Microsoft Apologizes, But Refuses to Comment on 'Always On'

I was planning on avoiding yet another controversy started on Twitter yesterday, as it seems there’s a new gaming-related one every few hours.

In it, Creative Director at Microsoft Studios Adam Orth kicked things off by saying he “didn’t understand the drama around ‘always on’ consoles” because “every device is now ‘always on’ ” He concluded with the hashtag #dealwithit.

This naturally offended many long opposed to the concept of always-on anything related to gaming, most notably DRM. Orth went on to spar with Bioware’s Manveer Heir and jokingly insulted poorer areas that don’t have access to reliable internet.


I don’t want to talk about Adam Orth. People are entitled to their opinions, and the right to joke, troll or otherwise. That said, it would be wise for someone in such an important position at a company like that to mind what they say in public. Orth has since protected his tweets.

I’m not sure if he’s issued an apology yet, butMicrosoft has, and it’s their reaction that’s more interesting. Via MajorNelson:

“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.”

The apology is just for Orth being rude, but the important part about this is that Microsoft doesn’t even want to tip their hand a little bit about the next Xbox, to the point where they don’t even deny accusations that would immediately bolster support for the device. That in turn makes the rest of us feel like our worst fears about the consoles could be true.

Sony had to deal with the same problem, and DID deal with it. They too were asked point blank if the Playstation 3 would be used titles. They said it would. They were asked if the console would require an internet connection to play games. They said it wouldn’t.

But Microsoft has been asked the same questions, and has said nothing. First, when Durango specs were leaked that seemed to indicate games must be installed to the hard drive to play (presumably eliminating used game sales), Microsoft could neither confirm nor deny that. Now, when an employee is making people think that the game could require an internet connection to play games, Microsoft bundles in a “no comment” in their official apology.

What’s going on here?

There are two options, it seems. The first is that Microsoft wants to be SO secretive with their new console, that ANY revelation, good or bad, is a closely guarded secret. After all, it wasn’t until the PS4 was at least revealed that we got answers to the two questions posed above.

The second option is that Microsoft really is developing a console that despite their labeling, most would not see as “consumer-centric.” If the system goes “full PC” where it blocks used games and requires internet verification for play, it could spell disaster for them if players decide to flock to the less restrictive PS4 instead. Hell, even the Wii U might look good by comparison at that point.

The only way I could see Microsoft succeeding if it did indeed end up employing both of those tactics would be if they either knocked the price of games way down (to Steam level prices, which is how PC deals with this) or sold their console for a fraction of the cost of its competitors. With many speculating the PS4 will cost $400, I’ve heard analysts wonder out loud if Microsoft could go down an odd path by making the next Xbox $99. They’d sell at a loss sure, but it would ensure a HUGE install base as the system is part of Microsoft’s grander plan of living room domination. And as much as players want to play used games and be free of internet restrictions, a $99 console would be hard to pass up.

Of course that’s all speculation. Microsoft could not be blocking used games or forcing always on, but until they tell us otherwise, we won’t know. And that’s what’s a bit unsettling.