds us of Andy's "I Schruted it." line from The Office.
MS fails to meet 12 million mark
Microsoft announced at the beginning of this year that it had reduced its shipment goal for the fiscal year to 12 million units, down from 13-15 million units. Speaking to gamesindustry.biz about the new 360 warranty, Peter Moore has confirmed that Microsoft has missed the target of 12 million units. The company has sold roughly 11.6 million units, missing its goal by 400,000 units. Despite this, Moore states that Microsoft feels "really good" about the state of the Xbox. In particular, he emphasizes Microsoft's holiday lineup, and notes that it will be featured heavily at E3 next week.
Peter Moore chats about failures, new warranty
Speaking to Joystiq in a conference call, Peter Moore addressed some of the implications brought on by the recent Xbox 360 warranty extension. Among the topics discussed was Microsoft's speed at reacting to the situation. While it seems like complaints have been mounting for ages, Moore notes that time was needed to "gather data and weigh the financial implications" as well as identifying the hardware problems themselves. Before you ask, no, Moore did not reveal what those problems were, nor did he reveal Xbox 360 failure percentages. According to Moore, Microsoft has "no intention" of doing such a thing, as they see "no value" in doing so. Moore also discusses the apparent disappearance of Xbox 360 Elites and why the warranty extension applies only to the Red Ring of Death and not Xbox 360s with disc scratching problems. Head over to Joystiq for the full report.
Peter Moore tells Joystiq about the new warranty program
After reading about Microsoft's admirable decision to extend their warranty coverage for those suffering from the Xbox 360's Red Ring of Death error, we were given an opportunity to speak with Peter Moore about the move.When asked why this move -- a sort of mea culpa of a growing failure rate -- has taken so long, Moore replied that it was important to "gather data and weigh the financial implications" in addition to "preparing logistics and identifying problems." While it may have seemed like a long time for those of us in the grips of the hyperkinetic blogosphere, Moore assures us that, for a multi-billion dollar mega-corporation like Microsoft, they acted with some celerity. So, they've identified problems? What exactly has been killing these Xbox 360s? Moore said there were "a number of issues" that they discovered from collecting data. When reminded of the great job they've done in servicing 360s to date still hasn't stopped some people from having to get their console serviced numerous time, Moore said that they've put "fixes in place" to address them. He pointed out that Joystiq was a great conduit to that very community and extended (what sounded to us like) a sincere apology. They're fixing these systems because the level has been unacceptable of late ... and no, Microsoft has "no intention" and sees "no value" in sharing what percentage of failure there is.
360's Warranty extended to THREE years!
The guys over at Gamerscore Blog expressed their discontent with the failure rate of Xbox 360s and the customer service for getting consoles repaired. As such, they are changing the warranty policy worldwide to 3 years after the consoles purchase when dealing with the 3 red rings of light hardware failure on Xbox 360s. Anyone who's payed for any repairs up to this point will be reimbursed in full. This means that anyone who bought their console at launch will be covered until November 22nd 2008. On top of the press release, Peter Moore himself posted an open letter to the community on the policy change, which is included after the break, as well as a FAQ on how it's being rolled out.
Microsoft avoids 360 cooling rumors, calls hardware updates 'commonplace'
If we had actually started fixing a problem people had been complaining about since our system had been released (read: Xbox 360s dying) we'd be shouting it from the rooftops. In a statement issued to GamesIndustry.biz though, Microsoft was playing it cool on rumors of additional cooling in repaired 360. (Do you see what we did there?)"Regularly updating console components is commonplace within the industry," was the official line from the spokesperson, who then promptly declined to comment on whether or not Microsoft had done it. There's no word on whether or not the spokesperson's comically exaggerated winking was audible during the interview. If there's actually a Lorenzo's Oil for 360 heat death, we assume Microsoft's worried about opening the floodgates to the millions that might want their problem prematurely fixed. After all, as Peter Moore already told us, the company's not so much interested in preventative care as resuscitation.
