So, there is a console-war about to kick off, and a few opening rounds have been fired, with more to come in the ensuing months.
However, one of those rounds fired was aimed straight at the consumer base...huh? Thats right, Microsoft employee Adam Orth, newly crowned hero to Sony/Nintendo fans, spouted off on Twitter last night, attacking, well everyone.
Let me give some background information first. Officially, the next xbox has not been announced and all of the information pertaining to it is strictly "rumored." Two of the biggest rumors are mandatory Kinect (
Lengthy Video) and Always online. (
Always online article)
The always online rumors have really picked up of late, and after the disasterous SimCity launch, fan feedback has been largely negative towards the idea. Hostility amplified with the latest article stating that if the xbox lost internet for 3 minutes, the game would stop and players would no longer be able to play. Again, I stress that these are rumors, and they have been posted by Kotaku, not exactly reliable.
Well ladies and gentleman, hard working Adam Orth did not take too kindly to such hostility, breaking normal company policy and addressing said hostile reactions on twitter. Hilarity ensues:
Huh? Even Amandarius makes more sense than this. But he wasn't done, in what will do more for Sony's PS4 than their marketing team could ever do, he posted this response to a Bioware employee:
Quote:
"Sorry, I don't get the drama around having an 'always-on' console," he said. "Every device is now 'always-on'. #dealwithit"
Well then, ok. So far I have been completely neutral regarding next gen, but this was almost enough to push me to pre-ordering a PS4. How is that for dealing with it, Adam?
Microsoft has sense issued an apology:
Quote:
"We apologize for the inappropriate comments made by an employee on Twitter yesterday. This person is not a spokesperson for Microsoft, and his personal views do not reflect the customer centric approach we take to our products or how we would communicate directly with our loyal consumers. We are very sorry if this offended anyone, however we have not made any announcements about our product roadmap, and have no further comment on this matter."
Not a spokesperson, ok, but still an employee, and your name is on his tweets. This is going to be a marketing disaster for Microsoft, I can just see E3 now, Sony rolls out Kevin Butler for an Adam Orth roast. Even if these rumors turn out to not be true, and they are looking more and more credible, else why would an employee even address them, Microsoft has a pretty big hole to climb out of because of this one man. I expect him to resign soon enough, too little too late.
IGN Source article. Feel free to discuss, I am going to find a battery operated vacuum cleaner.
Edit - Adam Orth is a Creative Director at Microsoft.
Edited for clarification.
