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XBox (Games) Entertainment Games

Ed Fries Leaves Microsoft's Game Unit 52

Posted by simoniker from the fry-boy-go-bye-bye dept.
jnguy writes "According to Reuters, Ed Fries, Microsoft's game studio head, has resigned. The last major person to leave Microsoft in this fashion was Seamus Blackley. I wonder if this has any other meaning - I've seen Fries at many of Microsoft's parties and launch events, and consider him one of the biggest figures in Xbox history." CNN Money has further information on Fries' departure, noting that "he plans to remain in the gaming industry", and commenting that he was "actively involved in the development and launch of the Xbox gaming system and oversaw the acquisition of several major game developers, including Bungie Software... and Rare." They also have comments from Fries himself, as he muses on his future: "I'm looking for a situation where I have a lot of freedom around the development of our products and the way those products come to market. I've had some of that to date, but not as much as I would like."
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Ed Fries Leaves Microsoft's Game Unit More

Ed Fries Leaves Microsoft's Game Unit

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  • Translation (Score:5, Funny)

    by El ( 94934 ) on Tuesday January 13, 2004 @06:46PM (#7967880)
    I'm looking for a situation where I have a lot of freedom around the development of our products and the way those products come to market. I've had some of that to date, but not as much as I would like."

    Translation: "My stock options are vested, and I'm getting the hell out before they go down the toilet."

    • Re:Translation (Score:1, Troll)

      by daeley ( 126313 ) *
      "I'm looking for a situation where I have a lot of freedom around the development of our products and the way those products come to market."

      Translation: "I would like to participate in the actual development of products instead of participating in purchasing other companies with existing products (AKA 'innovation')."
    • Real translation: "I'd like to do the entrepreneurship gig, and maybe get my own company bought out by MS in four or five years."
    • Your translation refers to a third of the MS mid-management that has left from year two (after IPO). What would you do?

      see: Oki, Simonyi, three hundred others...

  • With two of the three top xbox honchos gone, I wonder how does this affect the development of xbox 2? or even the release of Halo 2.

  • Interesting (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Eluding Reality ( 691589 ) on Tuesday January 13, 2004 @06:58PM (#7967987)
    The only major "product" that they would be developing just now would be the early stages of XBox2. Also he is far more likely to leave close to the beginning of the process, not bailing when its far into development.... basically what I'm trying to say is that development problems big enough to make one of the head developers of the console quit at such an early stage do not bode well for the future of the console

    Of course it could be something totally unrelated or development of something else...who knows

  • rag to riches (Score:5, Interesting)

    by kryptoknight ( 638324 ) on Tuesday January 13, 2004 @07:00PM (#7968003)
    "Fries began his career at Microsoft in 1985 as a lowly intern in charge of online tutorials. Ten years later, he was put in charge of the Microsoft's games division, and brought an impressive group of developers--including Ensemble Studios' Bruce Shelley and Big Huge Games' Brian Reynolds. Fries was also at the helm during the Xbox launch in 2001, and was instrumental in Microsoft's acquisition of Halo-makers Bungie. "

    Too bad you don't see many intern-to-ceo (mailroom-to-ceo, janitor, etc) stories like this anymore.

    I think that with his close ties to Microsoft, Fries will continue to be affliated somehow to the xbox in his future endeavors.
    • Well, it's very difficult to get an intern position at Microsoft if I understand correctly. They only get the best of the best. I understand that interns are put through rigorous interviews throughout an entire day just like full time employee interviews.

  • Hmm (Score:5, Insightful)

    by NanoGator ( 522640 ) on Tuesday January 13, 2004 @07:01PM (#7968011) Homepage Journal
    I predict there'll be a lot of theories about how this is evidence that Microsoft is bad even though the simplest explanation is that it isn't his dream job.

    • Re:Hmm (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Acidic_Diarrhea ( 641390 ) on Tuesday January 13, 2004 @07:43PM (#7968418) Homepage Journal
      Yup, just below your post, the problem [slashdot.org] surfaces. There is a world of possible reasons why this guy left that don't involve the actual company itself. Of course, on Slashdot - it's got to be because the downfall of MS is right around the corner.
    • Of course one must note that he only decided that it wasn't his dream job after he's probaby become independantly wealthy and made his name so that he can go on to do whatever he wants now.

      I think a lot of the rest of us (ne certainly, at the very least) would jump at the chance to deal with whatever problems we had if we were getting the same salary, stock options, and name recognition as he was.

      So for anyone else what he had was dream job, but now that he's got money and power he's going to head off a

  • WAG... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by OneFix at Work ( 684397 ) on Tuesday January 13, 2004 @07:25PM (#7968260)
    Just a WAG, but I would venture to say that this means that there very well may be problems at M$ with respects to the XBox and the XBox 2...

    The XBox hasn't really been labeled a huge success yet...and for a major exec to leave at the end of the XBox's life will not look good on his resume...

