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Apple on iPad competition: Windows is 'big and heavy,' next-gen Android tablets are still vapor
Apple's COO (and current Steve Jobs stand-in) Tim Cook thinks "there's not much" competition to the company's iPad tablet. When queried about Apple's view on what the rest of the market offers, Cook was brutally candid in describing Windows-driven machines as generally being big, heavy and expensive, while current generations of Android-based slates are in his opinion merely "scaled-up smartphones." While we agree that Windows 7 isn't a terribly touch-friendly affair, we don't know that Cook's comments on Android are quite so pertinent now that Google's tablet-savvy Honeycomb iteration has been unveiled. Then again, he has something to say about the next generation of Android tablets as well, noting that the ones announced at CES lack pricing and release schedules, leading him to conclude that "today they're vapor." Ouch. As a parting shot, Tim took a moment to reaffirm Apple's belief that its integrated approach will always trump the fragmented nature of Android and its plurality of app stores. Hear his comments in full after the break.
The Perfect Ten: The movers and shakers of 2010
Even though MMOs are the products of great teams of talented workers -- from sound artists to writers -- it's inevitable that a few of the people behind the curtain step out into the limelight. It's a smart move, really; it provides a personal face for people to associate with the game, it keeps messages consistent, and it draws any potential hate onto one person instead of the team at large. It stands to reason that these public figures end up being some of the major movers and shakers in the industry because of their high-profile positions. From CEOs to community managers, these are the people with power to make decisions, the voice to change opinions, and the personalities to inspire millions. Oh, that last sentence is pure poetry. Let's re-read it again, shall we? So in our last Perfect Ten of the year, I've asked the Massively team to compile a list of the 10 biggest MMO movers and shakers of this year. All of these people now owe us cupcakes of gratitude. (Legal Disclaimer: This does not signify a binding cupcake-blogger contract.)
Lenovo says no Android tablet in US until Honeycomb; no Windows 7 tablet, period
If you happen to be enthusiastic about Lenovo, tablets, and your American residency, look away now. Lenovo still plans to ship the Android-based LePad in China some time soonish, but its US roadmap can pretty much be summed up as "wait and see." The company's COO Rory Read has been cited as saying there are no plans to release a slate for the US market until at least Android's Honeycomb version comes out, agreeing with Google on the point that Froyo is not "the right base to have a fully functioning pad." Lest you think Windows 7 will fill the void until whenever in 2011 that Android tablet does arrive, Lenovo's director of new technology, Howard Locker, sets you straight: "Windows 7 is based on the same paradigm as 1985 -- it's really an interface that's optimized for a mouse and keyboard," and the Thinking machine team doesn't intend to build a slate around it. And if you were thinking of maybe picking up a LePhone as a consolation prize, tough luck, that won't be arriving in the US for at least another two years (which in smartphone terms is basically "never"), although it's good to know that it's now got 13 percent of the smartphone market in China. You know, in case you own stock in LeCompany.
GameStop appoints new CEO, promotes several executives
Gamestop seems to have decided that all of its executives needed promotions. Former CEO Dan DeMatteo (last seen talking up EA Online Pass) is now "Executive Chairman" of the company, with J. Paul Raines (formerly COO) now stepping up to the CEO position. Executive Vice President Tony Bartel will now occupy the new position of "President," with Robert Lloyd (formerly Senior Vice President and Acting Interim CFO) as CFO. Michael K. Mauler is now EVP, GameStop International. It's like musical chairs, but there's a chair for everyone playing, and it's much softer than the one you're sitting in. DeMatteo suggested that the moves would help GameStop's goals of "expansion into new markets and continued focus on strategic initiatives such as our new loyalty program, downloadable content (DLC) marketing and sales, and the evolution of GameStop.com into a robust digital platform." Which, if all goes correctly, will bring in enough revenue to allow GameStop to create some more executive jobs. [Via IndustryGamers]
Former Sony Europe head David Reeves joins Capcom
David Reeves, who "retired" from Sony Europe last year, will take up the Mega Buster at Capcom and charge up the publisher's European operations. Reeves states he had a "close working relationship" with Capcom during his 14 years with Sony. He will replace COO Mark Beaumont in the region, who passed away suddenly earlier this year. Reeves was a very public and outspoken figure during his Sony days. He was also the executive who, back in 2007, kinda stole broke Sony's thunder by stating that the first PS3 price drop was actually a clearance sale. It'll be interesting to see how public a role Reeves takes with his new employer.
