As if Xbox One’s PR troubles weren’t enough, Don Mattrick, President of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business division, made matters worse in an interview with Spike TV’s Geoff Keighley:
MATTRICK: “Some of the advantages that you get, of having, a box that is designed to use an online state, so, that, uh, to me is the future-proof choice, and I think people, could’ve arguably gone the other way if we didn’t do it and fortunately we have a product for people who aren’t able to get some form of connectivity, it’s called Xbox 360.”
KEIGHLEY: “Right, so stick with 360, that’s your message if you don’t [inaudible] like it?”
MATTRICK: “Well, if you have zero access to the internet, that is an offline device, I mean, seriously, when I read the blogs, and thought about who’s really the most impacted, there was a person who said ‘hey, I’m on a nuclear sub,’ and I don’t even know what it means to be on a nuclear sub but I’ve gotta imagine it’s not easy to get an internet connection.”
KEIGHLEY: “[inaudible] playing call of duty multiplayer”
MATTRICK: “Hey, I can empathize, if I was on a nuclear sub, I’d be disappointed.”
Way to support the troops, Mattrick.
Here’s the video of the interview, which is already well on its way to living on in PR infamy:
People who grew up with an Apple ][ in the 1980s might recognize a game that Mattrick co-wrote (and sold a lot of) at the tender age of 17: Evolution. I loved that game:
If Mattrick’s jab at people who are complaining about the “always connected” requirement gives you deja vu, it’s because it happened on Twitter, with Adam Orth, whose tweets led him to being shamed into leaving Microsoft:
