Microsoft Closes ACES Game Studio, others laid off as well

[hippie_hunter]

Microsoft recently announced that the company would be laying-off 5,000 employees due to a drop in profits. This is the first mass layoff in the history of Microsoft. However, news has trickled out that the Xbox division will be suffering the brunt of the job cuts.

Word has been trickling out that the Entertainment and Devices Division (EDD) will receive the brunt of the mass layoff. The EDD division consists of the Zune, PC gaming and the massive Xbox division. The EDD is headed up by the well known faces: Shane Kim, Don Matttrick, Phil Spencer and the friendly Aaron Greenberg.

Word has come out that Microsoft owned site, Gamerscore Blog has ceased operation. Many of the former employees have revealed that all of the writers have been laid off.

Also, notorious VentureBeat writer Dean Takahashi, revealed that approximately 30 percent of Microsoft’s internal video game testers have been laid off. What in the world is Microsoft thinking by laying off quality assurance testers for the video game division?

The journalist also stated that the game division will receive a massive management restructuring next week. In the corporate world, management restructuring usually means firing and consolidating. Could this be the end of Aaron Greenberg? I sure hope not.

Microsoft also announced today that the company will be shutting down one of its longest running game studio, ACES. The studio has been responsible for various franchises such as long time veteran, Flight Simulator.

According to Microsoft the decision to shut down the studio was made in order “to align our[Microsoft's] people against our[Microsoft's] highest priorities.” Obviously the highest priority for Microsoft is Windows.

I have talked about Microsoft’s shift towards the casual market and these events seem to indicate that the change will not be gradual but possibly abrupt. There is also some indication from Microsoft that the company wants to focus more on its core business such as Windows. This is in contrast to Sony who is laying-off employees in its core businesses and leaving the gaming division alone (for now). Could we see a leaner Xbox division by next month?

Damn, what is it with Microsoft closing all of it's freaking studios? They close down Ensemble and Carbonated. They let Bungie go. They didn't seize Bizarre and BioWare when they had the perfect opportunities to nab them. All that's really left in Microsoft's gaming division are Rare, Lionhead, and the Forza guys. It's starting to look more like who the hell is next?

 

[Soapy]

It definately sucks, but it's hard to blame them. The times are tough all over.

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

It´s very hard to understand what Microsoft is thinking, but it seems that, the worst thing that happend was Peter Moore going to EA, after that, the 360 started to go downhill.
And so far Don Mattrick is a just a bad substitute...

Hope things pick up.......very quickly

 

[hippie_hunter]

If Peter Moore were still at Microsoft, Rare would have most likely been closed as well. He sees that acquistion as an overall failure.

Though I wonder if he would have tried to get BioWare, Bizarre while keeping Bungie, Carbonated, and Ensemble.

 

[Fading]

Always sucks to hear about ppl losing jobs in mass. Still tho, makes ya worry if MS of all places is closing owned development branches, and laying ppl off....

At the very least we know Nintendo's safe lol. Inbetween the Wii hitting some unholy nerve in mainstream, they make a decent chunk of change on every console sold, and have from the start.

Another bad thing that comes to mind is the games themselves. Development costs are always going up. If the companies that make the systems start hurting, and that passes on to the game developers as well, it may not be pretty.

 

[Raiden]

It looks like the flight sim genre is officially dead, and that's a shame.

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

It looks like the flight sim genre is officially dead, and that's a shame.

http://kotaku.com/5138393/flight-simulator-series-may-live-on

Microsoft Flight Simulator isn't the only simulator out there, it's the most well known though.

 

[Mentok]

It's called a freaking recession people!

 

[Mentok]

but it seems that, the worst thing that happend was Peter Moore going to EA, after that, the 360 started to go downhill.

Yeah, you're going to have to explain that one.

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

2008, the first year of Don Mattrick was the worst the 360 had so far, IMO.
Not in terms of business, but in terms of games.
The year did indeed belong to the PS3.
It was saved from being a total failure by GoW 2, Fable 2, Left 4 Dead and Lost Odyssey.
All the rest were disappointments

Ninja Gaiden II was not nearly as good as the 1st
Too Human was mediocre
Banjo & Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts was a dissapointment for many
Unfinite Undiscovery was mediocre

If Moore was still there, maybe the same thing would have happend, but, he isn´t and it did.
Hell, they even released Lips and You´re in the Movies, two games trying to get into the a demographic that belongs to the Playstaion with the Eye Toy games and Singstar.
There is nothing wrong with making a karaoke game or a camera game, but they are too similar to the Playstation ones to not be seen as copycats, even if Lips is made by Inis.
The Xbox never needed to do that, and they still don´t, so, by making it, the 360 lost a bit of it´s identity.