• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Stephen Elop to become new lead of MS' devices division, including Xbox.

I

Impeccable

Member
TechnicPuppet said:
Could we see a true portable Xbox?

Ssshhhh no one tell them the Vita sales figures.
Click to expand...

Yes, a portable Xbox is exactly the move that needs to happen. It will show Sony to never to enter the dedicated handheld space ever again. If we get a portable Xbox I think it would be the final nail in the coffin for Nintendo too! Then while it's crushing the 3DS, Microsoft can buy Nintendo and make them first party. Holy shit, imagine it then - Sony is going to be crushed. Elop, make this happen for the greater glory of complete financial security!
 
G

Ghost

Chili Con Carnage!
I think Elop will end up as CEO of MS, they just aren't ready to announce that yet. He was high up the list of successors before he went to Nokia, he's done pretty much exactly what MS wanted with Nokia and gotten himself some CEO experience, and critically he has Business and Consumer experience that none of the other current execs have.

They've stuck him above JLG for now because that's where the most critical work is happening for the rest of the year.



I think it's a shame though, he's not the change of pace MS needs at all, he's to Ballmer what Ballmer was to Gates and that's not a good thing at all.
 
O

Osiris

I permanently banned my 6 year old daughter from using the PS4 for mistakenly sending grief reports as it's too hard to watch or talk to her
Ghost said:
...he's to Ballmer what Ballmer was to Gates and that's not a good thing at all.
Click to expand...

My thoughts on Elop put so succintly I'll just quote it, spot on.
 
R

rezuth

Member
Donthizz# said:
why is MS treating Xbox division like garbage? it's like they don't care anymore.
Click to expand...

I have no idea how anyone could come to that conclusion. It's the division given most care, they listen to feedback and adjust accordingly. They designed the console to work as the center of the living room. They even put tons of energy into avoiding the RRoD fiasco again. Not to mention the exclusives they secured, you're crazy if you think they're treating it like garbage.
 
J

Jack cw

Member
Sendou said:
Nokia was ran into ground with decisions made way before Elop. Seems like a good choice anyway. On the other hand Elop is only one letter away from Flop so we'll see.
Click to expand...
Beautiful. But what happens at Microsft is pretty funny right now.
 
H

haterofpants

Neo Member
“Ok. Now its pretty well established in several news sources, that Nokia tried to get Microsoft to buy the company last year, but Microsoft decided against it,” Tomi Ahonen writes for Communities Dominate Brands. “That gives fresh insights and ‘clues’ to what might have been driving Elop to such unprecedented madness from this infamous Burning Platforms memo – the costliest management memo of all time – to the ludicrious decisions about announcing the end of Symbian with no Windows Phone smartphones even to show, far less to sell; to the infuriating decisions to not support Nokia’s own-developed and truly excellent products from the N9 on MeeGo to 808 Pureview on Symbian, to not even releasing the N950 on MeeGo to the baffling decision on suddeinly terminating Meltemi mere weeks before phones were ready to be shown.”

“Elop is the worst CEO of all time,” Ahonen writes, “he has personally caused the biggest corporate downfall in the Global Fortune 500 history, after we eliminate management fraud and crimes. For management incompetence Elop is the benchmark. The worst CEO ever. We need not review all his damage, growing smartphone sales turned into history’s fastest collapse. Growing profitable handset business turned into fastest losses ever in this industry. Market share collapse – Nokia was twice as large in market share as the iPhone, four times as big as Samsung’s smartphones when Elop started – and grew more in 2010 than either rival – but now Nokia smartphones (on all of its platforms, combined) is one sixth the size of the iPhone and one tenth the size of Samsung’s smartphones. Nokia share price, Nokia brand value, Nokia loyalty, all destroyed in the past 2 years and four months.”

