Seamus Blackley Speaks About His (Xbox) Departure
04-24-02, 09:23 AM
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Seamus Blackley Speaks About His (Xbox) Departure
Link to the article, taken from www.xbox365.com
Blackley Speaks About His Departure. 4/23/2002, by Jason
Having promptly left the Xbox team at Microsoft, Seamus Blackley, the last member of the original Xbox group said that after three years of proselytizing the Xbox -- first within Microsoft, then with game developers, and finally to consumers -- it's time to return to his first love: making games.
``It's not like I'm going home to rearrange my sock drawer and I was fired,'' said Blackley. ``The Xbox is OK -- I would never leave if I thought the Xbox was flagging. But from a personal happiness standpoint, I'm a game-development guy.''
Game developers said Blackley's departure represents a stinging loss for Microsoft. It was Blackley who convinced Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates to risk a potential $3.3 billion in losses in the first eight years to gain a coveted foothold in America's living rooms. And it was Blackley, the physicist turned game developer, who sold the Xbox to the game community.
``I think they're going to have a hard time replacing him internally -- he was the guy with all of the credibility,'' said one game industry source, who asked not to be identified.
Blackley's work on the groundbreaking ``Trespasser'' -- a PC game based on the movie ``Jurassic Park: The Lost World'' -- brought him to Gates' attention. He joined Microsoft in February 1999 to work on the DirectX digital-media program, but quickly led a covert movement within Microsoft to prod the software giant to make a game console. And he represented the game developer's interests within Microsoft in repeated clashes with finance types.
``All that work took a toll on him. It was very tiring for him to go up against withering skepticism on all fronts for such a long time,'' said Dean Takahashi, who covers the gaming industry for Red Herring magazine and has written a new book, ``Opening the Xbox.''
``I think he stayed longer than he wanted to because he felt this obligation to make the Xbox as successful as possible.''
Another key Xbox figure -- Rick Belluzzo, Microsoft's president and chief operating officer, who oversaw Xbox operations -- announced plans to leave Microsoft earlier this month.
Blackley laughingly dismissed speculation that his departure had anything to do with Xbox's market challenges. He said he simply yearned to return to game making. He and three partners -- whom he declined to name -- plan to announce the venture in time for next month's Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.
``I have poured my soul into the Xbox -- everything that I have. It literally destroyed my relationships. My front yard looks like the Amazon jungle,'' said Blackley. ``And there is no way in hell I would leave'' if the game console were in trouble.
04-24-02, 09:47 AM
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Re: Seamus Blackley Speaks About His (Xbox) Departure
Originally posted by dglaser6
Blackley's work on the groundbreaking ``Trespasser'' -- a PC game based on the movie ``Jurassic Park: The Lost World'' -- brought him to Gates' attention.
Blackley's work on the groundbreaking ``Trespasser'' -- a PC game based on the movie ``Jurassic Park: The Lost World'' -- brought him to Gates' attention.
04-24-02, 10:43 AM
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I didn't want to put it on the 2nd page of the 'xbox co-creator leaves' thread, because it is new news, and even though it's similar to that thread, I don't think it's the same.
04-24-02, 10:49 AM
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I agree this deserves it's own thread. The other thread has degenerated into an argument between two or three people and should probably be closed anyway.
At any rate, his comments still don't shed any light on the reasons he left. He could have just resigned to start making games, but I still stay it's more likely he was forced out. You don't just leave a big company like MS, and I'm sure he could have stayed and developed games there.
At any rate, this really isn't a big deal for the X-box as some people try to make it out to be. The poor international sales are a big deal to it's success, this guy leaving is not. His leaving may be a consequence of the poor sales, but it's not going to make things any worse. I mean there's a good possibility that they'll hire someone to replace him that actually knows what they're doing and will help turn the X-box around. Maybe they'll put Ken Lobb, the guy they hired away from Nintendo a while back, in his spot.
On a side note, no one was "doomsaying" Nintendo when Ken Lobb left to join MS.
At any rate, his comments still don't shed any light on the reasons he left. He could have just resigned to start making games, but I still stay it's more likely he was forced out. You don't just leave a big company like MS, and I'm sure he could have stayed and developed games there.
At any rate, this really isn't a big deal for the X-box as some people try to make it out to be. The poor international sales are a big deal to it's success, this guy leaving is not. His leaving may be a consequence of the poor sales, but it's not going to make things any worse. I mean there's a good possibility that they'll hire someone to replace him that actually knows what they're doing and will help turn the X-box around. Maybe they'll put Ken Lobb, the guy they hired away from Nintendo a while back, in his spot.
On a side note, no one was "doomsaying" Nintendo when Ken Lobb left to join MS.
