The spin machine doing a full 360...and it's not good in the least.

I am not going to be doing this to say that I am some kind of fanboy to any console. I have expressed deep desire to own a XBox 360 at some point (was on my list last Christmas), and I have expressed that I am looking forward to at least one game that Microsoft is wanting to release this year (Fable 2). However, with the latest bit of "damage control" that Microsoft has done about the February NFD sales figures (the official ones, sorry VGChartz) that console sales aren't that important, it had to come to pass. Thus, it is deemed important that we take a step back and see what has been happening lately.

Sony never whined this much when they were in last place with the PS3. They admitted to their mistakes and tried to find ways to make things right. Hard to say that with Microsoft now.

This hasn't been the first time that Microsoft has put the damage control on. In fact, the damage control is a feature in their spin cycle.

So, here, in my blog, I'm going to show the track record of Microsoft right now. Let me show you first what the statement was, and then tell you what the truth was.

STATEMENT 1: Don Mattrick, senior VP of Interactive Entertainment at Microsoft, said something very interesting about Grand Theft Auto 4 back in February. His quote was: "It's an amazing piece of software, and I'm really excited with its downloadable content and online multiplayer support - again, that's something that's unique to 360." His quote was resounding, since until then it was known that the game's multiplayer would be available for both console versions.
TRUTH: Boy, was this EVER debunked, and it was the fine folks at Rockstar that became the "truth squad". It was a gaff if there ever was one. However, at that point we were under the impression that it was just that. A misunderstood statement. It was true that Microsoft had paid to get two "episodic content" material later this year for their console for GTA4. Maybe he was just talking about that and forgot that people would've mistaken his words for both elements of the game. That downplay of the gaff could've been believable...if only they ended their gaffs THERE!

STATEMENT 2: Then THIS came out. While we do not doubt that this could've been said at the event, and things could've been mistaken for what was actually said (more on that later), the statements that were said to have been made at the GDC 08 "blogger breakfast" about everything were laughable. The first to be focused on, since we're in the process of dissecting the GTA4 spinning, is the famous one that Bitbag EIC Torrence Davis told us about later the same month Mattrick made his gaff. The statement, according to the "bullet point": "When Microsoft says exclusive, they mean that no other platform can have DLC for GTA4". It was a killer for the PS3 owners, and right away, 360 owners that didn't have a PS3 that wanted to have some info that would be like a godsent to them now had it.
TRUTH: That is, unless you read the gazillion other places, magazines and websites, that listed something very different to what there was there. Just one week earlier, the UK gaming magazine GamesMaster did a special feature on GTA4. One of its sidebars was entitled "other formats". The text: That both platforms would receive DLC but the 360 would get two extra episodes (they called them "missions"). Imagine how damaging it would've been, though, if that GM issue came out a week AFTER Microsoft made that claim that they did. But GM wasn't the only magazine the claim that something else was going on here. A few weeks ago, PSM (now the Official US Playstation Magazine) had an exclusive interview with Jerromino Barrera, Rockstar's VP of Development, in which he stated that GTA4 was "built to last" and that they wanted the game "to last for years", indicating that they wanted to expand the game after people were done playing the 100 hours of gameplay GTA4 is slated to dish out alone. For him to say that in a PS Magazine if they weren't going to expand the PS3 version would've been the biggest gaff ever. Even the Housers stated that they wanted to make more episodes (they "were really getting into episodic content"). Plus, keep in mind that this was the Bitbag quote. Davis made contradicting statements about what was actually said and what it actually meant later on. However, anyone that has lambasted that the 360 was the only place to get DLC for GTA4 was using Bitbag as the source. This is because no other website had these listed (they had a "podcast"). However, the truth squad once again came out, not to mention that at no time did Rockstar ever came out and say that ALL DLC content was 360 exclusive (just the two episodes, which are understood to be timed, anyway). This gaff came a week after that GM article came to light. No doubt people who saw that were going to be not that concerned about what platform they got GTA4 on if they didn't say something quickly. Not many people outside of the internets were knowledgeable of the gaff. Maybe now it was a blessing in disguise for Microsoft. Taken right after Mattrick's infamous misspeak, not only could we now think that Microsoft had something fishy going on (these WERE some of the top Microsoft people that were speaking at the breakfast, after all), but suddenly, Mattrick's words are no longer as much of a gaff as we had thought.

