Some kind of defense secret constantly surrounds everything related to the video game industry. It’s not uncommon for some of the latter’s actors to be the first to regret it. The financial stake is so high, however, that studios, publishers and other manufacturers treat every project with the utmost confidentiality. And since this confidentiality is not always enough, lying is a frequently used tool.
Microsoft has just admitted publicly that it lied to the press during the development of the first Xbox. Like his failed Nintendo takeover attempt, that reveal came on Xbox Virtual Museum. As a reminder, Microsoft has created a page that looks back on the first 20 years of Xbox. And the latter features anecdotes from the actors who wrote the brand’s history.
The anecdote in question therefore concerns the creation of the first Xbox. And especially when the press found out about the project ahead of the official announcement. The virtual museum explains that it was Next Gen Magazine that was first published by a certain “Xbox“In development at Microsoft. And when a journalist for Microsoft magazine asked for a quote, he met David Hufford.
Pinocchio, the role model for an entire industry
Today one of the great communications bosses at Microsoft, at that time he was responsible for communications in Microsoft’s hardware division. He shares his reaction to this call (comments sent by the website Pure Xbox):
I hung up and hurried to join the tech team to tell them:oh god guys i think they caught us.“
Seamus Blackley, who is known as the “Xbox dad, “What is the situation like? He explains that he too received several calls from journalists during this period. And that he openly lied to journalists to keep the news from making too much noise.
“No man. I don’t know what you’re talking about. What is Xbox?”
“What are you talking about? I’m the entertainment graphics program manager for Windows. I work on programming interfaces for 3D-FX graphics cards for Windows.” I lied to him right away.
Microsoft with its Xbox, one example among many
Seamus Blackley is also amused that he was in a warehouse. “Soldering Xbox Development Kits ” when he answered one of those calls.
Blatant lies are therefore not a problem when it comes to keeping a secret. And that goes for the entire video game industry. This anecdote reminds us that it is important not to take official denials from publishers and other manufacturers at face value.
Finally, the Xbox team members state that they never found out who leaked the Xbox. But that they “suspected” the perpetrators …
What inspires you with this anecdote about the development of the first Xbox? Do you tend to believe in the refusals of publishers / manufacturers / studios? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
