EA SENIOR ENGINEER says, Who was Adam Orth and why should I care?

[Xanthippe]

Your use of this gif impresses my daughter. (She explained what gifs are to me, not realizing that they didn't originate in the past couple of years on Tumblr).

[SurfD]

Nintendo also makes far and away the most popular hand held system(s).

However, does that really come down to them making good "systems", or to them making good games FOR those systems.   If the game is insanely popular, but the only place you can get it is on a system that is sub par, this will by default make the system as popular as the game, even if there are better systems out there.

[koro]

I like Nintendo's handhelds. They're (usually) sturdy, they're not terribly underpowered, are usually pretty affordable, and they're designed to do one thing really really well: play games.

I even own far more third-party software for my GBA and my DS than Nintendo first-party stuff.

[Rendakor]

Third party support has always been best on Nintendo handhelds, compared to Sony's. Which is, ironically, where Nintendo does the worst in their home consoles.

[Stormwaltz]

Look, if you work at any position at any company you have to conduct yourself in a professional manner.

You are not allowed to badmouth customers or competitors, disclose sensitive company info or behave in ways that could make your company look bad, leave them open to law suits or might harm it financially.

I disagree with what you said, due to the circumstances.

If this guy had ranted to a journalist, or written an editorial, or said this in any sort of on-soapbox professional way, I'd have to agree with you. This was the dude's private Twitter feed.*

This is not journalism and it's not muckracking. It's paparazzi. It's the equivalent of eavesdropping on someone talking to his close friends at a restaurant purely for the purpose of finding something damning to put on the front page. It's not news - it's done purely for the purpose of ruining someone's life.

It is malicious.

It is petty.

And I am weary of it.


* Invoke not "his settings should have been tighter," for that is the "she shouldn't have worn that dress" argument of online privacy debates. Don't be that guy.

[schild]

You're weary of folks going after people for saying hilariously stupid shit?

Really?

See: f13.

Edit: To be fair, I'm more in tune with what matters and what doesn't - and this is stupid but it doesn't matter even one bit.

[Stormwaltz]

You're weary of folks going after people for saying hilariously stupid shit?

No, I'm weary of people witch-hunting for scandal for no greater purpose than to tear others down.

Maybe if American politics were healthier, I'd be less sensitive when it shows up in my own industry.

[Trippy]

Twitter is not for private conversations. Don't fucking use Twitter if you don't want other people to read what you are writing.

[Rendakor]

Twitter is not for private conversations. Don't fucking use Twitter if you don't want other people to read what you are writing.

This. Furthermore, don't say things you don't want your company to know about while listing your real name and place of business.

[schild]

All that, also: Anyone who regularly uses twitter to talk about their lives has signed away their right to privacy.

Look, you can't lock out a conversation that makes your complaint null and void. That's silly as hell.

[Stormwaltz]

But I repeat myself.

* Invoke not "his settings should have been tighter," for that is the "she shouldn't have worn that dress" argument of online privacy debates. Don't be that guy.

[Trippy]

He was replying to other another person's public tweets. This was not meant to be a private conversation. Tweets are public by default.

[Rendakor]

But I repeat myself.

* Invoke not "his settings should have been tighter," for that is the "she shouldn't have worn that dress" argument of online privacy debates. Don't be that guy.

This is bullshit. If you want to act like a shitheel anonymously, do it somewhere anonymous (4chan, etc.) or under a screen name. If you use your real name (and associate it with your company) then accept that there may be consequences for your actions.

[schild]

But I repeat myself.

* Invoke not "his settings should have been tighter," for that is the "she shouldn't have worn that dress" argument of online privacy debates. Don't be that guy.

Yea, you can't say that. That's the entire point. You can't be offended when people get persecuted for stupid shit when they did it in a stupid forum.

[Khaldun]

I think the whole issue is about going after people for saying true things that the generally untrue public face of their company or institution doesn't generally admit to be true but that are broadly agreed to be true nevertheless.

So it boils down to:

1) You should know better than to say in public true things that your employer would prefer you don't say, especially true things that are matters of opinion and therefore never completely something you can finalize as factual.
2) But what should happen to someone who says true things that contradict the silent not-quite-lies that their employer would prefer?

