Gamers Can't Handle the New Female Head at Xbox

Microsoft's new company reorganization promotes Julie Larson-Green, a 19-year company veteran, to head up Xbox—a position recently left vacant by Don Mattrick—a move that has a lot of gamers very, very upset because she's a woman, who supposedly has no gaming experience. Oh and also, she's hot. When the news hit the social gaming news site N4G, commenters were quick to point out her shortcomings.

[Mr_Nuts]

I think it also has more to do that she was the head of the Windows 8 division.

Don apparently was a gamer and look what he was like (a waking train wreck), now we are getting someone who probably hasn't touched a game in her life. It's kind of worrying.

Anyway look at that...N4G is famous :D

[iamnsuperman]

Thats my worry about her but she could have been the only one with good enough managerial skills. To be honest I think I would rather have someone who is a born leader who can keep the team inline and focused than someone who is just a games lover. Your top dog of a big company division needs to be more than someone who has grown up in the industry.

I did see a lot of comments here getting worked up because she is a woman which is just stupid sexism. Internet anonymity doing its thing

[iGAM3R-VIII]

The only problem with her is that she IS NOT A GAMER. You cannot put someone who has no idea about gaming as the head of something related to gaming. It's like making Yoshida the head of Lamborghini.

LOL and yay! N4G has been set famous now! :P

[Blachek]

Some of the largest companies in the world turned themselves around or increased their market shares and profitability by bringing in CEO's or Department Heads with no prior experience in the industry.

Running a division or company is a beast upon itself, requiring business savy. She will have gamers everywhere she looks to help her with perspective, just because she supposedly hasnt had the pleasure of rage quitting and smashing a controller of the ground in one of our beloved games doesnt mean she cannot relate or surround herself with those that could.

If we want to judge her before she does anything at all, we need to look at her accomplishments and history both in MS and before. She could suck in this role, but we wont don't know she will because she isnt a gamer.

[Mainsqueeze]

How could she possibly be a gamer...the article mentions how we don't know if shes a gamer or not, but i mean come on, she been a top executive at Microsoft developing things for Windows for the past 19 years of her life. For me and I think most gamers, it has nothing to do with the fact that shes a woman, its the fact that she (most likely) has no idea what core gamers want. I'm positive she is super intelligent and knows how to run a part of a company from a financial standpoint but its very very unlikely she knows what core gamers want. Either way she's not the only one making every single little decision and is untested so we have to wait and see, i'm just being cautious.

[ma1asiah]

@ iGAM3R-VIII

Mr Kotick anyone!!!! He is not a gamer and in fact he has very little interest in gaming.

Yet he is the big man or figure head over at Activision aparently helping them make billions in profit.

So your point about her appointment to the head of MS Hardware and Devices division was what exactly....ohhh that was it

"You cannot put someone who has no idea about gaming as the head of something related to gaming. It's like making Yoshida the head of Lamborghini."

Mr Kotick I guess would say otherwise

[BitbyDeath]

Is she the one that thought Xbone was a water cooler? Not a very bright person... :-s

[OC_MurphysLaw]

"she is not a gamer" keeps coming up. I can't disagree or agree with that cause I have no idea if she is a gamer. Anyone interviewed her...anyone ask her if she likes games? She was the one behind Windows 7... so that in my eyes is a good thing. She only took over Windows 8 after the guy who made Windows 8 left.

I have no issue with her, and hope she can bring some freshness to the Xbox Platform that the stale suits from the likes of Don Matrick were quite frankly stinking up a bit.

Edit: Oh yeah and WTF? "Oh and also, she's hot"?!?!? What in the hell does that have to do with ANYTHING related to her taking on this role? Jesus, talk about sexist comments...

[Conzul]

Wow. I actually feel sorry for Xbox fans...that's never happened to me before...

[HammadTheBeast]

Apparently Yahoo thinks 50 year olds are "hot".

[ickysweat77]

@ma1asiah "Yet he is the big man or figure head over at Activision aparently helping them make billions in profit."

Exactly, that is what everyone is so afraid of. Activision puts out the same stupid product every year and pockets all the cash from the gamers that keep buying the same COD every year. Instead of building a new game engine or trying to innovate in any way, they pocket their billions of dollars and give us the same crap each year. If a gamer was running that company, they may actually be able to make a decent game.

