In an update to his LinkedIn profile spotted by several European publications, Microsoft's marketing manager for Xbox UK and head of product marketing for all of Microsoft UK, Robin Burrowes, reveals he's jumped ship for Apple, where he's been hired to help grow Europe's App Store marketing segment.
Burrowes tenure at Microsoft saw him work on Xbox for roughly seven years, where he was most recently responsible for all product, business and marketing management of Xbox LIVE in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
For Apple, he's the latest in a series of high-profile British gaming recruits, following the hire of Nintendo's public relation's chief Robert Saunders last year, as well as Nick Grange — who also at one point ran public relations for Xbox, as well as for gaming heavyweights Activision and Electronics Arts.
Along with their Android counterparts, iOS devices have emerged as a new frontier for game developers, with one research firm indicating that the two platforms saw their combined share of U.S.-based game software revenue rise more than threefold from just 19% in 2009 to an estimated 58% by the end of last year.
Their success has come at the expense of incumbents Nintendo and Sony, who saw their respective share of software sales slip from 70% to 36% and 11% to 6%, respectively, over the same period.
The situation faced by Nintendo and Sony shows signs of worsening this year, with Sony recently reporting a staggering loss of $1.2 billion for the December quarter shortly after Nintendo reported its first ever operating loss ($575 million) in its corporate history.
20 Comments
i don't know how sony or nintendo can sleep at night after looking at those graphs. they better make some serious changes, fast.
But but ... No one would ever use an Apple product for gaming! /sarcasm
What isn the iOS / Android split?
But but ... No one would ever use an Apple product for gaming! /sarcasm
What isn the iOS / Android split?
Previous reports show that when it comes to app revenues, iOS clobbers Android. However, that's misleading because it doesn't include in-app revenues for either platform, so breaking down the actual numbers would be tough.
Come to think of it, I'll be the above graph also doesn't include in-app revenues.
Hiring Microsoft executives? A company that has done nothing right for years? Has no blockbuster products. Is alive only because of legacy products like Office and Windows?
Also, hiring Dixons CEO John Browett as SVP of Retail. Just ask Dixon's customers. The stores are crap. Like the Kmart of the UK.
Better keep an eye on Cook. He just might tank Apple.
So since they agreed to stop poaching Google, they poach MS??? Lol!!!
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But wouldn't an MS exec be a downgrade? Just me thinking...