2) is really where it gets real. Would we rather a world where everybody, cool people and douchebags, felt somewhat comfortable taking a public shit on the polite lies of their employers or institutions? Every once in a while when the cool people do that, the world changes for the better. Most of the time when the douchebags do it, nothing changes or even worse perfectly innocent people working for the institution end up badly hurt by the douchebaggery.

If we had an airtight way of separating "cool person telling important truths" from "self-promoting butthurt douchebag who just wants to punish the guy who is about to fire him", this would be less of a problem.

[Jeff Kelly]

This was the dude's private Twitter feed.*

You do realize that there is nothing inherently "private" about a twitter feed? Comparing it to Facebook and its privacy settings is Apples vs. Oranges since Twitter is public by default and also because it's pretty much the whole raison d'etre for Twitter in the first plsce.

It's also not his private opinion on the subject he is putting out there for all to see so he can't even claim that it is just his personal stance regarding Nintendo and the WiiU.

I'm not at liberty to discuss any inside information from my job with people outside of my company and sure as hell he isn't allowed to talk about EA's business strategy on Twitter. Should he be fired over that? Maybe, maybe not. Would I trust him with any sort of sensitive info if he can't even handle himself on social media? Certainly not.

I get that you don't like the whole getting screen shots and posting them all over IGN business. Once you reach a certain rung on the corporate ladder though there is no longer such a thing as a "private" opinion if it concerns your business and your business partners and you are privy to information that is not available to the public.

It's pretty much a tempest in a teacup because he is not even echoing a minority opinion. The WiiU has pretty much tanked at this point and in contrast to the Wii it hasn't even got Mario or Zelda going for it since Nintendo hasn't even announced any new games let alone made any yet.

[Jeff Kelly]

It's not as simple as no longer putting up with corporate bullshit.

Maybe EA is still negotiating with Nintendo or vice versa and the decision isn't final yet. Maybe they really don't want to develop for the WiiU yet still want to make games for the DS and 3DS and don't want to sour the relationship with Nintendo unnecessarily. Maybe they just keep it quiet because they are preparing an Ad Hoc notice or SEC filing and have to adhere to certain rules and regulations regarding disclosure of such info.

Maybe there were titles in development but the work hasn't been cancelled/the project team hasn't been dissolved yet etc.

It's not always just the white lies and bullshit of corporate PR. In that case the ramblings of that guy could cost EA or Nintendo real money and might even put jobs on the line.

I'd also be rather concerned if I was him instead of angrily berating Nintendo. There's no guarantee that PS4 or the next xbox will fare any better in fact there's a chance that they won't. So he should just heed his own advice since EA doesn't have much of s presence on Android or iOS either.

[Paelos]

Maybe if American politics were healthier, I'd be less sensitive when it shows up in my own industry.

Oh please. Quit high-horsing the issue. Do you even comprehend how much worse Twitter in the sporting world alone? The amount of hilarious and frightening shit involved would cause you to turn into a gibbering blob if you're sensitive to this.

[Merusk]

This isn't politics, it's business.  Employers don't have to be fair, they want to make money. You act like an asshole you cost them money or prestige and there's other folks who can do your job.   You are not a special snowflake.

It's unprofessional to sling shit.  Period.  When you do it while wearing your company's badge you're going to cost them one or both.  Particularly when you sling lines that are so easily thrown back at your face.  "Just Make Good Games,"  has gotten more "LOL, EA" comments than Nintento fans attempting to defend that company.

 I don't get why that's so hard to understand.


Ed: and again I'll go to this well: Do you think pre-twitter you would keep your job if you went downtown wearing your company's ID and started yelling in to a bullhorn how other companies are shitty?  It shows you're a liability at best.

[Sir T]

I was talking to my sister who has 3 young kids and she said loves the Wii, as they are great fun, the kids can play away with them and it has loads of games. She said she probably wouldn't bother getting the Wii U though as its way too expensive for what you get and all the atachments cost extra, and she said she might get an Xbox or something when the kids are a bit older.

[Nayr]

Nayr, I don't know you so I'll be nice. Stop talking like a goddamned idiot.

Don't see what's idiotic about pointing out that Nintendo has failed as a console developer.(I'm not the only one doing it either)

Pretty much the only console I like anymore is the PS3(but even that has its limits). X-Box 360 is junk IMO.

The best selling current gen console is the Nintendo Wii.  The only console you like is stuck in third place.  You don't get to call the number one console maker a failure.  So let's look a the rankings as per you.