[SilentNegotiator]

I like how Yahoo underlined a comment that said they were worried because she isn't a gamer....OOOOH how terrible of gamers to want gamers as gaming industry heads!!

And they're all angry over obvious troll comments about "kitchens"/"coo king". The majority of people that make those jokes aren't really sexist, but Yahoo is delving into a culture they know nothing about to make up a sexism piece.

allformats qualified his comment and Yahoo STILL crucified him over his opinion of her (and not for her freaking gender).

Gotta love the super-sensitive 21st century windbags that look in the wrong places for social issues.

[SilentNegotiator]

"Some of the largest companies in the world turned themselves around or increased their market shares and profitability by bringing in CEO's or Department Heads with no prior experience in the industry"

...what does that have to do with the perspective of GAMERS?! This whole article is based on some N4G comments.

Gamers weren't complaining that "Oh noes! She might lose Microsoft money!!"
Nooooo, they were saying "She might not know what core gamers want"

[dedicatedtogamers]

Playing the "feminist victim" card is pretty dumb. And while some users have been incredibly sexist just because Larson-Green is a woman, it doesn't mean her as lead is a good thing.

The Xbox division was once its own division with an executive that reported directly to Ballmer, the CEO. Now Xbox is split between two divisions being led by two people and it has to compete with Windows, Surface, WP8, etc for attention.

[Bathyj]

Its cute when our little site gets mentioned.

[MrKingofVideoGames]

Too bad they didn't include the posters names it would have made for wonderful N4G "achievements/trophies. Those quoted should certainly add the text to their profiles.

[M-M]

Oh great just what we need, trolls getting publicity on a major site lmao.

[MrSwankSinatra]

don wasn't a train wreck until the xbox one reveal, so it isn't fair to discredit his accomplishments with the xbox brand because of one reveal.

[RiPPn]

It wasn't just the Xbox One reveal, Xbox has been pretty stagnant for about 4 years now, pretty much about the time Mattrick took over. I just think the Xbox One reveal opened a lot of people's eyes to the train wreck that Don truly was.

[Mounce]

I'd say:

http://n4g.com/news/1308523...

What allformats is what it is. The news or journalists will want to sensationalize that gamers are sexist or low-lifes who can't handle women who are gamers. The fact of the matter are most are upset because of her BACKGROUND, not what bloody god damn gender she is. All the comments that are derogative are generally jokeful, of poor but dry taste in the stereotypes or cliches. All it means is the likeliness that they themselves don't have girlfriends because of their 'attitude'.

It doesn't reflect the gaming industry and Gamers' input as a whole that she likely does not qualify because she herself is not a Gamer.

[starchild]

N4G is famous for it's fanboy trolls...woohooo!

What a disgrace. There is nothing wrong with Julie Larson-Green. And the fact that she is a woman has absolutely no bearing on how well she will do in this position.

[CalibriSerif]

Game Director: Julie, Gran Turismo 7 looks awesome, any plans to produce a game of such magnitude?

Julie: Gran Turismo 7? Why we also have Grand Theft Auto 6 coming on our platform too.

Game Director: But Julie, those are totally different games.

Julie: Really? Im sorry, can you tell me more about it?

[Mainsqueeze]

Spot on Calibri, this is what i'm personally worried about. Someone that just doesn't know games. WTF is wrong with gamers wanting gamers to be in charge of making their products.

[JBSleek]

N4G bullshit and people believe anything. She never touched Windows 8... Windows 7 was all her down to UI and features. Also headed up Office.

[RedHawkX]

gamers probably thought she was a robot or something at first but then they realised its just botox and hollywood facial surgery. nip tuck.

[greenlantern2814]

No one cares are should care about the fact that it is a woman. Every one should care she isn't from the gaming world and she is a 19 year corporate " yes" person.
And her appearance has nothing to do with her capabilities as a manager. But it seems that ms has restructured to put people in charge that will just do what they are told

[superkidcupid13]

well she was also the overseer of windows 7 so her being in this position might not b as bad as everyone thinks

[Donnieboi]

Who cares if she's a woman. Why are people hyping-up her gender? Bottom line: She has NO gaming experience. Seriously, why was it given to her if she has no experience?

