In April 2013, Microsoft Creative Director Adam Orth resigned after posting flippant remarks on Twitter over the Xbox 720’s controversial 'always-online' rumours, telling frustrated customers to ‘deal with it”. The tweets caused outrage among internet users and Xbox fans alike, doing the rounds on several popular message boards such as Reddit. Now it has emerged that Orth has left the company.
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Brand: Microsoft Xbox | Sector: Gaming | Country: US | Objective: Build brand enagagment, drive sales | Format: Twitter, Social Media, CRM
The previous week, Orth took to Twitter to discuss the rumour that the next Xbox will require an always online connection, claiming he didn't know what all the fuss was about. "Every device is now 'always on'. That's the world we live in. #dealwithit," he tweeted.
Responding to concerns that not all areas have reliable internet connections, (such as Janesville or Blacksburg) limiting the console’s use, Orth went on to retort “Why on earth would I live there?”
Microsoft quickly posted up an apology for Adam’s remarks:
“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.”
But the official apology doesn’t appear to have saved Adam who has now quietly left Microsoft. According to sources he has officially resigned and when gaming news site Gameinformer called the Microsoft switchboard they confirmed that he was no longer with the company.
However neither Adam or Microsoft have confirmed if he voluntarily resigned or was forced to take the walk of shame. His Twitter stream has now become protected, but the episode acts as a reminder of the perils of Twitter, and the damage that ill thought-out tweet can do to a company.
Industry analysts and gamers alike have expressed concern about the forthcoming next-gen Xbox, since the rumour-mill has already posited that it will need an 'always-on' connection in order to work.
This puts it at odds with the PS4, which Sony has confirmed will work offline.
