So dear reader, when was the last time you were on Live? Now, when was the last time you were on Live and did not encounter some form of asshat? However long ago it was, it was definitely too recent, and word is starting to really get around. In an article at Gamasutra, Fulton, a Microsoft employee who worked on Shadowrun, writes that: "the online behavior of our customers is dramatically reducing our sales."
And that's just the beginning of an excellent four page article on social design and the future of online gaming with regard to social interaction. The assertion that Live is generally filled with annoying idiots has been widely held among the more hardcore gaming community since the inception of the service, but this is the first that we've ever heard anything out of Microsoft about it affecting them in any manner. In the article Fulton posits that we know and love games so we're willing to work around it or put up with it, but for newcomers to the medium, the fun/annoyance ratio could just be too high. Readers, what do you think?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
4-03-2008 @ 8:06PM
smak said...
Anonymity = Annoying behavior.
Once they add real names to profiles, this type of nonsense will die down.
Reply
4-03-2008 @ 9:51PM
ALH said...
i doubt it, even if my real name was attatched to my profile, if i was an asshat i would still be one to random strangers on live- its not like im ever going to meet them anyways, and if i did, how would they know who i was?
4-04-2008 @ 9:55AM
Dick said...
Morons like you want cameras on every street corner, anonymous internet postings to be replaced by your full name and address, and more intrusion into our private lives.
And FYI - Owning asshats via live will be much more difficult when they start calling you by your real name, and really figuring out more and more personal ways to get under your soft, doughy, pasty skins.
(I'm lookin at people named Clancy, Gur, or Dick here.)
How long before you want us to have mandatory cameras on our xboxes so you can see if Im playing in my underwear or not? Nudity is offensive, and if I stick my dick n the cam and send it to someone, thats bad.
Better monitor me now, shit.
4-04-2008 @ 11:57AM
James said...
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19/
This is not news.
4-03-2008 @ 8:09PM
Bravo6 said...
Gee, maybe MS should have thought about enforcing the rules and having the reporting actually do something?
Reply
4-03-2008 @ 8:11PM
evilJaze said...
Well, what do you expect from a bunch of hyped-up 14 year old zit-faced boys?
Anyway, I know it has kept me from wanting to pay $60 per year. Also, I have a PS3 so I generally go for the games on that platform. Also PSN seems to have less f#cktards.
Reply
4-03-2008 @ 8:32PM
Manvir (El Homer) said...
hey im not 14 im 13...gosh. lol
4-03-2008 @ 8:38PM
YoRone22 said...
I have met as many annoying 35 year olds as I have annoying 14 year olds. Age plays no part in this at all. It's all about maturity level.
4-03-2008 @ 8:54PM
mcwattersm said...
I disagree, I usually hear some pre-pubescent preteen repeatedly saying [insert random racial slur here] over and over again. Sure you can hit avoid player (no matter what anyone who's have an xbox live account for over a month will have 5 stars.) or file a complaint... but you never hear about anything happening with that.
My idea, people with certain reputation can have limited administrative powers to force kick, or even temp ban certain trouble makers.
Maybe I should pitch it to Microsoft?
4-04-2008 @ 3:09AM
Justin said...
I agree that Microsoft should enforce something
Have an option that reports the guy (not just the reps) if he has like behavioral problems, like yelling constantly, is annoying, is an asshole, teabags.
We need people to grow and be mature. I'm sick and tired of all the immature people out there gaming. Something should be enforced where they can only play together. So you would have a bunch of hyped up immature people (including 14 year olds and 35 year olds) and let them yell at each other. Thatd' be funny :)
4-03-2008 @ 8:11PM
ArturoRRG said...
I use the Mute option a lot.
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4-04-2008 @ 5:28PM
lothar said...
Same here Mute button gets enforced right away if someone is annoying. Also after the battle I will post a negative review of them.
That said I've gotten into some vocal battles with idiots singing and they've left bad reviews on me. Now I just mute them and quietly ignore them.
4-03-2008 @ 8:13PM
Magic Whiskey said...
It''s mob mentality. Take away your 'real' identity and most people feel invulnerable to the world.
Go out to any grocery store, retail parking lot or mall and observe how people JUST DON'T CONSIDER OTHERS anymore. They do what they want, move or drive the way they want without looking, crowd others out, offend without caring and say the rudest things in public without tact.
It's not just LIVE..it's America!
(But speaking LIVE-centric, the asshats have gotten so bad I immediately mute all voicechat in matchmaking unless I'm with friends. It's gotten that bad for me.
The worst are the little kids spouting the most ignorant, halfbrained vocabulary you can imagine.
Reply
4-04-2008 @ 5:10AM
Sporia said...
haha so true...
4-04-2008 @ 8:15AM
Michael S. said...
amen brother! I stopped playing on live for quite a while because of those people. I'm back on now, but usually don't wear the headset...just set it aside. Problem solved.
4-04-2008 @ 8:40AM
DiscoGhost said...
Haha, I do the same thing...it's so easy to mute in halo too, it takes like 5 seconds and everyone i see who has a mic, and isn't on my team is muted.
4-03-2008 @ 8:14PM
mike said...
Whatever. People who whine about asshats have probably also been asshats a time or two. The community is what it is. Let's hope the Shadowrun guy isn't saying this because of Shadowrun's sales. That game was bad (in a bad way).
Reply
4-03-2008 @ 8:14PM
Scott Summers said...
Yeah, I've been noticing the same thing. Idiocy like this is what kept me away from multiplayer games except for when my buddies wanted to play custom games in Halo 3. Then I got into it with COD4 and like I expected- the asshats started coming around. So much for that "gaming zone" thing they have you put on your profile.
Reply
4-03-2008 @ 8:57PM
AnOffday said...
lol. I wondered that too. Shawdowrun was pretty crappy.
4-03-2008 @ 11:53PM
stinger503 said...
Your dead on. You don't see Halo sales suffering and it supposedly have some of the worst offenders.