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[Dreaver]

And let the shitstorm, potentially (read: will) get WORSE?!

Anyone who's not a fucking moron knows that the 720 exists and one of their guys just potentially killed any interest from a LOT of users based on a)always online being so anti-consumer and b)the guy who confirmed it acting like a jackass causing the perception that the entire company is this way.

This is PR 101 type shit.

So what should they've said? 'Yeah, our next Xbox will require online, but don't worry we have awesome features up our sleeves which will make it worth it'?

They said the expected and (probably) best neutral statement they could have.

 

[jtb]

Stuff like this takes a long time to go away, especially since its being shown on mainstream news websites.

The headlines everywhere are saying that its always online, people will take this as fact unaware that it hasn't actually officially been announced.

If the next Xbox is always online, then it's always online and the headlines don't matter because they're inevitable. If it's not, then all these news outlets will just have egg on their face when Microsoft does their media blitz for the announcement. Microsoft stand to lose nothing in this position.

 

[Arkham]

(OT ): Former Weezer bassist now working at Microsoft makes incredibly dickish tweets about always-online. Then widely despised game "journalist" gets all passive aggressive and douchey about it on twitter

Rename thread?

 

[Jigolo]

Wait, Polygon didn't report on this?? hmmmm that's strange. Are they pro MS or something?

 

[MYeager]

I don't know how much the rest of you know about gaming culture (I'm an expert), but honor and shame are huge parts of it. It's not like it is in twitter where you can become successful by being an asshole. If you screw someone over in gaming industry, you bring shame to yourself, and the only way to get rid of that shame is repentance.

I love you.

 

[BloodMoney]

Is that actually Kaz, or a fake account?

 

[Mifune]

Okay, last Gies bit I swear. Just read the exchange in its entirety.

https://twitter.com/GiantBreadbug/status/320242137411244032

That was a sensible exchange (minus that Giraffe weirdo). Gies isn't a monster. Thanks for posting.

 

[StrongArmSteady]

http://news.yahoo.com/microsoft-exec-tells-critics-possible-always-online-xbox-183514030.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Welp. Wrap it up folks. This train is still going!

Gah! creative directors are executives now? he isnt in that big of a role...somebody here mentioned that he only has one person reporting under him and its not even a gaming related project..

 

[dragonbane]

Sigh...you do realize that they review what the publisher decide to send them? It's not their fault (and it's the same with all the sites) if the publishers almost only send 360 copies for review.

Nah it is not about the reviews. Their coverage of PS3 games in general is abysmal compared to Xbox games.

 

[Angry Fork]

Is all this hate over defending ea with simcity? Hardly seems deserving.

I think he did some other shit in the past, but I don't know what it is. He was really, really dumb during the simcity debacle though.

 

[AstroNut325]

But there was a lawsuit for that too.

And it's still considered the "winner" of this generation.

 

[The Lamonster]

Goodbye Durango, I hardly knew thee and now don't care to.

Goodbye Halo 5. Blame your MS overlords.




Hello PS4 Destiny

 

[Palette Swap]

hey,i hate to rain on your parade,but look outside,this thing its everywhere,even on spanishs websites,twitter,gaming forums,etc etc

no one gives a shit? lol

Yeah, I guess Forbes doesn't count:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidth...ector-on-always-online-consoles-deal-with-it/

 

[Vire]

And it's still considered the "winner" of this generation.

Uhh what?

Wii was the winner and it's not even close.

 

[Sorral]

In an hour on cheezburger even:

 

[Krakatoa]

According to that last thread, about 40 percent of 360 owners don't connect to live. At current numbers that would be 32 million. Alot more than nobody.

That's why I have a hard time believing it will be constant online. You can just cut out 32 million customers.

 

[Yawnier]

And it's still considered the "winner" of this generation.

360 won this generation?

I don't see many people agreeing with you here.

 

[B-Dex]

Which is an ad buy. It's not "funding" a site. They're not an investor. If that makes you skeptical, that's understandable. But let's not mince words here.

Yes an initial investor has no intention of leveraging their stake at a later date.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

This one

What thread is that from?

 

[Dr.Palutena]

It's annoying people keep sweeping under the rug his arrogant and dismissive comments to people who WEREN'T just the one friend he was joking around with. You can't just dismiss that away as a joke .

 

[Can Crusher]

MS's PR statement basically means that the rumors are right.