Microsoft aware Xbox 360 "sweet spot" is $199, not limited to 20-something demographic
Xbox's director of product management, David Hufford, said to Bloomberg yesterday that "We are well aware that the sweet spot of the market is really 199 bucks.'' Peter Moore and Albert Penello, the big guys of Xbox marketing, also stated that the company needs to "expand our demographic" and build content that appeals to people other than the 20-something males (in other words: "hello Moms!"). Why exactly Microsoft has decided to take the metaphorical mouth freshener at this point isn't quite clear, although we're guessing it comes down to an attempt to differentiate the Xbox from the PS3 in the minds of household purchasing decision makers and take a little sheen of the Wii's apparent domination of the lucrative casual gaming market. Hey, if these veiled marketing quotes eventually means cheaper consoles, who can complain? Microsoft, just cut the prices all-freakin'-ready.[Via Joystiq]
Peter Moore hates Pac-Man
With all the Pac-Man World Championship fun going on right now, the Gamerscore Blog crew unearthed a never before seen video (embedded above) of an encounter between Pac-Man and the legendary Peter Moore. And after giving the video a watch, is it just us or do you feel just a little bit sorry for Pac-Man? Mr. Moore has quite the dirty British mouth and his vulgarities are maybe just a little unwarranted. Unless Pac-Man did something unspeakably wrong to make Peter angry, something like eating the last cherry from the company fridge.
Microsoft: still not so keen on Blu-ray
Alright folks, the merry-go-round on this one is apparently grinding to a halt, as recent reports are finally clarifying a statement made way back in January of last year by Peter Moore in regard to Blu-ray making nice with the Xbox 360. Mr. Moore's insinuation that Microsoft's latest console had "the flexibility to adapt to consumers' needs" was purportedly taken way out of context, as a post on the firm's Gamerscore Blog boldly proclaims that these reports were "completely incorrect," and further crushed any remaining hope by stating that Redmond is "fully committed to HD DVD and has absolutely no plans to support other optical formats." Hey, at least you can pull the trigger on that standalone BD player you've been eying now, eh?[Via GamesIndustry]
Microsoft's Moore likens PS3 to Dreamcast
In a recent interview with Next-Gen, Peter Moore had some interesting thoughts on the current state of affairs for the PS3. Specifically, Moore offhandedly compares the machine to one with which he is intimately familiar: the Dreamcast. When given the opportunity to insult the PS3 asked a question about the PS3's problems, Moore said, "I'm digging up my tortured past here, but remember Dreamcast?"The implication here, obviously, is that the PS3 is failing as the Dreamcast did. We would be remiss in our duties if we didn't note that the PS3's situation is vastly different than that of the Dreamcast. SEGA was coming off the unsuccessful SEGA Saturn before it launched the initially successful Dreamcast, only to watch it get crushed under the matte black boots of the PS2. Sony, on the other hand, is coming off the incredible success of the very console that killed the Dreamcast in the first place. Still, details aside, the meaning of the comment is clear, and those, Mr. Moore, are fighting words.Looking past the initial swipe at Sony, the interview covers a fairly substantial range of topics. These include the Xbox 360 Elite, the continued existence of the Core 360, and how Microsoft plans to expand its software lineup. Hit the "read" link to check it out.[Via Joystiq. Thanks, PacoDG]
Microsoft's Peter Moore Dreamcasts the PS3
When the topic of sluggish PlayStation 3 sales is brought up, Peter Moore recalls his previous corporate life and asks, "Remember the Dreamcast?" Speaking to Next-Generation's Colin Campbell, the Microsoft exec compares Sony's current difficulties with those he experienced with Sega on its final console. "We thought we were doing right," he says. "All of a sudden it didn't pan out."Though we're not privy to the same lucid and possibly prophetic dreams Mr. Moore is, lumping Sony's latest effort into the same category as the Dreamcast brings with it many sticky implications, intended or not. Is Moore saying the PlayStation 3 is failing to "pan out" for Sony, less than a year into its supposed ten-year life? Sega came out of the gate strongly and promptly drove off a financial cliff like Thelma and Louise, whereas Sony is off to a slow start and has every chance of picking up the pace. Moore goes on to say that Sony's focus on the Cell processor and the Blu-ray drive was a mistake, that it "miscalculated the global consumer's appetite for the experience the offered at the price point they offered it at." But wasn't the PS2's "Emotion Engine" and DVD drive instrumental in its triumph over Moore's ex-box?We remember when the Xbox 360 was given the Dreamcast treatment as a means to highlight impending failure, and it was as odd then as it is now. Despite the system's commercial demise under the watch of a struggling manufacturer, it enjoyed amazing first-party support and is still remembered for hosting some remarkable games and innovations. When did being compared to the Dreamcast become such a bad thing?[Via Xbox 360 Rally]
