14 DAY TRIAL // Former Nokia boss Stephen Elop is the new Microsoft devices and studios head, a decision that made many wonder whether the one who has once been favorite to take over the CEO position at the software giant might attempt to get rid of some projects, including Xbox and Bing.
That won’t be the case, Microsoft Studios head Phil Spencer said at the SXSW, as both Stephen Elop and the new CEO Satya Nadella are fully committed to these two projects, especially the Xbox console that has soon received a major new version.
“Xbox is a really critical brand for us as a company as Microsoft; when you think about consumers, what they love about our company, Xbox is one of the most beloved brands that the company has,” he was quoted as saying by Pocket Lint.
“We're in the middle of a good, competitive battle in the console space with PlayStation, which is great for the industry. And they remain extremely committed to us succeeding with Xbox, which is nice to hear, right? It's something that resonates well inside the walls when you're talking to the teams, or when I stand in front of Xbox fans, I want to make sure that they understand we are extremely committed to this product.”
Of course, getting rid of Xbox and Bing doesn’t really make much sense, especially because Microsoft continues to invest big in hardware, as it continues its transition to devices and services.
In addition to new products that would expand the Surface product family and thus make Microsoft a much more important player in the tablet market, the company is also putting more focus on Office and OneDrive, two products that have been aggressively promoted in the last year.
People familiar with the matter said before the appointment of a new CEO that Stephen Elop, who has been one of the top candidates for replacing Steve Ballmer at the helm of the company, that significant product changes could take place once he became the chief of the software giant.
Killing Xbox and discontinuing products such as the Bing search engine were among the changes that Elop could have made as Microsoft CEO, but luckily for Microsoft fanboys, Satya Nadella has a much more conservative approach and is not only willing to keep all the company’s products, but also improve them significantly in the next few years, as the company continues the One Microsoft transformation plan.