Microsoft Cancels E3 Post-Conference Info Session

[weirdee]

If it's what they said it is, they'd rather spend the time looking for developers to hop on board, than to try to salvage their reputation, which may or may not work out for them.

It does, however, show that they still don't give a rat's ass about how they conduct their actual business.

 

[oldtaku]

We can't trust our guys not to say something stupid (if honest) under direct questioning!

 

[Baresark]

Sounds to me like they are only planning on cramming more of the same bullshit down our throats, and not much about actual games. Or they know after all the complaining that what they are going to show isn't going to cut it, and they know they can expect criticism by sporting questions to people who are actually somewhat familiar to what the gaming public wants.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

Either they are really arrogant about their press conference, or it really was a scheduling conflict.

There is a third possibility, and one which may be more likely than those: avoid public questions and criticism in the hope that they either go away or you can make it as close to launch as possible before anyone finds out the answers to questions you don't want them asking.

I find it far more likely that they're either in a full on scramble to see what they can do before launch to abate people's fears or are simply trying to hide from the truth about their console as long as they can than I would find other explanations like them just having a really good conference presentation lined up (when was the last time they or anyone else had a great E3 conference?) or scheduling conflicts. Sorry, but you don't let scheduling conflicts get in the way of the biggest industry event of the year, especially when you need to pull a rabbit out of your hat after a bad initial showing. That excuse is patent bullshit. If scheduling conflicts really happened, it was intentional.

That could very well be it.

If that's the case, then Microsoft probably knows that public opinion of their new console isn't very high, and they're doing some fancy dodging.

I find that all the more troubling if so. :/

 

[kajinking]

I'm not sure what to really make of that.

Seriously, is Cobra Commander in charge of Microsoft's Xbox Division right now?

Nah it's his cousin corporate commander, he got done shoveling DLC into games so he decided to instead mess with gamers at the source.

http://angryjoeshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Backbreaker_thumb_05_SITE.jpg

 

[KeyMaster45]

Right, a "scheduling conflict" because it's not like they've had a year or more to make plans for the event. I wonder if their executives are in the market for spelunking gear, considering how far they've gone up their own ass.

It's absolutely maddening the sheer blind idiocy with which these people have handled this PR disaster. This is either the most thinly veiled attempt at self-sabotaging an unwanted division of a company or these executive have been heavily shielded against any of the recent events because everyone around them fears they'll go on a firing tirade.

 

[s_h_a_d_o]

What better way to avoid direct questions than to avoid circumstances in which they can be asked altogether?

+1
This seems like the most rational explanation (for such an irrational decision), imho.

 

[zinho73]

An accident waiting to happen indeed. The proverbial "piece of glass left on the beach" in the words of Bono...

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

Two words - damage control. They're on the ropes and they know it. As long as they can show things in a controlled environment they may be able to salvage some interest in the Xbone, while they madly fiddle with it behind the scenes to make the rest of it more palatable.

 

[CyberMachinist]

I'm not sure what to really make of that.

Seriously, is Cobra Commander in charge of Microsoft's Xbox Division right now?

Please, if he was in charge at least he would make things Hammishly entertaining by shouting "Cobra!" every time he talked to us.

That or tell us his new Micro-Dominator will bring the gaming world to it's knees.

OT: This does seem a little suspicious, when was the last time MS had a "scheduling conflict" for E3? Seriously cause i never kept track.

 

[Abomination]

Yatzee talked about this in his ZP episode this week of Micro$oft dodging questions and not giving any cement answers.

... this makes me think games journalists are really stepping up to the plate. They've got one of the largest monopolies on the planet quaking in their boots at the idea of having to answer the questions the journalists would pose to them.

 

[Roander]

I know what to make of it. They're smart enough to realize that they're getting a very negative reception as-is with this thing and they're trying to make us focus on what they tell us to, while they do some shit in the background that we don't know about. Maybe it'll be fixing the damn thing and all of its problems.

This may actually be what's happening in a half-assed sort of way. A lot of the 'features' people don't like are probably software controlled, or at least controlled by a rom chip they can still reprogram before they start mass producing these things. It's possible that they realize how poorly some of their announcements went over and they're trying to fix some of the issues but no one's made any concrete decisions yet so no one is capable of answering any real questions about what the system will ultimately do.

I still don't know what to make of their choice of excuses, though. Either they have no respect at all for anyone's intelligence or this is the business world equivalent of "I'm busy washing my hair" and we're just supposed to understand that it's a lie and we're not going to get a real reason.

 

[Legion]

I suspect they are trying to avoid a situation where they might put more people off by revealing things they don't want to. All the while trying to make us aware of the things they want us to care about, and hoping the people who don't follow gaming news just pick one up as its the latest "must buy" thing.

