Microsoft Head of Xbox BI and Strategy Leaving for... Apple?

By Rene Ritchie
last updated

MVC (via MacRumors) is claiming that Microsoft's head of Xbox Business Insights and Strategy, Richard Teversham, is leaving to join Apple.

With the unbelievable success of iPhone and iPod touch gaming, could Apple finally be taking the space seriously? Or could this be part of some bigger move, one involving those chipset buyouts, licenses, and hires we recapped earlier? Could Apple be working on...

... A Pippin Take 2?

Yeah, more likely iPhone, maybe iTablet, maybe even Mac gaming, but that next gen hardware power might just give the consoles a run for their money anyway...

Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.

11 Comments
  • With the unbelievable success of iPhone and iPod touch gaming, could Apple finally be taking the space seriously?
    Seriously? Unbelievable success of iPhone gaming?
    Rene, you need to take a tour of the gaming platforms out there and the games available for them.
    Iphone games are a pathetic joke by comparison.
    iPhone gaming is useful as a waste of time on a train or something, but realistically, this is going nowhere. To small, not enough controls, imprecise controls, too slow, etc.
    Maybe Apple is thinking of a REAL gaming platform. It won't be the iPhone or the Touch.
  • @ icebike
    This guy has been living under a rock aparently...?
    Someone should tell him that the iphone/ipod touch platform has over 9,000 games in 9 months.
    No other gaming platform has reached such a feat.
    Stop hating you tool
  • Sell is an odd word to use when the price is free for the bulk and majority of them.
    Games like all iPhone apps are frequently tasted, then dropped. And none of them measure up to the most basic game console games.
    Why is it you 12 year olds always trot out the "hating" nonsense when someone disagrees with your opinion?
  • I have to agree with Icebike on this one. Multiplayer gaming as demoed in the iPhone 3.0 event is a step in the right direction but compared to a DS PSP or even an old gameboy the gaming is not there yet. An external control addon that could snap on would be awesome. Also just because a device has 9000+ games nearly all of which aren't even worth a try does not make it a great gaming platform. That said, I hope it becomes one!
  • The Games maybe are of lesser quality & mostly amateur stuff.
    But 9 months of App Store tells us iPhone/iPod touch is hell of a game market out there.
    Big game houses are still figuring out the perfect formula for multi-touch + accelerometer control.
    There are already 37M iPhone OS devices in people's hands, by the end of this years, I wouldn't be surprised to see iPhone platform out pacing PSP to be the second largest mobile gaming platform or at least a very close third.
    Give it a little more time, wonders could happen.(In some way, it already happened)
  • Whatever there doing, there building one hell of a team behind it!
  • I think this is the one time Apple is gonna follow Microsoft's lead. They might be thinking about making their own home console a la Xbox 360. Not so sure it's a good idea though, but then again Apple has a track record if proving doubters wrong.
  • He's from Microsoft. Apple probably just hired him to work in the cafeteria. :lol:
  • i agree with arcadekart on this one. with 37m portable devices out threr with a apple logo on the back of them there alot of money to be made out there. plus there are some decent games in the app store not just time killahs when you board. i own a xbox360 but no psp or ds so for portable games i us my i phone. and when i dont fell like dropping 65 ones for a new game, i pay 5.99 for a decent one on my iphone. i would definetly like to see a home console from apple that interacts with iphone in various ways.
  • This is really exciting. Now, let me play my Phone on TV!
  • It is an interesting development for sure - but with Stevie J. sitting on the sidelines for a bit you have to wonder if perhaps they are building up to make a big play...that will fail just like the Pippin...
    In fact the only good Pippen out there was Scottie. If it is indeed for some gaming platform they are picking a poor time to join the fight, just like they did last time.