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Exclusive Interview: Don Mattrick
By Edge Staff
August 4, 2008
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When you look at our weaknesses I think you have to remember that we’re nine years into our journey and our competitors have had 25-30 years of building their businesses. I think we’re leading and I think we’re tackling some pretty important areas of entertainment and integration that no one else has been able to do.
Former programmer, Test Drive designer and Electronic Arts worldwide studios head Don Mattrick, now senior VP of Microsoft’s interactive entertainment business, tells us about the business he inherited a year ago.
Many of the changes you’re making to 360 are related to Live. Is it a risk to rely on online to broaden its appeal?
I don’t think it’s a risk. I think the world is moving in that direction, consumers have validated our service and that ability to participate, collaborate, compete, get access to the whole range of digital assets – that is the future. And we’re leading that charge, and we have the ability to change how people entertain themselves more than any other product in the market. That’s a huge opportunity, and that’s what we intend to do.
Lips, You’re In The Movies and Scene It? Box Office Smash are also aimed at expanding Xbox’s reach but they’re game types that have already shown considerable success on other formats. Does this show you’re not taking too many risks on the software side?
When you say not taking too many risks, I think there’s kind of a natural evolution of packaged goods, products and experiences coming to the market – this coming year we estimate there will be about 150 titles on Xbox 360, and the majority will be E-rated. And if you’re into M-rated content there will be some spectacular games. I think that breadth of titles naturally expands an audience, and I also think that we’re all finding our own sense of identity inside the market. We’re leading in terms of hours played – a recent study showed that 18-26-year-olds are roughly spending 75 hours a week with our box, which is pretty amazing. That audience tends to be the leader, it tends to influence younger siblings in a household in terms of what’s cool and what’s hot in the consumer electronics space.
OK, Xbox is leading and defining many aspects of core gaming, but don’t you think that Xbox should also be defining broader markets too?
Yeah, and we are, and we will be. To create great experiences takes time, and E3 is a point in time. You’ve seen some of the things we have in development, but not all of them.
What would you say is the big challenge currently ahead of you?
I don’t see a big challenge, I honestly see a continuation of the program we’ve put in place. We want to continue to build more unique experiences and you can apply that comment to any segment of the business, and I’m really pleased with the support and enthusiasm that we have from our current consumers and third party partners – they’re key constituents and they seem very happy and healthy.
Will your business in Japan be changing?
Here’s what we’ve achieved in Japan: we’ve started, and as a US-based company we always knew that Japan was going to be a challenge for us to enter into. We’ve built relationships with key third party partners – we think they see our business as strategic for their future and long-term growth. I’m pleased with the support and great games that are coming from Japan that we sell not only in Japan but also in North America and Europe, and that’s a big milestone for what we can achieve with this version of 360. I can see that the longer we stay committed there, the more time we spend building those relationships, the more awareness we get from consumers, the more our share will increase – you have to stay committed, and we are.
What would you consider as Xbox’s biggest weaknesses today?
When you look at our weaknesses I think you have to remember that we’re nine years into our journey and our competitors have had 25-30 years of building their businesses. I think we’re leading and I think we’re tackling some pretty important areas of entertainment and integration that no one else has been able to do. That’s the program that we’re on. We’d love to have more exclusive hits on our box, absolutely. Are we investing in that? Yes we are. Does that take a lot of time? Yes it does. Now we’re expanding our experience to appeal to younger children and older consumers and broaden our gender balance. It takes time to do that – we’re working on those beats but you can only do so much in a year.
What have you taken from the hardware problems Xbox 360 has faced?
Well, I think we built a pretty amazing box. It was unfortunate that we had some hardware challenges but I totally applaud the way the company dealt with that in being up-front and implementing the warranty. It’s unfortunate when anything you create fails, but consumers have appreciated the fact we’ve said: ‘This is a mistake, and this is how we’re going to fix it’. People continue to use and evangelize about the product even when faced with this challenge, and I think our team’s done an amazing job with fixing it.
How do long do you feel that Xbox 360 will be kept in the marketplace?