Microsoft remind me of that old Simpsons episode where they get Homer to design a car to appeal to the average American, and everybody hates it.

 

[nodlimax]

Wait a second.....

Didn't I read just yesterday that they wanted to improve their information policies and provide more and better answers in the future? How is it then that they think it's a good idea to cancel events in which they could do such a thing?

M$ really wants to destroy their customer base with full force now do they?

 

[an annoyed writer]

I know what to make of it. They're smart enough to realize that they're getting a very negative reception as-is with this thing and they're trying to make us focus on what they tell us to, while they do some shit in the background that we don't know about. Maybe it'll be fixing the damn thing and all of its problems.

This may actually be what's happening in a half-assed sort of way. A lot of the 'features' people don't like are probably software controlled, or at least controlled by a rom chip they can still reprogram before they start mass producing these things. It's possible that they realize how poorly some of their announcements went over and they're trying to fix some of the issues but no one's made any concrete decisions yet so no one is capable of answering any real questions about what the system will ultimately do.

I still don't know what to make of their choice of excuses, though. Either they have no respect at all for anyone's intelligence or this is the business world equivalent of "I'm busy washing my hair" and we're just supposed to understand that it's a lie and we're not going to get a real reason.

To be honest I hope that's what they're doing. As uneven my relationship with Microsoft has been over the years, I've always enjoyed Halo since it first came out. I want to do so again, but if they keep all of the problems it has, I'm afraid I might not be able to. And that is a depressing thought. That series has easily been my go-to multiplayer game for a long time, and I want it to continue to be as such. But I don't want all of this crap getting in the way.

 

[RJ 17]

Microsoft Executive 1: "Sooooo, yeah, we gotta come up with a new console. Any ideas?"
Microsoft Executive 2: "How about we take a bunch of concepts that games really don't like and combine them with a bunch of features that gamers really don't need?"
ME 1: "Hmmmm, alright. How are we going to market this? We should do some press about it."
ME 2: "We could always be as vague and contradictory as possible, do everything wrong that we can think of in handling the wildfires of rumors that will send our target audience swarming to our competitors, and refuse to answer any questions that might help to clarify things?"
ME 1: "I like where you're going with this, but shouldn't we at least try to clear things up so our target audience doesn't think we're just handing them a giant piece of shit shaped like a VCR from the early 90's?"
ME 2: "Nah, people LOVE a mystery! We'll just leave them a trail of rancid vomit errr, I mean moldy breadcrumbs and leave them to try and figure things out for themselves!"
ME 1: "What if people ask us about it in an interview or something?"
ME 2: "Just think of what the guy who did the last interview before yours said and say the exact opposite of that."
ME 1: ".......................BRILLIANT!"

Edit: Seriously, this can't be good no matter how you look at it. If it is indeed a scheduling conflict, then you put someone else out there. I don't care if you have to get a bunch of fuckin' interns to sit up there and answer questions, after the shitstorm they stirred up with the reveal, they HAVE to take any opportunity they possibly can to clear the air...to say to the market "Eeeeeeasy now, folks. We kinda screwed the pooch on the reveal, we admit that. But let's all take a deep breath here and get some things straight...*insert all the explanations that people have been asking for*" You don't just give your one-way presentation/conference then say "Screw you guys, we're going home."

Annnnnnnd how the hell do you - a gaming company (or at least a gaming division of a tech company) - have a "scheduling conflict" during the biggest fuckin' event for gamers of the year? It's not like they didn't know when E3 was, you'd think the importance of the presentation at E3 would mandate that any other obligations would be scheduled around it.

No, my fellow Escapists, this can only mean that the XBone is shaping up to be just as horrendous as the reveal and subsequent PR self destruction has indicated it to be.

 

[el_kabong]

So, they are just going to let this snowball of bad marketing keep rolling right down the hill...

My decisions for the next generation seem to be getting easier and easier. Granted, bad marketing does not equal bad console...but do I really want to commit to a company that's making such horrible decisions when it comes to their business?

 

[Smiley Face]

On the one hand, it's hard to blame them - they've bungled promoting the Xbone so far, there's so much negative momentum going that they feel the need to control any more damage they're likely to do. And, fortunately, it doesn't necessarily imply they're going full steam ahead with the stupid train - it's also the move they'd make if they were changing directions.

That said, either way, this shows absolutely no confidence on Microsoft's part that the presentation will go down well. Frankly, I'm looking forward to it - the shitstorm will be hilarious.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

this can't end well. It seems like they're trying to avoid questions that they don't want. At this rate they've pretty much handed Nintendo and Sony the 8th gen on a silver platter.