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[Fresh Face]

For the love of god, quit posting my twitter account, or you're going to get me into trouble!

I kid..

You would have been much more convincing if you'd used more caps and...decoration....

 

[miDnIghtEr20C]

Absolutely not.

Can you please quote those aggressive post of Alberts? I've never seen none. Plenty of aggressive post from members against him, but where are Al's?

 

[Amir0x]

I don't agree with your premise that Albert Penello is "good people": All I ever saw from him is blatant and meaningless PR, I've never gotten any real insight from his long-winded and often aggressive posts.

There's no reason to "believe in rumours" in regards to the Xbone suffering heavy production issues: The amount of launch countries and features cancelled speak for themselves.

Read my full post. I don't disagree with your second part. But Albert Penello is definitely good people man. He has a job, it's not a glamorous one all the time, but at least he's trying to deal credibly with the community - which is more than virtually every one else on the XBO team at the moment.

Next time round they will be quiet about their plans I'm sure, on the internet a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

If we even got the right knowledge the first time around this wouldn't be an issue

Thank you sir.

I think I've admitted it a bunch. It's one of the reasons I came here - lots of questions, and in some cases the level of detail you guys needed/wanted wasn't going to happen in traditional PR channels.

I apologize, I must have missed it. Just seemed from your first post in this topic:

Lastly - can I PLEASE finally get you over this "we're having production issues" thing that's going around? We increased the GPU 6%. We increased the CPU almost 10%. We have been showing retail boxes. We are now in full production.

If at this point these facts don't outweigh random rumors...

...that you wanted to try to kill the rumour because you think the issue is settled and that now it's mostly just gamers being gamers and refusing to believe, but it obviously won't be settled this way until all the weird changes, delays, transformations and deceptions stop occurring. So I'm glad you understand this, just seemed a bit lashy-outy at this post above

So I can understand the skepticism. I generally look for those opportunities to clarify or add texture to what's going on.

We’ve been clear – our HW program is in really good shape. We’ve also said that due to the DRM change, it put pressure on our SW schedule which is why you’ve seen some features slip.

You're like a one man army, Albert, and you can't control everything that goes on with the XBO, but as my post with the link shows, so much has changed since the 180s alone, it's very difficult to keep track. I think your explanation that it's due to the amount of software changes that was required since the DRM/180s is plausible, though.

It's just hard to know what to take at face value anymore. I know this is probably a good rule of thumb for ALL PR, though.

That said - the ESRAM thing is particularly frustrating because the only reason to believe it anymore is either because of people's natural tendency to want to be right, or just a blind belief that we should be mistrusted just because we are MS. At this point, for a community that holds itself to a high standard of “source” or “proof” – there is far more proof this rumor was wrong then proof it was right. Holding on to that belief anymore seems misguided at this point.

I think you're probably reading a bit more into the motives of most people than is actually there. For most of us, it's a bit like calculating odds. CBOAT has a track record that amounts to something like 85% right-on-the-money, even going way back to the 360 when he got basically everything right about that platform too. Microsoft so far has a track record something like 11% going by the amount of statements that were true about XBO in the beginning and remain true; its PR altogether has one of the most disastrous track records I've ever seen, and I've seen Sony 2006.

So, it's not about a desire to be 'right' than a desire not to be wrong yet again. It's better to simply remain skeptical and then wait until the evidence shows us otherwise. Unfortunately for this one CBOAT rumour, there's really no way it'll ever be case closed, because no one from MS will admit it if it was true, and it's not like once it's on the market we'll be able to qualify it further.

But I do respect your frustration, don't get me wrong. You have a job to do, and you're also intimately connected to the Xbox One, so you have some desire to see it succeed. It's only natural that something you're apart of would make you more passionate and more easily frustrated at misinformation.

I just wanted to make it clear that this skepticism isn't going to go away by saying 'Can you guys stop with the ESRam Yield stuff?', because, as in that link of mine, Microsoft is changing things at a rate that's nearly impossible to keep up with. Whether because of the DRM switch over or whatever, the result is the same: it's hard not to be skeptical about this product coming to market.

As a dedicated 360 owner who played the vast, vast majority of all his games on the platform last gen, I really do hope you guys pick yourself up in the end, have a successful launch and manage to be good competition for Sony (competition is good!).

Anyway, thanks for coming and clarifying. I have to remain skeptical about everything at this point coming from any PR, and I hope you can understand that other gamers must be the same way. It's nothing personal against Microsoft, I was skeptical as fuck about the PS3 after Sony did what they did and I didn't end up getting that platform for years due to that.

