American Football fans will have to turn to one of of their consoles or portables to get their next Madden fix, as Peter Moore has revealed EA's cancellation of Madden '09 on PC, citing "serious business challenges" in releasing sports titles on home computers.

The title will still appear on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, DS and PSP, leaving PC Madden fans feeling a bit left out. Moore notes that Madden '09 is not the only PC title receiving the axe, and that it represents a larger decision by EA Sports to cut back on their number of PC releases. It's unknown if EA will continue to release future versions of Madden on the PC, or if this is the end of Madden on the PC altogether. Luckily, gamers can still experience the latest iteration of EA's flagship sports franchise on a plethora of platforms. Just not on the computer.

Amid talk of Facebreaker and the impact of an exclusive NFL license, an quick IGN interview with EA Sports President Peter Moore highlights the prominent studio's focus on making sports games more accessible to a wider audience.

"There will be more announcements that will be ... looking at the more casual consumer that we see as a bigger force in the business," Moore told IGN. "We need to do better on the Nintendo platforms, and we intend to do that. It's a different type of game mechanic that the Nintendo Wii consumer, in particular, can play."

The statement seems to indicate a continuation and upgrade for the company's Family Play initiative, which made simplified, Wii remote specific controls for games like Madden, NBA Live and Fifa. But do these dumbed-down controls end up dumbing down the gameplay? Or could sports games use a dose of simplicity? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Gametrailers has a pair of video interviews with Peter Moore in his new role as head of EA Sports. Watching these vids remind of exactly why we're going to miss him so much at Microsoft. However, it also gives us hope that EA will stop doing things like releasing mega-buggy versions of Madden upon unsuspecting masses. Or somewhat suspecting masses, at this point.

Anyhow, check out both parts of the video after the jump. It's worth it just for the eye-rolling from Moore when the interviewer calls him a "hero" to all the young gamers out there. He has a great view of the console war from both the publisher and manufacturer sides of the table, and near the end of part two, he talks about what's in store for the future at EA Sports. Namely, looking beyond only the North American market ... so expect more FIFA to come down the pipeline. And hopefully Scottish Caber Toss Challenge '09.

"Hello everyone, my name is Peter Moore. As a sign of good faith, I have trapped half of my soul inside of a video game. It's actually a new feature we're working on for future EA Sports titles. We're tentatively calling it Moore's Law." (Check out the highlights for today.)

Joystiquery
Austin GDC: Live at the Hiromichi Tanaka keynote
Joystiq & PSPFB hands-on: PSP-2000: Part 3
Today's hottest video: the Lair 'Hot Coffee' code

News
New Simpsons parody section includes Mr. Sparkle
The Orange Box delayed on PS3
NBA Live 08 demo is now ... well, live
Black College Football Experience coming in November
Austin GDC: Live at the Sulka Haro keynote
Shivering Isles to get retail disc on 360 in October
Molyneux: Xbox Live 'far more impactful' than Wii waggle
White PSP Slim delayed in UK
Tabula Rasa ends six-year wait with Oct. 19 release
Morhaime talks change at Blizzard following WoW
Everquest I and II adds card game Legends of Norrath
Red Octane says Wii will have GHIII online play, no DLC initially
ESA wants Schwarzenegger to pay for legal fees
Nintendo says Metroid Dread is dead, at least as 2D
OK, Alone in the Dark PS3 is not more delayed than before
Heavenly Sword to be bundled with French PS3
Video Games Live CD coming October 15
New Street Fighter movie helmed by Doom director
No more PSP homebrew talk on Sony's forums
F.E.A.R. 2 officially dubbed 'Project Origin'
Stranglehold demo now available on US PSN

Rumors & Speculation
ONM: Mario Kart Wii supports 16 online, includes DS maps
Rumor: 23,000 Xbox Live users barred for using CoD4 exploit
Rumor: More BioShock plasmids ready to unlock

Culture & Community
Rock Band tour dates across US
BioShock gets the Zero Punctuation treatment

Before Peter Moore packs up and bids Microsoft adieu to be with his family, EA Sports and a nice paycheck, Major Nelson had a chance to speak with the traveling man about his move.

Moore stresses that the move is really due to his family and is "completely unrelated" to any Xbox 360 warranty issues. The two frequently mention how they'll miss each other, and how Moore will miss his job at Microsoft. Also discussed is his guitar playing ("or lack thereof," quips Nelson). It will be a change, but as president of EA Sports, we doubt he'll even skip a beat jumping back into the limelight.

[Via X3F]

An SEC filing has revealed that EA dropped a $1.5 million bonus on Peter Moore to help lure him into heading up their sports division. The Tattooed One got the check in recognition for the money he'd be missing out on by leaving Microsoft, though he'll have to give it all back if he leaves EA in the next two years. This is in addition to a more than half-million dollar annual salary.

