Days after a report from Bloomberg defined that Microsoft has anticipated unrealistic profit margins from its gaming division—one probably purpose for its raft of studio closures, sport cancelations and 1000’s of layoffs—a chipper Satya Nadella principally mentioned as a lot out loud throughout an interview at a Github convention on Tuesday.
“If we as an trade do not proceed to innovate how we produce, what we produce, how we take into consideration distribution, the financial mannequin—the easiest way to innovate is to have good margins, as a result of that is the best way you possibly can fund,” the Microsoft CEO mentioned on the tech-focused discuss present TBPN.
It was at least the fifth time in the interview that Nadella said the word “innovation,” though at no point did an idea of any specificity precede or follow it. While most of the interview bounced between incomprehensible AI talk and variations on ‘Microsoft’s Azure servers make a shitload of money,’ when it came to gaming Nadella didn’t seem to have much new to say, though what he did say he said with inspiring confidence:
“Most importantly the game business model has to be where we have to invent, maybe, some new interactive media as well. Because after all, gaming’s competition is not other gaming, gaming’s competition is short-form video.”
I’m not really sure where Nadella’s going with “some new interactive media,” but that could be because I’m still recovering from the cognitive dissonance of a man who’s just been paid $96.5 million in shares and chilly onerous money for the final yr saying that “the easiest way to innovate is to have good margins.”
That will monitor in case your concept of innovation is ‘arising with methods to show your cash into more cash,’ however does not strike me as true in a creative enterprise reminiscent of making a videogame.
Microsoft’s new gaming technique, as exemplified by the information that Halo will now be on PlayStation, is “we’ll be in all places, on each platform,” mentioned Nadella, after evaluating the corporate’s sport publishing enterprise to Microsoft Workplace. He additionally spoke concerning the PC/console dynamic whereas saying “the largest gaming enterprise is the Home windows enterprise,” including gas to the hypothesis that the subsequent Xbox system is basically just going to be a gaming PC.
See when you can comply with this entire bit:
“We additionally wish to do modern work within the system facet on the console and the PC. It is sort of humorous, individuals take into consideration the console and PC as two various things. We constructed the console as a result of we wished to construct a greater PC which may then carry out for gaming. So I sort of wish to revisit a few of that typical knowledge. However on the finish of the day, console has an expertise that’s unparalleled. It delivers efficiency that’s unparalleled, which pushes the system ahead. So I am actually trying ahead to the subsequent console, the subsequent PC gaming.”
I, too, am trying ahead to the subsequent PC gaming! However nothing Nadella is saying right here makes me suppose Microsoft can be steering its future.
Regardless of trillions of {dollars} at its disposal and many years of Home windows stewardship, Microsoft is now taking part in catch-up with Valve and the open supply group which have turned Linux into the sooner, simpler to make use of gaming working system even on Xbox-branded hardware. Now there’s some innovation!
