Giving Thanks


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Giving Thanks

Once a year we gather together with friends and family to celebrate Thanksgiving, to celebrate the harvest season, and to give retailers an excuse to start the "holiday" season. We've closed down the offices for a few days, and we stuff ourselves with turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and pumpkin pie.

It's a good time to take a step back and think of all the things we have to be thankful for. So, here's part of my list:

My family: To my wife, for allowing me to do what I love, even if it means traveling way too much, working way too late, blogging instead of putting the kids to bed. To my kids, for sharing my passion for trying every game we can get our hands on, to sharing the controller with their dad (every now and then), and for learning the lessons I didn't when I was a kid, even though their dad is making every mistake he swore he wouldn't when he was a kid.

Our Community: You guys (and gals) not only keep us employed, but you keep us inspired to do our jobs the best that we can. The conversations we get to be part of, even if they stem from complaints, help us make our products better, our messages clearer, and the rest of our customers happier. The passion you have is contagious, and it inspires us every day. Those of you who are the most active in your communities make our jobs infinitely easier, and I'm always amazed when I hear you thanking us. You are not only our best customers, but you're our best advocates. Thank you for all you do with your websites, blogs, podcasts, and forum participation. You all rock.

Our MVPs: Though none of you are paid, and we don't offer much more than a little inside information and the occasional beta product, you help us in so many ways. Our customers rely on you for your expertise, your insight, and your communication. Thank you for the hundreds of hours you put in to helping your communities. I'm sure you'll hear thanks from your readers/listeners, but I'll echo it once more from us: Thank You!

Our Community Team: To Tony, for being so dedicated to his job that he makes it easy for me to do mine. You are so quick to tackle any project, and to manage so many issues. I count on you more than you know. To Cesar, for being flexible and creative and making the move to a brand new area, and for contributing his creativity and drive to making his new team successful. To Chris, for taking the enormous risk of moving across the country to join our team, even though it meant leaving your friends and family, and handing off your podcast to the guys at GamerCast. Your dedication to "keeping it real" and continuing to represent the community inspires me. To Sara, for contributing so much, for being our "East Coast Correspondent," and for being so passionate and dedicated even though you're so far away. To Steve, Lyla, Arne, and the rest of the Edelman team who help us with planning and execution and support. And to Ed and Aaron, for keeping our systems running in the background, and keeping our partners and customers happy.

The Xbox Marketing Team: Thanks to my boss, Charlotte, I get to do what I love every single day. She allows me the space to experiment, and she trusts me to do what's best even if it means challenging the status quo. She inspires me to do my best, and she offers advice that makes my job a lot easier. To my co-workers who all give 110% to every effort--because they do their best, I can count on them without question. Every one in our hallway is an expert, but they're also some of the nicest people in the world. And a special thanks to those that help us with our community efforts, share information that we pass along to you, or get us games to try. Thanks especially to Michael, Aaron, Kevin and Staci, who share their thoughts on gamerscoreblog.

Larry, Trixie, Craig, Eric and Elle. The guys and gals from the product team who love working with community as much as we do. Even though they're a few buildings east of us, we've worked closely with them this year, and I think the efforts have been outstanding. I love the perspective they bring to every conversation I have with them. And I appreciate the effort they make. I love reading Trixie's blog, and I learn something every time I listen to Major Nelson's podcast, or when I visit his blog.

Microsoft: I'm lucky to be at a company that provides my paycheck, but also allows us to grow our careers while encouraging good life balance. No matter what anyone thinks, this company is full of talented, passionate, honest people, and I'm thankful to be a part of it.

The Xbox Dev Team: For developing Xbox 360 Family Settings, keeping my console safe for my kids. I can play Dead Rising or Gears of War, and I know my kids will have a great experience without me worrying about it. For creating Achievements, giving me something in return for the hours I've spent playing.

Game Developers: Thanks for giving so much of your lives to make it so enjoyable to spend our time playing. Especially those who contributed to Dead Rising, Gears of War, Viva Pinata, Kameo, Madden 07, Call of Duty 2 and 3, Lego Star Wars II, Cloning Clyde, and all those retro titles. I love playing.

Flickr: Thanks for unlimited uploads for $29 a year. I love taking pictures, and you make it easy to share them.

United Airlines and Starwood Hotels: For longer legroom in coach and the Heavenly Bed. I've traveled way too much this year.

John Porcaro

Source: Gamerscore Blog

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We dont have Thanks Giving here in UK,

But if we did I would be Thankful for my family, my wife and kid. Thankful that I have a job that pays the bills.

I would be thankful for the internet enabling me to work from home.

I would be thankful to Microsoft for giving me the first Console I have owned and loved, and giving me a console that helps me use up my spare time with great games. Thanks to Epic for a wonderful Gears of Wars, that thanks to Co-Op I met a new friend.

Thanks to all on this forum, its a great community which I am glad to be part of.

Thanks.

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spartan i can never tell if you're quoting someone or actually saying it yourself! anyway, thanks for all the good, creative things humans can come up with, such as gaming. it's what makes us human and keeps us alive in this wretched world!

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spartan i can never tell if you're quoting someone or actually saying it yourself!

well, thats quite easy to tell them apart... :happy: :yes:

if I post something from somebody else I always provide a link to the source at the end of the article and if I post something on my own you can tell is mine because of the amount of smilies... :laugh: :rofl: :p

<-- smilies nut... :blush: :yes:

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