In short Jeff Bell will be departing the Xbox and WIndows gaming group during the Summer, where Shane Kim and Phil Spencer will step up to the plate and take on new challenges. More specifically, Shane Kim will assume the role as Corporate VP, and work up towards partners and other third parties, while developing general growth strategies. Phil Spencer on the other hand, will head up the first party title developments and publishing world wide.
This happens all the time in the corporate world, however the Xbox group has had its fair share of management turn-over, where Peter Moore and Ted Hase being the most prominent departures This follows only a few months after Sony Computer Entertainment lost Phil Harrison. Maybe not all is well for number 2 and 3 in the game console market. But departures also means the potential for change. Therefore key questions will be:
1. How will Shane shape the relationships with third parties, and especially, how will he motivate developers to increase their developments for the Windows PC platform -since this is a market that is undergoing major changes due to illegal copies.
2. what type of partnerships Shane will seek out for the Xbox 360 -will it be more of Halo-type games, or will he explore alternative game types and other avenues. I am sure there will be "yes, all of the above", but it is a question as to how he decides to priorities his time.
3. What does Spencer see as "new audiences"? And how will new audiences be swayed over by new first party title? Once again, where is the direction of game development going?
4. Microsoft made some IPTV announcements about a year ago, and this has quieted down. Will Shane or Phil continue on these efforts, or its own movie downloading service, and drive that into various territories? Once again, its a question of priorities.
