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Don Mattrick Leaves Microsoft To Become CEO At Zynga

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the all-aboard-the-sinking-ship dept.

krkhan writes "It has been confirmed by Zynga that the head of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, Don Mattrick, is taking over as the new CEO. Mattrick joined Microsoft in 2007 and has led the business during much of the lifespan of Xbox 360, as well as the launch of Kinect and pre-launch of Xbox One. Zynga shares jumped 12% following the news."

100 comments

  1. no use for Dot Matrix by zlives · · Score: 1, Interesting

    or as I read it, after the XBONE always on drm marketing debacle, some one got fired.
    only if people at MS got fired for making a bad product and not just marketing debacles... I am looking at you b-lamer

    1. Re:no use for Dot Matrix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dot Matrix... I knew "Don Mattrick" sounded familiar for some reason.

    2. Re:no use for Dot Matrix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      why should Microsoft start firing non marketing people for technical failures when the market doesn't fire people who pick Microsoft technologies which fail? But when Microsoft marketing fails, that's a huge problem for them.

      It's been said many times that Microsoft is a marketing company and not a technology company.

    3. Re:no use for Dot Matrix by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      Uhhh..wasn't he the douchebag that told their prospective CUSTOMERS to "deal with it" when the complaints about always online DRM surfaced and told them if they didn't like it to buy a 360, a fricking ancient piece of tech that if it follows typical MSFT strategy will be completely abandoned not 6 months after the Xbone comes out?

      Hell if that doesn't earn your ass a pink slip at MSFT WTF would? of course MSFT seems to be bound and determined to completely destroy their business so who am I to complain, i only hope somebody forces Ballmer out before he completely fucking slaughters the company. I wonder if in 5 years we'll be talking about "The Ballmer effect" to describe companies that refuse to listen to their customers and commit suicide?

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    4. Re:no use for Dot Matrix by TWiTfan · · Score: 1

      why should Microsoft start firing non marketing people for technical failures

      Because marketing people should know how to open their mouths without inserting their feet in them? Don Mattrick has had one PR flub after another for months. The guy seems incapable of typing or speaking a single sentence that doesn't make him and MS come off like insensitive, officious, clueless pricks. Not exactly the guy you want to be the public face of your new product (or any product, for that matter).

      --
      The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
    5. Re:no use for Dot Matrix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because marketing people should know how to open their mouths without inserting their feet in them?

      It's kind of difficult to do that when the executives tell you that the point of the new product is to take a huge dump on the customer base and your job is to make sure they like it that way.

      Don Mattrick has had one PR flub after another for months. The guy seems incapable of typing or speaking a single sentence that doesn't make him and MS come off like insensitive, officious, clueless pricks.

      You say that as though MS isn't a corporation made up of insensitive, officious, clueless pricks. Guess who's calling the shots?

    6. Re:no use for Dot Matrix by TWiTfan · · Score: 1

      It's kind of difficult to do that when the executives tell you that the point of the new product is to take a huge dump on the customer base and your job is to make sure they like it that way.

      Yeah, except that Don Mattrick *WAS* that executive. He was the head of the Xbox division, not some low-level PR flunky. The only one he took orders from was Steve Ballmer. The decision to dump on the Xbox consumer base was all his.

      --
      The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
  2. All the xbox employees now report to Ballmer by Seumas · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Ballmer issued a statement which included a comment that all Don's former employees now report to Ballmer through the holiday for the XBOX ONE.. Hm...

    http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/Press/2013/Jul13/07-01steveb-mail.aspx

    1. Re:All the xbox employees now report to Ballmer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      No hmm about it. It's a very good farewell message - no daggers.
      All it means is that they didn't have anyone to back-fill Don (which would indicate a resignation rather than being fired).

    2. Re:All the xbox employees now report to Ballmer by Seumas · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The question isn't about daggers, but about the efficacy of Ballmer picking up from here through to and after the launch. With Don's departure so swift, it strikes me a little like losing your head coach just before going to your championship game. It brings uncertainty and interrupts a certain flow and expectation at a crucial moment. I'm actually a bit shocked they wouldn't force him to stay til the end of the year (if for no other reason than to readily finger him for any failures in final numbers).

    3. Re:All the xbox employees now report to Ballmer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Well, Ballmer is very good at "launching" things, so maybe it will help.