#1) Nintendo Wii - "Failure"
#2) Xbox 360 - "Junk"
#3) PS3 - "Like"

Nintendo also makes far and away the most popular hand held system(s).

I don't own any Nintendo stuff and don't plan to but that doesn't make them "failures".

People bought the Wii for the Nintendo logo on it.

The Wii has plenty of shortcomings.

1. It's behind on graphics capability.
2. It doesn't play DVDs(without hacking the console to add the feature in) which is a standard on the other two consoles.
3. It requires another controller which is sold separately to play N64 Virtual Console titles, or to just play normally on a game without all the motion control junk.
4. Controller requires sinking money into batteries.

As for the 360. I'd say four words justify my dislike of it. "Red Ring of Death". High defective rate. There's also the fact that backwards compatibility is limited(as is PS3's, sadly) and a hard drive for storing DLC is sold separately. And the hard drive costs nearly $100 for a name brand, and Mircro$oft I've heard blocks generic hard drives.

The PS3's advantages are obvious.

1. It always comes with a hard drive.
2. It uses a standard 2.5 inch laptop hard drive, making it very easy to upgrade(wheras the Wii has only a small flash chip and the 360 require a hard drive made for the system)
3. It plays Blu-ray(and for a time, was the cheapest blu-ray player on the market.)
4. You don't have to pay to use any of the online features like you do with X-Box Live.


So this isn't just blind fanboyism. I've got specific reasons for my preferences.

[rk47]

People bought the Wii for the Nintendo logo on it.

End of discussion folks.

[Rendakor]

The RROD hasn't been an issue since the system redesign back in 2010.

[schild]

Nayr, I don't know you so I'll be nice. Stop talking like a goddamned idiot.

Don't see what's idiotic about pointing out that Nintendo has failed as a console developer.(I'm not the only one doing it either)

Pretty much the only console I like anymore is the PS3(but even that has its limits). X-Box 360 is junk IMO.

The best selling current gen console is the Nintendo Wii.  The only console you like is stuck in third place.  You don't get to call the number one console maker a failure.  So let's look a the rankings as per you.

#1) Nintendo Wii - "Failure"
#2) Xbox 360 - "Junk"
#3) PS3 - "Like"

Nintendo also makes far and away the most popular hand held system(s).

I don't own any Nintendo stuff and don't plan to but that doesn't make them "failures".

People bought the Wii for the Nintendo logo on it.

The Wii has plenty of shortcomings.

1. It's behind on graphics capability.
2. It doesn't play DVDs(without hacking the console to add the feature in) which is a standard on the other two consoles.
3. It requires another controller which is sold separately to play N64 Virtual Console titles, or to just play normally on a game without all the motion control junk.
4. Controller requires sinking money into batteries.

As for the 360. I'd say four words justify my dislike of it. "Red Ring of Death". High defective rate. There's also the fact that backwards compatibility is limited(as is PS3's, sadly) and a hard drive for storing DLC is sold separately. And the hard drive costs nearly $100 for a name brand, and Mircro$oft I've heard blocks generic hard drives.

The PS3's advantages are obvious.

1. It always comes with a hard drive.
2. It uses a standard 2.5 inch laptop hard drive, making it very easy to upgrade(wheras the Wii has only a small flash chip and the 360 require a hard drive made for the system)
3. It plays Blu-ray(and for a time, was the cheapest blu-ray player on the market.)
4. You don't have to pay to use any of the online features like you do with X-Box Live.


So this isn't just blind fanboyism. I've got specific reasons for my preferences.

Yea, but you're a whiny jackass.

[koro]

4. You don't have to pay to use any of the online features like you do with X-Box Live.

And you get what you pay for. PSN is slow as balls, and whenever my girlfriend turns her PS3 on and sees yet another mandatory system update, she's a coinflip away from just going "fuck it" and turning it back off.

And for fuck's sake, stop calling them "Micro$oft." You're not twelve.

Or at least I hope not.

[Miasma]

People bought the Wii for the Nintendo logo on it.

The Wii has plenty of shortcomings.

1. It's behind on graphics capability.
2. It doesn't play DVDs(without hacking the console to add the feature in) which is a standard on the other two consoles.
3. It requires another controller which is sold separately to play N64 Virtual Console titles, or to just play normally on a game without all the motion control junk.
4. Controller requires sinking money into batteries.