It makes me sick when people give positions to less qualified people just because of gender or race. HOW is it that after all these years of Xbox being around, that she is the most qualified for the position, when she never once worked in the gaming division before. Plus she already has a ton of other responsibilities there which will detract from the focus that Xbox desperately needs (gaming-wise).

But whatever, Xbox has been downhill for years. Now they give it to someone with ZERO game industry experience. LOL, i'll just sit back, grab some popcorn, play my PS4 and see what happens.

[JBSleek]

Why the hell would a gamer be the head of the hardware portion of a damn company???

[sonic989]

gaming should have been an independent division just like now
because if you think 1 hardware every 6 or so years and tons and tons of software released for it now thats a tricky division to manage because it includes both hardware and software.
so it makes sense Xbox isn't a surface or a keyboard

[Hicken]

Because it's the GAMING portion of the damn company.

[JBSleek]

@Hicken

There is no damn gaming portion of this company. There is no dedicated role for that. She is the head of hardware and engineering with all hardware based products.

How would a gamer be in that role...

[Hicken]

If the Xbox brand isn't the gaming portion, then what the hell is it? More to the point, why the hell ISN'T it?

Maybe it's just me, but I'd want somebody who KNOWS the product or the industry the product is in to be head of that division. That only makes sense to me.

[JBSleek]

@Hicken

Xbox is a service now. It transcends gaming at this moment. And no that doesn't mean the abandon gaming but it isn't the only form of entertainment.

She is a self taught programmer the lady is smart. Sure she isn't a gamer per day but that isn't the direction MS is taking this. Xbox as a service not as hardware.

She was likely picked because she made Windows 7 what it is and the modern UI of Office. She has talent. Also she isn't the only figure head.

What makes sense to me is that you don't judge her before she even starts because you don't feel she is qualified to run hardware because she isn't a "gamer"

[Jakens]

No issues here with her or her job.

[PSjesus]

Who cares Xbox is a media box and gaming is a small portion of TV experience

[MysticStrummer]

I'm sure some aren't comfortable with her because of gender, but I'd say most don't like the looks of her resume.

[SegaSaturn669]

The thing I hate about her resume the most is there seems to be no "Mark Cerny" in letterhead at the top and some strange lady probably kidnapped him and changed it.

[MysticStrummer]

She does look a little like Cerny...

Maybe it's Marsha Cerny, Mark's long lost sister... or a genetically manipulated clone...

O.o

Her resume just doesn't scream "gamer cred", but that doesn't mean she can't do a good job. It does give ammo to those who say One's main focus isn't gaming though.

[sonic989]

( freedom of expression )
beside not having any gaming experience i am not being sexiest here but the charisma that execs like tretton, hirai, and reggie, have.
cant be matched by this women IMO again

[isarai]

What? I'm kind of offended by this generalizing shitty statement. Gamers have always been absolutely fine with female lead roles in the game industry. i didn't hear any complaints when Assassins creed, Uncharted, and Journey made it publicly known that they had female leads on their games.

[Cueil]

90 percent sony fanboys using it as ammo...

[360ICE]

A woman? This is unheard of! Will we now only see games about knitting? Will she be managing Microsoft from the kitchen? Will Xbox Live Marketplace only allow you to buy shoes? Will she trade joysticks for lipsticks? Will we get a new Gears of War once a month? I'm scared and confused!

[sonic989]

haaahaaaaaaaaaa that was funny extremely funny haaahaaaaaaa

[aLucidMind]

With a woman in charge, our controllers' joysticks are in dire jeopardy =p

[dredgewalker]

I've heard that she doesn't like the Xbox One's color so it will now be released as pink, but she has also found a solution to the kinect being always on so she's making a curtain for it to block its view when not needed.

[dcj0524]

Watch them turn this into a "Gamers are so sexsist oh my goodness".

[JBSleek]

To judge someone before they even start her position is even worse.

Also why would they have a gamer take over as head of the hardware division?

Give her some time sure she isn't a "gamer" which is really a weird qualification for the position but so what.

[360ICE]

You can judge someone before they start. Hey, I mean, if they elect Killer McMurderer as President of the United States I'll be sceptic, at least, but as long as you're open minded enough to later accept that this person has done a good job if he has done so, then no worries.

Why would they have a gamer take over as head of the hardware division? Because they make game consoles. I'm not saying it's a must, but it seems like a plus that she has some inside info on gamers.