    4. Re:All the xbox employees now report to Ballmer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So swift?
      He was fired and they have to report to some other dude now. They don't care if it is Don or Steve. In fact, they will care a lot more now that it IS Steve because he'd likely be more than happy to fire them even quicker over Don.

      Why do people not see that he was obviously fired? "stepping down CEO/manager" after such an event is ALWAYS fired. Period.
      Even if they have another job in another company lined up before they can even legally be declared unemployed. He likely already made a bunch of calls after that mess of a conference and reaction just to be sure. After the pretty good success of 360, such a huge failure like that was going to get someone fired somewhere.

      I remember I thought Microsoft were doing a reverse bait and switch with Xbone.
      "hey here is our console, it is awful, you buy it now?"
      "we hate it, screw you, get out xbox you are drunk"
      "THREE HUNDRED AND NINETY NINE US DOLLARS, USED GAMES WORK, NO REGIONS"
      "YEAH, see, the thing is, we were only kidding he he, yeah all that DRM, it's gone, we listened to you guys, honest."
      They so weren't. The 180 on everything was completely legit after this happened, no doubts at all. Microsoft actually seriously screwed up hard on this, harder than Vista and Win8 combined. (they honestly never as well, you even heard them at E3 in the background of a non-silenced mic saying "I thought they'd like the new price")
      They honestly never expected that bad a reaction. And Don is the reason. Even if he wasn't, he should have seen it all coming since he was the boss of them.
      Even now I still laugh after that Sony conference. The MSGS guys must have felt so damn bad after that conference aired. I've never seen such a public humiliation on levels that bad for a long time. Double whammy as well with the social networking types as they uploaded that Youtube video on used games policy just as they announced it at the conference.
      They never planned for that at all.

      If MS can recover from this with xbone, I will actually applaud their efforts. It will take some PR miracles to fix that mess.

    5. Re:All the xbox employees now report to Ballmer by hairyfeet · · Score: 2

      Well consider that Ballmer has been like a stuck record, all "appstores appstores appstores, social social social" I have no doubt that the Xbone will be all about pushing the appstore and social crap so most likely it'll suck like everything Ballmer has "personally" gotten involved in.Zune,Sidekick, Zune Market, WinPhone, his "leadership" seems to be "make it suck so I can pretend I can become the new Apple".

      So it honestly doesn't surprise me that Ballmer let him go and took over, it is pretty obvious that his ego overrides any common sense. I have been trying to think of another company to compare it to but I really can't, the closest i can come up with is how badly the Pepsi guy ran Apple, but even he saw there was problems and tried to correct them, Ballmer seems to be just going full retard ahead. I mean can anybody else think of a tech company where every single metric was shit and instead of trying to change course just gave the finger to their customers repeatedly? I sure as hell can't.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    6. Re:All the xbox employees now report to Ballmer by TWiTfan · · Score: 1

      More likely that Balmer kicked Mattrick's ass out the door (with a chair thrown after him for good measure), then took personal command of the sinking ship in an effort to right it. Whether Ballmer himself is the right man for the job is debatable, but he could hardly do much worse.

      --
      The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
  3. XBone One by girlintraining · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think this guy saw the writing on the wall regarding the XBone One, and he got the hell out of dodge before the shit storm made landfall. Better to go to a place where you're wanted while you can still leave than be sucking on a "golden parachute" and have no job prospects.

    --
    #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
    1. Re:XBone One by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And he's going to have job prospects after working at Zynga? :)

    2. Re:XBone One by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You do realize that you're basically saying Xbox One One, right?

    3. Re:XBone One by WankersRevenge · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yes, there will be a shitstorm. Microsoft really screwed up this launch and I think that's why he's leaving. After the DRM reversal, his number was up.

      But I don't think for a moment that Microsoft is out of the console race. They're in it for the long game and as far as launches go, I still think the PS3 holds the title of the worst console launch.

      I imagine in 2015 after the inevitable price drop, no one will even remember all the Microsoft cockups, but it's going to be a lot of painful months before Microsoft gets there.

    4. Re:XBone One by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So he went to Zynga?!?

    5. Re:XBone One by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      11b = 3

      Now the name actually makes sense.

