Peter Moore is leaving Microsoft!

icrosoft’s Peter Moore is leaving Microsoft to a smaller job at (EA) sports - Electronic arts many of you may be suprised but yes mr XBOX 360 is out the building. When I first saw Peter at the E3 convention he seemed very happy with Microsoft so I wonder what could of happened.

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Jul 17 2007 6:02 PM EDT

Xbox 360 takes A Turn: Chief Splits For EA Sports
Former Electronic Arts executive taking Peter Moore’s place as Xbox 360 boss.

Did Xbox 360 and Games for Windows chief Peter Moore have a big secret to spill at last week’s E3? Sure he did. But it wasn’t like previous years’ announcements of a “Halo 3″ release date or support from “Grand Theft Auto IV.”

It’s that he’s leaving his job for one that sounds, well, smaller.

Electronic Arts and Microsoft announced on Tuesday (July 17) that Moore is leaving his role as corporate vice president of Interactive Entertainment Business, Entertainment and Devices Division, where he runs all things Xbox 360 and Windows. Come September 1, he’ll take over EA Sports.

“The people at EA Sports have created one of the strongest brands in the entertainment industry and [EA CEO] John Riccitiello is building an organization which will extend the company’s leadership to new platforms and new audiences all over the world,” Moore said in a statement released by EA. “I couldn’t be more excited about joining EA and moving my family back to the San Francisco Bay Area.”

Former EA President of Worldwide Studios Don Mattrick will take Moore’s place at Microsoft.

Xbox 360 and Windows gamers might immediately wonder how the charismatic Moore’s departure will affect their gaming platforms. The company’s retention of Shane Kim as the head of internal game development and the fact that game development is usually a multi-year endeavor suggest that any changes coming may not be felt by gamers for some time.

Microsoft spokesman David Dennis told MTV News that Xbox gamers need not worry about the change of guard: “Don Mattrick is a 23-year industry veteran… Most recently, Don worked with [Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division President] Robbie [Bach] and his senior leadership team on identifying new technologies and building out innovative ideas to help further broaden our gaming platform experiences, so gamers can rest assured that Xbox 360 is in good hands and that the transition will be a smooth one.”

“I don’t think that Peter’s departure is bad for gamers at all,” said Michael Pachter, an analyst for Wedbush Morgan Securities and one of the most outspoken commentators on the video game industry. “The only real issue is whether Don Mattrick brings the same level of leadership, which is less of a comment on Don’s skills than it is a compliment to Peter’s. I think that from a gamer perspective, Don is a great addition to Microsoft, as he was head of EA’s Worldwide Studios for several years, is a developer by training and will likely help to improve the gaming experience.”

A week before E3, Moore was making the interview rounds to talk about the Xbox 360’s extended three-year warranty, a policy change that Microsoft said would cost the company a little over $1 billion (see “Xbox 360’s ‘Red Ring Of Death’ Prompts Microsoft To Extend Warranty”). EA claimed on Tuesday, though, that Moore’s departure from Microsoft has nothing to do with that. “Peter’s reason to leave Microsoft was not related to the warranty question,” EA spokeswoman Tammy Schachter told MTV News. “John Riccitiello has tried several times to recruit Peter to EA. We’ve been working on the agreement with Peter for several weeks prior to the announcement. EA regulatory filing will show that we struck an employment agreement in early June.”

Moore becomes the fourth chief of the new four-division EA. The other teams are run by Frank Gibeau (EA Games), Kathy Vrabeck (EA Casual Entertainment) and Nancy Smith (”The Sims”). All report to Riccitiello.

Moore had been at Microsoft since 2003. Before that, he was president and COO of Sega of America. He was in charge of Sega during its final years making consoles. In fact, the last Sega console, the Dreamcast, was seen to fail in large part because of EA’s lack of software support. In taking over EA Sports, Moore shows that he’s apparently gotten over that.

Why would Moore, who currently runs business for two major gaming platforms, choose to go to EA Sports, a division of a single game-maker? Schachter shared some numbers: “He sees EA Sports as one of the most powerful brands in the entertainment business and recognizes that EA Sports is a big business. In North America, sports games generated $1.6 billion in 2006 and represents 18 percent of all games sold in 2006. EA’s segment of the North American market for sports games in 2006 was over 65 percent. Peter’s leadership will help grow EA Sports to more games, on more platforms and for more people worldwide.”