04-24-02, 11:27 AM
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I fail to see anything new here. It's the same information, spun by an XBox fan site.
Anything here that's not in the AP account is suspect; how much credibility can you give someone who describes "Trespasser" as "groundbreaking"?
The XBox is not doing well, and senior XBox executives are suddenly "seeking other opportunities." Even if you accept the most charitable explanations for this exodus, would these guys really be unhitching their wagons if XBox was a rising star?
C'mon!
Anything here that's not in the AP account is suspect; how much credibility can you give someone who describes "Trespasser" as "groundbreaking"?
The XBox is not doing well, and senior XBox executives are suddenly "seeking other opportunities." Even if you accept the most charitable explanations for this exodus, would these guys really be unhitching their wagons if XBox was a rising star?
C'mon!
04-24-02, 11:52 AM
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Originally posted by ScandalUMD
The XBox is not doing well, and senior XBox executives are suddenly "seeking other opportunities." Even if you accept the most charitable explanations for this exodus, would these guys really be unhitching their wagons if XBox was a rising star?
C'mon!
The XBox is not doing well, and senior XBox executives are suddenly "seeking other opportunities." Even if you accept the most charitable explanations for this exodus, would these guys really be unhitching their wagons if XBox was a rising star?
C'mon!
04-24-02, 12:20 PM
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Originally posted by CreatureX
I don't understand why he couldn't continue to make games while working at Microsoft?
I don't understand why he couldn't continue to make games while working at Microsoft?
if he leaves to create games for just the xbox, then what is the point of announcing that he left? just seems strange.
04-24-02, 01:16 PM
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Originally posted by huh?
exactly, thats why the explanation (and timing IMO) are a little "odd"...
if he leaves to create games for just the xbox, then what is the point of announcing that he left? just seems strange.
exactly, thats why the explanation (and timing IMO) are a little "odd"...
if he leaves to create games for just the xbox, then what is the point of announcing that he left? just seems strange.
04-24-02, 01:20 PM
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Originally posted by joshhinkle
That's exactly my main reasoning behind believing that he was fired/forced out. He could have simply made games at MS for the X-box, if the company still wanted his services. Again, I don't think his departure is bad news for the X-box. Maybe the new guy will help turn things around, it's obvious Blackley wasn't doing a good job or he'd still be with the company.
That's exactly my main reasoning behind believing that he was fired/forced out. He could have simply made games at MS for the X-box, if the company still wanted his services. Again, I don't think his departure is bad news for the X-box. Maybe the new guy will help turn things around, it's obvious Blackley wasn't doing a good job or he'd still be with the company.
04-24-02, 01:32 PM
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Originally posted by Groucho
In order to counteract some of the negative press the Xbox has gotten lately due to sales in Europe and Japan, they needed a sacrificial lamb to appease the stockholders. This is common in the business world, and very rarely does actual job performance have anything to do with it.
In order to counteract some of the negative press the Xbox has gotten lately due to sales in Europe and Japan, they needed a sacrificial lamb to appease the stockholders. This is common in the business world, and very rarely does actual job performance have anything to do with it.
04-24-02, 02:50 PM
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Originally posted by Groucho
Assuming he was forced out (we don’t know for sure), it’s not necessarily because he did a crappy job. It’s because he’s high profile and associated with the Xbox. In order to counteract some of the negative press the Xbox has gotten lately due to sales in Europe and Japan, they needed a sacrificial lamb to appease the stockholders. This is common in the business world, and very rarely does actual job performance have anything to do with it.
Assuming he was forced out (we don’t know for sure), it’s not necessarily because he did a crappy job. It’s because he’s high profile and associated with the Xbox. In order to counteract some of the negative press the Xbox has gotten lately due to sales in Europe and Japan, they needed a sacrificial lamb to appease the stockholders. This is common in the business world, and very rarely does actual job performance have anything to do with it.
04-24-02, 03:49 PM
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It certainly indicates eroding support for the XBox within Microsoft, though.
- Shawn
04-24-02, 04:04 PM
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Originally posted by Shawn
I'm not so sure. I could be completely off, but this is my opinion. Microsoft knew what they were getting into when they decided to make the Xbox. Like it said in the article, they knew they could lose 3.3 billion dollars, and they still went ahead with it. Even if the Xbox continues to sell poorly overseas, the North American market will sell it enough for Microsoft to continue to produce it. Also, I think they knew they would lose a lot on the Xbox, and that they are just setting themselves up for their next console. Microsoft has enough money in cash(something like forty billion, if I remember correctly) to continue to lose money, and not be too concerned. Like Groucho said, if Blackley was forced out, it could have just been to put the stockholders at ease. Once again, that's just my opinion.