 

[Freki]

I'm not even sure what that's all about. Haven't had time to look into it.

Maybe you overlooked my question so I'll politely ask again:

Lastly - can I PLEASE finally get you over this "we're having production issues" thing that's going around? We increased the GPU 6%. We increased the CPU almost 10%. We have been showing retail boxes. We are now in full production.

If at this point these facts don't outweigh random rumors...

So if you should get outsold by the competition this year "supply constraints" will not be a valid excuse - did I understand that correctly?

 

[Dragon]

Obviously a random forum poster knows more about the console's production than someone on the team.

Man dat appeal to authority.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

I'm not even sure what that's all about. Haven't had time to look into it.

You should definitely look into it!

Spoiler

Dual GPU is coming! Call of Duty: Ghosts bundled! Xbox One launching Nov. 5th! BELIEVE!!!

 

[apana]

This *is* good news, isn't it?

*looks around*

isn't it?

Hold on my friend, this coming year is going to be a bumpy ride.

 

[rudieboy77]

I'm embarrassed for him.

I'm suspecting some Poe's Law on twitter.

 

[Miles X]

Absolutely not.

Do you even know who Albert is, sure you're not confusing him with Major Nelson?? Gees get your facts straight.

 

[Thunder Monkey]

Oh, some days...

I find it strange that they keep pushing the issue when you can't just come out and say "Yes it has been a clusterfuck of epic proportions!" Even if it was you couldn't say that. You can't feed what some of them want to hear.

I thank you for your work unless you were the guy behind the entire DRM in which case I slap you. But no really it's probably best if you don't pay attention to the digs or insults. They come, the higher the position you hold the more they come.

Thank you for telling us what you could. I don't believe it's as rosy as you state, but I'm in no position to confirm otherwise. Have fun and enjoy your stay in the madhouse. It's really easy to get bitten here. Some of them I'm pretty sure haven't had their rabies shots.

 

[Oemenia]

All they need to do now is unlock some CUs on the GPU and it'll be a PS4!

 

[iMax]

The best part of this is that @NeoGAFShitPosts follows him.

Hahaha brilliant!!

 

[timlot]

Albert, I don't know why you respond to the folks who are obviously emotionally invested Sony/PS4 to the point facts are getting in the way. They even use Chinese websites and latinopost as credible sources to discredit you in previous post here for goodness sake.

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

I'm not even sure what that's all about. Haven't had time to look into it.

That...wow.

That's a pretty good answer.

 

[artist]

imo gpu>cpu all day

Remove the imo and that still stands.

 

[Zen]

Well they've done what they can, it still won't equal up to the PS4 in performance, but good for them.

 

[ethomaz]

How is it low? A 7970 has the same GDDR5 clock. I mean the max we have at the moment is 6Gbits/s with the Titan.

Because it is a low power lock... GDDR5 goes up to 3.5Ghz (7Ghz effective; 1.75Ghz base).

HD 7970 uses a 384bits bus... 264GB/s.

 

[KoopaTheCasual]

Sony..ponies?

Hey dude. It rhymes, therefore it is a sick burn.

 

[mangochutney]

Look at all the lovely people who previously said specs don't matter and that it's about the games and gameplay who are now welcoming a spec bump!

Good news though. Hopefully will mean an increased baseline for both those lazy multiplats and clearly their choice to have a huge box and fan is paying off.

 

[iMax]

Look at all the lovely people who previously said specs don't matter and that it's about the games and gameplay who are now welcoming a spec bump!

Good news though. Hopefully will mean an increased baseline for both those lazy multiplats and clearly their choice to have a huge box and fan is paying off.

It is all about the games, but a faster clock doesn't exactly hurt, does it?

 

[miDnIghtEr20C]

Working PR is hard!



I personally am not that interested in a PR persons perspective, as it is bound to be uninteresting and won't reflect the real issues.



I don't care enough.

Then put Albert on ignore. You can't make claims and then say you don't care enough. Where are the quotes? You seem to care enough to call Albert out as an aggressive poster on GAF.. .

WHERE ARE THESE AGGRESSIVE QUOTES?

 

[Deleted member 80556]

Maybe you overlooked my question so I'll politely ask again:


So if you should get outsold by the competition this year "supply constraints" will not be a valid excuse - did I understand that correctly?

He won't answer it.

 

[Impeccable]

The problem with how great a person like Albert coming here and talking with us is that the only possible outcome is he is either seen as lying to the masses or he's the greatest thing ever who deserves to be praised upon like an immortal mechanical robot.

We will never be able to treat him like "one of the guys" because depending on what side you bat for automatically determines the way a person treats him.

