Peter Moore quits Microsoft; heading up EA Sports

Of all the bad things that could possibly happen to Microsoft at this point in time, this is possibly among the worst. Several sites have recently managed to confirm that everyone's favourite tatoo'd Microsoft exec (mostly because there aren't any others) Peter Moore has recently been stolen from them by Electronic Arts.

Moore will be replaced by Don Mattrick, ex-EA president and currently the external advisor for Microsoft. He will take over Moore's job starting July 30th, and Moore himself will stay on at Microsoft until August to help make the transition easier. While this might sound like a fair trade, don't let the press releases fool you. The truth of the matter is, executives with charm and the ability to captivate audiences are extremely rare. Reggie and Peter Moore are two such executives, and we've seen their ability to influence crowds of gamers several times in the past. Losing Moore at this crucial stage may not exactly spell gloom and doom for Microsoft, but I'm fairly certain we'll start noticing the changes sooner or later.

Gamespot and various other industry observers did some snooping around EA's Securities and Exchange Commission filing when they struck the deal with Moore. The results were nothing short of mindblowing.

Feel free to skip past the blue text if you aren't interested in numbers:

According to an 8-K form filed with the SEC this afternoon, the 52-year-old Moore will receive "a one-time bonus of $1,500,000 (minus applicable taxes) in recognition of the future compensation value he would be foregoing [sic] by leaving his position at Microsoft." Though the bonus is technically for his first two years as president of EA Sports, he will receive it in the next 30 days. If he leaves EA before July 17, 2009, he will have to repay a prorated amount.

Moore will also receive $330,000 in moving expenses which will have to be repaid in full if he leaves EA before one year. But, given Moore's pay package, that would seem unlikely. He will receive $550,000 in base annual salary and up to $412,500 in annual bonuses--meaning he could potentially earn $962,500 every year before taxes.

According to the 8-K filing, the publisher also offered Moore "a stock option to purchase 350,000 shares of the company's common stock" as well as 50,000 restricted stock shares. Some 24 percent of the first batch of the stock will vest after the first year of Moore's hire, with the remainder vesting at 2 percent per month going forward. The restricted stock will vest 50 percent after two years, with the other 50 percent vesting four years after the executive's hire date.

Like I said before, it is entirely possible that this could affect Microsoft negatively. Case in point: Sony's Jack Tretton himself took the time out to comment on the situation:

Moore's move was also greeted with kind words from a former archrival. Sony Computer Entertainment America president Jack Tretton issued a statement warmly welcoming Moore to EA Sports, which develops a range of PS3 titles. "We wish Peter the best of luck in his new role at Electronic Arts and look forward to working with him," he said. "We have an outstanding relationship with EA and their sports products have been incredibly successful on all our platforms. I am sure this will continue with Peter now at the helm."

Ahhh, irony. You never cease to amaze. Maybe this also finally explains why Moore has been talking up the Wii for so many months now. Seeing as how Electronic Arts is focusing heavily on the Wii, it only makes sense that he wouldn't poop all over the console like he usually did on the PS3. That said, it will be interesting to see how Moore settles into his now job, now that he's "sort of" in bed with the enemy.