Games By Matthew Humphries Feb. 25, 2014 9:00 am
When Steve Ballmer announced he was stepping down as CEO of Microsoft, the obvious question of who would replace him was asked. One name that kept coming up was Stephen Elop, who has done such a fine job positioning Nokia for acquisition by Microsoft. That was the plan all along, right?
In the run up to finding out that Satya Nadella, not Elop, would become Microsoft’s third CEO, it was stated that Elop planned big changes to Microsoft if he got the top job. Those changes would be focused around Office and expanding its presence to many more platforms. He also put the future of both Bing and the Xbox business in question. Bing would possibly be shutdown, and Xbox? Sold off as a division.
Selling off Xbox sounded crazy to me, mainly because Xbox devices are Microsoft’s portal into the living room and the main family TV in homes. So I’m sure many Xbox fans sighed with relief when Elop got passed over for the CEO role. However, while he can’t now sell off the Xbox vision, he’s being given the job of running it.
Julie Larson-Green, the current head of Microsoft’s Devices and Studios division, has announced she is moving to become Chief Experience Officer of the My Life & Work team. Her replacement will be Stephen Elop once the Nokia acquisition has been finalized, meaning he’ll be in charge of Xbox, Surface, and general hardware such as keyboards, mice, and game controllers.
Although I’m sure Elop will now sing the praises of the Xbox One and come up with a strategy for taking on the PS4 in coming years, it must have taken a bit of adjustment for him. If he truly did want to sell off the Xbox business, then he’s being forced to look at it from a fresh and positive stance. That may not actually be a bad thing depending on what ideas he now comes up with.
[Image credit: Alessio Jacona on Flickr]
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In the run up to finding out that Satya Nadella, not Elop, would become Microsoft’s third CEO, it was stated that Elop planned big changes to Microsoft if he got the top job. Those changes would be focused around Office and expanding its presence to many more platforms. He also put the future of both Bing and the Xbox business in question. Bing would possibly be shutdown, and Xbox? Sold off as a division.
Selling off Xbox sounded crazy to me, mainly because Xbox devices are Microsoft’s portal into the living room and the main family TV in homes. So I’m sure many Xbox fans sighed with relief when Elop got passed over for the CEO role. However, while he can’t now sell off the Xbox vision, he’s being given the job of running it.
Julie Larson-Green, the current head of Microsoft’s Devices and Studios division, has announced she is moving to become Chief Experience Officer of the My Life & Work team. Her replacement will be Stephen Elop once the Nokia acquisition has been finalized, meaning he’ll be in charge of Xbox, Surface, and general hardware such as keyboards, mice, and game controllers.
Although I’m sure Elop will now sing the praises of the Xbox One and come up with a strategy for taking on the PS4 in coming years, it must have taken a bit of adjustment for him. If he truly did want to sell off the Xbox business, then he’s being forced to look at it from a fresh and positive stance. That may not actually be a bad thing depending on what ideas he now comes up with.
[Image credit: Alessio Jacona on Flickr]
More...
