Former EA Chicago studio head heads to Xbox division
by Ross Miller 
{ Jan 25th 2008 at 4:35PM }
The Electronic Arts and Microsoft executive shuffle isn't over. Former EA Chicago studio head Kudo Tsunoda is the latest to move from the venerable game maker to Microsoft's Xbox division, according to GameTap. Tsunoda joins Xbox division head Don Mattrick and VP of Live John Schappert as recent EA expatriates. In July 2007, Mattrick swapped companies with Peter Moore, taking his job when Moore became head of EA Sports.EA shut down the Chicago studio in November last year. Tsunoda's position will be General Manager and will report to Mattrick. Sources tell GameTap that his first task will be project lead for "an upcoming Gears of War title." There's another Gears of War game? We're shocked. Shocked!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
nutman @ Jan 25th 2008 6:07PM
The rumor is that Gears 2 will be unveiled at GDC.
Huey2k2 @ Jan 25th 2008 4:48PM
So wait, if he is the Project Lead for the new Gears game... Where does that leave Cliffy B. and Epic?
colin @ Jan 25th 2008 4:52PM
on top of a pile of money?
Huey2k2 @ Jan 25th 2008 4:54PM
lawl +1 for that good sir.
But seriously, does that mean that MS game studios is developing the next Gears game.. or what? I find this all very intriguing now.
FraGNeM @ Jan 25th 2008 5:24PM
It shouldn't be. Publishers have project leads, too, ya know.
I'm sure he'll just head up publishing like some other MS employee did last time (forgot the guy's name, but I believe he was in the special edition bonus content).
Vol @ Jan 25th 2008 10:16PM
Stop bringing EA's crap into the Xbox division. Look at the current state of EA. No one wants anything to do with their titles. They are just rehashed titles minorly tweaked to generate new sales. Peter Moore is the MAN and knows the industry, bring him back MS.
Jeff @ Jan 26th 2008 12:18PM
I'm wondering this as well. Gears without Epic wouldn't be Gears.
upz @ Jan 25th 2008 5:23PM
EA Chicago was undoubtedly a group of talented guys, especially in the area of next-gen graphics. However, after watching interviews and studio tours, I get the impression that this guy is nothing more than a new-age John Romero. In other words, without his gang of Carmacks, he's just an ego with an overinflated paycheck.
kavendano14 @ Jan 25th 2008 5:36PM
Why does this dude have a japanese name? just wondering not rying to be a dick
AK @ Jan 25th 2008 5:38PM
Actually it kind of makes sense, if you think about it.
(Conspiracy hat on)
Microsoft and EA are both United States born companies. Microsoft saw the influence EA had with the Dreamcast vs. Playstation, and how its lack of support pretty much killed the Dreamcast in the United States.
EA gave the backseat to the xbox over the playstation last generation, because the PS2 had the higher install base, and attach rate.
Now, the 360 has a higher install base (in the USA) over the Playstation. EA knows that USA gamers want USA games (like madden, etc).
EA sees this, along with the 360's wonderful attach rate, and makes a deal with MS, behind the scenes.
Thus the alliance of EA and MS was born...
Of course it doesn't really matter. EA would never abandon Sony, there is still too much of a market there to shun. MS would have to hand over many many millions of dollars to make EA abandon Sony. Even so, it wouldn't guarantee MS success in the global market, only the USA.
The 360 will just get precedent over the ps3, but EA will still continue to support both.
That, or I'm just drunk and rambling...
Korova @ Jan 25th 2008 5:44PM
Oh, you are not putting the conspiracy hat on tight enough, read below - its even better than that.
Korova @ Jan 25th 2008 5:41PM
Prediction: MS buys EA and becomes Microelectronic Softarts or MESA.
Hey, two monopolists joining forces? Very fathomable.
Actard beware. Ubi - tremble.
StarFoxA @ Jan 25th 2008 5:47PM
That would be several hundred billion dollars
AK @ Jan 25th 2008 5:57PM
Bah.
Companies buy other companies all the time. (especially MS)
There is no conspiracy there. That is just common business practice.
You have to think deeper...
T3H WICKERMAN (TMNT DF) (BWF) @ Jan 25th 2008 6:01PM
Oh shit BLACK MESA?!?!?!
LiK @ Jan 25th 2008 6:22PM
Gears of War RTS, confirmed!
Cyro @ Jan 25th 2008 11:41PM
oh hell no! Fuck RTS! They never seem to work on consoles. Thats the only Genre that I truly believe belongs to the PC (keyboard and mouse).
T1 @ Jan 25th 2008 6:24PM
Kudo needs to be nowhere the Gears franchise, I mean NOWHERE.
T1 @ Jan 25th 2008 7:31PM
Kudo needs to be nowhere near the Gears franchise, I mean NOWHERE.
Cyro @ Jan 25th 2008 11:43PM
I say, Let Cliffy B and his brilliant team work their magic alone. They know what their doing. I am sure they will get it right.
The Gears of War Franchise is the new Halo for the Xbox 360 and I am very happy about that.
Matt B @ Jan 25th 2008 7:56PM
MS continues to re-enforce it's ties with EA. An evil collusion is afoot. Future sub-par EA games for the PS3 confirmed moar.
No fanboy drivel either, it is CLEARLY not the machine's fault.
Easo @ Jan 25th 2008 8:31PM
It was last time.
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/24/rockstar-finally-pins-gta-iv-delay-on-ps3-er-it-was-a-contrib/
Sorry I couldn't pass that up.
Kevin @ Jan 25th 2008 9:03PM
EA denied MS any of it's excellent library of games until almost the end of the first Xbox's life. Those games were all PS2 sloppy ports. The same thing happened with the 360 early on (sloppy PS2 ports). It's all about the installed base, so for now EA will continue to use it's summer interns to port games to the PS3.
And on the topic of EA/MS, I wouldn't be suprised if EA (in the very near future)designs their own console and partners with MS to handle the 'live' portion of it. Now that is a scary thought, but only for gamers and not for EA.
B1gC72 - PSN: KillaKornbread @ Jan 25th 2008 10:47PM
i seriously dont understand all these exec shuffles that seem to go one all the time. people constantly hire execs that have run their previous companies into the ground. now im not saying that this guy ran EA into the ground, just generally speaking is all. like Disney hiring that guy from Atari recently. Atari has been horrible in recent years and he was in charge of it, yet they still bring him in and put in charge of the same stuff he just failed at. it just seems like a "once your in, your set for life" type of job.
but anyway, im not surprised by the mass amount of attention that EA gives the 360 since they do this every console generation. they make sloppy ports until one console separates itself from the rest (PS2 last gen, 360 this gen), then they use said next gen console to make ports for all the other consoles of that generation. in other words, 360 has the largest install base so it's obvious that EA is going to support them the most, im just not sure i really understand the whole exec shuffling thing though.
T3H WICKERMAN (TMNT DF) (BWF) @ Jan 26th 2008 10:36AM
Honestly other than Fight Night which used to analogs ( a scheme I hate) I dont see anything good that came out of ea chicago. Def Jam Icon was pure trash. The music concept for it was neat but failed to be anything more than that. Could they make pretty games? Yes. Did they make good games? Not really. (you know that marvel fighter had a mercy killing.)