Microsoft Exec Takes Flak Over 'Deal With It' Response

New Xbox may need always-on connection
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 5, 2013 12:25 PM CDT
Microsoft Exec Takes Flak Over 'Deal With It' Response
File photo from Microsoft of an XBOX 360 console with HD DVD player and hard drive.   (AP Photo/Microsoft/Douglas Evans, ho)

Rumor has it that the next version of the Xbox will require an always-on Internet connection, and lots of gamers aren't happy about it, notes JoyStiq. (Recall the disastrous SimCity launch.) A Microsoft employee didn't exactly smooth the waters in an exchange on Twitter, however. Hashtag chosen by Microsoft Studios' creative director Adam Orth? "#dealwithit." Some of his tweets, rounded up by CNET:

  • "Sorry, I don't get the drama around having an 'always on' console. Every device now is 'always-on.' That's the world we live in."
  • He also faulted the logic of critics: "Sometimes the electricity goes out. I will not purchase a vacuum cleaner."

When someone asked about people who live in rural areas and used Janesville, Wisconsin, as one of the examples, Orth replied: "Why on earth would I live there?" Critics have pounced:

  • Rob Beschizza, Boing Boing: "We no longer need to point out that DRM is an expression of contempt for one's own customers—Microsoft's own employees take care of that task all by themselves."
  • Sam Byford, the Verge: He's not quite as incensed, but writes, "Of course, these messages can't be taken as anything close to official word from Microsoft, but it's interesting to read the thoughts of a studio director nonetheless."
Orth later apologized, calling it banter with friends—and his tweets are now private. For the record, he never confirmed the always-on rumors. The new Xbox is expected to be out later this year. (More Microsoft stories.)

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