“I don’t mean that Nokia was ‘in great shape’ before Elop – I never said that, I was warning that Nokia had problems at the time – but Nokia was growing strongly, making strong – growing – profits, and towered over its rivals before the Elop Effect in February 2011. After Elop started to massacre the businesses of Nokia, its been sheer carnage,” Ahonen writes. “Now. Could there be a reason to the madness? What if we don’t examine this from the prism – what is best for Nokia and its shareholders. If we examine it from this angle ‘Elop promised to sell Nokia to Microsoft.’”
Click to expand...
http://macdailynews.com/2013/06/28/nokias-stephen-elop-the-worst-ceo-of-all-time/
 
T

Twin Tails

Member
Mpl90 said:
https://twitter.com/fakeselop

Rotfl, Kaz is not alone :lol
Click to expand...

Ha
fVXua58.png
 
C

CoG

Member
rezuth said:
I have no idea how anyone could come to that conclusion. It's the division given most care, they listen to feedback and adjust accordingly. They designed the console to work as the center of the living room. They even put tons of energy into avoiding the RRoD fiasco again. Not to mention the exclusives they secured, you're crazy if you think they're treating it like garbage.
Click to expand...

Compare 2005 to today. In 2005 they were hyper-focused and treated gamers as the center of their universe. Fast-forward 8 years and they let their first-party portfolio dry up sans Halo 2k14, lazily moneyhat exclusive DLC for the CoD dudebro titles, tried to recreate the Wii magic and failed, tried to pull off the most anti-consumer DRM clusterfuck in the history of consumer electronics, and generally have ignored gamers whilst chasing the mythical "one device to rule the living room" pipe dream.

It's obvious the division is in turmoil. Since E3 it's been nearly impossible to get their execs not to contradict each other. It seems like nobody knows what's going on exactly because there's nobody at the helm. Mattrick was checked out long before E3 and it was obvious. Now they are left holding the ball with Ballmer, Julie Larson-Green, and now Elop calling the shots? What chance do they have against a laser-focused Sony with both a price and good will advantage?
 
T

The Abominable Snowman

Member
I'm sure the Xbox brand will be spun off in the next year or so.

But more importantly, Elop didn't run Nokia into the ground. Meego was too expensive for Nokia to continue development on and still have profits, and Symbian was dying. Nokia Android phones would not have fit the market, and they would still be trounced by the Samsungs and whatnot, and would compete with the lowest tier Android device manufacturers whom they're doing as good as or better than now.
 
D

Donthizz#

Member
rezuth said:
]I have no idea how anyone could come to that conclusion[/B]. It's the division given most care, they listen to feedback and adjust accordingly. They designed the console to work as the center of the living room. They even put tons of energy into avoiding the RRoD fiasco again. Not to mention the exclusives they secured, you're crazy if you think they're treating it like garbage.
Click to expand...

by putting the man who ran Nokia to the ground in charge of Xbox shows how much they care about the brand.
 
V

venne

Member
Elop is a pro.

He easily outclasses any of the third rate gaming execs from Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft.
 
T

twobear

sputum-flecked apoplexy
Noshino said:
If you care whatsoever about Xbox, then you would be asking for another head of division asap.
Click to expand...
Why? The Lumia line is great. Nokia's failings are clearly not their product's quality. They make great hardware, they try to differentiate themselves from other manufacturers through exclusive hardware features and software. I would say those things make Xbox's future look pretty rosy.

Noshino said:
As for your second paragraph, why wouldnt the phones be as well designed without him in charge?....what does he, or Microsoft, have to do with that?
Click to expand...

The Lumia line is clearly designed to reflect WP's aesthetic.
 
H

haterofpants

Neo Member
venne said:
Elop is a pro.

He easily outclasses any of the third rate gaming execs from Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft.
Click to expand...

Yeah, he did a really bang up job. He had no problems tanking Nokia's value even further (loss of 55% from when he took over - dropped from $8.60 in September 2010 to its current $3.90) so that Microsoft could buy it for cheap. Mission accomplished.
 
S

soultron

Banned
Elop has major connections at McMaster university, where I (and he) studied software engineering. Weirder still, to me, was that I dated a woman who is very good family friends with the Elops. This whole thing is surreal. Congrats to Mr. Elop.
 