As for the 360. I'd say four words justify my dislike of it. "Red Ring of Death". High defective rate. There's also the fact that backwards compatibility is limited(as is PS3's, sadly) and a hard drive for storing DLC is sold separately. And the hard drive costs nearly $100 for a name brand, and Mircro$oft I've heard blocks generic hard drives.

The PS3's advantages are obvious.

1. It always comes with a hard drive.
2. It uses a standard 2.5 inch laptop hard drive, making it very easy to upgrade(wheras the Wii has only a small flash chip and the 360 require a hard drive made for the system)
3. It plays Blu-ray(and for a time, was the cheapest blu-ray player on the market.)
4. You don't have to pay to use any of the online features like you do with X-Box Live.


So this isn't just blind fanboyism. I've got specific reasons for my preferences.

None of that matters, at all.  We are talking about success and failure which is easily settled by looking at sales numbers.  Nintendo won this round, their console being technologically weak is irrelevant.  If pong made a comeback and sold five hundred million units they would be number one - like it or not.

I don't like nintendo or the wii but to claim they are failures is delusional.  I don't like apple or microsoft either but I still acknowledge they are crazy successful.

[Goreschach]

To be fair, if Nayr dislikes "Micro$oft" for making money then I could see why he would throw his hat in with Sony.

[Nayr]

4. You don't have to pay to use any of the online features like you do with X-Box Live.

And you get what you pay for. PSN is slow as balls, and whenever my girlfriend turns her PS3 on and sees yet another mandatory system update, she's a coinflip away from just going "fuck it" and turning it back off.

And for fuck's sake, stop calling them "Micro$oft." You're not twelve.

Or at least I hope not.

Sorry, the $ thing is just a habit I picked up from a friend. Also I've never noticed any real slowness updating my PS3. And I have a 1mb connection(bad area = slow internet)

As for the "making lots of money" thing about Microsoft, my problem is that they seem to gear their system where you have to buy everything from them, which is more expensive than generics which they block via firmware updates. PS3 is more lenient than that.

And even if they did fix the RRoD issue in 2010, that's a few years too late for a lot of buyers who had to replace their systems(my own brother included). A manufacturer should have all major issues ironed out before they put the product out on the market.(Especially since hardware issues aren't something that can be fixed with a firmware patch)

[Merusk]

To be fair, if Nayr dislikes "Micro$oft" for making money then I could see why he would throw his hat in with Sony.

I'm always amused in these discussions when Nintendo's less than cutting edge graphics come up.  Later on in other threads we'll see some of the same folks saying gameplay matters most.

[koro]

4. You don't have to pay to use any of the online features like you do with X-Box Live.

And you get what you pay for. PSN is slow as balls, and whenever my girlfriend turns her PS3 on and sees yet another mandatory system update, she's a coinflip away from just going "fuck it" and turning it back off.

And for fuck's sake, stop calling them "Micro$oft." You're not twelve.

Or at least I hope not.

Sorry, the $ thing is just a habit I picked up from a friend. Also I've never noticed any real slowness updating my PS3. And I have a 1mb connection(bad area = slow internet)

As for the "making lots of money" thing about Microsoft, my problem is that they seem to gear their system where you have to buy everything from them, which is more expensive than generics which they block via firmware updates. PS3 is more lenient than that.

And even if they did fix the RRoD issue in 2010, that's a few years too late for a lot of buyers who had to replace their systems(my own brother included). A manufacturer should have all major issues ironed out before they put the product out on the market.(Especially since hardware issues aren't something that can be fixed with a firmware patch)

If you're going to blast Microsoft for the price of their hard drives, I'm just going to remind you that the five hundred ninety-nine you ess dollar PS3 enjoyed WiiU levels of sales and cut-rate port jobs for years until Sony finally cried "uncle" and lowered the damn price. Hell, go back and find the old Demon's Souls thread here and look through the first few pages. There's lots of "Damn, this looks and sounds awesome, but the PS3 costs too fucking much, so I have to pass."

And if you're going to blast them for the RROD, then I'm going to remind you that the PS2's earliest models also enjoyed a staggeringly high failure rate, to the point where Sony lost a class-action lawsuit about it. But nobody remembers that, I suppose.

My point is, don't be a console fanboy. Both systems have pluses and minuses, and both are made by shitty companies.