    6. Re:XBone One by csumpi · · Score: 1

      > this guy saw the writing on the wall regarding the XBone One

      Oh come on now. And instead he went to the complete trainwreck of a spam house?

      No way he was leaving on his own. Not with product launch in 5 months.

    7. Re:XBone One by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      They're in it for the long game and as far as launches go, I still think the PS3 holds the title of the worst console launch.

      I doubt that.

      Sony's crime was mind-boggling arrogance, the belief that because they had so thouroughly dominated with the PS2 that they could do whatever the fuck they wanted and game developers and gamers would lap up their crap no matter how dumb it was. The central locus was the Cell processor, an exotic piece of hardware which is a bastard to program for and can't receive code that isn't specifically tuned for it without suffering nasty performance problems. Sony's thinking was that developers would write for PS3 first then do crap ports to other systems, or even not bother with ports since you effectively have to rewrite the whole damn graphics and sound stacks, thereby ensuring the PS3 had the best experience and everyone else would be second rate. We know how that ended, developers hated the Cell as anyone with a brain was predicting right out of the gate and the Xbox 360 enjoyed massive developer support, the PS3 wrecked Sony's dominating lead down to Microsoft's second fiddle.

      The Xbone is similar to what Sony did; Microsoft, having attained a dominating position, believes they can do no wrong and everyone will eat up their crap and thank them for the privilege of receiving a turd sandwich. Like Sony, this has backfired spectacularly. You may say this puts MS on the same level as Sony, but really MS is worse — because they didn't learn from Sony's very obvious and very public bout of hubris. It takes some incredible short term memory, or earth crushing hubris, to ignore what happened to your competitor and try the exact same shit in a different color and expect a different outcome.

    8. Re:XBone One by BitZtream · · Score: 1

      Microsoft really screwed up this launch

      Why are you using the past tense for something that hasn't happened yet?

      Businesses regularly say 'we are going to do XXX' just to see how the public reacts. Microsoft is notorious for inventing entire software products, marketing campaigns and release dates ... and never writing a single line of code. The (and many many others, mine included) do it to test reception for a potential product so it can be canceled earlier if its an unsure idea or as misdirection towards competition.

      Saying one thing initially and doing something else after customer input is SOP at any company that intends to stay in business.

      --
      Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
    9. Re:XBone One by Nemyst · · Score: 1

      He saw the writing on the wall, but the writing largely said "You've been handling the One catastrophically, get the hell off before somebody else makes you do it." I've rarely seen an exec mishandle so many PR events in such a short amount of time. He's managed to make a lot of headlines, not one positively, since the One was first announced. It shouldn't be surprising that he's leaving now, and I'm not sure it was entirely his call.

    10. Re:XBone One by Clsid · · Score: 1

      Err, you are kind of supporting the argument that the PS3 launch was the worst console launch ever.

      In order to say that Sony learned their lesson, I would wait until they are in a dominant position again and pull out that act of humility. They all are for-profit companies, so the only good thing that comes out from there is when you have a real competitor that will take your business away if you don't get your act together. One of the reasons why open source works better for not screwing users up, even if it is hard to monetize on it.

    11. Re:XBone One by Xest · · Score: 1

      It's nothing to do with the "writing on the wall", he got pushed, period.

      This is the guy who basically told his customers to go f themselves and insulted just about every serving member of the US military whilst also claiming removing DRM from the XBox One was impossible, only for the company to do exactly that literally only a few days later.

      It's pretty obvious this guy fucked up, and was given his notice. Had he not got this job at Zynga I'd wager in a few more weeks time he'd have "decided to leave Microsoft to spend more time with my family".

      It's good news, this is a pro-DRM anti-consumer idiot and the XBox 360 got progressively more ad filled under his reign. Zynga will suit him as it's the kind of anti-consumer company he'll fit right into.

      The XBox One is now way better off because they no longer have this guy interfering to make it anti-consumer and so there is a possibility it will actually become better for consumers. The XBox 360 was made a great console without him, it's now possible the XBox One can be too.

      Getting rid of this guy is the best thing Microsoft's E&D division has had happen to it in quite some time so it's win-win for everyone. A stronger XBox One even if you hate it is still a good thing in preventing Sony becoming complacent with their offering which was always the danger if the XBox One was a flop because Sony was bad enough to customers even when it had no right to be complacent with the PS3 so god only knows what we'd see if it basically had the whole generation to itself.