M

monome

Member
Xbox Lumia tablet with kinect
and a revised, slimmer X1 without kinect.

et voilà!

more probably it means MS is commited to hardware for the long haul and use Nokia know-how into building a wide range of products.
Surface is a high-end product.
it's a flop.
MS is right in trying to acquire talent that knows how to deal with a portfolio of low-cost to high-end products.

X1 being the last "console" may be true, but MS ain't leaving the living room anytime soon. that's what I'm taking away from bringing a big gun to the Devices Department.
 
R

RayMaker

Banned
So is this guy who will decides the stratagy for X1, will he make decisions on what type of games they invest in, the budget ratio of game to media and advertising, the pricing of the system + xbl?

because the person who makes these decisions needs to make sure the core gamer is as happy as the casual.
 
M

mrklaw

MrArseFace
godelsmetric said:
Why? The Lumia line is great. Nokia's failings are clearly not their product's quality. They make great hardware, they try to differentiate themselves from other manufacturers through exclusive hardware features and software. I would say those things make Xbox's future look pretty rosy.



The Lumia line is clearly designed to reflect WP's aesthetic.
Click to expand...

nah, the 800 was pretty much a photocopy of the N9. The design guys had already developed that aesthetic before Windows came along. If Nokia had gone android there is no reason to think the devices would look any different than they do now.
 
Doug Heffernan

Doug Heffernan

Member
As long as they still have Spencer, Harrison and Lobb they are in good shape gaming-wise. I doubt the man at the top will make any negative waves in the Xbox division. His focus should be on Windows Phone anyway.
 
M

monome

Member
dragonbane said:
Sounds exactly like what MS needs right now. Damn.
Click to expand...

MS boy turning a high profile company into a safe acquisition for MS is why he may be on the short CEO list, dude.

that's dirty. alright. yet Nokia agreed to Elop coming onboard. don't forget that.
 
Fox Mulder

Fox Mulder

Member
CoG said:
Compare 2005 to today. In 2005 they were hyper-focused and treated gamers as the center of their universe. Fast-forward 8 years and they let their first-party portfolio dry up sans Halo 2k14, lazily moneyhat exclusive DLC for the CoD dudebro titles, tried to recreate the Wii magic and failed, tried to pull off the most anti-consumer DRM clusterfuck in the history of consumer electronics, and generally have ignored gamers whilst chasing the mythical "one device to rule the living room" pipe dream.

It's obvious the division is in turmoil. Since E3 it's been nearly impossible to get their execs not to contradict each other. It seems like nobody knows what's going on exactly because there's nobody at the helm. Mattrick was checked out long before E3 and it was obvious. Now they are left holding the ball with Ballmer, Julie Larson-Green, and now Elop calling the shots? What chance do they have against a laser-focused Sony with both a price and good will advantage?
Click to expand...

MS has actually grown their first party studios in the last few years, which are still unproven. I think I read somewhere that they even have more studios now that Sony, so It'll be interesting to see what they can put out on top of the third party support they'll get. MS has never been afraid to write checks for exclusives, and they actually listened to criticism and backlash faster than Sony ever did with the ps3 botched launch.

It's not all awful.
 
V

venne

Member
gaming_noob said:
What is this based on?
Click to expand...

Watch the man do interviews and presentations and compare it to the other hacks that Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft march out there for their respective clown shows. He's on point and is great with messaging.

He's exactly what Microsoft could have used for the Xbox One these past few months.
 
D

dragonbane

Member
monome said:
MS boy turning a high profile company into a safe acquisition for MS is why he may be on the short CEO list, dude.

that's dirty. alright. yet Nokia agreed to Elop coming onboard. don't forget that.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I didn't look at it from that perspective lol
 
T

twobear

sputum-flecked apoplexy
mrklaw said:
nah, the 800 was pretty much a photocopy of the N9. The design guys had already developed that aesthetic before Windows came along. If Nokia had gone android there is no reason to think the devices would look any different than they do now.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I'd forgotten about the N9. I'm not entirely sure I think they would have looked the same though. You have to admit that the styling of their hardware is a particularly good fit for WP and not at all a good fit for Android.
 
