They are the least likely company to have offline-demanding customers?

Wasn't EA suing Zynga? Maybe they made a deal like "Why don't you give that dick a job, and in turn we'll leave you alone?".

Farewell Don Mattrick, hero of the people.

I was told about this earlier today by a friend who misunderstood and thought he'd joined the staff of Zumba, the fitness thing. I was so underwhelmed and disappointed when I got home and saw the actual news.

Weird move, last I heard Zynga was a slowly sinking ship. XD

Here's hoping he gets a job on a nuclear sub.

You think that whoever will come in his place will make a difference for the new Xbox One and raise it from the ashes?

He isn't the sacrificial lamb. He was responsible for the disaster and has many potential buyers snubbed with his
messages.

Windows 8, shtty and useless little "apps" on a real computer, DRM, Xbox One. Now they killed TechNet too: well, I would be surprised if Microsoft were still with us in 5 years from now.

Man just look at that guys face, his facial expressions and how he talks. He's like the embodiment of the "evil corporate slime" stereotype. It's surprising to me that people like that can exist without any irony.

in my opinion



Zynga is dieing. everyone in Zynga knows it. They need a person to lead it to the end while big guys take as much money as they can from it for themselves.
They started to look for CEO while founder "steps down"

They met Mattrick, had few lunches, a round of golf... you know. unofficial business meetings. Offered him a position... big money, easy job, close where your family lives.
He can't right now as he is leading xbox one dev. Offer is open for now until they find someone suitable.

xbox reveal happens. it is PR disaster. Analysts in Microsoft shows that day one sales won't be as high as projected. The model envisioned by Xbox team won't be approved by publishers and by customers. If PS4 manages to overshadow xbox1 launch they won't be able to stop the trend ever. it will just spiral out of control with Sony outselling xbox by a massive margin in usa and every other part of the world.
Mattrick is in the center of attention. he is not needed anymore as everything is already set for xbox1 to be released in november 2013. normally he would be able to move on after release. now its better to get rid of him than keep him as face of new console.

Zynga needs experienced, trustworthy ceo to ensure investors that they are trying to rebuild the company. Mattrick is perfect choice.


he wins (lots of money, bonuses, closer to his home, easier job)
Zynga guys win as it will allow them to strip the company and take investors money for themselves for longer period of time.
Investor lose.

Were the decisions he made and announced his very own personal views and beliefs or were they in line and supported by the company as part of their strategy/ business plan and direction? Did he work against everything MS wanted and intended for the Xbox (and yet MS somehow didn't stop him) or did he do what was necessary to realize MS plans?
I don't think the answer is hard to guess. I'm also pretty sure that MS and he reached a nice agreement for him to take the "fall" and leave MS.
They call it damage control and companies do it all the time.

Am I the only one that sees it this way?


As for Zynga - do people really care if he's a good addition for the company?

As a little footnote it may be interesting what he gets at Zynga:
As head money he gets 5 million $
1 million $ pay per year.
2 million $ bonus (like every other executive) for 2013
over the next 3 years he gets 9 million in shares - 45,32% at the end of the first year.
and he gets additional 5 million $ in shares with the option for buying 10 million $ more
at the end of his contract.
All together for the next 3 years he gets around 50 million $ IF the shares don't drop.

At the beginning of 2012 the price were € 11,55.
A well done job for Zynga. After the announcement the price doubled (€ 2,60).......


It looks like they are doing the same as Atari with Bushnell....a figure head for the last stand.

Zynga Mistake Puts Random Stranger In Customer Support Role
http://kotaku.com/zynga-mistake-puts-random-stranger-in-customer-support-664780630

Some people think this is mean, but I can't help it find this funny and hilarious :-)

I never liked this guy.