But, yeah, let's give her some time. Surely, she must be better than some of the other MS execs.
Not better than Phil Harrison though :/

[ceedubya9]

I don't see what the problem is. She isn't just head of Xbox. She is the head of a larger part that Xbox just falls under. Besides, when it comes down to it, what will matter most is what happens from this point forward under her direction.

[TheGreatBambinoX]

Everyone can't handle its plastic face.

[RedHawkX]

I agree no real woman i know would get surgery done on there face because they are real and not fake.

[InTheLab]

Yeah...people are pissed about Jade Raymond making awesome games at Ubi /s

The fact that she is female should have nothing to do with anything.

And hot? Really? Not being ugly =/= hot. She's not ugly but she's no where near hot...

[sak500]

She's hot if you look through nerd goggles.

[HappyWithOneBubble]

The pressure will be too much for her.

[sak500]

Really and you can take better pressure?

[HappyWithOneBubble]

I sure can and I would start by canceling xb1.

[sak500]

Go do your homework boy as it's 9pm already well past your bedtime.

[Skate-AK]

I can't believe they just compared video games to crack...

[360ICE]

No, but to be serious here, I think everyone would be pretty fine with it if she was A) A gamer (everyone keeps saying that she isn't, so I'll go with that and B) Taking over PlayStation.

[dcj0524]

I'd be pissed. I like the guys at playstation so far.

[mmj]

She is hot? is that how her face got distorted? does the plastic surgery/unnatural face thing really look attractive to Americans?

[Skate-AK]

Personally not at all. People with lots of money seem to though. I remeber reading something about a Botox clinic that gave you package deals if you and your BF/GF signed up.

[gdguide]

Yaaay! More fitness games and more focus on Kinect! hashtag #sarcasm

[GribbleGrunger]

Jesus, give her a bleeding chance.

[Campy da Camper]

Ha, I see what you did there.

[GribbleGrunger]

Fella, you are reading too much into that. I meant every word. I'm not a lover of MS but she's only just got the position and the vultures are circling already.

[givemeshelter]

She does not have to be a gamer or even know ANYTHING about gaming per say to be successful in turning things around.
There were countless CEO's hired for companies in transition periods that had very little experience in the industry and they were successful in turning things around.
It comes down to business savvy and skills.
On the flip side, you have CEO's that have decades of experience in their respective companies industry and they tanked their company...

[aLucidMind]

Precisely my thoughts. The head of a division does not need to know about gaming, just be in tune with what gamers want. Many don't really understand the difference. When I was a mechanic in a car garage, we had a manager get hired that knew not a single thing about cars. Yet customer loyalty and satisfaction skyrocketed, overall work quality vastly improved, and our shop became the go-to spot for cars in the city.

You just need a person who knows how to lead and actually cares enough to pay attention to what your customers truly want. Being a gamer does not mean you're a good leader or care about what your gaming customers want.

[xReDeMpTiOnx]

Just give her a chance my god, look at don and he was a "gamer" and look how he present Xbox and look what he did. You honestly can't get much worse.

Just shut up and wait and see how this plays out

[CalamityCB]

I'm not sure how she'll do overall but she has got alot to prove with the Xbox One overall. In terms of who I wanted to be the new Xbox lead, I kinda wanted Bonnie Ross for the role. She is the current head of 343i and Halo, from what I've seen so far she hasn't disappointed and is a lead Microsoft employee that can run a games company and franchise.

[sAVAge_bEaST]

This is what the gamers want/need, trust M$

[younglj01]

What if she improve the Xbox division?Just give her an chance and if she fail they will probably find someone else for the job.Also an male was just in charge and look what happen.

[Funantic1]

Exactly. A greedy man failed!

[stubbed_out]

I f*cking hate journalists like this - Rebecca Greenfield - paints a two-dimensional picture of what's happening. Last time I checked it looked like the majority of users on this site were complaining that Julie hasn't exhibited any interest in gaming - and this is from the page she's basing these comments off; she's literally handpicked a few outlandish comments and concentrated the first half of her article on how juvenile we all are.
It's women like her that all men abhor, a woman on a crusade to stomp out the tyranny of man by taking every marginally sexist or juvenile comment as a personal attack and making it her mission to spite them.

