After a Twitter tirade about the rumoured “always on” connectivity of the Xbox 720, Microsoft Creative Direct Adam Orth no longer works at Microsoft.
The currently unannounced Xbox 720 has been widely debated online with several sources suggesting the next-gen console will feature an “always on” internet connection.
Orth was seen publicly defending this unconfirmed functionality of his company’s as yet unannounced console, with the Creative Director even using the hastag #dealwithit.
“Sorry, I don’t get the drama around having an ‘always on’ console,” read Orth’s tweet. “Everydevice now is ‘always on’. That’s the world we live in. #dealwithit.”
Game Informer has discovered that Orth is actually now no longer with Microsoft, learning the news from “sources close to the matter” and later confirming with the main switchboard at Microsoft.
Although the sources are claiming that Orth has resigned in the wake of the Twitter comments, it is currently unknown whether the resignation is voluntary or enforced.
His Twitter comments triggered a huge online debate about the “always on” internet connection of the highly-rumoured Xbox 720 console. The problem was that his comments were part of a sarcastic interchange with his friend Manveer Heir, a senior game designer at game developer BioWare. The two are close and were making fun of each other in the original comments made, but then Orth started replying to angry fans about the remarks he made.
In the US and other countries worldwide, internet connectivity varies hugely and such an “always on” connection would just not be possible in some locations.
Microsoft then issued a very carefully worded statement about the Twitter incident, managing to avoid any reference to its as yet unconfirmed Xbox 720 console, tipped for a May 21 launch event.
“We apologise for the inappropriate comments made by an employee on Twitter yesterday,” Microsoft said in a statement. “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 everyone, however we have not made any announcement about our product roadmap, and have no further comment on this matter.”
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
