Looks like there are moves take are taking place at both Microsoft and Ouya this week.
On the Microsoft side, Blair Westlake who was the XBox Multimedia Executive has resigned from Microsoft, stating that the company has undergone a major organization and during this change he left that the company’s vision no longer aligned with his and as such he as departed the company.
“It has become clear to me that the organization is moving in a direction that does not fit either my expertise or my skill sets”
Blair has been with the company for 10 years and prior to joining Microsoft he served as chairman of Universal Television & Networks Group, and spent 19 years as an exec at Universal Studios, before consulting for Comcast and NBCU. This now adds another slot that Microsoft has to fill as they were already searching for a new CEO to replace Steve Ballmer who had retired some time ago from Microsoft.
On the Ouya front things are looking a little more dire as the VP and Co-Founder, Muffi Ghadial, has departed ways with the company. Muffi was instrumental with Ouya’s big push into the console-space and was very vocal on the success of the device during the Kickstarter project. Ouya provided the following statement regarding Muffi’s departure;
OUYA is focusing more on the next phase of the business and product development. We’ve made some recent changes including the departure of Muffi Ghadiali who was invaluable during the launch of OUYA. As is to be expected, OUYA is an ever-changing business, and as we continue to grow our needs shift accordingly.
His departure can be speculated as a thing to come for the company as the Ouya wasn’t as received as it was originally thought it would be and sales have been down for the little Android console that could.
Sources: Variety & TechCrunch