REDMOND, Wash., May 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) today announced that Ed Fries, a die-hard gamer whose game- programming experience dates back to the days of "Space War" and "Frogger," has been named vice president of Games Publishing within its new Games Division.
Since joining Microsoft's Games Group in 1996, Fries has helped turn Microsoft into the second-fastest-growing PC game publisher among the field's top 10 companies. Along with his more than two decades in programming and designing games, Fries brings 10 years of developer experience in Microsoft's Office Group to his new position, created in March when Microsoft elevated games to its own division.
"Ed has created the right environment for game developers to realize their creative visions and he is passionate about helping them accomplish their goals of designing best-selling games," said Robbie Bach, senior vice president of the Games Division at Microsoft. "Ed will continue to make Microsoft a leading PC game company as well as take on the new challenge of delivering best- selling video games for Xbox.