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Xbox One and done as all the cool kids who enjoy console gaming are going with the PS4 this time around. Microsoft's whole approach has been all wrong for the next console generation and it looks like it's going to cost them big time.
Was Mattrick really fired because he's now CEO of Zynga.
He wasn't technically "fired" so much as he was given the opportunity to resign. A nice way of saying we don't want you anymore, but we won't shame you in public. It was considered a win for Zynga though.
He wasn't technically "fired" so much as he was given the opportunity to resign. A nice way of saying we don't want you anymore, but we won't shame you in public. It was considered a win for Zynga though.
He wasn't fired at all.
People who are asked to resign do not receive a $5M signing bonus, $1M in base annual salary $40M in Options and an annual bonus cap of 400% base salary from their next employer.
Now admittedly the $40M in options are not guaranteed income and this is Zynga, but the $5M signing bonus, $1M in salary and potential for $4M in annual bonus are certainly cold hard cash.
So if that's you're idea of "being asked to leave" you would be right, but you're focused on the wrong side of the "being asked to leave" equation.
People who are asked to resign do not receive a $5M signing bonus, $1M in base annual salary $40M in Options and an annual bonus cap of 400% base salary from their next employer.
Now admittedly the $40M in options are not guaranteed income and this is Zynga, but the $5M signing bonus, $1M in salary and potential for $4M in annual bonus are certainly cold hard cash.
So if that's you're idea of "being asked to leave" you would be right, but you're focused on the wrong side of the "being asked to leave" equation.
Actually it's quite common for this type of thing to happen. The guy has like 20-30 years in the industry, and his experience or his value isn't going to be negated by a few mistakes that were largely out of his control.
He was negotiating his departure from Microsoft for weeks, and I believe Zynga had to pick up income that he lost from Microsoft as part of his deal. There has been speculation on what really happened sure, but I have friends at 343i and Microsoft, and what I was told was when Mattrick said that "If you don't have internet stick to Xbox360" broke the camel's back, but I think it was unfair he got blamed for that because he was asked a tough question and there was little else he could say.
Anyway, Zynga is not in good shape. They just laid off like 600 employees a month or so ago, and they have had zero innovation in any of their games in years. They basically just copy what everybody else is doing. Plus their primary platform is dying. So yeah they could use an industry veteran like Mattrick to get them back on track, and help them transition to mobile, which I assume is the direction they will take, and they are willing to pay for it.
Actually it's quite common for this type of thing to happen. The guy has like 20-30 years in the industry, and his experience or his value isn't going to be negated by a few mistakes that were largely out of his control.
He was negotiating his departure from Microsoft for weeks, and I believe Zynga had to pick up income that he lost from Microsoft as part of his deal. There has been speculation on what really happened sure, but I have friends at 343i and Microsoft, and what I was told was when Mattrick said that "If you don't have internet stick to Xbox360" broke the camel's back, but I think it was unfair he got blamed for that because he was asked a tough question and there was little else he could say.
Anyway, Zynga is not in good shape. They just laid off like 600 employees a month or so ago, and they have had zero innovation in any of their games in years. They basically just copy what everybody else is doing. Plus their primary platform is dying. So yeah they could use an industry veteran like Mattrick to get them back on track, and help them transition to mobile, which I assume is the direction they will take, and they are willing to pay for it.
If you have experience in the industry, then you should know that a $50M compensation plan doesn't come together overnight, and that leaving a senior VP role takes time, both of which kind of negate the belief that Mattrick was fired or pushed. Even your statement contradicts that belief (below)
"He was negotiating his departure from Microsoft for weeks."
Well it wasn't "weeks" between him stating "If you want an offline experience we have Xbox360" and him leaving. He stated the 360 was for offline on June 12th it was announced he was leaving on July 1st, and left MS on July 8th. That's under 2 weeks and for a senior VP's firing/resignation request that's WAY fast, my last position took me one month of negotiation and 3 months notice and I wasn't a VP, I reported directly to a VP, but was not a VP. Mattrick by comparison (if he was pushed) negotiated leaving in 2 weeks, and handed off control in one week (that being said it would be so fast Zynga would rightly be highly concerned).
It's possible that it was a beneficial coincidence, but, Mattrick certainly left of his own volition, and wasn't pushed, hell if there was a hint of him being up for push Zynga would have cut that comp package in half, because Mattrick wasn't earning even $1M base salary at Microsoft (he may have exceeded that through bonuses and other compensations, but not as base salary), and the signing bonus would have evaporated (you don't provide signing on bonuses to the soon to be unemployed, if you want to keep your investors happy). Indeed it's very likely that Zynga had to provide this level of package to entice him away (whether that was a good idea or not remains to be seen), I certainly wouldn't work for Zynga after some of the stories I've heard from people who worked there.
You may very well be right, Gungnir. I just know what friends that work there have told me, but who knows.
And no I've never worked in the game industry. So far just financial trading and healthcare systems as a developer, and currently in grad school and doing research on distributed systems. I have considered applying to Riot Games to work on League of Legends in the past as they are about 5 minutes down the street, but I think for me game development will probably just continue to be a hobby in my spare time, and not the focus of my career.
A Technical Account Manager for Xbox LIVE Advertising tells StickTwiddlers.com the Xbox One takes ads to a whole new level, and the dashboard was designed specifically with targeted advertising in mind
At this point you couldn't give me an Xbox One for free.
Not surprising. It's not like they never advertised on Xbox 360. The entire internet is built around advertising. Google makes 96% of it's revenue from ads, and the free services like Google Earth are developed (at great cost) to keep you viewing those ads.
Really though Xbox advertising has always been geared towards games and movies. Two things I like to hear about. That's how you typically learn that a new game is coming out ... you see an ad or you read it on a magazine website (That pays their bills with ads). It's not like they are going to try to sell me a new coffee maker on my Xbox.
And BTW, I'm sure PS4 will have ads too. They would be crazy not to when they have a huge audience.
At this point you couldn't give me an Xbox One for free.
Anything on the internet has targeted advertising so you better never get on the internet. Google does it. Amazon does it. Even the 360 seems to be doing it recently as I've seen advertising on my dashboard lately for dlc for arcade games I own or sales for games related to arcade games I own. If you've ever bought or even viewed a product online, that website will remember it. If you have a loyalty card at a grocery store or pharmacy or anywhere else, you're also being tracked and they give you coupons based on your past buying habits. This is far from anything new.
MS wishes they had these kind of pre-orders. Suck it, MS.
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