    12. Re:XBone One by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Which products did they invent without writing a line of code?

    13. Re:XBone One by N0Man74 · · Score: 1

      I thought he was saying X-Bone One, as in, "Microsoft really X-Boned this one."

    14. Re:XBone One by JDG1980 · · Score: 1

      Err, you are kind of supporting the argument that the PS3 launch was the worst console launch ever.

      His point, I think, is that the Xbone launch was even worse because MS had the opportunity to learn from Sony's previous mistakes, and instead went on to make the very same mistakes. Sony's strategy was risky, but conceivably could have paid off. MS had every reason why they should have known better, but they went ahead anyway.

  4. Re:Being run by an ex-Microsoft manager... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... worked so well for Nokia ... Not!

    On the plus side, this is Zynga we are talking about. In a pleasant inversion of AvP, "Whoever Loses, We Win."

  5. An Odd One by sexconker · · Score: 2

    Usually the rats are just stowaways who flee if the ship sinks, but Rattrick was the one who sunk the XBONE ship and now he's fleeing to another sinking ship.

    Oh well, good riddance. Hope he fails at Zynga, too.

    1. Re:An Odd One by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even better would be Mattrick taking down Zynga.

    2. Re:An Odd One by TWiTfan · · Score: 1

      He and Zynga are a perfect match. No one would give a shit if either failed.

      --
      The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
  6. Re:Greetings Slashdort, now PAY ATTENTION! by sexconker · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is your LORD GOD speaking! Enjoy the fresh taste of Pepsi-Cola with none of the calories: Diet Pepsi! Remember, God loves you, so BURN IN HELL FOR ETERNITY and enjoy Pepsi Cola today!

    My question for you, Slashdort, is will there be a .pepsi domain, and will there be a .god domain? I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD AND YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME, Slashdort! Remember that and DIE! And DRINK PEPSI!

    God drinks Coke while wearing the American flag and playing the electric guitar for baby Jesus, you heathen!

  7. How dare they? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does Netcraft know that Zynga is going around confirming things?

  8. Did Zinga look at Nokia? by kawabago · · Score: 2

    After what that Microtwit did to Nokia, isn't Zinga afraid they'll meet the same fate?

    1. Re:Did Zinga look at Nokia? by theskipper · · Score: 1

      Based on the last couple quarters, Zynga's already on life support. Their fate isn't sealed yet but the magic eightball says "outlook not so good".

    2. Re:Did Zinga look at Nokia? by FuegoFuerte · · Score: 0, Troll

      Haven't tried one of their new phones then, I see? I just bought a Nokia 521 on T-Mobile a few days ago, and so far I love it. They might be behind, and yes, killing off Symbian as quickly as they did may have been a bad mistake, but I think they've carved out a decent niche with WP, and are very much still in the running. Awesome hardware running a decent OS (and the only one I've seen that doesn't look like Win95 puked icons on the screen), I really think Nokia could've made substantially worse decisions.

    3. Re:Did Zinga look at Nokia? by davydagger · · Score: 1

      honestly, if I was a stockholder, I'd rather liquidate the company, while you still have tangible saleable assets than take on a microsoft exec. They're track record is not good.

      I think its partially because you really don't need results to win at microsoft. Microsoft makes products people more or less have to buy(i.e. pre-installed, or needed for compatibility), instead of want to buy. There is virtually no risk/reward for making a flop.

      With the exception of the XBox, every product where microsoft had to compete on equal footing with another company they've lost, misrably. The brand name is toxic.

    4. Re:Did Zinga look at Nokia? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shill! He said something good about a Microsoft product so he must be a shill!

    5. Re:Did Zinga look at Nokia? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Stay calm. I will call the guards immediately.

    6. Re:Did Zinga look at Nokia? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What saleable assets do you think Zynga has? A few servers? A building? Whatever actually belongs to them rather than the cloud/leased will be a tiny fraction of their market value.

      It is difficult to sell a bunch of developers - who are free to go and work somewhere else - especially if they are already disillusioned and you can no longer use stock options as a carrot to retain them. Not that this has stopped various people from trying at various times...

  9. Holy crap... by hine_uk · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...when a sinking ship like Zynga looks good to a rat like Mattrick you know Microsoft are in trouble.

