Report: Xbox president Don Mattrick will leave Microsoft for Zynga

Move follows rough PR cycle for Microsoft, stock tumble for Zynga.

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[coreycubed]

Wow, with stuff like EA and the Xbox One DRM launch on his resume, this guy should fit right in at Zynga! Welcome aboard, sir!

 

[xs0u1x]

If you want to play FarmVille offline, we have a product for you - It's called "Agriculture."

 

[Leiesoldat]

Wow talk about a massive demotion.

 

[cateye]

"Saaaay, I've done so well working for this giant multinational bank, I think for my next challenge I'll go work for the Check Cashing joint in the shitty part of town."

 

[killing_time]

i thought MS's DRM reversal was a good move, and I didn't really think much of it more than a quick business move to woo customers.


this kinda tells me they were pissed.

 

[maclancer]

Wondering if this is related to how bad they marked the Xbox one in the beginning and then later on they changed the policy to compete with PS4, after gamers complain all over the web.

 

[Cogmatix]

This the business equivalent of being forced to go sit in the corner. On tacks.

 

[Ars of Ares]

Mattrick joined Microsoft in 2007 after serving as president of Electronic Arts for a number of years.

Oh. It all makes sense now.

 

[killing_time]

cateye[/url]":3c68pxac]"Saaaay, I've done so well working for this giant multinational bank, I think for my next challenge I'll go work for the Check Cashing joint in the shitty part of town."

he's being humbled all the way to the bank.
there will always be that difference between in his level and us peasants.

 

[AaronLeeR]

Wow, kinda like jumping from the Hindenburg to the Titanic. At least MS will recover.

 

[serversurfer]

Zynga. Ouch.

 

[charybdisjim]

What I'm a little unclear on is why exactly Zynga stock went up on this news. Regardless of how someone felt about the policies originally announced for the Xbox One, the handling of PR surrounding it is not easily viewed as anything approaching successful. Is it just that investors see getting anyone new in Zynga's top leadership as a good thing?

 

[Katana314]

To be fair, I couldn't think of much else positive for him to say to that reporter about military service members. "Well, we think we're providing a great entertainment service that's constantly connected, and we think that makes it worth it to throw our servicemen/women under a bus." ???

It's like getting fired for being unable to market beetroot-flavored ice cream.

 

[ebbv]

Microsoft has made a lot of mistakes recently but I can't understand this move. Zynga is a sinking ship, obviously. This must be purely because they offered him a lot of money and he thinks he stands to make a killing before Zynga fully falls apart. Or he's delusional and thinks he can save it.

 

[Rinsewynd]

Hopefully this along with the Microsoft restructuring leads to Kinect being dumped from the base line model and a hundred dollar price drop before launch.

 

[Caffarius]

#dealwithit

 

[legacyABQ]

Good grief! This tech-company-PR wrecking-machine has been hired as a euthanasist for Zynga huh? Help put them out of their misery?

What a bizarre move on their part. Proof they really, really are clueless.

Good for Microsoft though, to be able to crawl out from under his deadweight.

Poor guy. So overpaid and under-talented, he must have panic attacks of self-doubt at night in his closet.

;-)

 

[iconmaster]

I'm with ebbv. He knows it's doomed, but the package was too good to pass up.

Or MS really was about to cut him loose and Zynga was any port in a storm.

 

[Sonan]

This guy always had a really smug face whenever he took the stage. I'd love to have seen his face when he "voluntarily" leaves.

 

[K1LLTACULAR]

It was probably a combination of Ballmer demoting him in the new restructuring as well as "gently prodding" him to look at alternatives following Mattrick's department being a complete mess both in terms of PR and in clarity of vision. I hope this means they bring J Allard back. J did a great job with the 360 and Zune (and in many ways even the Kin) but the corporate culture at Microsoft really prevented him from having more success.

 

[Deleted member 1]

Did he consider working hot dog stands? I mean, it can't be worse...

 

[Dilbert]

Zynga? So he will be on unemployment in 6 months?

 

[Slow Light]

I would have thought Microsoft stock options would have gone up

 

[lordcheeto]

charybdisjim[/url]":3006r8ab]What I'm a little unclear on is why exactly Zynga stock went up on this news. Regardless of how someone felt about the policies originally announced for the Xbox One, the handling of PR surrounding it is not easily viewed as anything approaching successful. Is it just that investors see getting anyone new in Zynga's top leadership as a good thing?

There's nothing good to quote in this article, so allow me to quote the Wall Street Journal.

If it happens, the hire would be a massive one for Zynga, which has been hit by a series of problems since its IPO. Pincus has been struggling to move the company into mobile quickly, as its once strong Web and Facebook consumer business has waned. That has included a recent round of layoffs, as well as closures of a number of offices outside of its San Francisco HQ.

If he, in fact, appoints a new CEO to take over the reins at Zynga and hires a very experienced exec like Mattrick — who has worked on many turnarounds — it is a major step by Pincus, who has held the top job there since its founding. While it is not unusual for a founder to give up such power, it certainly underscores Pincus’ commitment to reviving Zynga.

 

[JPan]

Zynga really Zynga? Really? That guy must be done for. Most likely Microsoft told him they would fire him if he doesn't "leave" . I mean Zynga

 

[Clatu6]

Actually.... good to do it now with it being several months away from the launch of the new console. This guy was hurting more than helping with his big mouth.

Still lots of time for things to drastically change. They should hire Jason Rubin! As long as he brings the giant purple ____ .

 

[Diabolos]

"This frying pan is getting a bit to warm for my tastes. Let's jump out of it and see how that goes."

