PR issues with incoming Microsoft console, or we're just not rich/urban enough for it

Aldurin · 04-06-2013, 12:05 AM

So everyone is aware that Microsoft is working on their counter for the PS4, since after releasing Windows 8 it's clear they need to find something that they're good at. Apparently one of their directors (who somehow isn't in the Retarded Developer Quarantines of EA or Gearbox) was mistakenly allowed to talk about a potential feature of it on twitter.

The NeoGAF thread, which contains a lot of documentation in the OP.

Also the Kotaku article in case you get off on that.

Short version, Adam "Sweet Billy" Orth, Microsoft's Creative Director, started arguing in favor of always-online devices on Twitter. This resulted in very good counter-arguments (not everyone is rich with a good location, internet provider and modem) cropping up, he ends up responding in a manner that conveys "stop being a poor dick and stop living in the past", with his analogies showing that he considers electricity and optimal internet access to be equally accessible commodities. This obviously pisses off everyone as everyone either has sub-par internet or knows someone that does. It gets especially interesting when he argues with Manveer, a Bioware Dev. Another Microsoft dev hints that the new console will have this always-on feature.

Here's the fun part, his Dick Resume comes up, affirming the fact that he's an unrelenting dick with both personal posts and former associates accounts of his behavior. The Chief of Staff at Microsoft says "I don't actually know who he is." despite everyone already knowing that Orth is in an executive position in Microsoft at this point. Eventually an official statement comes out from Microsoft saying that Orth isn't a spokesperson and thus his opinions do not represent the company (he is in management so that's not entirely true), but at this point the damage is already done.

Now this should be taken with some salt, as we don't know for sure that the new console will have always-on restrictions (with any hope this shitstorm actually killed that design concept), but there is a pretty large trail of wreckage left behind by Microsoft with a few other sources lying around for good measure.

Regardless of whether it's actually as it seems, I'm far less confident in Microsoft than I was before, and I don't have any real hopes for their new console breaking past mediocre unless they find something to really pull through (the Halo franchise has run out of steam so they'll need to actually work for allure now).

So how do you guys feel about Microsoft allowing elitist dicks to have that much influence on their products that are supposed to be accessible for everyone? Placing your preorder for the Microsoft Xbox Durango 720p Xtreme already? Sacrificing your Windows 7 disc to eldritch horrors so that you get some value back out of it as you completely abandon Microsoft? Just want to keep watching Spoonicorn troll Xbox Live Support's twitter team, ignoring this disaster for now (I can't blame you)?

greed · 04-06-2013, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aldurin

So how do you guys feel about Microsoft allowing elitist dicks to have that much influence on their products that are supposed to be accessible for everyone?

Dude it's a $700 piece of electronics. That shit has never been accessible to everyone.

Now if always online is true then yeah no Xbox 4 for me as living in Australia constant stable internet is an impossibility.

synkr0nized · 04-06-2013, 01:24 AM

When my 360 is on, it's connected to the Internet. So I guess in the long run if I was to get their next console I wouldn't really see much of a difference, though personally I'd prefer it not to be forced on me.

E:
Regardless, that asshat should be fired. I've seen some pretty amusing image macros made as a result of this, but that hardly outweighs being an asshole towards demographics other than your own.
You would think someone in any IT and IT-related field would understand how easy these kinds of things propagate across the Internet and how outrageously stupid it is to mouth off any kind of opinion, let alone such a bad one, while serving as a face for a large corporation.

Kyanbu The Legend · 04-06-2013, 01:26 AM

Well Gen 8 sure is off to an interesting start.

Sony makes the PS4 easy to code for but is shoe horning in social functions. Nintendo's plan to let the 3rd party devs have the spot light on WiiU for a while has backfired with titles leaving the console left and right with their 1st party support not kicking in till 3Q/4Q 2013. And now MS is having PR problems and may be releasiing a console that will be virtually useless in the hands of 30% of the US X-Box gaming population (stable online isn't as common as Adam thinks).

Grandmaster_Skweeb · 04-06-2013, 04:13 AM

Microsoft issued an apology, weak as it is

But yeah, PR damage is done. Great way to turn this in their favor would be to come clean and remove always on DRM in the console's early stage. But between requiring kinect for using the console and always on DRM I don't see this faring too well at all.

