A sort of defense secret constantly surrounds everything related to the video game industry. It is not uncommon for some of the actors of the latter to be the first to regret it. However, the financial stakes are such that studios, publishers and other manufacturers treat any project with an extreme level of confidentiality. And since this confidentiality is not always enough, lying is a frequently used tool.
Microsoft has just publicly confessed to having lied to the press during the creation of the first Xbox. Like his failed Nintendo takeover attempt, this revelation came on the Xbox virtual museum. As a reminder, Microsoft has created a site on which it looks back on the first 20 years of Xbox. And the latter contains anecdotes offered by the actors who made the history of the brand.
The anecdote in question here therefore concerns the creation of the first Xbox. And more particularly from the moment when the press learned of the project before its official announcement. The virtual museum explains that it was Next Gen Magazine that first heard about a certain “Xbox“in development at Microsoft. And when a journalist from the magazine called Microsoft for a quote on it, he ran into David Hufford.
Pinocchio, the model of an entire industry
Now one of the big bosses of communication at Microsoft, he was then responsible for the communication of the hardware branch of Microsoft. He tells his reaction after this call (comments relayed by the site Pure Xbox):
I hung up the phone and hurried down to join the engineering team to tell them “oh my god guys i think they caught us.“
Seamus Blackley, the one who is considered the “Xbox father, “How also is the situation. He explains that he too received several calls from journalists during this time. And that in an attempt to prevent the news from making too much noise, he openly lied to journalists. remembers his answers:
“No man. I don’t know what you’re talking about. What is Xbox?”
“What are you talking about? I’m the program manager for entertainment graphics for Windows. I’m working on programming interfaces for 3-D FX video cards for Windows.” I was lying to him outright.
Microsoft with its Xbox, one example among many
Seamus Blackley is also amused by the fact that he was in a warehouse “soldering Xbox Development Kits ” when he answered one of these calls.
Blatant lies are therefore not a problem when it comes to keeping a secret. And that applies to the entire video game industry. This anecdote reminds us that it is essential not to take at face value the official denials of publishers and other manufacturers.
Finally, the members of the Xbox team explain that they never found who had leaked the Xbox. But that they had “suspicions” about the culprits …
What does this anecdote about the creation of the first Xbox inspire you? Do you tend to believe the denials of publishers / manufacturers / studios? Give us your opinion in the comments below.
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