Apple has made another addition to its team this week with a former Microsoft Product Marketing chief, Robin Burrowes, joining the ranks to become the head of App Store Marketing for iTunes Europe. Burrowes was previously part of Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE team, and he’s not the first gaming executive to head for Cupertino as Apple gets serious about battling consoles head on.
Burrows spent seven years with Microsoft, according to MCV, where he was responsible for the management of Xbox LIVE across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He was behind the latest Xbox dashboard update, which introduced a number of significant new features, and even attended London’s Games Conference and Gamescon last year.
His LinkedIn profile is what gave his move away, showing he joined Apple just last month to promote its App Store across Europe. But he isn’t Apple’s only hire with a huge gaming background.
The company employed another two high-profile British gaming figure last year, when Nintendo PR boss Robert Saunders joined to focus on iOS apps, and former Activision, EA, and Xbox PR chief Nick Grange joined to focus on hardware.
Burrowes’s move to Apple, following these previous recruits, is yet another indication that the company has plans to get serious about gaming, and position its iOS devices as true challengers to dedicated consoles, like the Nintendo 3DS, the PlayStation Vita, and even the Xbox 360.
The iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad are already clawing away at these devices and stealing huge chunks of market share, but Apple hasn’t put all that much effort into competing with games consoles. It all just happened.
But having seen the affects its iOS devices are having on the gaming market, it seems Apple has recognized that these products really are worthy contenders to the console, and that it’s time to take them on.
It makes you wonder. If Apple can accidentally destroy the profits of a game console giant like Nintendo, imagine what they could do if they tried. Time to get scared, Sony and Microsoft, because now Cupertino’s trying.
[via The Next Web]
