Phil Spencer to head up Xbox Division

[neoadorable]

Don wasn't solely in charge obviously, but he did become almost Kutaragi-like in his aloofness. Borderline crazed if you ask me. I think many people and the industry as a whole were running around like a headless chicken due to a mixture of excitement and anxiety at having to move to new devices after basically resting on their laurels for so long with the previous machines. As we know eight years is a long time in gaming and IT overall, and the 360/PS3/Wii (might as well add the rise of Steam to that) era wasn't just longish, it was also sensationally successful and changed things so much, it's rebooted gaming. Easy to get used to that and mess up when it's time to say goodbye. Like moving house from a place you lived at for so long and really liked - you always forget tons of stuff behind and getting used to the new place takes ages.

 

 

They aren't refunding you? Wtf :no:

 

Thanks for noticing Andrew! As Ken Levine says in his Circus of Value voice - "no refunds, no returns!" Right now it seems my case has been escalated to Customer Advocacy or something like that...what's to advocate? I entered a legitimately bought code, it went through, got that twirling circle thing, then the X1 goes "Something went wrong" (i really do hate that line). Some random error code, no $50 added to account balance. Microsoft support told me to take a case reference number and call them, but not in the morning - in min five days :cry:

 

Probably not the only one this happened to, that billing system outage was worldwide and affected all purchases. Surprised it wasn't even mentioned on Major Nelson's blog and so on. Thanks for the concern! :)

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Don wasn't solely in charge obviously, but he did become almost Kutaragi-like in his aloofness. Borderline crazed if you ask me. I think many people and the industry as a whole were running around like a headless chicken due to a mixture of excitement and anxiety at having to move to new devices after basically resting on their laurels for so long with the previous machines. As we know eight years is a long time in gaming and IT overall, and the 360/PS3/Wii (might as well add the rise of Steam to that) era wasn't just longish, it was also sensationally successful and changed things so much, it's rebooted gaming. Easy to get used to that and mess up when it's time to say goodbye. Like moving house from a place you lived at for so long and really liked - you always forget tons of stuff behind and getting used to the new place takes ages.

 

 

 

Thanks for noticing Andrew! As Ken Levine says in his Circus of Value voice - "no refunds, no returns!" Right now it seems my case has been escalated to Customer Advocacy or something like that...what's to advocate? I entered a legitimately bought code, it went through, got that twirling circle thing, then the X1 goes "Something went wrong" (i really do hate that line). Some random error code, no $50 added to account balance. Microsoft support told me to take a case reference number and call them, but not in the morning - in min five days :cry:

 

Probably not the only one this happened to, that billing system outage was worldwide and affected all purchases. Surprised it wasn't even mentioned on Major Nelson's blog and so on. Thanks for the concern! :)

 

Typically their response is to ask the retailer for help but seeing as they inadvertently caused the issue with XBL problems, it should be their responsibility to fix it.

 

Hope they apply it to your account (Y)

[neoadorable]

Thanks man - yes, they are not denying that it was caused by the server outage on their end. Just seems to take a while. From searching around, it seems the average time to fix this kind of issue can be up to a month :wacko:

 

Support is one thing Xbox needs to improve, maybe Spencer can lean on the right people to get more results. We no longer have a convenient number to call - i remember in 2006 it was much simpler to get in touch with actual support in WA state, not the chat people that are based who knows where and handle who knows how many other products.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

He's got the approval from Sony :p

 

@DanShoeHsu: "It proves Microsoft is smart. He's the most human guy there." - genuine praise from @yosp on @XboxP3's promotion to new Xbox boss.

 

[trooper11]

He's got the approval from Sony :p

:laugh: Sony found a way to praise and insult all in one sentence.

[neoadorable]

Sony are unbelievable...even almost a decade after supposedly learning their lesson they can't help being ######. Seriously? The most human guy there? That takes damning with faint praise to a whole new level. I love Sony and love their contribution to technology...but really? This isn't really funny, it's not even deadpan humor, it's just an insult. What do you expect though, when PS4 launched MS congratulated them, when X1 launched Sony posted something about if you want to play it in 1080p you know where to go. What a bunch of jerks they can be!

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Sony are unbelievable...even almost a decade after supposedly learning their lesson they can't help being ######. Seriously? The most human guy there? That takes damning with faint praise to a whole new level. I love Sony and love their contribution to technology...but really? This isn't really funny, it's not even deadpan humor, it's just an insult. What do you expect though, when PS4 launched MS congratulated them, when X1 launched Sony posted something about if you want to play it in 1080p you know where to go. What a bunch of jerks they can be!

 

Sony congratulated MS too

 

Whether Sony's comments were back handed or not, they're not far off the mark. Just last week most of us here in the GH were saying the exact same things about the top execs in charge of the division. Right now there is not many favourable people in the MS lineup besides Spencer.

 

It's unprofessional to make those comments publicly, but it's what everyone's thinking at the same time.

[neoadorable]

Sony congratulated MS too

 

Whether Sony's comments were back handed or not, they're not far off the mark. Just last week most of us here in the GH were saying the exact same things about the top execs in charge of the division. Right now there is not many favourable people in the MS lineup besides Spencer.

 

It's unprofessional to make those comments publicly, but it's what everyone's thinking at the same time.

 

Thanks for posting that link, i missed on that one and good to stand corrected. I am still surprised that Yoshida of all people would say something so personal - he seems like a mild mannered guy.

