
Hey there, how you doin’?
A lot of things can be said about the world of gaming, but few would say that the community is respectful or easy to talk to. Gamers have made a reputation of being quick to anger and very apt to say exactly what they’re thinking without considering the consequences. Insults, criticism, and even threats are the norm.
Particularly when talking about dissenting fan bases, having a civilized discussion is very difficult among gamers. So it’s up to the higher-ups to act as grown-ups and show the angry community how to act. In an act that surprised both Microsoft and Sony fans, the head of Xbox congratulated Naughty Dog for Uncharted 4.
Few subjects manage to get as many fans angry and arguing with each other as the console war. And even though it’s obvious that the companies are also competing with one another, that it’s not just the fans to be at war, Phil Spencer congratulates the company behind Uncharted 4 for their game’s huge success.
On May 6th, at 12:34 PM, the head of the Xbox division, Phil Spencer tweeted a message, congratulating Naughty Dog and Shuhei Yoshida, the president of worldwide studios at Sony, for Uncharted 4’s critical acclaim. The reply followed immediately, one minute after the initial tweet, with Shuhei Yoshida thanking Phil and saying that they’ll see each other at E3.
The messages received thousands of likes and about a thousand retweets, as fans felt the love flowing from the two division heads. Hopefully, the two managed to teach angry video gamers more about respect and basic human interaction, but it’s very highly unlikely.
Even if the console wars had been raging for generations (of consoles), it’s only with the launch of the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 that the two fan bases started being so aggressive. And even though Sony was the one to make the most jabs at Microsoft, Microsoft did mess up with their initial Xbox One release.
Pretty much everything they did for the release rubbed gamers the wrong way. From the fact that the console sacrificed processing power in order to accommodate TV viewing, to the restrictive DRM practices, the always-on system, the mandatory Kinect 2.0, and the $500 price tag, everything regarding the initial launch was disliked.
As soon as Don Mattrick left the company and was replaced by Phil Spencer, things started to change. He did everything he could to get the console back on track, and even though the sales are still behind Sony’s they are catching up. This most recent example of pacifism is also a good sign that the company is finally moving in the right direction again.
Image source: YouTube