    1. Re:Holy crap... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is Zynga really sinking? That would make my day a little brighter.

    2. Re:Holy crap... by am+2k · · Score: 3

      I'm not so sure. He used to be a (higher-up) middle manager, now he's the CEO. If an already crumbling ship sinks, nobody will blame him, and the next job he'll be given will be a CEO position.

      Remember, CEOs aren't rated by the performance of their company under their leadership, but only by the check they raked in every month.

    3. Re:Holy crap... by Horshu · · Score: 1

      Yeah, and Sinofsky "left" to reflect and look ahead.

    4. Re:Holy crap... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He used to be a (higher-up) middle manager, now he's the CEO.

      Better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven.

    5. Re:Holy crap... by drawfour · · Score: 4, Informative

      He was the President of the IEB division. That's not a middle manager of any kind - he reported straight to Ballmer.

    6. Re:Holy crap... by csumpi · · Score: 1

      > If an already crumbling ship sinks, nobody will blame him

      That's not the issue. Sinking ships go through captains faster than a mexican restaurant through toilet paper rolls.

    7. Re:Holy crap... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You realize they have 1.2 BILLION in the bank, right?

    8. Re:Holy crap... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Given the disastrous PR job on the Xbox One so far I would think it is more like he has a very large boot print on his arse. Zynga are such a basket case that even a reject looks good at this point.

    9. Re:Holy crap... by Xest · · Score: 2

      Or you know that Mattrick was desperate because he'd been given his notice period after the colossal XBox One DRM screwup which he was defiant in defending and the subsequent reversal.

      I know which I'm placing my bets on.

    10. Re:Holy crap... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A middle manager with a nice office and fancy title is still a middle manager. Do you report to anyone? Yes? Are any of your subordinates managers? Yes? Well, guess what.

    11. Re:Holy crap... by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      I'm not so sure. He used to be a (higher-up) middle manager, now he's the CEO. If an already crumbling ship sinks, nobody will blame him, and the next job he'll be given will be a CEO position.

      Well, he was president. Though, you're right that since he reported to the CEO, there's no way for him to advance to CEO job. And once you land in the coveted CEO spot, you're really in a little club - make your mark you're pretty much going to always be CEO.

      "President" is a lower executive title - you can be a president today, a VP tomorrow, a middle manager the next. But once you reached the lofty CxO suite, you tend to always be there.

      Network enough and you'll not only have golden parachuts, but a follow on job as well.

    12. Re:Holy crap... by DiEx-15 · · Score: 1

      I don't fucking want innovation. You're not smarter than your competitor. Just copy what they do and do it until you get their numbers.
      - CEO Mark Pincus

      Yep. Don Mattrick will fit right in!

  10. Re:Being run by an ex-Microsoft manager... by Valdrax · · Score: 1

    Maybe he'll actually be able to raise the standards of ethics and customer relations at Zynga. After all, starting so much closer to their level than the average executive will make it easier for the business culture there to relate to him.

    --
    If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
  11. Zynga shares jumped 12%? by ebonum · · Score: 2

    Does no one remember Nokia?

    Their new strategy will be to strike a deal with M$ and then develop solely for the Windows Phone because everything else is a waste of time.

  12. Not necessarily a sinking ship. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There's been a lot of rumors in the biz press that Ballmer will announce some big changes at MS.

    As for exactly WHY he left only he knows. But if I were offered a CEO position, I'd jump on it regardless of what my current circumstance or future was at my current company.

    1. Re:Not necessarily a sinking ship. by sexconker · · Score: 1

      There's been a lot of rumors in the biz press that Ballmer will announce some big changes at MS.

      As for exactly WHY he left only he knows. But if I were offered a CEO position, I'd jump on it regardless of what my current circumstance or future was at my current company.

      Everyone knows why he left. He royally fucked up the Xbox One and was shitcanned for it.

      Focus on TV TV TV TV during the reveal
      Forced Kinect that no one wants
      Major DRM bullshit blocking used sales and rentals, requiring a check-in every 24 hours, etc.
      $100 more than the competition
      Underpowered compared to the competition

      Then came the embarrassing reversal of the major DRM bullshit. Good for gamers, bad for MS because of the PR fiasco and the existing deals they had with the 3 anuses of Satan (EA, Activision, and Gamestop).