Folding@home on Xbox 360 under consideration
There's no question that the PS3 version of the Folding@home project has been an unbridled technological success, not to mention a public relations boost for Sony. Folding@home on the PS3 has more than doubled the overall computational power of the distributed supercomputer in terms of raw Teraflops, and given PS3 owners the chance to increase the warmth and fuzziness factor that comes from aiding medical research. Peter Moore of Microsoft has gone on record by saying that the Xbox 360 could also join the project, although he made sure to include a jibe at Microsoft's primary competitor by mentioning the 360's much larger install base, and quoting Xbox 360 processor's "equal power to the PS3." He even went so far as to cast doubt regarding the value of the 250,000 currently registered PS3's on the program, saying that "we'll continue to look at this and see whether there's real value." We're forced to ask: how is this kind of attitude in aid of the project? By reducing something as noble as the Folding@home project to a PR battle, Moore's indication sounds bitter and petty. He might as well have said, "ok, we'll fight disease, but only 'cause the Xbox 360 is better than the PS3." The irony is, it probably isn't.
Moore on 360 failure rates, Folding@Home, more
Speaking to Mike Antonucci of the Mercury News, Microsoft's Peter Moore answered readers questions about the Xbox 360. Among the more interesting questions was from a reader who had gone through two Xbox 360s within 7 months. When asked for a "straight answer" about 360 failure rates -- and whether or not they were higher than 3% -- Moore deflected the issue, saying that customers should focus on the treatment of the problem and not the problem itself. In other words, quality of customer service is more important than the quality of the product. According to Moore, "Y'know, things break, and if we've treated him well and fixed his problem, that's something that we're focused on right now." Moore further stated that he couldn't comment on specific failure rates because he was "shipping in 36 countries and it's a complex business."Other issues discussed include Folding@Home, the shared processing initiative recently supported by the PS3. When asked whether or not the 360 would ever be used for such a purpose, Moore stated that if Microsoft believed it could aid projects like Folding@Home with the processing power of the 360, it would certainly consider it. Moore also takes time to address the Xbox 360's variety of games (or lack thereof), and the state of affairs in Japan. Hit the "read" link for the full article.
Microsoft's Satchell disagrees with Moore, says Wii controls don't 'kick ass' [update 1]
Developer Group General Manager Chris Satchell doesn't seem to share the same opinions on the Wii as Peter Moore, apparently, as in a recent interview with CVG he says the Wii has yet to provide any game that really takes advantage of the control scheme. Satchell says "We're yet to see a really good game on Wii that really says 'OK that control kicked ass.'" We'd have to disagree, to tell the truth.Sure, the controls for, say, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess may have tacked on and the game itself may be a port, but we don't think we could go back to playing Zelda without those controls. We think the controls present in that game will be improved as the franchise chugs along. Even if you want to side with Satchell and say there isn't any game that could be looked at as having "kickass controls" on the console right now, we're fairly sure that when a certain game by the name of Super Mario Galaxy comes out, he'll be changing his tune (we played it, it's that good).What say you all?Update: Pesky little 's' missed in headline.
MS responds to Fils-Aime's claim
So, Reggie Fils-Aime voiced his opinion on the 360's sales in Europe, and Microsoft wasn't going to just sit and listen to such statements. They came back to say that they are on track to meet their 12 million shipped worldwide milestone by the end of June 2007, having shipped 10.4 million back in December. They also pointed out that the 6 million Xbox Live users worldwide is nothing to scoff at either. Still, it will be interesting to see how things stack up after the other two consoles have been on the market for a year.
