Can you imagine a world where Xbox wasn't directly associated with Microsoft? Well, apparently Bill Gates can at least envision a scenario where he'd be OK with it.
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In an interview with Fox Business, Gates gave an indication that he'd be OK with either Xbox or Bing spinning off from Microsoft, although he doesn't envision it as happening. From the Fox Business report:
"Gates, the founder and former CEO of Microsoft, said he's been helping new CEO Satya Nadella transition into his new leadership role and that he would support Nadella if the new CEO proposed a spinoff of one of Microsoft's units."
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"But Gates said he didn't foresee either Bing, the company's search engine division, or Xbox, its gaming division, as potential stand-alone companies because they are part of Microsoft's long-term strategy." It's interesting that Gates said he would entertain the idea, although the question was intentionally loaded to get that sort of response from Gates. He was specifically asked if it would be in Microsoft's best interest to spin off Xbox or Bing, to which he gave the above response.
Be sure to check out the entire interview for yourself, which gives a lot of insights from both Gates and Warren Buffett. The Xbox and Bing question comes at about the 24:00 mark. Another video covering the latest out of the Microsoft camp can be watched below.