      Mattrick was fired. There's absolutely no doubt about that, though of course they'll never say it - to do so would be tantamount to admitting that the Xbox One looks like a turd compared to the competition). The fact that he weaseled his way over to Zynga isn't surprising - for some reason companies love to hire CEOs who just got finished fucking some other company.

  13. Time to really dump Zynga shares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This guy went from EA to MS to now Zynga. Notice a trend?

    1. Re:Time to really dump Zynga shares by ArcadeMan · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yeah that guy is very unlucky!

      --
      Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
    2. Re:Time to really dump Zynga shares by Colonel+Korn · · Score: 5, Interesting

      This guy went from EA to MS to now Zynga. Notice a trend?

      EA: Hemorrhaging money, dominant market share, in decline
      MS: Record profits, dominant market share, in decline
      Zynga: Hemorrhaging money, large share of market with no customer loyalty, in decline

      I'm going to go with "in decline"

      --
      "I zero-index my hamsters" - Willtor (147206)
  14. shares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i still haven't figured out how the stock market works. guess i should take a course in economics at the local U.

    gonna be interesting to see how Don Mattrick Zynga.

  15. Shitstorm already here by bentwonk2 · · Score: 1

    Err the Xbox one launch was the shitstorm, they are in damage limitation now. Don was the face of bad news, change the face along with the message.

    1. Re:Shitstorm already here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It hasn't even been launched yet. It was formally announced, but the launch itself is still months away. Only the announcement has so far been bungled (although I do agree with them being in damage control mode at the moment), they still have the potential for a good physical launch in November or whenever.

    2. Re:Shitstorm already here by TWiTfan · · Score: 1

      Yeah, and you don't want that launch clouded by having the prick who told the military and hardcore fans to go screw themselves still at the helm. He had to go.

      --
      The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
  16. Re:Being run by an ex-Microsoft manager... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    not for Nokia but that tactic has worked well for Microsoft. Is there something at Zynga Microsoft really needs so much that they orchestrate a planting to get it?

  17. Re:Being run by an ex-Microsoft manager... by lister+king+of+smeg · · Score: 2

    not for Nokia but that tactic has worked well for Microsoft. Is there something at Zynga Microsoft really needs so much that they orchestrate a planting to get it?

    stupid browser games that will soon be metro apps?

    --
    ---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
  18. Re:Being run by an ex-Microsoft manager... by budgenator · · Score: 2

    Maybe he'll actually be able to raise the standards of ethics and customer relations at Zynga. After all, starting so much closer to their level than the average executive will make it easier for the business culture there to relate to him.

    I'd settle for just finding that lost pony's home.

    --
    Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
  19. Re:Being run by an ex-Microsoft manager... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    stupid browser games that will soon be metro apps?

    Holy shit. Farmville 2.0 Metro Only. An offer you can't refuse for the crack adicts.

    That's just evil enough to work.

  20. Anybody is better than... by sydbarrett74 · · Score: 0

    ...Mark Penis^H^H^H^H^HPincus.

    --
    'He who has to break a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom.' -- Gandalf to Saruman
  21. Re:From pits of sewage by uniquename72 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic. Neither Microsoft or Zynga has any near-term strategy or long-term future.

    Yes, MS will continue to stay afloat a lot longer thanks to legacy contracts and ingrained habits. But in 15 years, they'll be lucky to be another Yahoo (who will be long dead, along with Zynga).

  22. Re:From pits of sewage by poetmatt · · Score: 1

    nah.

    this is just pre-acquisition movement, the same as nokia and every company that MS has ever done a big deal with. It'll be a few years.

  23. There goes Zynnga by davydagger · · Score: 1

    Given the history of ex-microsoft execs in new companies, its fair to say Zynga is on the way out soon.

    Nice knowing you!

  24. Re:Greetings Slashdort, now PAY ATTENTION! by davester666 · · Score: 0

    So, you are saying that pepsi.god should sort before a.god?

    --
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  25. Re:From pits of sewage by mwvdlee · · Score: 1

    Windows, all versions combined, is still --by far-- the dominant OS on desktops.
    Unless something dramatic happen, it ain't going away any time soon.