    This probably means that there are both problems with current XBox sales (this is pretty well know), current game development (companies like EA not developing for your console can have this effect), XBox 2 development (it's likely that they are making the same mistakes they made on the XBox)...

    But, then again, maybe this means that the XBox is getting ready to make a comeback and shoot past Sony for overall dominance in the console market and Ed just wanted to give someone else the limelight <snicker>

  • It was probably buying Rare thad did him in... (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    The purchase of them was sort of stupid and cost alot of money. That's probably why he's "persuing other options."

    From what I hear Rare imploded after the acquisition.

    • Rare did implode (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Zevets ( 728720 )
      After the disastrous "Grabbed by the Ghoulies" nearly all of Rare's projects have been canned except for Perfect Dark: Zero. Apparently the game creators cannot stand Microsoft's rules and the dev teams hate the hardware.

      End result: bad product, bad karma and a bunch of angry MS henchmen planning to kill them.

    • Re:It was probably buying Rare thad did him in... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Phil Wilkins ( 5921 ) * on Tuesday January 13, 2004 @07:54PM (#7968517)
      Rumour has it that Rare had already imploded before the purchase. Hence the Stampers urge to cash in. But then that's just a rumour, which I'm sure the next killer title from Rare will dispell.
      • It's not a rumor, as far as I can see. Look at Rare's output the last few years; they haven't had a major title since Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64. Even Donkey Kong Country, on the SNES was a so so title (an average platformer that sold well) and the series was killed of by two derivative sequels and an even crappier 3D game on the N64. I've heard much of the Donkey Kong Country team had left before MS's acquistion.

        If something wasn't wrong with Rare, why would Nintendo part with them? The Big N, despit

        • Re:It was probably buying Rare thad did him in... (Score:4, Informative)

          by edwdig ( 47888 ) on Tuesday January 13, 2004 @10:37PM (#7969905)
          I've heard much of the Donkey Kong Country team had left before MS's acquistion.

          I hadn't heard about that, but most of the Goldeneye/Perfect Dark team left a few years ago and formed Free Radical, who made the TimeSplitters games.

          Supposedly a decent number of people left when the company was sold to MS. There's also Zoonami, which consists of a lot of ex-Rare people. I'm not sure when those people left Rare.
        • What about Conker's Bad Fur Day? Granted it was slightly raunchy, but nevertheless highly acclaimed by most game critics. And playing through it myself, it's still one of my favorite games. So granted they just revamped the old 3D platformer formula, they did it in an creative and humorous way.

          And Star Fox Adventures for the Gamecube was not as well regarded as Conker's, but it still received fairly respectable marks. I'm not trying to disagree with you about how there are less and less people

  • Something to Ponder... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by unclethursday ( 664807 ) on Tuesday January 13, 2004 @10:11PM (#7969684)
    Blackley left last year. He started his own game development house (presumably with something to show at E3 this year, even if just tech demos).

    Fries left this year.

    Blackley and Fries were the 2 'game guys' out of the 4 of the main executive Xbox guys (Bach and Allard being the other 2). The other 2 are the 'technology and power!!!!' guys.

    Notice this announcment, even though it was apparently months in the making, comes almost right after Gates unveied the Xbox Media Extender at the CES. I hardly doubt that MS put the Xbox Media Extender together right before the CES.

    Perhaps the thought of the next Xbox being the UltimateTV-MSN TV-Media Extender Device-Xbox are true, then? Maybe Fries wanted it to be a game console only (or at least first), and Microsoft has decided that the next Xbox must become the center of the living room and the "Digital Lifestyle Experience" with as many MS products integrated in as possible?

    Whatever the case truly is, expect more talk to be of hardware, specs, and sh33r p0w3r!!!! over anything else when talking about the Xbox, and it's future incarnation (if it has one given the $2.135 BILLION lost since its launch) now that Fries and Blackley are both gone.

  • Point Sony (Score:2, Informative)

    by superpulpsicle ( 533373 )
    Sorry but you'd be an idiot if you didn't see this coming.

    Game programmers require that gaming culture. That is not to say the Microsoft development group didn't have any... but let's face it. MS is a corporate environment where one wall is developing spreadsheet software and another is programming games.

    Look at the company in Japan making Gran Turismo 4. There was some insane article on the programmer's lifestyle in game informer magazines. Live, breathe, drive and program in style 24x7.
  • Holy crap this is a big deal. This dude was the figurehead up here in Redmond. I have no idea what this means or what the details are, but wow, now what?

    One cheerleader down...

  • Given his name, (Score:1, Offtopic)

    by Mordant ( 138460 )
    it would be cool if he went to work for Burger King - he'd get a big kick out of saying, "Would you like Fries with that?" ;>

    • Re:Given his name, (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      ::psst::

      I've worked with him; it's pronounced "freeze".

  • From what I've read of Ed Fries in his interview, he was way too intelligent, independent, and ethical to work at Microsoft. His latest decision to leave Microsoft comes as no surprise to me - in fact, I've been expecting it.

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