Activision CFO Thomas Tippl now COO
Acitvision chief financial officer Thomas Tippl was recently promoted to the position of chief operating officer at the publisher, and will serve double duty as temporary acting CFO while a replacement is found. A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission from last week detailed the executive swap (titled the "Tippl Amendment," effective as of March 23), including an $885k annual salary, stock options, an annual raise "at least equal to the average [undisclosed] percentage increase" (pending approval by the board), and a yearly performance-based bonus of "120 percent of his base salary [$1,062,000]." The wonderfully candid thing about SEC filings is that there's little room for spin or marketing, but the downside is all the financial jargon -- like the fact that part of Tippl's new contract entitles him to a grant of 225,000 "performance shares" that "vest ratably." This means we're put in a position where we're telling you about stuff that is at the least pretty confusing and likely kind of meaningless. So let's break it down! "Performance shares" are, according to Investopedia, "shares of company stock given to managers only if certain company wide performance criteria are met, such as earnings per share targets." Meaning, in so many words, that Activision has to meet a certain performance level in order for Tippl to earn said shares. That they will "vest ratably" is only to say that on Feb. 15 of each year for the next four years, he will earn part of that eventual 225,000-share goal (in 2014) ... should he stay in his position for all that time, of course. And finally, this is all based on the prediction that he delivers a higher or equal to non-GAAP earning per share when compared to the previous year. In short, he has to either break even or make money to get the stocks, and he has to maintain that for the next four years. Quite a tall order, sir! [Via Edge]
Apple's Tim Cook rumored to be "Top Candidate" for new GM CEO
When Steve Jobs took a medical leave of absence during the first half of this year, Apple's COO Tim Cook stepped in as temporary CEO. Now he's rumored to be in the running for GM's new CEO. Citing an anonymous tipster from inside the search firm Spencer Stuart, Silicon Valley Insider notes that Cook is the "...top candidate that Spencer Stuart has identified as the next CEO of GM." With Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell recently announcing that he will be GM's next CFO and vice-chairman, Cook would become the second "gadget geek" to take a significant role at GM. Considering the less-than-inspiring designs that Chevy, Buick and the now-defunct Saturn have been producing, as well as his performance while interim CEO of Apple (known for world-class design), Cook is a logical choice. But would he want the job? Most believe that he's sure to take over for Steve Jobs for good once the time comes, plus he picked up a cool $12 mil. while standing in for Steve this year. That will build a little loyalty. For now, this is all speculation. We'll keep an eye on this story as it develops. [Via MacDailyNews]
Sega of America taps Maeda for COO
Sega's made some strides in trying to reach the Western market and its choice for the new head of Sega of America would seem to indicate the company wants to keep the progress going. Masanao Maeda will serve as the branch's new chief operating officer, Sega has announced. Though not a Bernie Stollar-level household name, Maeda has helped the company expand into the West from Sega's Japanese HQ, so it'll be interesting to see how effective he can be in the effort stateside. (Psst, Maeda: More House of the Dead: Overkill, please. Thanks.)
Interview with Paul Sams, Steelers owner
As we reported the other week, Blizzard COO Paul Sams is now co-owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers (who are stepping up lately), and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette hit up Mr. Sams for a quick interview about being at the intersection of Azeroth and Steeler Nation. Turns out the man who collects everything Blizzard has also been a Steelers fan since he was four years old, even though he's from California. And we were right with all of the speculation: he got connected with the Steelers management through Legendary Pictures producer Thomas Tull, and when the chance came to own part of the franchise, he jumped.They also talk about expanding out to Carnagie Mellon University -- Blizzard has a thriving educational program in Irvine, but Sams says that they are looking to expand that, so Pittsburgh is a possibility. And finally, he says that the Warcraft movie is being scripted at the moment -- Sam Raimi will do Spider-man 4, and then it's all Azeroth for him. In the meantime, let's see about getting some of this Steelers news in the game -- even if we can't get an epic football to toss around, surely we'll at least see a Tauren somewhere named "Bill COW-her," right?