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  26. I hope he is renumerated in Zynga points by DrXym · · Score: 2

    Good for one packet of Alpine strawberry seeds, golden plough, or Hawaiian shirt.

  27. I bet... by jones_supa · · Score: 2

    Let me guess that most of Slashdotters didn't even know that there was a person called Don Mattrick at Microsoft and thought that all the games division big decisions were once again made by Steve Ballmer only.

    1. Re:I bet... by Tolkienfanatic · · Score: 0

      Anyone who pays even superficial attention to the gaming space would know better than that so...

    2. Re:I bet... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anyone who pays the slightest bit of attention to Microsoft would realize it doesn't matter who is in charge because they're all actively trying to destroy their own company.

  28. Re:From pits of sewage by gtall · · Score: 1

    Like the desktop market shrinking drastically. Being the King of the Mountain doesn't mean much if the mountain is a molehill. I'm sure MS will continue to suck the blood out of corporate infrastructure though just because of their server/cloud thing and MBAs being completely lost without PP slides to tell them what they think.

  29. Re:From pits of sewage by Toreo+asesino · · Score: 1

    I love coming to Slashdot to hear about why MSFT is doomed each day. I've been hearing it for years yet annoyingly, the MSFT share prices just won't tank. What a shame! I wonder if investors know something the anti-MS crowd on /. don't....hmm...

    --
    throw new NoSignatureException();
  30. Re:From pits of sewage by mwvdlee · · Score: 1

    Do you consider it likely that mobile devices will replace desktops and laptops sufficiently to threaten Windows domination?

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    Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
  31. From Fame to Shame ... by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 1

    Nice analysis of the pattern!

    Sucks to see Don Mattrick go from such Fame to Shame.

    i.e.
    "Prior to joining Microsoft in 2007, Mattrick served as the President of Worldwide Studios for Electronic Arts, where he worked for 25 years. At the age of 17, Mattrick founded Distinctive Software, Inc. which was acquired by Electronic Arts in 1991 and subsequently became EA Canada."

  32. Let's define "leave" in this story. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Replace leave with, got ass fired.

  33. Prediction: 14-30 months, Zynga bought by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Prediction: 14-30 months, Zynga bought by MS.

    Of course, they will need to port every game from Linux servers to Windows AND replace flash with something... anything. Might be enough to revive sliverslight?

    Instead of competing, MS has learned to encourage key people to accept positions. Just look at Nokia - when the culture differences were too great, the MS-stooge left ... after nearly destroying the company.

    More of the same.

    In my current business, we have a former Microsoft advisor. He couldn't deal with our 100% lack of using MS tools and complained that we didn't use MS-Office at all, so we didn't read anything he wrote. Rather than exporting to a format that we could use, he left.

    1. Re:Prediction: 14-30 months, Zynga bought by JDG1980 · · Score: 1

      Zynga won't be bought by Microsoft – why would they bother? Instead, Mattrick will make their suite of games Metro-only. Microsoft gets all the advantages of a buyout, without having to pay any cash. Zynga will lose money and market share, but MS doesn't care, and Mattrick will no doubt have a golden parachute and probably some juicy kickbacks on top of that.

      This is what happens when you hire an ex-Microsoft executive. Their loyalty stays with the old company, and you will soon be little more than a colony of MS. Why anyone would trust these guys, after seeing what Stephen Elop did to Nokia, is beyond me.

  34. Re:From pits of sewage by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Every year I nag management that I'd be more productive on a Linux box, perhaps one of these years someone will listen?

    Windows went to being downright hostile to power users...

  35. Re:From pits of sewage by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're right, people are shifting from desktops to laptops and, to some extent, tablets and phones. You know what those laptops and tablets are running? Usually windows 8. Sure, they don't stand a chance of gaining ground in the phone market, but they don't need it to dominate in every other aspect of computing.

  36. I read his name as Dot Matrix at first by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I read his name as Dot Matrix at first

  37. Retweet by thexile · · Score: 0

    #dealwithit

  38. Is this some kind of tech celebrity worship? by musth · · Score: 1

    I'm still wondering why everyday tech people should care what companies these overpaid pricks are jumping to to further their careers? Slashdot posts a lot of such stories.

  39. Think Simpler. by DarthVain · · Score: 1

    Maybe he just got tired of ducking chairs then...

    *ducks*