Move to EA "unrelated" to 360 warranty issue, says Moore

Peter Moore has said there is no connection between his departure from Microsoft and the recent announcement that the company is to spend USD 1 billion on Xbox 360 repairs, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

Speaking in a podcast hosted by Microsoft's Larry Hryb - otherwise known as Major Nelson - Moore said his decision to resign is "completely and utterly unrelated to anything that's gone on within the business... It's purely about my family."

"This agreement between myself and EA was signed about five weeks ago, way before any of the final work that was done on the warranty," he continued. "It was completely unrelated."

Moore expressed "great excitement" about his new role as head of EA Sports, but also "great sadness" at leaving Microsoft.

"The deals we have in place, whether they're marketing, whether they're publishing, the incredible expertise we've built at Microsoft Game Studios and perhaps most importantly Xbox Live and the headstart that service has got - all of that's going to come together over the next few years."

But Moore acknowledged that he will be dealing with Microsoft's rivals at Electronic Arts. "I may have to pay attention to some of the other guys in my new role, but I think everybody understands the pride that I take in where we are today," he said.

Moore described his replacement at Microsoft, Don Mattrick, as "probably one of the top three people in the industry in experience and depth of knowledge".