F

Fergie

Banned
soultron said:
Elop has major connections at McMaster university, where I (and he) studied software engineering. Weirder still, to me, was that I dated a woman who is very good family friends with the Elops. This whole thing is surreal. Congrats to Mr. Elop.
Click to expand...
Our new MS insider.
 
M

monome

Member
dragonbane said:
Interesting. I didn't look at it from that perspective lol
Click to expand...

If you like my point, two more things :

1/ MS is huge. never forget that. it's an empire.
a) they don't take no for an answer. b) they have a cultural imprint. they have the means to use a)+b) to fight off other companies. or at least, so they believe.

2/ Elop has had time to supervise Lumia's launch during his Nokia time.
He now has experience into bringing a large range of low-cost to high end products to the market. with MS software running on it. and with certain products requiring some software cuts, while others require add-ons etc...

it's a specific skill set that matches well MS decision to go Hardware/Software.
 
gaming_noob

gaming_noob

Member
venne said:
Watch the man do interviews and presentations and compare it to the other hacks that Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft march out there for their respective clown shows. He's on point and is great with messaging.

He's exactly what Microsoft could have used for the Xbox One these past few months.
Click to expand...

I've never seen Elop speak (heck, never knew about him until this thread), but I would assume he's similar to Tretton from Sony whose very processional and presentable.
 
ZehDon

ZehDon

Gold Member
What a strange piece of news to walk into. Either way you look at this situation, it doesn't paint a pretty picture for the future of the Xbox brand. If Elop really did destroy Nokia in order to sell it to Microsoft, than imagine the kind of shady as fuck dealings that will be taking place under his watch.
If Elop didn't destroy Nokia deliberately, than the man who destroyed Nokia by accident is now running Microsoft's biggest profit-eating department. The Xbox brand has been a black whole for Microsoft's cash flow since it's introduction; they've failed to make a net profit in nearly ten years.
In either case, this isn't good news.
 
H

hwalker84

Member
godelsmetric said:
The Lumia line has been great, that's what I think is important from the point of view of anyone actually interested in Xbox.

I don't buy that Nokia would be in any different a position as an Android OEM. The only difference would be that their phones wouldn't be anywhere near as pretty.
Click to expand...

The whole reason why they didn't go Android is that they didn't get the financial backing from Google that Microsoft provided. If they went Android this company would be dead.

and LMAO to people thinking he was a spy for Microsoft. Yes Microsoft called Nokia and convinced their board of directors to take this employee and make him CEO.... Please!
 
McHuj

McHuj

Member
The Abominable Snowman said:
I'm sure the Xbox brand will be spun off in the next year or so.
Click to expand...

With this acquisition, it's much more likely that it won't be spun off. This basically says that MS is not getting out of the consumer electronics business. If anything, this means to me that the push into consumer space will be stronger.

As a brand and product, Xbox is much more successful than the Windows Phone/Arm devices. Before they spin off Xbox, expect a tighter push for Windows Phone/Xbox integration.

It really wouldn't surprise me if certain Xbox Smartglass features in upcoming releases were restricted to now Nokia/WP devices.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Sarah Bond has been promoted to President of Xbox. Matt Booty promoted to President of Xbox Game Content and Studios
2 3 4 5 6
261
16K
Brucey replied
Microsoft Build will detail ‘next generation’ of Windows on Arm and new AI features
2 3
100
5K
StereoVsn replied
Windows Central: Microsoft CVP and key Xbox innovator Kareem Choudhry is leaving after 26 years at the firm. Major changes coming to brand
Hardware Platform 2 3
149
7K
DavJay replied
Xbox has reached an agreement with 'Crash Bandicoot,' 'Spyro' dev Toys for Bob for their new game
News
35
3K
I'm nobody replied
  • Locked
Microsoft reorgs its Xbox and marketing teams to prepare for an AI and gaming future
23
2K
Dr.brain64 replied
Top Bottom