Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has reflected on his career at the company in a new interview. In it, he explains that getting the Microsoft brand into the living room via the original Xbox was his idea.
Now, speaking with CNN, Ballmer recalled that it was, “my decision, my accountability,” and added, “I believe in accountability. I’m in. I’m accountable. I’ll make this work — not that I had to drive it — but we had some bumps on the road. And it was important that I stay accountable, stay patient, and stay behind the decision that we made.”
The article adds that former boss of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices division Robbie Bach recalled Ballmer spending a good six months on reviewing the business to see if Xbox was a viable strategy. He gave it the green-light and you know the rest of the story.
Bach said, “He was willing to step out into a space that Microsoft had never been in, look at a business model, and say, This is something we need to try.”
Former Microsoft strategist Charles Fitzgerald added, “It is easy to bemoan billions spent on Xbox, but when you look at it as a hedge to keep Sony or any game console from undermining the Windows PC, it is chump change compared to the hundreds of billions in Windows profits banked during that time.”