[trooper11]

Sony congratulated MS too

 

Whether Sony's comments were back handed or not, they're not far off the mark. Just last week most of us here in the GH were saying the exact same things about the top execs in charge of the division. Right now there is not many favourable people in the MS lineup besides Spencer.

 

It's unprofessional to make those comments publicly, but it's what everyone's thinking at the same time.

Yeah maybe the top execs, but then the comment was about everyone in the division. People forget that there are actual humans that work under the top execs.

As far as being unprofessional, that's the cool thing to do now. Its acceptable and even encouraged to be a little childish or dickish towards other companies today. Sony isn't alone in that, its just one of those questionable practices that goes on.

[neoadorable]

Phil, start by giving me back my $50 from the pre-paid code i entered just as you guys were having that billing system glitch last Thursday arrrggghhh :angry:

 

Otherwise, i think he's a cool guy, seems very likable.

 

They aren't refunding you? Wtf :no:

 

A little unrelated and probably nothing to do with Phil, but fair is fair so wanted to share an update if anyone wants to know: the MS Global Advocacy Team, which I've never even heard of until a week ago, sent me a very friendly and personalized email with a new code, acknowledging that the previous code was entered correctly but glitched and never posted on the account. They actually gave me $5 extra, I guess as a gesture of good will. This took less than a week to sort out, so all in all good service and I'm quite touched. Decided to use the money to buy Watch Dogs on X1 instead of PC or PS4 :rofl:

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

A little unrelated and probably nothing to do with Phil, but fair is fair so wanted to share an update if anyone wants to know: the MS Global Advocacy Team, which I've never even heard of until a week ago, sent me a very friendly and personalized email with a new code, acknowledging that the previous code was entered correctly but glitched and never posted on the account. They actually gave me $5 extra, I guess as a gesture of good will. This took less than a week to sort out, so all in all good service and I'm quite touched. Decided to use the money to buy Watch Dogs on X1 instead of PC or PS4 :rofl:

 

Glad you got it sorted (Y) :)

[neoadorable]

Thanks Andy, appreciate it and also glad to have it taken care of. If anyone has a support case with MS, ask directly for the Global Advocacy Team, the chat/phone people will gladly put you in touch with them.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Thanks Andy, appreciate it and also glad to have it taken care of. If anyone has a support case with MS, ask directly for the Global Advocacy Team, the chat/phone people will gladly put you in touch with them.

 

I gave up with them during my problems and it was higher than the advocacy team with my X1 return. Completely useless for something that should have been straight forward to fix :no: Was lied to repeatedly and promised solutions that they backtracked on :/ Probably the worst CS I've ever experienced and until that point Xbox CS was flawless for me. Also, I get that they have a script and the way these places work, i.e the understanding tone, try to relate to your customer etc that you'd be angry/disappointed/frustrated too, but some of them took it so far it was condescending. I had to tell them to stop and just talk like a human and get the job done :no: Never used to be like that, at least the UK call centres weren't :/

[neoadorable]

I gave up with them during my problems and it was higher than the advocacy team with my X1 return. Completely useless for something that should have been straight forward to fix :no: Was lied to repeatedly and promised solutions that they backtracked on :/ Probably the worst CS I've ever experienced and until that point Xbox CS was flawless for me. Also, I get that they have a script and the way these places work, i.e the understanding tone, try to relate to your customer etc that you'd be angry/disappointed/frustrated too, but some of them took it so far it was condescending. I had to tell them to stop and just talk like a human and get the job done :no: Never used to be like that, at least the UK call centres weren't :/

 

Didn't realize you had such a bad experience with them. But sounds like this was something much bigger than a code - what happened to your X1? And for sure, many of the initial people on the chat/phone sound like bots more than humans, and as you said come across patronizing. This is unfortunate, sorry you went through this with them.

[trooper11]

Andy's experience is one of legends.

Probably a reason to not be excited or interested in the topic of Xbox (or to own one for that matter), which would be understandable.

[neoadorable]

Well, will inquire privately, as i must have missed on it while being away from the forums. For sure having a bad experience can turn one away from certain brands, products, and communities, though to be fair i've always decided to forgive Xbox despite several 360's dying on me, billing issues, and even seemingly minor stuff like gamerscore resets. But sometimes it's too much to overlook, definitely!

[Hedon]

Sony are unbelievable...even almost a decade after supposedly learning their lesson they can't help being ######. Seriously? The most human guy there? That takes damning with faint praise to a whole new level. I love Sony and love their contribution to technology...but really? This isn't really funny, it's not even deadpan humor, it's just an insult. What do you expect though, when PS4 launched MS congratulated them, when X1 launched Sony posted something about if you want to play it in 1080p you know where to go. What a bunch of jerks they can be!

I could not agree more with you.

[neoadorable]

I could not agree more with you.

 

The thing is you never make it personal. MS and Sony are not enemies, they're friendly rivals who cooperate more than they compete, especially now that MS is onboard with Blu-ray, even if reluctantly. At any rate, a leader in a major company can't say stuff like that - the most human doesn't sound like Phil is a good person, it just means he's the least horrible in a company staffed by subhumans...the more i think about what he said the more i object to it, then again it could be the major depressive in me speaking. A genuine congrats would have been something like "Good luck to Phil and all the best with your new job". A friendly jab would have been "Congrats on the promotion Phil, hope you're ready for some exciting times wink wink". The most human guy there...that's 100% insult. And not a clever one at that. Anyway, maybe best to let it go.