It's exactly the same thing Shahid ran into.

 

[Sydle]

Interesti...I can't lie, this and other tech spec dick waving is not newsworthy.

Does this get attention because of GAF and sites like GAF?

 

[maplelord93]

lol....i think i died

 

[Vizzeh]

I completely respect that MS have learned from a lot of their mistakes, PR wise and policy wise, the problem they face with gamers is that their system is in fact a lot less than its rivals because they are marketing as an all in one entertainment system.

Thing is Sony/PlayStation are using similar APU's so basically anything MS do with clock speeds Sony can potentially do as well, altho as far as the GPU goes anything Sony do it improves it at a higher % because it has a much stronger baseline.

So even though MS are attempting to close the hardware gap, its commendable. But for me I want a gaming console (that can do a lot of the other flashy things too) - seems a similar pattern for most people I know, previous Xbox owners included.

Everyday is a school day when it comes to EsRAm, cheers fellas

 

[abadguy]

If you think the Xbox One is uninteresting, it really isn't for you.

Obviously doesn't think it's that "uninteresting" else he wouldn't be in so many threads concerning it.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

omg lol....

Tim Dog is a fucking legend now.

 

[Freki]

He won't answer it.

Why not - Albert said he's here to give us straight answers - this would be a good opportunity...

 

[SenjutsuSage]

Thank you sir.

I think I've admitted it a bunch. It's one of the reasons I came here - lots of questions, and in some cases the level of detail you guys needed/wanted wasn't going to happen in traditional PR channels.

So I can understand the skepticism. I generally look for those opportunities to clarify or add texture to what's going on.

We’ve been clear – our HW program is in really good shape. We’ve also said that due to the DRM change, it put pressure on our SW schedule which is why you’ve seen some features slip.

That said - the ESRAM thing is particularly frustrating because the only reason to believe it anymore is either because of people's natural tendency to want to be right, or just a blind belief that we should be mistrusted just because we are MS. At this point, for a community that holds itself to a high standard of “source” or “proof” – there is far more proof this rumor was wrong then proof it was right. Holding on to that belief anymore seems misguided at this point.

Texture upgrades confirmed.

 

[bonesmccoy]

Albert, I don't know why you respond to the folks who are obviously emotionally invested Sony/PS4 to the point facts are getting in the way.

Of course, this Albert fellow himself is not only emotionally invested in his product, but professionally too.

Such complicated times.

 

[Kerub]

Tim Dog is a fucking legend now.

Wait..tim dog..timedog?

 

[coldfoot]

Don't scare Albert away guys, he's just a guy doing his job. His demeanor has always been exemplary on here.

If MS wanted to make his life easier, all they had to do would be to require Live only for online MP (similar to PS+) and do not paywall off anything else. I would stop hating on the Xbox right then and there, and might even be open to buying one.

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

Working PR is hard!



I personally am not that interested in a PR persons perspective, as it is bound to be uninteresting and won't reflect the real issues.



I don't care enough.

You dont care enough? You need to stop then. That aint cute

 

[AzBat]

So if you should get outsold by the competition this year "supply constraints" will not be a valid excuse - did I understand that correctly?

There's a lot more to the box than just the CPU/GPU. There's the Kinect sensor, it's custom IC & its camera modules, the hard drive, the Bluray drive & the dual WiFi modules/antennas etc. They could have problems putting the who motherboard together or mounting the case. They could have problems with shipping(they'll most likely air ship to the US instead of relying on a boat). So they can still have supply constraints & still not be attributed to the CPU, GPU & ESRAM. There are ton of cogs in the wheel. Any number of them could cause an issue.

 

[Spongebob]

Albert, where's the Kinect voice support chart you said was coming?

The longer you dodge this question, the more confident I am in rumors of yield issues.

 

[Barkley's Justice]

These last hours tweaks doesn't give much confidence in the console's reliability.

lol

 

[Speedy Blue Dude]

I never said he gets nothing wrong. He never got specs wrong with the 360. This is something that should not be ignored.

And of course people are going to say he is telling the truth.

It's not like MS has lied, or wasn't going to support indies, but wait! There was this one indie dev (who is a Gaffer) who was told MS didn't want their game on the XB1. But lets drop that too, because MS would never lie so it can they can gain more costumers.

He said so himself, this was around E3. BEFORE Microsoft changed there approach towards Indies.

 

[QaaQer]

Companies are extremely interested in social media and forums marketing, Albert is doing exactly that. He's seems to be trying to feed us PR lines, he's probably not really interested in having a conversation with us but probably wants to push Xbone on forum people. The fact Penello is doing a mediocre job at marketing doesn't change that.