[eldaec]

But I repeat myself.

* Invoke not "his settings should have been tighter," for that is the "she shouldn't have worn that dress" argument of online privacy debates. Don't be that guy.

This is bullshit. If you want to act like a shitheel anonymously, do it somewhere anonymous (4chan, etc.) or under a screen name. If you use your real name (and associate it with your company) then accept that there may be consequences for your actions.

Its perfectly possible to agree with both of you.

- the chap tweeting this should have known better for his own sake.
- the "press" making hay with it are pond scum.


Those statements do not contradict one another.

[Nayr]

4. You don't have to pay to use any of the online features like you do with X-Box Live.

And you get what you pay for. PSN is slow as balls, and whenever my girlfriend turns her PS3 on and sees yet another mandatory system update, she's a coinflip away from just going "fuck it" and turning it back off.

And for fuck's sake, stop calling them "Micro$oft." You're not twelve.

Or at least I hope not.

Sorry, the $ thing is just a habit I picked up from a friend. Also I've never noticed any real slowness updating my PS3. And I have a 1mb connection(bad area = slow internet)

As for the "making lots of money" thing about Microsoft, my problem is that they seem to gear their system where you have to buy everything from them, which is more expensive than generics which they block via firmware updates. PS3 is more lenient than that.

And even if they did fix the RRoD issue in 2010, that's a few years too late for a lot of buyers who had to replace their systems(my own brother included). A manufacturer should have all major issues ironed out before they put the product out on the market.(Especially since hardware issues aren't something that can be fixed with a firmware patch)

If you're going to blast Microsoft for the price of their hard drives, I'm just going to remind you that the five hundred ninety-nine you ess dollar PS3 enjoyed WiiU levels of sales and cut-rate port jobs for years until Sony finally cried "uncle" and lowered the damn price. Hell, go back and find the old Demon's Souls thread here and look through the first few pages. There's lots of "Damn, this looks and sounds awesome, but the PS3 costs too fucking much, so I have to pass."

And if you're going to blast them for the RROD, then I'm going to remind you that the PS2's earliest models also enjoyed a staggeringly high failure rate, to the point where Sony lost a class-action lawsuit about it. But nobody remembers that, I suppose.

My point is, don't be a console fanboy. Both systems have pluses and minuses, and both are made by shitty companies.

1. Buying a console right after it releases isn't wise in any scenario.(been there once, never again) Fighting crowds, wasting gas jumping from store to store because one doesn't have it, then paying the full price when there aren't even a lot of games. I waited a few years and bought a PS3 Slim for $300. And by then, there was a nice collection of games that were out and could be bought used.

2. I'll point out that I was roughly 11 years old when the PS2 first came out, and back then the only thing I had to play on was an N64(not a lot of money in the house to throw around on systems and games). So I was a little out of the loop back then.

3. If you notice, I pointed out quite a few of those pluses and minuses.

[Nayr]

Yea, but you're a whiny jackass.

Says the guy who hurls insults and names the minute he hears an opinion he disagrees with(even when it is explained) rather than just agree to disagree.

I'm not usually shy to expressing my opinions and when I do, I like to be concise(though that's not always possible and I have to get lengthy). If you disagree with what I say, that's your problem. I debate things like video game plots, novels, TV/movies because it's fun for me, sharing my opinions, hearing others, hoping to find something I might have missed or potentially inform someone of something they themselves have missed. But getting into a flame war over which console is the best is not a very entertaining way to kill time.

So call me an idiotic whiny jackass if you want(or anything else you want to add). Cause at the end of the day, you're the one acting like a kindergartener, not me. And as a forum administrator, you and your moderators are supposed to be preventing that sort of behavior, not partaking in it.

[Rasix]

This isn't the smartest way to go about this.  Nor is it a battle worth fighting. 

[Nayr]

This isn't the smartest way to go about this.  Nor is it a battle worth fighting.  

Believe me, I have no intentions into going into an exchange of insults with the admin. I've already said my peace.



And to return to the original subject of this thread.....

Perhaps people should wait for an official confirmation/denial of something before they start raising the torches and pitchforks and trying to get the man terminated from his employment over a few leaked tweets. Cause chances are, what this guy has said disclaimered as his personal opinion that does not reflecting the company's. Or the tweets will just be deleted and he'll claim a hacker got into his account and posted it to cause drama.