Microsoft CEO hints at mobile future for Xbox

By Will Fulton July 10, 2014

microsoft ceo hints mobile future xbox ms nadella satya 2014 02 the garage 484 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella spoke about changes in corporate culture and movement toward a mobile, connected world, including allusions to Xbox’s role therein, in a company-wide email.

“The single biggest digital life category, measured in both time and money spent, in a mobile-first world is gaming.” The introduction and ever-increasing functionality of the SmartGlass mobile companion app to Xbox has steadily integrated the console’s living room experience with users’ lives wherever they are. Speaking about mobile and gaming so closely together indicates that this trend will only continue, particularly given the e-mail’s broader theme of moving toward a more interconnected, cloud-based world.

Nadella also praised the flow of useful technology from Xbox back into Microsoft’s productivity efforts, including, “core graphics and NUI in Windows, speech recognition in Skype, camera technology in Kinect for Windows, Azure cloud enhancements for GPU simulation and many more.” Emphasizing the practical utility Microsoft has derived from their gaming efforts indicates Xbox’s security in the company’s new future.

Check out our general thoughts on the message, and you can read the whole e-mail here.

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Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

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