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Former Xbox boss: "Sony did some really not so smart things"

One time Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division head Robbie Bach has said the Xbox 360 was well positioned to profit from the PlayStation 3's struggles.

Speaking at a Northwest Entrepreneur Network event, as reported by GeekWire, Bach offered a piece of advice for new ventures: capitalize on your competitors’ mistakes. Bach seemed to suggest that this is what Microsoft did when major rival Sony dropped the ball.

“Some of the success of Xbox was due to the fact that Sony did some really not so smart things," he said.

"They mismanaged their 70 percent market share. It’s a long conversation. The transition to PlayStation 3 was really, really bad. And really hard.

"They mismanaged their partners, they mismanaged their cost structure. They made their next platform so complicated that developers couldn’t develop for it.”

Bach held executives roles at Microsoft throughout the rise of the Xbox and launch of the Xbox 360, including the RROD disaster.

Thanks, CVG. [image]

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Brenna Hillier

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Based in Australia and having come from a lengthy career in the Aussie games media, Brenna worked as VG247's remote Deputy Editor for several years, covering news and events from the other side of the planet to the rest of the team. After leaving VG247, Brenna retired from games media and crossed over to development, working as a writer on several video games.
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