If Sony was smart they'd really hone in on this like vultures and earn some of their lost cred back.

The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk · 04-06-2013, 06:30 AM

Just these last few days I've been deliberately disconnecting my internet on my ps3 whilst I've been playing, because I don't want the hassle of being nagged by my online friends in another game I'm playing (and recently neglecting).

So no, things are not always online at all, and nor should they be. Just because a lot of things in this world are online most of the time doesn't mean all things should be 100% of the time. Whatever happened to giving us the option?

Amake · 04-06-2013, 07:19 AM

If they want us to keep buying consoles, putting in things that make them different from personal computers should be the obvious route. Pulling out things like offline functionality seems kind of like the exact opposite.

Can someone tell me why I need a second machine to use up my bandwidth and tell me I have no new messages in order to - if the quality of the current generation games is any indication - possibly play as many as five games over the next ten years?

Aerozord · 04-06-2013, 08:19 AM

At this rate it seems Nintendo might do best after all. Wii U isn't a huge step forward but its not a step backwards.

For the record I dont think this guys position actually allows him to make choices like that. But I dont know microsofts hierarchy. They do need to keep a tighter leash on these guys though.

I'm sure someday this kind of thing will be welcomed but we are still atleast a good decade from Ubiquitous internet. And note when we do have ubiquitous internet it will be low bandwidth wi-fi so things like constantly keeping updated on social media is possible. In the foreseeable future the bandwidth for gaming will never become ubiquitous

Ryong · 04-06-2013, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aerozord

At this rate it seems Nintendo might do best after all. Wii U isn't a huge step forward but its not a step backwards.

I'd say PC is the best choice, but hey that's just me.

Azisien · 04-06-2013, 11:33 AM

Microsoft, Sony, they're both so huge that they can afford to release terrible consoles and still keep doing it for a while. They are the real world implementation of Shit Ass Pet Fuckers. That's the saddest part about this. A big shitstorm happens about always-online, and they'll just make their console always-online anyway and have better PR about it (but in backrooms just be like deal with it, nerds). And we probably will, and if not, they're still Shit Ass Pet Fuckers, with a loyal army of defenders with warped empathy that can't envision another human being having a different life circumstance than their steady, 50Mbps connection that hasn't gone down in 9 years or penchant for BLOPS II online.

04-06-2013, 12:05 AM	#1
Aldurin Lakitu Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 4,648	PR issues with incoming Microsoft console, or we're just not rich/urban enough for it So everyone is aware that Microsoft is working on their counter for the PS4, since after releasing Windows 8 it's clear they need to find something that they're good at. Apparently one of their directors (who somehow isn't in the Retarded Developer Quarantines of EA or Gearbox) was mistakenly allowed to talk about a potential feature of it on twitter. The NeoGAF thread, which contains a lot of documentation in the OP. Also the Kotaku article in case you get off on that. Short version, Adam "Sweet Billy" Orth, Microsoft's Creative Director, started arguing in favor of always-online devices on Twitter. This resulted in very good counter-arguments (not everyone is rich with a good location, internet provider and modem) cropping up, he ends up responding in a manner that conveys "stop being a poor dick and stop living in the past", with his analogies showing that he considers electricity and optimal internet access to be equally accessible commodities. This obviously pisses off everyone as everyone either has sub-par internet or knows someone that does. It gets especially interesting when he argues with Manveer, a Bioware Dev. Another Microsoft dev hints that the new console will have this always-on feature. Here's the fun part, his Dick Resume comes up, affirming the fact that he's an unrelenting dick with both personal posts and former associates accounts of his behavior. The Chief of Staff at Microsoft says "I don't actually know who he is." despite everyone already knowing that Orth is in an executive position in Microsoft at this point. Eventually an official statement comes out from Microsoft saying that Orth isn't a spokesperson and thus his opinions do not represent the company (he is in management so that's not entirely true), but at this point the damage is already done. Now this should be taken with some salt, as we don't know for sure that the new console will have always-on restrictions (with any hope this shitstorm actually killed that design concept), but there is a pretty large trail of wreckage left behind by Microsoft with a few other sources lying around for good measure. Regardless of whether it's actually as it seems, I'm far less confident in Microsoft than I was before, and I don't have any real hopes for their new console breaking past mediocre unless they find something to really pull through (the Halo franchise has run out of steam so they'll need to actually work for allure now). So how do you guys feel about Microsoft allowing elitist dicks to have that much influence on their products that are supposed to be accessible for everyone? Placing your preorder for the Microsoft Xbox Durango 720p Xtreme already? Sacrificing your Windows 7 disc to eldritch horrors so that you get some value back out of it as you completely abandon Microsoft? Just want to keep watching Spoonicorn troll Xbox Live Support's twitter team, ignoring this disaster for now (I can't blame you)?