Blizzard renews TeliaSonera agreement
Blizzard has renewed their agreement with a company called TeliaSonera to provide bandwidth for them in Europe. They just made a very similar deal with AT&T for the US -- it's the bandwidth that connects their servers to the millions of connections that lead back to your computer as you play World of Warcraft. Paul Sams, Blizzard COO, says they've been pleased with the service, and that the contract renewal was for two years.It's interesting that we've seen Blizzard keep both of these agreements intact, but we already know that they'll cancel relationships they don't see as working (with the notable example of Netease's takeover in China). Of course, there are tons of factors that go into players' connections (including this server connection as well as your own ISP, your router and computer, and a number of other facilities and stops in between), but it would seem that Blizzard is happy with the way things are going in both the EU and the US with these providers. Of course everyone's personal experiences are different, and we've certainly seen our share of connection issues, but in general, the infrastructure on the networks is in a pretty good place.[via WorldofWar]
Rumor: Codemasters chief operating officer has left unexpectedly
Edge Online has picked up a rumor that Tony Williams, the chief operating officer of Codemasters, has unexpectedly left the company while Codemasters has yet to make an official announcement.Williams was the managing director at Bam! Entertainment, which was responsible for Carmen Sandiego: Secret of the Stolen Drums, Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo, and various Cartoon Network video game adaptations, until coming on board with Codemasters in 2005. Edge Online has been unable to confirm his absence, as their calls to Codemasters were left unanswered.Codemasters is responsible for publishing Jumpgate Evolution and Lord of the Rings Online Europe, as well as ArchLord in the United States.
Paul Sams on WoW, PC game sales, and Blizzard's next challenge
Blizzard COO Paul Sams sat down with PC Retail magazine for the first time after Wrath's sales numbers have come out to talk about PC game sales in general and Blizzard's huge effect on them. First question, Sams says that no, PC gaming is not dead, and Blizzard isn't saving it. As long as people have PCs, he says, people will play games on them. If PC gaming was dead, Blizzard wouldn't be releasing Starcraft II and Diablo III -- as long as they make great games on PC, people will shell out the money to play them.While he never does mention anything about their expectations for sales numbers (we know Wrath broke a number of records), he does reiterate what other Blizzard higherups have said: that they'll be making expansions as long as people are interested in playing them. And he says that the biggest challenge for Blizzard in the next few years will be to balance what they're doing -- they've never had more on their plate before, and they've already gotten a harsh lesson with the splitting of Starcraft II into three games. It'll be interesting to see if they can keep up the quality and popularity even while trying to work on three AAA PC titles (not to mention the unannounced MMO) at the same time.
Paul Sams and his Blizzard collection
The Orange County Register was all over the place yesterday -- being the hometown newspaper of Blizzard's hometown, they posted all day about the release and what Blizzard was doing for it (they've got some really good coverage of the event in Anaheim, which our own Dan O'Halloran attended as well). But perhaps most interesting is this post about Blizzard COO Paul Sams -- we haven't heard a lot from him in press before, but apparently he's a bigger Blizzard fan than any of us, with a collection of Blizzard items that includes a mint Spectral Tiger Card, Blizzard skateboards (which are apparently a licensing deal that never went through, so you can't buy those anywhere), and the second Frostmourne ever made -- we assume the first one went to Arthas.And not all of it is Blizzard stuff -- he's got a first edition of The Count of Monte Cristo, and lots of sports memorabilia, too (but let's be honest -- a signed jersey is nothing compared to a Frostmourne. It's real.). Sams also collected his wife from Blizzard, too, apparently, and he says he'd be happy spending his whole career with the company. Sounds awesome to have someone who's such a fanboy sitting in one of your top exec positions.Sams' favorite item, though, is probably the coolest: three drawings by the man Chris Metzen himself. That would be awesome to see. Check out all of Sams' collection in the OC Register's gallery.