STATEMENT 3: Although not as seriously taken as the first, the second "bullet point" was that Rockstar treated Vice City and San Andreas were expansions to GTA3, and to think of the episodic content that way. The subtext of this: The two content packs will equal the size and length of those two games when it's all said and done.
TRUTH: Not taken seriously because it's hard TO take that seriously. Although worded very carefully to easily spin what was actually said later on when someone tried to call them (and Davis, who was once again the author of said point, though again, we don't think that they didn't say something to this effect) on it. The packs were announced to give 10 hours of extra gameplay. That was all that was announced. Plus, an "expansion" of that magnitude would take more than a few months to complete (try a few years). They just recently began making the extra content. You think some misspeak is here, as well?

STATEMENT 4: According to Microsoft, Rockstar is in charge of whether to charge for the content or not. Again from Davis.
TRUTH: I decided to bring THIS one up because this calls in to question something else about this "deal". 50 Million dollars was what 2 exclusive episodes was worth to Microsoft, allegedly. Free money (what Davis was thinking, though him thinking is like telling Roger Clemens to stop juicing: Neither of them will be able to do said things well)? I doubt it. Plus, they already pointed out this would not be free to the consumer. Not sure why Microsoft would want to say this. Then again, maybe they think consumers will take the bait, knowing how Rockstar always seems to want to please everyone. If Microsoft would "let Rockstar decide the bill," then maybe the consumer would believe that Rockstar would be kind enough to make the episodes free.

STATEMENT 5: The "Red Ring of Death" (RROD) failure rate has officially dropped.
TRUTH: Another bullet point, another gaff (we're beginning to think Davis just listened to Joystiq's podcast of this breakfast and made his own assumptions from that). For one, SquareTrade made the 16.4% of all 360s will fail this year earlier. It seems consumers didn't take that info lightly. Either that, or it is still not as down as it would have you believe. Microsoft seems to want to try to pretend that it will all go away with covering up the scar with a band-aid. Unfortunately, it requires open-heart surgery to fix this problem instead.

STATEMENTS 6 AND 7: This is also what Microsoft claimed was the reason for sluggish sales in February, as well, when the NFD figures came out (which is why this statement counts as two). They said the disappointing SKU sales in January were because of a shortage of said SKUs.
TRUTH: While there are also a shortage of Wiis in stores, there is a good reason: They are flying off the shelves (try to buy a Wii now, you'll see). In contrast, there have been an abundance of 360s on shelves (you'll be able to get one rather easily if you get one now). There isn't any "shortage" around here. And plus, that really doesn't explain how the PS3 is gaining ground. Couldn't be because gamers don't have any other option? Not if the 360 is there for them to get. Blu-Ray Movies? Might be, but considering that 3/4ths of the high-hyped games this year are on the PS3, you might be inclined to think differently...no, scratch that, you WOULD think differently. Simply put, the 360 has a weak lineup of games compared to what they had in the past few years, and unless they have this ace in the hole that we don't know about yet, and unless they FINALLY realize that they must do something internally to stop the RROD issue (since it seems to be more potent now than before, anyway; so much for the decline in RROD rates), the year isn't going to be a good one for the 360.

STATEMENT 8: Microsoft (not sure who made the statement in their camp) denies any talks with Sony about an add-on Blu-Ray player
STATEMENT 9: The 360 is a game machine, not a movie player.
TRUTH: These two are debunked with one truth. For one, they were really in a hurry to try to calm the storm when the HD-DVD format died. Funny they do that when they said their machine was a game machine first, is it? Then comes the ongoing rumors that Microsoft IS in talks with Sony about that BD drive. Not as in a hurry to keep those rumors from spreading, are they? Either they are trying to keep something secret, or they are really trying to convince us that the 360 should be used to play their games.

