Off the top of your head, you may not recognize the name Steve Ballmer. However, former CEO of Microsoft stuck his neck out to bring to you a piece of gaming history.
Ballmer said in a recent interview that while head honcho Bill Gates was completely behind the concept of a Microsoft based gaming console, he himself would be the one ultimately responsible for making it work. He states that it “…was my decision, my accountability. I believe in accountability. I’m in. I’m accountable. I’ll make this work–not that I had to drive it–but we had some bumps on the road. And it was important that I stay accountable, stay patient, and stay behind the decision that we made.”
With the huge success of the Xbox One’s recent release (and with the previous generations of the Xbox speaking for themselves), there’s no doubt that Microsoft’s gamble paid off in a big way. They’ve carved out their own piece of gaming history. Charles Fitzgerald, who is a strategist at Microsoft, touched on how the loss that Microsoft was forced to temporarily take on the project was completely worth it in the long run. “When you look at it as a hedge to keep Sony or any game console from undermining the Windows PC, it is chump change compared to the hundreds of billions in Windows profits banked during that time.” He said.
Former Microsoft Boss Robbie Bach looks back on how Ballmer was able to recognize the need for a new system in the gaming marketing, stating, “He was willing to step out into a space that Microsoft had never been in, look at a business model, and say this is something we need to try.”