We’re seeing record levels of industry growth and success for our business and our industry, so I think that bodes really well for what we’re going to be able to achieve in future years. I think the ability to have a longer cycle to continue to drive value and innovate – there’s a lot of potential in the 360 that hasn’t been realized, and that bodes for a pretty good run in the market, and a lot of capabilities our box has that consumers are just getting used to. What we’ve achieved we‘re pleased with, but there’s a lot of runway ahead.
I dont know if it is a blame game at all... for a media outlet to land a big interview they pretty much have to agree to the terms of the interviewee, which may be a complete review/edit by the marketing department, or a simple give me a list of questions and i tell you which ones you can ask.
Thats why you get canned answers. You can probably count with one hand the people in this earth that are that eloquent off-the-cuff.
Wow. Just noticed that our little heart to heart with rabbitc has been removed from the comments. Is it automatic or we just went too personal?
I noticed that too - bizarre. Although it probably has more to do with certain Edge staff not having the ability to take criticism than it does with our conversation.
Wow, dude...way to NOT answer the questions but fill it with prepared PR bullshit. Guys like this always come off as fake and deserve to be criticized. It would be nice if company guys just answered the damn question with even a little bit of honesty. I don't care which company you represent...Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo. Really, when you're faced with a tough questions, just be truthful with people. Most of us will totally appreciate that.
Any regular Joe could answer these questions with more reality...and that's a bad thing.
I think both comments are ridiculous. Mattrick is playing the PR game to some pretty hard-hitting questions - and if Edge wanted more out of the interview, then perhaps they should have balanced out with positive-tone questions that allowed more detail. This industry has already proven that it will jump on any detail from an interview and inflate it to the nth degree - context aside. The recent Carmack interview with Videogamer.com is a prime example where fanboys from both X360 and PS3 spun the interview to their own suit: on PS3 sites we see 'Carmack says BluRay advantage over X360" whereas X360 sites report 'Carmack says X360 better dev platform.' The gaming industry pretty much invented the word 'fanboy' and Microsoft (as do others) know all too well that you must be very careful how you answer questions. First rule of sales - focus on what your product CAN do, not what it can't. If Mattrick had spent any time giving a 'fireside chat' answer to the X360's greatest weakness or as to why Microsoft may be taking too much risk, he would have done nothing but provide fuel for Sony and it's fanboys to roast Microsoft thereby reducing consumer confidence in the product and putting Mattrick out of a job. The gaming industry is built on the passion of its developers and consumers - and that is a good thing provided people remember that at the end of the day, it's still a business and business rules still apply. Anyone who is reasonably informed knows the answers to these questions already. I say -Give Mattrick a break and resolve the rhetoric spouting from the interviewer rather than the interviewee-
I see your point. And to a degree, Mattrick just does his job making the 360 shine. And it is the interviewer job to ask questions and get answers.
But this isn't about being a fanboy - I love my 360. But even a marketing guy from microsoft could give straighter answers than this - bland answers leads to uninteresting interviews and uninterested reader. Hardly ideal for PR.
The biggest misstep has to be concerning pulling Bungie from the E3 keynote. It's hard to say who right and what's really happened, but there something amiss when Mattrick says something like "Bungie just laughed" and Bungie says "We were very disappointed".
My point is that the interview was bland before Mattrick was given the chance to answer. The interview asked very broad, non-specific questions and Mattrick gave very broad non-specific answers. If the interviewer was on the ball, she/he could have quite easily asked a follow-up question to drill into detail. That didn't happen and Mattrick got the blame. At any rate, I'm not here to defend Mattrick - rather, I think the whole interview was rubbish and everyone who participated is to blame.
Let me be the first to point out that he dodged nearly all your questions, which is way better than his last "balls out" interview on Eurogamer. That totally freaked me out.
You are totally right, the whole interview could be summed up in "Mattrick thinks the 360 is the best" - which isn't all that surprising.
He does appear very slick and superficial in interviews, I think that hurts the 360 image more than it helps. Edge (and Eurogamer for that sake) caters to a pretty dedicated gamer community and I can't imagine that many are impressed by Don's answers. I love the 360, but I'd prefer a spokesperson that discusses issues around it rather than coughing up hyperbole.