It would be easy to state something that would lead us to believe that they aren't going down that path.

 

[Busty]

Quoting myself from way earlier in the thread:



I think thats the reference?

Ahhhh thanks.

Given the twists and turns of the thread thus far it really didn't seem too far fetched that he might actually have been in Weezer at one point.

 

[Spongebob]

In an hour on cheezburger even:

http://www.ohmagif.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/train-hits-school-bus.gif[IMG][/QUOTE]
Where does this poll come from?

 

[MormaPope]

The second some casual buys a game and can't play because of an extended outage, let me tell you the shit will hit the fan in terms of bad publicity.

I could even see lawsuits coming.

That's months away from this point, I thought we were discussing the bad publicity that's occurring now?

MS's PR statement basically means that the rumors are right.

It would be easy to state something that would lead us to believe that they aren't going down that path.

Is this the first PR response some of you have seen from Microsoft?

 

[jtb]

hey,i hate to rain on your parade,but look outside,this thing its everywhere,even on spanishs websites,twitter,gaming forums,etc etc

no one gives a shit? lol

If it's true, then these reactions were inevitable. If it's not, then they don't matter. People give a shit about functionality (which includes always online!), about software (which might have to do with always online!), but when it comes to voting with their wallet? the only thing Microsoft cares and will listen to?

No. No one gives a shit about some idiot on Twitter.

 

[SniperHunter]

EviLore already put the hammer down on Gies. It's official and proven true today once again:

nice!

 

[Fandangox]

Good point, the console will probably malfunction before internet connection is even an issue.

 

[dragonbane]

Is that actually Kaz, or a fake account?

Lol fake of course.

 

[bGanci]

Is that actually Kaz, or a fake account?

Fake

 

[JABEE]

Which is an ad buy. It's not "funding" a site. They're not an investor. If that makes you skeptical, that's understandable. But let's not mince words here.

Microsoft approached Polygon with the "idea" of creating the content. Microsoft invested in Polygon by funding a promotional video for Polygon. Microsoft had a hand in creating editorial content for Polygon. I have no idea how that is not a clear violation of journalistic ethics.

Polygon has only themselves and their subsequent actions to blame for their damaged credibility. They have brought accusations of impropriety on themselves by the way they conduct themselves, their editorial policies, and the separation that exists between their sponsors and the companies they cover dictating a piece of content being made.

 

[Sorral]

Where does this poll come from?

http://cheezburger.com/7264745216

 

[Neuromancer]

What thread is that from?

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=531606

(by the way when people are quoted if you click the little arrow icon next to their name it takes you to that post in that thread)

 

[rakkadakka]

This generation will be all about the long-game.

Exactly, especially when it comes to defending against things that aren't considered traditional consoles. Something that, by the end of this generation, is going to be a major factor.

 

[Boss Man]

Those are hardware defects/oversights, what's happening now is a heavily rumored feature for the Durango is being questioned and thought about even more because some dude got mad at people getting mad over always online rumors.

"Some dude", sure. Nice explanation of what's actually going on right now.

 

[stktt]

If the next Xbox is always online, then it's always online and the headlines don't matter because they're inevitable. If it's not, then all these news outlets will just have egg on their face when Microsoft does their media blitz for the announcement. Microsoft stand to lose nothing in this position.

Nothing but the sting of 6,000 likes on Youtube.

 

[jtb]

MS's PR statement basically means that the rumors are right.

It would be easy to state something that would lead us to believe that they aren't going down that path.

"No comment" is not "yes." "No comment" is not "no." No comment is no comment.

They might be frantically turning off the always online functionality, they might not give a shit at all. But don't read anything into a PR statement like that.

 

[Vire]

That's months away from this point, I thought we were discussing the bad publicity that's occurring now?

Sure it's months away, but if this online only nonsense is true, then it WILL happen and it WILL be a major misstep for the above reasons.

Is it that hard to extrapolate the long-term effects of a decision like this?

 

[Horse Armour]

Guys, look can we tone this down? This isn't good for Ballmer's cardiovascular health.

 

[kaching]

The point I was trying (and apparently failing) to make is that raising the baseline on internet connectivity will allow devs more room to innovate in the online space.

How? A sufficient portion of the console userbase is already very comfortable taking their console online and that will continue to grow naturally without forcing it. What more do devs actually need in order to "innovate" with their online offerings? What can't they already do?

