Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will be stepping down as CEO in 2014, and has reflected on his time in the company in a new interview with CNN. Ballmer talked about how the original Xbox was his responsibility, as was the original decision to bring it to the living room.
“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.” This comes off of Entertainment and Devices division’s Robbie Bach talking about how Ballmer spent six months to see if the Xbox was a viable strategy for the company’s business.
Bach stated that, “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.”
Former Microsoft strategist Charles Fitzgerald also stated that, “It is easy to bemoan billions spent on Xbox, but 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.”
Given that Windows is still the dominant PC operating system and the Xbox One is seeing strong sales, we’d say it was worth the risk. How will it work out down the line? Stay tuned.
