Former Microsoft Executive and Xbox co-founder J Allard returns to the video game industry to strengthen the leadership team at the launch of the Intellivision Amico console.
Intellivision Entertainment announced that J Allard has joined as Intellivision Global Managing Director. As a former Chief Experience Officer and Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, J Allard made gaming history in two decades at Microsoft, co-founding Xbox, Xbox Live, Live Arcade, and Xbox 360, among others.
J Allard was hired by Microsoft in 1991 to develop over 40 products, receive over 50 patents, and help build four different billion-dollar businesses. He made an impression early in his career when he wrote a memo titled "Windows: The Next Killer Application on the Internet," explaining why Microsoft had to change course and redefine itself with the Internet. The memo led Bill Gates – co-founder and then CEO of Microsoft – to revise the company's strategy and become known as "Microsoft's father of the Internet".
In 1998, J Allard co-founded Xbox, introduced Microsoft to the video game industry with the company's first console in 2001, and grew the business into the fastest $ 1 billion business in its history. Allard has been named "Top 35 Entertainment Execs Under 35" by The Hollywood Reporter, "The Powerful Men Under 38" by Details and "The Important Person in Video Games" by Giant Bomb.
The release of the Intellivision Amico is planned for October. The prices for the system start at EUR 279.