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The stupid thing is we know it’s a lie. But in the modern world of tightly controlled corporate communication strategies, this is what we have to work with.
Microsoft has tried to claim that references to the New Xbox made by general manager Brian Hall were not in fact about the New Xbox at all.
The comments to The Verge were not understood in their intended context,” a statement from the company reads. When Brian mentioned a ‘new wave of products,’ he was referring to the full lineup of products coming later this year from Microsoft, including Windows 8, Office, Windows Phone and of course our fall Xbox update which will bring a host of new consumer experiences like Xbox Music, Videos, Games on Windows 8 and Xbox SmartGlass.”
Which, if true, means that Hall’s statement should have read like this:
We just decided it was time to do something new and bring the best from each of those and put them together and release it right in time for the new wave of products that we could have coming out with Windows 8, with the new version of Office with the new Windows phone and our fall Xbox update which will bring a host of new consumer experiences like Xbox Music, Videos, Games on Windows 8 and Xbox SmartGlass.”
But that isn’t what he said, is it?
The absurd truth is that we all know Microsoft IS working on the New Xbox. That’s definitely true. There is no doubt about that fact.
What’s also true is that the company came EXTREMELY CLOSE to revealing it at E3 in June. Before it decided to hold back.
So why on earth are we in a situation where a company feels it cannot admit to a fact that not only we know to be true but they know that we know to be true?
None of which is Microsoft’s fault, of course. Such behaviour is simply symptomatic of a world governed by PR and shareholders. A world where a poorly judged press communication can knock millions and millions off the value of a company.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why we’re lied to. Still, at least we’ve won loads of gold medals at the Olympics, right?
