Seamus Blackley speaks
Xbox technical director explains his departure
When Xbox bigwig Seamus Blackley revealed that he was leaving Microsoft yesterday, there were some suggestions that either he had been pushed out after the console's disappointing early form in Europe and Japan, or that he was jumping ship before its decks got too far below the waterline. Speaking to GameSpot last night though, Seamus confirmed that the real reason behind his departure is that he was getting frustrated with hyping up other people's games instead of designing his own. A veteran of Looking Glass and Dreamworks Interactive, Seamus will now be leaving to set up his own development studio. Hopefully the result will be more Terra Nova than Trespasser. "With the current publishing model, it's hard for publishers to take big risks and to support new technology or new types of ideas. So I was thinking that I could make a new property that would change some of that and come out with some really cool products", Seamus explained. "I went back to Microsoft and started talking to publishers, developers, and potential partners .. and the enthusiasm was totally incredible and shocking. Especially after the GDC, it got to a point where they said, "Listen Seamus, we have to make a decision. Are you going to come do this with us?" To some extent our hand was forced because we have to announce a company before E3. That's why the timing is the way it is and I guess I'm an idiot for thinking people wouldn't try to come up with conspiracy theories about it." So there you have it. Mystery solved. Related Feature - Seamus Blackley leaves Microsoft