Even if we were to assume that the Next Xbox is always online and the hypothetical dev from your previous example decided to go ahead and make that online-only RPG exclusively for the Next Xbox, they'd still not be guaranteed a single sale.

 

[BloodMoney]

Lol fake of course.

Figures, but i hoped it was real.

 

[GremlinFool]

360 won this generation?

I don't see many people agreeing with you here.

Yeah. 360 will end up finishing last in sales internationally amongst home countries.

Nextbox won't sell more than 10 million units if always-online persists.

 

[dokish]

I don't know how much the rest of you know about gaming culture (I'm an expert), but honor and shame are huge parts of it. It's not like it is in twitter where you can become successful by being an asshole. If you screw someone over in gaming industry, you bring shame to yourself, and the only way to get rid of that shame is repentance.

 

[Mascot]

Always Online will be like a red rag to a bull for Anonymous. They are probably already plotting ways to cyberbrick all 720s on Christmas morning.

 

[Spongebob]

http://cheezburger.com/7264745216

Thanks!

 

[Adamm]

If the next Xbox is always online, then it's always online and the headlines don't matter because they're inevitable. If it's not, then all these news outlets will just have egg on their face when Microsoft does their media blitz for the announcement. Microsoft stand to lose nothing in this position.

How will Microsoft lose nothing? They are getting bad publicity for a console they have yet to announce.
Casual gamers will read these headlines & take them as fact and decide against buying an xbox because of them - true or not the damage is done.
Microsoft will lose customers from this, whether its true or not

 

[Minions]

http://cheezburger.com/7264745216

Voted. Lets break 20,000!

 

[jtb]

Sure it's months away, but if this online only nonsense is true, then it WILL happen and it WILL be a major misstep for the above reasons.

Is it that hard to extrapolate the long-term effects of a decision like this?

But we don't know that. You assume it is (and I think it's pretty likely too...) but do any of us know it? No.

You're hypothesizing off of a hypothesis.

 

[TacticalFox88]

"No comment" is not "yes." "No comment" is not "no." No comment is no comment.

They might be frantically turning off the always online functionality, they might not give a shit at all. But don't read anything into a PR statement like that.

The spin is hilarious.

They could easily disavow the rumors yet choose not too.

But keep your head in the sand.

 

[railGUN]

Should have used Segoe. Otherwise perfect.

Here's it with Segoe, but the 'O's don't match. Meh.

 

[NullPointer]

This is a hypothetical. A hypothetical! It could very well turn out to be true, or they could fix it in time for the reveal, or it may just be complete BS. i think the former is the most likely, but that doesn't change the fact that nothing is confirmed, nothing is in the consumer's hands.

Compare this to something that was tangible and a real, true fuck up of epic proportions: the RROD. They released a console that was DEFECTIVE and most people still didn't give a shit once they fixed the problem and 360 has solds loads and loads of consoles since then.

No one gives a shit about this. They will give a shit if it's always online, but this mini-shitstorm? It'll blow over. It always does.

You know that RROD fiasco is instructive, but I have a different takeaway.

Back then MS was the underdog in the console business. They had big ideas for multiplayer and Xbox Live, and while there was always talk of the 360 being a trojan horse for attacking the living room, their focus and creativity was directed to one thing above all else - the games.

They came up with probably the best damn controller out there, standardized a set of features across all games, including custom soundtracks, achievements, trials for arcade titles and integrated chat and party systems.

Back then they had to fight for their position, and they won it with advanced services, solid games, regular updates, and by swallowing their pride and charges from RROD.

But somewhere along the line they stopped and changed direction. Competitors now have comparable services, and have kept multiplayer free. How did Microsoft respond? They raised the price of Gold. They 'added value' to their membership by cutting features from Silver. They shut down their previous Xbox service, and yet we havent seen the service upgrades that was supposed to make way for. But we have seen them drop the family plan.

This isn't the same scrappy and creative Xbox team that existed at launch and for those first few years. Its seemingly been handed over entirely to the bean counters, marketing teams and casual/media entertainment group.

What they're seemingly forgetting, if the rumors are true, is that they still have to fight for every single customer if they want to succeed next gen. They have to continue to raise the bar - their competition has not been sleeping.

If this whole shitstorm acts as a wake up call, then maybe everybody can win here. I won't count them out until we have all the details, but they are fully responsible for their public face and perception and distrust right now.