STATEMENT 10: The XBOX Live "police" story on Kotaku.com this week. It was a special feature. Basically, they are really strict and quick in dealing with people who do wrong things on the network.
STATEMENT 11: XBOX Live issues in the past was because of mass signup during the holiday season.
TRUTH: Once again, so easy that two statements can be debunked by one dosage of truth. First, no one has yet said that the Live issues are done yet. And staff shortages at that time, too, were to blame. Funny that they left THAT part out. As for the "police", it's a wonder what they are policing, because the line is burred. Reports of people getting banned for the littlest things are rampant. However, we still hear about things getting through the cracks (very LARGE cracks, I suspect) of offensive language and stuff like that. Use The Google if you want to look THIS one up. It's very easy to find.

STATEMENT 12: A Microsoft rep who writes on the Gamepro tip line said "What makes a winning platform? It's more than console sales. It's about consoles + content + community."
TRUTH: If this were true, then this goes back to the stuff about why the PS3 is selling and the 360 is not. Apparently, people think that the 360 has NEITHER of those things...nor is it hard to argue that they don't. From what we hear ALOT out of the Halo community (just see that XBL Police article on Kotaku to find a YouTube video that has the proof of THAT). So much for "community" (the real offenders get to stay while abiding people who make a little mistake get the boot for awhile). They have consoles, as we said, they just don't have legs. And as for content: The PS3 has pretty much the strongest lineup of games this year, most of what is available on the 360 in DLC is on the PS3 as well, and remember what we said about the GTA4 stuff. The 360 only gets two times exclusive episodes, not the whole enchilada. Content, then, be damned.

Seeing this, then, there is no doubt that we shouldn't take anything Microsoft says about the 360 as any sort of truth. When the GTA4 stuff that Microsoft said first came out, we were believing it as the cold hard truth. However, by itself it was deemed a gaff (all of it). When put with these other lies and spins, it's not hard to see that someone in Microsoft is really bad at making things sound good for them.

Only one thing, though: Motive. WHY would they spin these things? The answers are, in fact, simple. In order of how we gave them.

