The Official Microsoft blog reports that the company will no longer provide the CES keynote presentation after the 2012 event taking place in Las Vegas next month. Even more, Microsoft won't even have a booth because the company's product news milestones "generally don’t align with the show’s January timing."
"As we look at all of the new ways we tell our consumer stories – from product momentum disclosures, to exciting events like our Big Windows Phone, to a range of consumer connection points like Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft.com and our retail stores – it feels like the right time to make this transition," the company said on Wednesday.
Microsoft said that it came to this decision after thinking about when the right time and place would be to make announcements, and is the company adjusting to the changing dynamics of its customers. "After thinking about questions like these, we have decided that this coming January will be our last keynote presentation and booth at CES," Microsoft added.
Later the CEA, the organization that makes the CES event possible, responded to Microsoft's announcement with a statement of its own, reporting that both Microsoft and CEA have agreed that it was time for the Redmond company to end its fourteen-year run.
"In the fourteen years that we have invited Microsoft to deliver a keynote address at CES, the company has unveiled some great innovations, from operating systems to gaming platforms to mobile technologies," reads the statement. "Both CEA and Microsoft have agreed that the time has come to end this great run, and so Microsoft will not have a keynote at the 2013 CES."
"Microsoft has also informed us that, although their plans for the 2013 CES are not yet finalized, they will not request the Central Hall exhibit space that they have used in past years," the statement continues. "Microsoft is an important member of CEA and we wish them all the best as they evolve their plans for new ways to tell consumer stories. We also look forward to their CES keynote on January 9, 2012."
Next month Steve Ballmer will reportedly focus on Windows Phone and the company's Xbox entertainment story. The keynote won't provide any significant news, but rather serve as more of a wrap up of the strong year the company has had in the consumer sector.