04-06-2013, 01:24 AM	#3
synkr0nized synk-ism Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: throughout the Wired Posts: 6,861	I've given up winning that argument. That and the one against cloud computing. When my 360 is on, it's connected to the Internet. So I guess in the long run if I was to get their next console I wouldn't really see much of a difference, though personally I'd prefer it not to be forced on me. E: Regardless, that asshat should be fired. I've seen some pretty amusing image macros made as a result of this, but that hardly outweighs being an asshole towards demographics other than your own. You would think someone in any IT and IT-related field would understand how easy these kinds of things propagate across the Internet and how outrageously stupid it is to mouth off any kind of opinion, let alone such a bad one, while serving as a face for a large corporation. __________________ Find love. Last edited by synkr0nized; 04-06-2013 at 01:27 AM.

04-06-2013, 01:26 AM	#4
Kyanbu The Legend Local Rookie Indie Dev Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: New Jersey Posts: 5,497	Well Gen 8 sure is off to an interesting start. Sony makes the PS4 easy to code for but is shoe horning in social functions. Nintendo's plan to let the 3rd party devs have the spot light on WiiU for a while has backfired with titles leaving the console left and right with their 1st party support not kicking in till 3Q/4Q 2013. And now MS is having PR problems and may be releasiing a console that will be virtually useless in the hands of 30% of the US X-Box gaming population (stable online isn't as common as Adam thinks). Last edited by Kyanbu The Legend; 04-06-2013 at 01:29 AM.

04-06-2013, 07:19 AM	#7
Amake Keeper of the new Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: A place without judgment Posts: 4,506	If they want us to keep buying consoles, putting in things that make them different from personal computers should be the obvious route. Pulling out things like offline functionality seems kind of like the exact opposite. Can someone tell me why I need a second machine to use up my bandwidth and tell me I have no new messages in order to - if the quality of the current generation games is any indication - possibly play as many as five games over the next ten years? __________________ Hope insistent, trust implicit, love inherent, life immersed

04-06-2013, 08:19 AM	#8
Aerozord So we are clear Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Former murder capital of the world Posts: 13,824	At this rate it seems Nintendo might do best after all. Wii U isn't a huge step forward but its not a step backwards. For the record I dont think this guys position actually allows him to make choices like that. But I dont know microsofts hierarchy. They do need to keep a tighter leash on these guys though. I'm sure someday this kind of thing will be welcomed but we are still atleast a good decade from Ubiquitous internet. And note when we do have ubiquitous internet it will be low bandwidth wi-fi so things like constantly keeping updated on social media is possible. In the foreseeable future the bandwidth for gaming will never become ubiquitous __________________ "don't hate me for being a heterosexual white guy disparaging slacktivism, hate me for all those murders I've done."

04-06-2013, 04:13 AM	#5
Grandmaster_Skweeb Doesn't care anymore Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 2,429	Microsoft issued an apology, weak as it is But yeah, PR damage is done. Great way to turn this in their favor would be to come clean and remove always on DRM in the console's early stage. But between requiring kinect for using the console and always on DRM I don't see this faring too well at all. If Sony was smart they'd really hone in on this like vultures and earn some of their lost cred back.

04-06-2013, 11:33 AM	#10
Azisien wat Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,177	Microsoft, Sony, they're both so huge that they can afford to release terrible consoles and still keep doing it for a while. They are the real world implementation of Shit Ass Pet Fuckers. That's the saddest part about this. A big shitstorm happens about always-online, and they'll just make their console always-online anyway and have better PR about it (but in backrooms just be like deal with it, nerds). And we probably will, and if not, they're still Shit Ass Pet Fuckers, with a loyal army of defenders with warped empathy that can't envision another human being having a different life circumstance than their steady, 50Mbps connection that hasn't gone down in 9 years or penchant for BLOPS II online.