1: The PS3 outsells the 360 in January. GTA4 seems to be the reason. Mattrick probably thinks that people realize that the 360 will get two exclusive episodes later on in the year. Multiplayer may be THE thing that people want out of GTA4, however, so Mattrick tries to tell us that Multiplayer is exclusive to the 360. People will stop buying the PS3 because...NOTHING special from that GTA4 version. If only Rockstar didn't say something only a few days later.
2: GamesMaster came out with that article a week before this statement, and that scan of the incriminating page is circulated all around the internets. Bloggers would be knowing of said scan, and Microsoft NEEDS to get people to buy the 360 for that game (since many are wanting that game). The multiplayer thing didn't work. So what do they try now?: That not only will the 2 episodes be exclusive, but EVERYTHING else will be, since they have Rockstar's neck inside a noose if they even THINK of making anything available for the PS3 version. If only Bitbag wasn't the only "source" for that, and if only more people actually believed that...oh, and if only those damn Housers and Barrera kept their mouths shut around the people that can use the info.
3: Even if people bought the second lie, then they figure that people would still want the  PS3 version. After all, DLC isn't the most mainstream thing in the world yet (even though we could honestly think it is, and it should be), and the core game seems to be awesome without the other stuff. So their answer to that?: "Hey, you know Vice City and San Andreas, that were expansions of GTA3? Well, these will be so like that and add so much more, you'll believe you'd be playing a brand NEW GTA game." If only Rockstar didn't already MAKE a statement about the mere 10 added hours...and if only they kept their mouths shut about them wanting to create more...for other platforms.
4: Hey, what's better than free. If Microsoft is letting Rockstar decide the bill, and if Rockstar is as generous as we think they are, they will let us have a five finger discount on the 2 packs. If only they didn't put a 50 million dollar chip on the table beforehand. And if only Rockstar didn't think of this as "additional revenue". Oh, and if only they didn't need a way to ward off EA from buying their company.
5: The RROD is THE mark of the beast on the 360 right now. They need to say SOMETHING about it. If only SquareTrade didn't say what they did, and if only the RROD wasn't as potent as it was before.
6 & 7: How can someone buy something that is not there? What Microsoft is trying to install in the minds of everyone when they see the NFD sales. If only the PS3 didn't sell as good as they did, and if only people had a valid reason to want a 360 this year, and if only the PS3 has a weaker game lineup planned for '08.
8 & 9: They really want to make sure they tell people that Microsoft is all about the games, because, after all, that's what gamers buy game consoles for, right? If only they didn't say anything about the HD-DVD death, and if only the rumors of the BD add-on didn't keep going on and on and on and on without a single feeble attempt to kill them...and, again, if only people were buying the PS3 only for the BD player and not the games (and if only if it wasn't the cheapest BD player on the market, even if it was just the movie player that was making it sell).
10 & 11: Live's stability and friendliness is in question after the issues the last part of 07 and with all the bad press the community on Live is getting, they need to calm people down somehow. If only they didn't omit the staff shortages. If only they could make people sure that it was completely restored. If only the "police" knew who to "police" and how to take them on.
12: If only the PS3 had the issues the 360 had, the PSN Store would not get something for GTA4 that they should've been able to convince people otherwise that they weren't getting (damn those Rockstar people...and damn that GamesMaster mag...and PSM...and N4G, EGM, Kotaku, Gamepro, etc.), and if only the community there was as bad as they were. If only that were true, then they wouldn't have to say that to keep customers thinking that everything was under control.

This is by no means saying that the 360 is a sinking ship. However, someone might want to warn them that they are headed straight to the iceberg, and this ship is not one that likes to slow down for anyone. Someone needs to right this ship, and in the right way. They need a stronger lineup of games and to advertise them a LOT (even the ones they have now, use the hype machine in overdrive for them to GET them to that level). They need to stop saying things about GTA4 and just let Rockstar tell the details about the details, and stop saying that they got exclusives for GTA4 that they don't (and they need to stop acting like GTA4 is some last ditch effort to sell the 360). They need to concede that they dropped the ball on the 360 hardware and REALLY get down to fixing it. They need to police Live better and get to stabilizing the service. They need to admit that they are worried if someone will WANT to watch a BD movie on the 360. They need to concede that they screwed up with pushing the 360 the right way, and start doing so the right way.

Finally, they need to be quiet now. They have to just tell whatever PR guy, spokesperson, VP, president, CEO of whatever division wants to speak that day, or whoever else is some big shot at Microsoft who's going to say something to a magazine or G4 or some bloggers at a breakfast to not speak. The more Microsoft tries to cover up, spin, or outright lie, the more they have their back pocket press people at Joystiq spin things more than they have already and have the "were we there" people at the Bitbag pretend they were somewhere and then spin the spin even more, the more they try to say they have something they don't, the more they try to sell one game like it's only coming out for their console and it's THE ONLY good game for the console, the more they become desperate. Consumers will not buy into it, they are smarter than that. They have been fooled by this kind of talk from many places about many things before. They know when to cry foul.

You know, I had said that Microsoft needs to stop treating GTA4 like it is a last ditch effort to save the 360, because I believe that it might not need saving, after all. However, the way this ship is going, and the way it seems to continue going, my latter assessment may be entirely wrong.

As far as GTA4 being treated as a last ditch effort to "save" the 360? If they do not right this ship NOW, and realize that they are digging their graves before their time, it might just very well be...if only we didn't have to say that...because we shouldn't.

Good night, and good luck.