Titanfall has just become the most important game MS have ever funded and potentially the most aptly named new IP.

This is bad news. He's the one that wants to kill off Xbox

This is kinda my basis for a deal between MS-Nintendo

- Nintendo gains the rights to the XBox 1 chip/hardware, which they can sell/rebrand as they wish at a subsidized cost. They pay a certain amount for this. Nintendo takes over the day to day management, marketing, etc. of the product, so MS is off the hook for this.

- Microsoft Game Studios is still owned by Microsoft but becomes in effect a 2nd party studio for Nintendo. Ken Lobb is the head of the new studio. Game projects are henceforth financed by Nintendo, such as Halo, Gears, Forza, Fable, and Rare projects.

- Nintendo agrees to use Windows OS RT for a future gaming portable, a way for MS to get kids hooked on their OS rather than iOS/Android from a young age. Nintendo agrees not to use Android OS or Apple iOS.

- MS stakes Nintendo a few bucks every year to help out the game business, but these costs would be a fraction of what they spend now. Nintendo agrees to hire/retain some of the key staff from MS' game studios in Seattle so that these people aren't laid off.

MS gets out of the day-to-day business of the game industry and puts it in the relatively good hands of Nintendo. They also get the Windows RT/mobile OS into another hit portable device (Nintendo handhelds).

Nintendo can quickly reposition the X1 as a new console brand that has a lot of third party support + Halo + all of Nintendo's franchises and enjoy a comfortable 50-60 million userbase IMO (perhaps more).

I'm gonna give this guy the benefit of the doubt for now.

The Xbox brand is a major a thing to sell off considering its used as a vehicle to push MS services.

Maybe he'll suggest bringing Windows to Xbox!? Its close to a PC, so that'll be easy as pie.

I think that title will always belong to the original Halo.Without it, the Xbox probably wouldn't have gotten off the ground and maybe it'd have  been MS' first and last attempt at the console market.

Honestly the Kinect 2.0 technology, XBox Fitness, and voice commands may not be a bad fit for Nintendo looking to push into quality of life fields either.

Maybe Nintendo reimburses MS for the some of the $$$ they spent developing the XB1 and gets a 51% stake in Microsoft Game Studios. Keep Ken Lobb and some of MS' game people who are responsible for third party relations and marketing to the US/Euro audience. 

MS takes a bath on the $400 million they spent on things like the NFL deal (hey that's their fault), but Nintendo gives them a sweetner of having things like Skype, Bing, and perhaps other Windows RT type functions incorporated into the next Nintendo handheld. MS also agrees to work with Nintendo on online networking and cloud based tech.

So MS is free of the money-sucking game business, but still retains a bit of a foothold with a MS-friendly ally in the field. Nintendo gets back into a larger share of the home console market, including the more stable hardcore gaming segment.

I'd instantly kill the Wii U tablet and make the Wii U a cheap low-cost HD console for $199.99 and rebrand the XBox 1 as a higher end (third pillar) New Nintendo Entertainment System/Famicom and put 1080p versions of Mario 3D World, DKC: TF, Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2, onto the system along with Halo, Forza, Titanfall, Killer Instinct, etc.

Put in new management at Rare, get to work on a new Banjo-Kazooie platformer. Give them back Donkey Kong Country as well (why not), let Retro work on something else.

Man...people have really dull memories these days. This was announced last year.

After the deal goes through, Elop -- who was president of Microsofts business software group before moving into the top spot at the Finnish phone maker in 2010 -- will return to Microsoft, where he will lead an expanded devices team, Ballmer said in an email to employees.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9242075/With_Microsoft_Nokia_deal_Stephen_Elop_is_sitting_pretty

They just gave the Devices division a new boss so why would they be replacing her less than a year later??

It's good that they picked someone who's passionate about gaming and the Xbox...right?

But in all seriousness I do wish they would pick somebody who gave a damn about the product.

Xbox isn't the only product he's looking over. Which is why we have Phil Spencer and Phil Harrison.