Average Rating: Rate this article:

Microsoft Xbox Live Exec Goes to PopCap Games By Jennifer LeClaire February 8, 2007 9:51AM     With Greg Canessa's help, PopCap plans to push its titles to video game consoles, video iPods, and in-flight entertainment systems. The company's games already appear on some mobile devices, but PopCap is hoping Canessa, who birthed the Xbox Live Arcade business and convinced Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates to add it into the dashboard of the Xbox 360, can work his magic on the company's behalf.   Related Topics Microsoft Xbox PlayStation Wii Sony Nintendo Latest News Plasma-TV Ban Could Be Costly Barnes & Noble Nook Is Delayed Flat PC Shipments Hurt Dell's Stock Ballmer Says Windows 7 Sales Good New Pogoplug 'Cloud' Gets Social Last week, gamers complained that some of their favorite titles wouldn't work with Microsoft 's Windows Vista. This week brings news that one of Microsoft's top gaming executives has defected to PopCap Games. Greg Canessa, a seven-year veteran and founder of the Xbox Live Arcade service, gave his general manager badge back to Microsoft and accepted a vice presidency at PopCap. Canessa takes his 15 years of gaming industry experience to the 100-employee firm, where he will serve as vice president of video game platforms. PopCap is no Microsoft, but the company can claim many successes. Its best known game, Bejeweled, has sold more than 10 million copies on several different platforms. Altogether, PopCap says, gamers have downloaded more than 200 million copies of the company's word and puzzle games over the past five years. PopCap says it is ready to take its business to the next level, and thus recruited Canessa to lead the charge. Pushing New Platforms PopCap plans to push its titles to video game consoles, video iPods, and in-flight entertainment systems. The company's games already appear on some mobile devices, but PopCap is hoping Canessa, who birthed the Xbox Live Arcade business and convinced Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates to add it into the dashboard of the Xbox 360, can work his magic on the company's behalf. "Live Arcade has had some success in extending the Xbox Live brand. To the extent that Greg is responsible for that, hiring him is a good move for PopCap," said Brian O'Rourke, a senior analyst at In-Stat. Ironically, PopCap recently scored a win for its arcade-action game Heavy Weapon, finding room at Xbox Live Arcade. Canessa commented in a January 18 press release: "PopCap has done it again with Heavy Weapon -- delivering classic arcade-style action with a sense of humor and a deep understanding of what makes a game truly fun." Canessa left Microsoft to stay true to his entrepreneurial spirit, according to news reports, and to pursue his passion to develop games. However, Canessa might have his work cut out for him in his quest to bring PopCap games to new platforms, especially on video game consoles, analysts said. Cannesa's Challenge "The development costs of some games is getting into eight figures -- tens of millions of dollars. It's becoming more of a game for the big software developers because only they have the resources to develop for these platforms," O'Rourke noted. PopCap games, though, could find a break on handheld gaming devices, where it is less expensive to develop, as well as on video iPods and mobile phones. "Mobile phones are increasingly being built with larger screens and they are pushing gaming more," O'Rourke said. "The handheld and mobile worlds of gaming are expanding and might be the way for PopCap to go."   Advertisement  Personal Tech 1.   Plasma-TV Ban Could Be Costly 2.   Call of Duty Is Setting Records 3.   Watchmakers Turn to the iPhone 4.   Google Will Caption YouTube Videos 5.   Call of Duty Shatters Game Records Frugal Twitter-Only Device Offered TwitterPeek doesn't need a data plan. Average Rating: Multimedia E-Reader Unveiled Creative Labs prepares Mediabook. Average Rating: AMD Unveils Processor Road Map Emphasis will be on graphics, video. Average Rating:

Product Information and Resources for Technology You Can Use To Boost Your Business CRM Systems   Experience CRM—and Business—Success today with Salesforce.com. Contact Centers   Run Your Entire Contact Center in the Cloud with LiveOps Enterprise Hardware   Go Green with IBM Blade Center    Enterprise I.T.    Rackspace: It makes a difference when you focus on support.   Go Green with IBM Blade Center   APC introduces server room in a box solutions!   Tell us what you think. Take a survey.   Find out how much you can save with the SQL Server value tool.   See how AT&T can help protect your network. Enterprise Software   Read the Top 10 Reasons to Upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2. Microsoft/Windows   Rackspace: It makes a difference when you focus on support   Read the Top 10 Reasons to Upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2. Network Security   See how AT&T can help protect your network.

Network Security Spotlight

House Lawmakers Push Ban on Peer-to-Peer Software Stung by an embarrassing electronic leak revealing ethics investigations into dozens of lawmakers, Congress moved to prohibit federal employees from using the file-sharing software blamed for the disclosure.   GAO: Los Alamos Computer Security Has Weaknesses Security weaknesses uncovered in Los Alamos National Laboratory's computer network increase the risk of a classified-information breach, says the Government Accountability Office.   Computer Security Firm Fortinet Plans IPO This Week Fortinet plans to go public in an initial public offering, giving investors a chance to tap a network security provider with sales that are expected to grow. The IPO could be valued at $137.5 million or more.

Enterprise Hardware Spotlight

Flat Shipments Hurt Dell Despite Increased Earnings Dell's earnings are up and expectations are solid, but the company's stock still took a hit after analysts signaled the company isn't playing a key role in the PC market recovery.   New Pogoplug 'Personal Cloud' Does Social Networking Cloud Engines has released its newest version of the Pogoplug, a small "multimedia sharing device" that connects hard drives to the Internet and allows a user to access the files remotely.   Apple Tablet Rumored Delayed as Publisher Gears Up There have been so many rumors of an Apple tablet that it has taken on legendary status. But now the legend is being revised with reports of a delay and that a major publisher is getting ready.

Enterprise Technology Spotlight

Flat Shipments Hurt Dell Despite Increased Earnings Dell's earnings are up and expectations are solid, but the company's stock still took a hit after analysts signaled the company isn't playing a key role in the PC market recovery.   Smartphones: A Bigger Target for Security Threats Smartphones are increasingly prevalent and adept at handling more tasks, including trading stocks, paying bills, and buying stuff online. That makes them attractive to thieves and hackers.   FBI Says Hackers Targeting Law Firms, PR Companies Hackers are targeting law firms and public relations companies with a sophisticated e-mail scheme that breaks into their computer networks to steal sensitive data, often linked to large corporate clients.

Navigation NewsFactor Network Home/Top News | Enterprise I.T. | Hardware | Software | Communications | Network Security | Wireless Tech | Linux/Open Source Apple/Macintosh | Microsoft/Windows | World Wide Web | Data Storage | E-Commerce | Personal Tech | Tech Trends | Press Releases NewsFactor Network Enterprise I.T. Sites NewsFactor Technology News | Enterprise Security Today | CRM Daily NewsFactor Business and Innovation Sites Sci-Tech Today | NewsFactor Business Report NewsFactor Services FreeNewsFeed | Free Newsletters | Free Whitepapers | About NewsFactor Network | How To Contact Us | Article Reprints | Careers @ NewsFactor | Services for PR Pros | Top Tech Wire | How To Advertise Privacy Policy | Terms of Service © Copyright 2000-2009 NewsFactor Network. All rights reserved. Article rating technology by Blogowogo.