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back to article Zynga zinger: Xbox chief bagged as new CEO

Zynga, the online gaming company that recently laid off 500 employees, has just hired one: a new CEO, Don Mattrick, who moves to the game developer from his job as president of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, where he shepherded the Xbox 360. "Don is unique in the game business," said Zynga's founder, chairman …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Correction.

    " citing his success in growing the Xbox installed base from 10 to 80 million"

    With a 50% failure rate, the user install base is actually only 40m. Sure they shifted 80m consoles, as a result of their rush to market, and resulting RROD, but the Xbox user installbase is tiny compared to Sony's (which includes PS2 and Vita in it's active installbase).

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  2. Robert Grant

    "Mattrick no longer has to worry about how that reorg will affect him"

    Because it fired him.

    Into the Captain's chair on the Titanic.

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    1. Daniel B.
      Reply Icon

      Re: "Mattrick no longer has to worry about how that reorg will affect him"

      I'm trying to see if MS is the Titanic or the Hindenburg. I'd say MS is the Titanic, as they're slowly taking in water after crashing against a DRM-shaped, Metro-laced iceberg that hit Win8 and XBoxOne. They're taking in water but the boat still seems safe. Meanwhile Zynga is already flaming and crashing so its demise is very much a given...

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  3. jason 7

    So my comment.....

    http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2013/06/19/microsoft_uturn_drm_used_gaming_controls/

    Was spot on then.

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  4. Herby

    Does???

    The Xbox division make money? For a while it didn't. Maybe that is why there is the silly DRM fiasco was launched.

    Me? I'll settle for the silly pong game that was implemented on two chips over 30 years ago. It worked just fine (hint: Don't use log taper pots for the controls!).

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Does???

      It's in profit now. If of course you don't count the unrecoverable nine-figure sum spent on development, which has been written off.

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    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Does???

      In accountants terms: Yes

      In real life terms: No

      What Microsoft do, is they hide massive losses in single really bad quarters, and then proclaim profit the following quarter. RROD for example, the "reserved" $2.1bn in a single quarter, ditto for many of their large development costs.

      Unfortunatly I can't do this with my household finances, but they can do that with their corporate finances.

      The reality is, the Xbox never made a cent, the Xbox360 has never made a cent either.

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      1. Tom 13
        Reply Icon

        Re: In real life terms: No

        Accountant terms are the only ones that matter. Partly because as we all know, no Hollywood blockbuster has ever made a dime. Same games are played by other corporations. Overstate losses in one division to offset profits in another. Especially if you can do things like rake in the cash on developer tools in a different division.

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  5. ratfox

    Wow. Leaving Microsoft for Zynga.

    Is it me, or does Microsoft have trouble retaining people?

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    1. tony2heads
      Reply Icon
      Devil

      Re: Wow. Leaving Microsoft for Zynga.

      Rats leaving a sinking ship?

      Logo -for Zynga

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      1. Stuart Castle Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: Wow. Leaving Microsoft for Zynga.

        Not so sure it's a case of rats leaving a sinking ship. More like rats jumping from one sinking ship to another.

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  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Farmville

    Don Mattrick has this afternoon announced that you now have to check into Facebook every 24 hours, otherwise they will kill your farmville sheep.

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    1. Tom 13
      Reply Icon

      Re: Farmville

      That's not new. In fact ages ago when I was playing for some things you needed to check in every 2 hours.

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  9. Tom 13
    Devil

    Well Mattrick will have one thing in his favor at the new gig...

    Facebook Zynga gamers already expect to be connected to the internet 24/7, so he won't have to fight that battle.

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