You know what Rebecca Greenfield, you're wrong; and you badly need to get laid.

[TheOneEyedHound]

Nurse Ratched.

[kewlkat007]

I much rather have some bum who doesn't work, lives in his mom's basement but gets all achievements...

They know gaming, so they can run billion dollar company..

In other news..why would any girl gamer join this site? with that headline...

[Funantic1]

What discrimination against a woman? She'll succeed because she has a lot to prove.

[Jiggy7d]

Maybe she's planning a nipp-slip at Gamescom.....this the only thing that can save Xbox One right now:):):)

[The_Truth_24_7]

She's not hot. Far from it.

[bub16]

Shes not hot!! shes a god damn old woman!! who looks like shes had a fair few times under the knife

[MiasmaDodo]

this title is the same as telling your child "I dont think you can pick up your toys in 30 seconds"

they want all guys to go

"oh yeah? Ill show you, I love this lady! and babies too!"

[assdan]

The fact that this is the reason yahoo thinks that's why some people don't like her is insulting.

[ironwolf]

Oh yes. On full display is the typical "gamer" abject fear of women.

[MadMen]

This article is baiting people

Plain and simple, she had a handle in Windows 8, so I have a problem with her or anyone related to that project.

[NeoRatt]

Yep, gamers can't handle her because she is female and does not game all her life. I don't remember ever hearing that Jack Tretton goes online and games all day...

How stupid, sexist, and outright dumb gamers are proving themselves to be...

[Dex37]

I want to see her gamerscore and ask her what games she likes to play.And if she says I like to play games on my phone then we might want to rethink that choice . and I know what you're thinking aw aw but there all just video games.No there not that's like a dentist saying he a doctor but we all no he's not unfortunately but they are fun to play on the train when you have nothing else to do. But on another note maybe hopefully she won't fuck up like the last dumbass did .......... and who wrote she's eye candy that's not nice AT ALL o and about the mobile games there not bad but there just substitutes for when you get home

[zme-ul]

the article is dumb in it's own way

gamers don't have "issues" with women in lead role, but have issues with their background and their abilities

look at Ouya, depends how you look at it, it was a success
who lead the project? a woman, Julie Uhrman

the "problem" with Julie Larson-Green is her history in Windows division, Windows 8 in particular

[ma1asiah]

@ickysweat77

I completely agree with you, however my point was is she capable of turning what some see as a sinking ship around and turn it into a success from a business stand point.

Which is to say that her not being a gamer or having prior experience in the games industry as a prerequisite to her new role within MS, is irrelevant. It is more appropriate for her to have the right leadership skills and the right communication skills to address MS most rescent mistakes and revitalise interest in the Windows and Xbox brand names.

As of right now she has an untarnished slate, so I will only critique her if she proves she is not up to the job. I will stay away from criticisms based on her lack of gaming knowledge if that is indeed the case (since who knows what she does in her spare time). Plus her simply being a woman has nothing to do with if she can or can't do anything.

So lets let time dictate if her new appointment is a good thing or a potential I told you so from all those who feel justified with their current stance.

[BallsEye]

botox

[DanielForth]

and female is in the title Why?

[Thatlalala]

Just keep feeding....idiots. For lols.... Didn't know ms hired sandwich makers.

[despair]

Clicked here, saw it was yahoo and now I'm leaving without giving them a hit.

[ZeV]

it smells like the end for MS...

Sony is so brillant...This woman isn't a gamer and probably has never touched a pad in her life ! Huhuhu...Disaster for the MS/Xbox fans !

[evilhasitsway]

im not a xbox guy but damn really putting someone with no gamming ex. in charge could have been the worst mistake ms has made so far. I feel for xbox guys I really do they been getting shit on for way to long. its ok though cause there is always room for those guys at sony come home xbox guys your welcome back.

[Ragthorn]

Hey your the guy that blocked me when I sent you a message concerning your PC, btw I was going to send you a message back but since you ahem "blocked" me, I can't so thats just too bad. Also once you said Alienware I laughed and once you said you also bought a Razer Mouse and Keyboard, I died lol. Boy you have a lot to learn if that is your main source of getting PC stuff.

[DJShinigami]

give her time she may have or have not picked up a controller or smashed a button but if "people" give larson a chance it could be a total uplifting turnaround for xbox