I know right. PR is not an ethically sound industry, despite their good PR PR. The penultimate example in recent history is this one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nayirah_%28testimony%29.

So yeah, nice that MS pr is here I guess, but pr gonna pr and get paid well for doing it.

 

[EvB]

But there is a lot of data suggesting you have supply issues. We have several reports saying PS4 pre-orders are much higher than XBO pre-orders. Why would this be the case if not for supply issues?

Isn't that just because not as many people want to buy an Xbox One?

Or because Sony are launching in 3x as many countries?

Or because Sony didn't their preorder allocations, do you seriously think that they can fulfil every order on day one?

 

[R3TRODYCE]

You dont care enough? You need to stop then. That aint cute

I know right.

 

[Frodo]

Came here expecting the good news spun to death. Didn't leave disappointed.

Never change, GAF. Never change.

 

[Amir0x]

I don't think netBuff is capable of separating his disdain with Xbox One as a product from Albert Penello, who really doesn't deserve that ire. :/

Came here expecting the good news spun to death. Didn't leave disappointed.

Never change, GAF. Never change.

Can you quote a post and then make a response that furthers the discussion, or do you just want to go LOLHIVEMINDGAF and trollpost the topic and leave?

 

[SiRatul]

Because it is a low power lock... GDDR5 goes up to 3.5Ghz (7Ghz effective; 1.75Ghz base).

HD 7970 uses a 384bits bus... 264GB/s.

Hm ok. Just thought that since a lot of mid to highend cards use 5.5GHz that it wasn't that low.

 

[velociraptor]

This is why it is better to have a bigger console with bigger cooling (and an external power brick) versus cramming everything in a tight shell.

 

[Angelus Errare]

Oh, some days...

You sir should write a book on keeping calm when faced with a mob of rabid people. Your patience is honestly unmatched by anyone I know. I know mothers with less patience than you.

 

[Albert Penello]

But there is a lot of data suggesting you have supply issues. We have several reports saying PS4 pre-orders are much higher than XBO pre-orders. Why would this be the case if not for supply issues? If you can't provide another reason I find it hard to believe you.

I actually addressed this in an older post, but I will do so again. Each of the companies ALLOCATES pre-orders to retailers. That’s why they “sell out”. I don’t know how many PS4 units Sony “released” for pre-order (actually, I don’t know how many we did, either). But you could have two consoles with the IDENTICAL number of units being manufactured, and depending on how many they allocate to pre-orders vs. walk-ins, could affect the pre-order numbers. Just using “pre-orders” as a benchmark for any hardware is not the best way to establish anything – demand, manufacturing.. anything.

Also, the price of the XBO also indicates yield issues. If you did not have yield issues, pushing up the cost of each fully functional chip why would your console be more expensive than the competition's, while being significantly less powerful? Especially given your history of providing a better performance/price ratio than your competition in previous generations. Sure there is Kinect, but aside from the high up-front costs of R&D, it shouldn't be very expensive to produce each unit.

Really? You know this how exactly? I’m just saying – your interpretation of what things cost, unless Sony or us have released the detailed BOM for our machines… not sure how this proves anything.

There is also the fact that you delayed the release of the XBO in many European countries. You yourself said that this was due to difficulties of translating certain services, but this explanation doesn't mesh very well at all with the recent news of Kinect not supporting voice control in several of the launch markets.

I did also explain that when we said “localization” it also referring to Live, marketplace, apps, and other regional issues with launching – not JUST voice or Kinect support.

 

[artist]

I completely respect that MS have learned from a lot of their mistakes, PR wise and policy wise, the problem they face with gamers is that their system is in fact a lot less than its rivals because they are marketing as an all in one entertainment system.

Thing is Sony/PlayStation are using similar APU's so basically anything MS do with clock speeds Sony can potentially do as well, altho as far as the GPU goes anything Sony do it improves it at a higher % because it has a much stronger baseline.

So even though MS are attempting to close the hardware gap, its commendable. But for me I want a gaming console (that can do a lot of the other flashy things too) - seems a similar pattern for most people I know, previous Xbox owners included.

Everyday is a school day when it comes to EsRAm, cheers fellas

The thing with that is .. what's the benefit? They dont have a deficit or a gap to close.

 

[shinobi602]

Why not - Albert said he's here to give us straight answers - this would be a good opportunity...

Because it's a loaded question.

 

[Deleted member 80556]

Why not - Albert said he's here to give us straight answers - this would be a good opportunity...

Straight answers for some, not everyone.