Nega-review: God of War: Chains of Olympus
"Chains of Olympus doesn't quite live up to the other God of War games." (4) "Ready at Dawn didn't mess with the franchise's proven formula whatsoever, which is ... one of our ... gripes for the game." (3) "Gameplay-wise, nothing much has changed ... You still run around and beat the beejezus [sic] out of enemies and then meet up with the occasional boss fight." (5) "I wish that Ready at Dawn had added something new the canon rather than just re-using what's been done in the past." (7)"The game feels a bit too familiar ... [and] at times you do feel like you've played the game before." (7) That said, "the game is missing some of the features from other God of War games. ... you won't find the ability to use your blades on grappling points, the Icarus Wings, Rage of the Gods, rope traversal, rope swinging, a fourth magic, etc." (4) "I find myself disappointed ... that the game doesn't quite have the same feeling of showing you something new around every corner that the previous games did." (4) "The game is also brutally linear: you're constantly running from point A to point B, stopping to administer the occasional beatdown." (5) It could also be described as "a very linear experience, (3) that "may be a touch linear." (9) "Toward the end, combat got pretty repetitious, relying really heavily on the mechanic of blocking you into a room and not letting you out until you finished taking down the waves of enemies." (1) "It would have been nice to have seen a little experimentation here or there to mix things up. (3) "Altogether, ... the game feels like a bit less of an adventure and more of a straightforward action game." (4)
Helio's Sky Dayton steps down as CEO
Sky Dayton, founder and chairman of the phantasmagorical Helio, has announced that he's stepping down as CEO to become chairman of the board of the last-man-standing MVNO. Helio's new CEO will be Wonhee Sull, formerly the company's president and COO, and obviously a direct conduit to co-owner SK Telecom. "Helio has reached a point in its development where I feel the timing is right for this change... As we have for the past three years, the two of us will continue to define Helio's direction and future," said Dayton. Whether Sky's really ready to move on or not we'll never know, but it's certainly possible that the recent influx of cash (and increased ownership) from its Korean parents and dwindling marketshare of US MVNOs led SK to step in and get things on track.Update: Lots of fun inaccuracies going on up in here, our bad. We ironed out the kinks, see above for the latest, correct edits to Helio's executive musical chairs.
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XXIX - Apple sez free phones are worthless
Sure, Apple and Cisco have been exchanging kind (and not so kind) words of late, but a loose-tongued COO gave us just tidbit we needed to satisfactorily craft the 29th running of CE-Oh No He Didn't. It's no secret that Apple stands to profit mightily off its eventual iPhone sales, and it's also not too far fetched to start dreaming of 3G on the imminent next revision, but laying the smack down on free cellphones in order to bolster your own product is just asking for it. Sure enough, Apple's Chief Operating Officer Timothy Cook said yesterday at a conference in Las Vegas that "A lot of people pay zero for the cellphone," but rather than contemplating his next move, he carelessly blurted out the reason by stating "That's what it's worth," essentially punking users of the ever-basic free cellphone that saw no reason to spring for high-end hardware when initializing their contract. Apple is currently predicting that "around 10 million customers will pay at least $499 to buy an iPhone" because they feel the value is there, but apparently a low-end mobile isn't worth its weight in plastic. C'mon Mr. Cook, we've got no qualms with pricing your mobile as your company deems fit, but slamming the hammer on folks who just need a handset that calls Aunt Susie every now and then is just a bit harsh, no?[Via Digg]
WSJ profiles Tim Cook
The name Tim Cook might not ring any bells for you, but his is a very important man at Apple. As the Chief Operations Officer of Apple, Mr Cook is responsible for keeping the Apple machine moving smoothly. Also of note is that Mr. Cook is the number 2 man at Apple (and the highest paid Apple exec), and he even took the helm of the company while Steve was dealing with his recent health issues. The Wall Street Journal has written a very good profile about Tim Cook which gives us all a glimpse into the quiet man that is helping Apple achieve.Many people attribute Apple's success to Steve Jobs alone, but that isn't the whole story as this profile points out. Apple is a huge company, and it is the hard work of many people that is allowing it to fire on all cylinders.Check out the article, it is definitely worth your time.
