Microsoft Issues Apology For Employees Coments About “Always-Online” Rumors
As many of you may be aware there is a big rumor that the next Xbox system is going to require an always-on connection. This sort of “feature” has generally been proven to be unpopular with gamers (ex: Diablo III, SimCity), but more and more publishers and developers are starting to embrace it. It’s a real hot button topic right now, and a Microsoft creative director hasn’t helped things.
Last week Microsoft Studios creative director Adam Orth sent out some tweets saying that he didn’t “get the drama about having an ‘always on’ console”, and that people should “#dealwithit”. When he was tweeted at by Manveer Heir of BioWare that people’s internet goes out as well, and that dealing with it is a “shitty” reason, Orth said that “Electricity goes out too.” The biggest insult to injury, however, was when Heir raised the point that not everyone lives in a place with good internt, like Janesville, WI or Blacksburg, VA, and Orth replied “Why on earth would I live there?” It came out eventually that Orth was “busting balls”, and giving Heir some crap as they’re “good friends”, though the initial comments about the “always on” console were apparently genuine.
Microsoft has apparently gone into damage control mode, stating that Orth “is not a spokesperson for Microsoft”. Microsoft goes on to state that they 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.” Of course, some of you folks may notice that Microsoft didn’t exactly deny that they were going always-online with their next console. That’s a little scary, to be honest, though considering the rumors that have been swirling around their next Xbox it wouldn’t exactly be too surprising. I’ve got a feeling, though, that Mr. Orth might not be enjoying the hot blame under him thanks to this little scandal.