 

[Joshua Fan]

Was online check-in really his fault?

 

[Stormspace]

maclancer[/url]":yqlsyfkz]Wondering if this is related to how bad they marked the Xbox one in the beginning and then later on they changed the policy to compete with PS4, after gamers complain all over the web.

This type of move is generally made weeks or months in advance. I'd be willing to bet that the agreement was that he would work through the X-box announcement before leaving to minimize the harm to Microsoft. He probably got a nice bonus as well for staying even though the X-Box one was trashed in the media and by the public.

 

[Jobe1983]

Rinsewynd[/url]":5i8vfd95]Hopefully this along with the Microsoft restructuring leads to Kinect being dumped from the base line model and a hundred dollar price drop before launch.

the kinect will never be dumped from a so called "base version". two things are wrong here,

one; there will not be multiple tiers of the same console, MS and Sony are moving away from that model of marketing.

two: The kinect is so completly integrated into the base OS for the system, that it would end up being gimped.

 

[Sufinsil]

Ars of Ares[/url]":2baojvk7]

Mattrick joined Microsoft in 2007 after serving as president of Electronic Arts for a number of years.

Oh. It all makes sense now.

He was also in leading EA when their stock was at its highest. The 2009 crash hurt everyone but Activision did not crash as hard as EA.

He was doing something right for EA. A lot of EA hate has been in the last 3-5 years, after Mattrick left.

If Pincus gives up CEO it might be the best move Zygna yet. They lost so much talent someone needs to plug the leaking ship.

 

[WaveRunner]

The ultimate sin at MS is promising something and not being able to deliver. Doesn't matter how hard you tried, but I'm sure the "buy a 360" line came around the time he realized he was toast anyways.

 

[bbf]

Of course Zynga's stock went up, Pincus didn't sound like he had the skills as a CEO of a company that had to fight real competition for dollars. Zynga was in the right place at the right time with Farmville on Facebook, but times have changed since then, and it looks like Zynga's response to the changing market was to copy other company's games... and surprise, surprise, it didn't work out well. :-O

 

[kbhola]

i'd say it's a good move on his part. he probably got offered a fuckton of money and has the opportunity to lead a failing company through a turnaround, which i understand he's done before. it's not like he was singularly responsible for any xb1 decision that would make zynga not want him. in fact, since he's worked at two of the largest game houses, he's probably exactly what zynga needs right now.

zynga - gets an experienced exec to help turn their ship around
ms - gets rid of the face of their xb1 pr disaster
mattrick - gets $

who lost?

 

[Geronimous]

kbhola[/url]":29etxoxg]i'd say it's a good move on his part. he probably got offered a fuckton of money and has the opportunity to lead a failing company through a turnaround, which i understand he's done before. it's not like he was singularly responsible for any xb1 decision that would make zynga not want him. in fact, since he's worked at two of the largest game houses, he's probably exactly what zynga needs right now.

zynga - gets an experienced exec to help turn their ship around
ms - gets rid of the face of their xb1 pr disaster
mattrick - gets $

who lost?

The gamers that Zynga and Microsoft apparently hate; we tend to get in the way of our wallets. I'd rather Mattrick leave the industry and Zynga finally finish its long, slow death.

 

[bittermann]

Stormspace[/url]":1k8s9eqc]

maclancer[/url]":1k8s9eqc]Wondering if this is related to how bad they marked the Xbox one in the beginning and then later on they changed the policy to compete with PS4, after gamers complain all over the web.

This type of move is generally made weeks or months in advance. I'd be willing to bet that the agreement was that he would work through the X-box announcement before leaving to minimize the harm to Microsoft. He probably got a nice bonus as well for staying even though the X-Box one was trashed in the media and by the public.

Sorry but you don't leave Microsoft for Zynga...otherwise your theory would be plausible!

 

[qasimq]

Wow. That's a nice promotion for this guy. /s
I just dislike him after the whole XB one debacle. Even though I am sure it was not all his decision.
Atleast one thing is for user he is going to a company where he can't possibly make things worse. Right ?

 

[ardent]

First of all, let me just say: Let the firings continue! There are still plenty of culpable persons on the payroll at Microsoft. They need to send a strong message here.

lordcheeto[/url]":x6beykh0]

charybdisjim[/url]":x6beykh0]What I'm a little unclear on is why exactly Zynga stock went up on this news. Regardless of how someone felt about the policies originally announced for the Xbox One, the handling of PR surrounding it is not easily viewed as anything approaching successful. Is it just that investors see getting anyone new in Zynga's top leadership as a good thing?

There's nothing good to quote in this article, so allow me to quote the Wall Street Journal.

If it happens, the hire would be a massive one for Zynga, which has been hit by a series of problems since its IPO. Pincus has been struggling to move the company into mobile quickly, as its once strong Web and Facebook consumer business has waned. That has included a recent round of layoffs, as well as closures of a number of offices outside of its San Francisco HQ.

If he, in fact, appoints a new CEO to take over the reins at Zynga and hires a very experienced exec like Mattrick — who has worked on many turnarounds — it is a major step by Pincus, who has held the top job there since its founding. While it is not unusual for a founder to give up such power, it certainly underscores Pincus’ commitment to reviving Zynga.

What the WSJ glosses over, and I think this is cute, is that Mattrick has been involved in a lot of negative turnarounds. As in "from good to bad." Certainly, there are "bad to good" turnarounds on his resume, but they're all tied to a downturn on one side of his tenure. That's not really the mark of a great executive.