You know what? Worth every penny. The kind of guy who'd take ink for your company is someone you want working for you, though it's sure to make the EA locker room even more awkward than when John Madden stumbles in and starts smacking tushes. Boy, $1.5 million had to have made Pete's decision a bit easier for him. Sure, we honestly do believe that Peter Moore is moving from Microsoft to EA to spend more time with his family, but we also think it'll be great to relax with the fam while Scrooge-McDuck-diving into a giant vat of gold coins.

Well, Pete, now that you've got your own internet meme named, you decided to turn to the company who made the meme possible. Enjoy your new job Pete, we hope you get some Rock Band practice in. Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
Joystiq hands-on: Fury
Joystiq impressions: Dungeon Hero
Joystiq impressions: High Velocity Bowling (PSN)
Joystiq impressions: Mass Effect
Joystiq impressions: PixelJunk Racers (PSN)
Mobile Live Anywhere still a bridge to be built
Robbie Bach and Don Mattrick talk to Joystiq about Peter Moore's departure
Today's metalist video: I Am Murloc

News
GameTap and Strategy First sign multi-year deal for exclusive content
Four Lost Planet map packs go free on Friday, 360 patch coming soon
PSP-2000 Japanese street date is Sept. 20
Nobi Nobi Boy: new PS3 game from Katamari creator
Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops expansion announced
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue downloadable (in Japan) this October
LocoRoco coming to the PS3 ... in some form
Gears of War, UT3 coming to Macs
Square Enix interested in Wii Fit board for RPG
Disgaea 3 announced for PlayStation 3
Puzzle Quest announced for all platforms (except PS3)
Three extra colors for new PSP
Sony shows off digital TV tuner for PSP ... Lite ... in Japan
Rescue nuclear scientists from U.S. military in new Iranian-made game
BioWare talks about Sonic RPG, characters and pacing
Peter Moore resigns from Microsoft, replaced by Don Mattrick
Tretton wishes Moore 'best of luck' at EA

Rumors & Speculation
Rumorong: 40GB PlayStation 3 at $399
E3 survey hints at possible format changes

Culture & Community
Make yourself a Link from Legos
Wii Fit pad similar to 25-year-old Atari accessory
Gamecock's E3 funeral mourns an old friend
Boy believed to have stabbed his brother over a videogame
New Threadless T-shirt is pitiful, yet flippant

We had a chance to speak with Microsoft's President of the Entertainment & Devices Division, Robbie Bach, as well as Don Mattrick, the new Peter Moore, about Peter Moore's departure, which was announced earlier today.

First, when asked how important one person is, and whether gamers should care about Moore's resignation, Bach responded that there is a group of gamers that track the industry and track its personalities, and that these gamers would care about the decision (that's you guys, if you're reading along at home). Bach suggested that, in the near term, Moore's departure will have "basically no effect. Halo 3 is still Halo 3, and Don's not changing that. Peter wasn't changing that." However, if you look out two to three years, "a leader does have an impact." For example, Peter was "uniquely good at understanding the importance of communication." Bach described him as a "consummate speaker, marketer, and evangelist" for their product who did a "great job with gamers, the press and analyst community, and retail partners."

Alright, so we all know who Peter Moore is, but what about Don Mattrick? Bach said Mattrick will obviously be the new "public face" of their business, though his core talents are different from Moore's. Where Moore was focused on the marketing and strategy side, Mattrick will be focused more on their core product. So, while there was some overlap between Peter and Robbie, Bach feels that he and Don will work in slightly different ways. Of course, Don has been working as a "strategic adviser" for the Entertainment & Devices division since February after leaving EA in 2005. So, was this a groomed succession or serendipity?

Microsoft has announced the resignation of Peter Moore, current corporate vice president of the company's Interactive Entertainment Business. Moore will be replaced by former EA president Don Mattrick, who will become senior vice president of IEB on July 30. Mattrick joined Microsoft in February as a "strategic adviser."

Moore will remain with Microsoft through August, and then will return to his old stomping grounds in Northern California to begin a new, unspecified job in the games industry. Earlier today, 1UP cited a rumor that Moore was headed to EA Sports.

Update: The rumor has been confirmed. Moore will leave Microsoft in order to return his family to the Bay Area and head EA Sports.

Joystiq has a scheduled call with Microsoft later today. We'll bring you updates as they become available. Details here: Robbie Bach & Don Mattrick talk to Joystiq

We got another opportunity to catch up with our pal Peter Moore, the man at the top of the heap over at Microsof'ts Xbox division. We chatted it up about the usual stuff: games, Microsoft's E3 presence, the 360 warranty debacle, and what's up with all the special edition stuff Microsoft keeps pumping out.

So, any new tattoos this year?

None. Out of limbs. You were there the other night...

What, no chest piece? You've got legs, too.

No, my PR handlers would -- well, I'm game for a lot of stuff, and then they go, "No, I don't think so."

You could do full sleeves, the back...

