The man who helped usher in the PS3 for Sony will now be the Xbox 360's chief evangelist in Europe. Microsoft's announced that Phil Harrison—formerly president of Worldwide Studios for Sony's PlayStation division—has joined the tech giant's leadership team. Harrison assumes some of the duties left open by the exit of respected game designer Peter Molyneux, such as oversight of Lionhead, Soho Productions and Rare dev studios.

Microsoft claims that Molyneux's leave-taking and Harrison's appointment have nothing to do with each other and have issued a statement to that effect:

Phil's role on the IEB leadership team is completely unrelated to Peter's departure. Phil will lead Microsoft Studios European organization, but will also influence the broader performance of IEB's European business. We will continue to rely on our stable of first party developers as we determine if and when the Microsoft Studios Europe Creative Director vacancy should be filled. Peter's previous role as Lionhead Studio Manager is being filled by Lionhead COO Mark Webley.