Peter Moore, head of Interactive Entertainment Business (IEB) which oversees both Xbox and Microsoft’s Games for Windows has suddenly resigned his position to take over as head of sports games in Electronic Arts.
While Xbox’s much awaited Halo 3 breathes life into the lucrative sequels market, EA Games’ chief executive John Riccitiello last week criticized the “rinse-and-repeat” formula of the games market, in what he saw as sequel after sequel.
Moore, who joined Microsoft in 2003 will remain there until August when he will be replaced by Don Mattrick, a former president at Electronic Arts.
While at EA, Mattrick worked on successful franchises such as Need for Speed, Harry Potter and The Sims.
Moore’s resignation comes at a critical time for Xbox, with the September release of Halo 3 looming and the recent bad press over hardware faults, known as the ‘ring of death’, in the 360 gaming console.
Following the recent decision by new CEO Riccitiello to split EA Games into four divisions, Moore was the last to join as head of sports while former Activision president Kathy Vrabeck leads the newly created casual games division.
By Marie Boran