I think the next thing would be what's (horribly) called a tramp stamp... [laughter]

So no tramp stamp for Peter Moore, unfortunately. So last time when we spoke with you last year, your competition hadn't launched yet. So you guys were kind of in a unique position to be the first next gen company out of the gate. Your system, you know you have a lot of second wave titles showing up. Even though the Wii was certainly a phenomenon at last year's E3, there was a lot of excitement about the Xbox. So now here we are, a little over a year later obviously and your competition has launched, in your own press conference your materials show that the Wii is -- not by much -- outselling the 360.

Numbers don't lie!

So where do you think the 360 stands in terms of your competition? You have the Wii that's actually outselling the 360 and you have the PlayStation 3 which obviously isn't although, sales have increased after the price drop. So where...

Apparently they have. I haven't seen any independent data that supports that.

After Peter Moore's not one but TWO inopportune game pauses during the Rock Band demo at the Microsoft keynote, it looks like a new phrase has been born -- "Pulling a Peter Moore."

According to folks at the Rock Band booth, people have been inadvertently pausing the game when they're trying to rock out, causing the music to come to an abrupt halt, and their friends and observers will shout out "Aw man, you just pulled a Peter Moore!"

Reminds us of Andy's "I Schruted it." line from The Office.

After reading about Microsoft's admirable decision to extend their warranty coverage for those suffering from the Xbox 360's Red Ring of Death error, we were given an opportunity to speak with Peter Moore about the move.
When asked why this move -- a sort of mea culpa of a growing failure rate -- has taken so long, Moore replied that it was important to "gather data and weigh the financial implications" in addition to "preparing logistics and identifying problems." While it may have seemed like a long time for those of us in the grips of the hyperkinetic blogosphere, Moore assures us that, for a multi-billion dollar mega-corporation like Microsoft, they acted with some celerity.

So, they've identified problems? What exactly has been killing these Xbox 360s? Moore said there were "a number of issues" that they discovered from collecting data. When reminded of the great job they've done in servicing 360s to date still hasn't stopped some people from having to get their console serviced numerous time, Moore said that they've put "fixes in place" to address them. He pointed out that Joystiq was a great conduit to that very community and extended (what sounded to us like) a sincere apology. They're fixing these systems because the level has been unacceptable of late ... and no, Microsoft has "no intention" and sees "no value" in sharing what percentage of failure there is.

If we had actually started fixing a problem people had been complaining about since our system had been released (read: Xbox 360s dying) we'd be shouting it from the rooftops. In a statement issued to GamesIndustry.biz though, Microsoft was playing it cool on rumors of additional cooling in repaired 360. (Do you see what we did there?)

"Regularly updating console components is commonplace within the industry," was the official line from the spokesperson, who then promptly declined to comment on whether or not Microsoft had done it. There's no word on whether or not the spokesperson's comically exaggerated winking was audible during the interview. If there's actually a Lorenzo's Oil for 360 heat death, we assume Microsoft's worried about opening the floodgates to the millions that might want their problem prematurely fixed. After all, as Peter Moore already told us, the company's not so much interested in preventative care as resuscitation.

When the topic of sluggish PlayStation 3 sales is brought up, Peter Moore recalls his previous corporate life and asks, "Remember the Dreamcast?" Speaking to Next-Generation's Colin Campbell, the Microsoft exec compares Sony's current difficulties with those he experienced with Sega on its final console. "We thought we were doing right," he says. "All of a sudden it didn't pan out."

Though we're not privy to the same lucid and possibly prophetic dreams Mr. Moore is, lumping Sony's latest effort into the same category as the Dreamcast brings with it many sticky implications, intended or not. Is Moore saying the PlayStation 3 is failing to "pan out" for Sony, less than a year into its supposed ten-year life? Sega came out of the gate strongly and promptly drove off a financial cliff like Thelma and Louise, whereas Sony is off to a slow start and has every chance of picking up the pace. Moore goes on to say that Sony's focus on the Cell processor and the Blu-ray drive was a mistake, that it "miscalculated the global consumer's appetite for the experience the offered at the price point they offered it at." But wasn't the PS2's "Emotion Engine" and DVD drive instrumental in its triumph over Moore's ex-box?

We remember when the Xbox 360 was given the Dreamcast treatment as a means to highlight impending failure, and it was as odd then as it is now. Despite the system's commercial demise under the watch of a struggling manufacturer, it enjoyed amazing first-party support and is still remembered for hosting some remarkable games and innovations. When did being compared to the Dreamcast become such a bad thing?

[Via Xbox 360 Rally]

Activision has grabbed the nearest microphone and screeched out the official release date for the Xbox 360's Guitar Hero II.

"Pay attention you motherfrackers,
drop the keyboards PC hackers,
Guitar Hero II drops April three,
get out your wallets these frets ain't free! Woooowrgh!"

You'll likely be able to obtain much better tunes than that lyrical atrocity later on, thanks to this version's ability to download a "consistent stream of new tracks" from Xbox Live. RedOctane's Dusty Welch notes in the press release that the online component "is going to provide an incredible opportunity for our fans to extend the gameplay experience, and we have ambitious ideas to continue to fully support these efforts." Sadly, said ambitious ideas don't include online multiplayer just yet.