- Shawn
I'm not so sure. I could be completely off, but this is my opinion. Microsoft knew what they were getting into when they decided to make the Xbox. Like it said in the article, they knew they could lose 3.3 billion dollars, and they still went ahead with it. Even if the Xbox continues to sell poorly overseas, the North American market will sell it enough for Microsoft to continue to produce it. Also, I think they knew they would lose a lot on the Xbox, and that they are just setting themselves up for their next console. Microsoft has enough money in cash(something like forty billion, if I remember correctly) to continue to lose money, and not be too concerned. Like Groucho said, if Blackley was forced out, it could have just been to put the stockholders at ease. Once again, that's just my opinion.
- Shawn
Money talks in Redmond, WA.
Then again if it is a pride issue with Bill Gates he may keep it around....???
04-24-02, 04:28 PM
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I'm excited about each system and my excitement goes like this in order: GameCube, X-Box, PS2. I'm not big into on-line games, but I may attempt to play them. PS2 has good games, but many are multi-console and I would probably choose the X-Box version over the others if given the choice. If the multi-console games come out at the same time, I forsee the X-Box selling better numbers and for sure getting the backing of people that own both the PS2 and X-Box. E3 may change my lineup in this paragraph, but we shall see.
One more thing...I also tire of people that like to point out the negatives of systems they do not own or have never tried. Yes, I remember being on the negative end of the X-Box before it was released, but since then I have seen that all the systems have their great and weak points. Blackley leaving is not huge news and I think the writing was on the wall with him a long time ago when he created rumors on certain games.
Let's just be happy with the systems we have and not say that X console is going to fail. I believe that all 3 are going to survive, but they each need to make some moves. I think I've said enough for now.
One more thing...I also tire of people that like to point out the negatives of systems they do not own or have never tried. Yes, I remember being on the negative end of the X-Box before it was released, but since then I have seen that all the systems have their great and weak points. Blackley leaving is not huge news and I think the writing was on the wall with him a long time ago when he created rumors on certain games.
Let's just be happy with the systems we have and not say that X console is going to fail. I believe that all 3 are going to survive, but they each need to make some moves. I think I've said enough for now.
X-Box isn't going away folks... Neither are either of the others...
04-24-02, 04:44 PM
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Originally posted by agrall
I think AgtFox said this quite well... And I'm not sure why all the negative talkers had to come to this thread to continue to spread their doom and gloom here... but I guess that's they way of things...
X-Box isn't going away folks... Neither are either of the others...
I think AgtFox said this quite well... And I'm not sure why all the negative talkers had to come to this thread to continue to spread their doom and gloom here... but I guess that's they way of things...
X-Box isn't going away folks... Neither are either of the others...
04-24-02, 07:35 PM
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Originally posted by AgtFox
Don't worry, I'm sure only a few read my post since it was too long. I seem to have a habit of posting and then never hearing a reply from it...guess I'm a pariah
Don't worry, I'm sure only a few read my post since it was too long. I seem to have a habit of posting and then never hearing a reply from it...guess I'm a pariah
04-24-02, 10:45 PM
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I still think that where Microsoft went wrong was that that they were trying to sell the console and NOT the games. Everything I read about the X-Box seemed to say "We've built the greatest system ever out of PC parts and you're going to buy it. Games? It doesn't matter what you play on it. It's the greatest system ever".
The X-Box still doesn't have that one "killer" game title that everyone is dying to play. When I look at the game library I see alot of snowboarding and racing games, several multi platformers, Halo and Munch. Halo as impressive as it may be (for fans of FPS) will not be enough to carry the system. With very little news about coming games there are going to be clouds on the X-Box horizon for a while.
I won't be as arrogant as to say "I knew X-Box was going to bomb". But I'm a little surprised to see it struggling this early in the game.
Robb
The X-Box still doesn't have that one "killer" game title that everyone is dying to play. When I look at the game library I see alot of snowboarding and racing games, several multi platformers, Halo and Munch. Halo as impressive as it may be (for fans of FPS) will not be enough to carry the system. With very little news about coming games there are going to be clouds on the X-Box horizon for a while.
I won't be as arrogant as to say "I knew X-Box was going to bomb". But I'm a little surprised to see it struggling this early in the game.
Robb
04-25-02, 09:31 AM
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This probably belonged in the other thread, and yes he was fired. You don't go around and tell everybody you were forced out. You spin it. For people to believe these self-serving interviews (like he admit he failed at the X-BOX design in an interview) is beyond belief.
I don't really care that much about X-BOX, but for people to believe corporate press releases and post "everything is fine" interviews needs some serious adjustment.
I don't really care that much about X-BOX, but for people to believe corporate press releases and post "everything is fine" interviews needs some serious adjustment.
