May 14 2009, 12:36 AM, updated 17y ago
http://blog.seattlepi.com/digitaljoystick/...from=blog_last3
What's it about:
7 interesting things that a recently laid off Xbox 360 hardware/software tester exposes (so he's got nothing to lose...
)Extracts from source:
1st. Interesting Thing
There is a super secret kill-switch remote suicide self-destruct command that if Microsoft really wanted to they can remotely trigger and tell an Xbox 360 to fry itself and die. This was intended to be a last resort option if a fight against Xbox Live cheaters or major league professional game piracy ever got big. To their knowledge it has only been done in test situation in the lab but if they wanted to they could have the regular system security sweeps over Xbox Live activate a kill command when it found a compromised hacked Xbox 360 system. It works by having the Xbox overload a fuse and "pop" the fuse.
It is not technically illegal for them to do this since attempting to hack an Xbox 360 is a violation of the Xbox Live Terms of Service EULA and a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
2nd. Interesting Thing
Microsoft is currently software testing Metal Gear Solid 4 for Xbox 360. They might announce it at E3 but Konami likes to make money and Metal Gear Solid 4 was very expensive for them to make. Microsoft and Konami will not admit it before they are ready to but secretly builds of Metal Gear Solid 4 for Xbox 360 started being tested late last year.
3rd. Interesting Thing
Microsoft makes a lot of hardware prototypes and very few hardware projects actually make it to market. They probably did start to build a Blu-Ray player and a motion sensitive wand controller but they never got close enough to making it to market.
4th. Interesting Thing
The software testing group is chronically understaffed, underpaid, underfunded and given impossible deadlines. This results in games and DLC getting to market with game killing faults. Microsoft employes the services of a semi-sweat-shop testing contractor named VMC to run lots of Xbox 360 software tests. Rather than having skilled programers and testers do the tests they have mostly untrained people working long hours for minimum wage and no benefits.
Cutting corners on testing during the development of the original Xbox 360 Xenon hardware led to the RROD failures. Things are going from bad to way worse.
5th. Interesting Thing
Harmonix is having Microsoft's Xbox Test Labs run acceptance tests on the new Rock Band controller hardware.
6th. Interesting Thing
Really bad bugs are patched through title updates with very little fanfare but they will allow a game to go gold master and "RTM" (Release to Manufacturing) with major game killing bugs that they hope will not be discovered by customers until they get patched.
Microsoft has a vested interest in seeing a game not miss their intended publishing deadline and they are willing to bend the rules
7th. Interesting Thing
8bitjoystick.com was considered a forbidden site at VMC and the Xbox testing labs. They were discouraged from reading it or contributing comments.
My take on this:
That explains a lot. From the (already known) lack of testing on the Xenons to the number of "External Blu-Ray player for 360" (so yes, in Microsoft's deepest labs, there is a yet-to-be-released Blu-Ray external drive) reports, to the bugs in the games. Microsoft even knowingly ships games with bugs hoping customers won't find them in the game. And in the future, we could just be seeing MGS4 for Xbox 360, FFXIII is already coming for the 360, so its no surprise at all.
This post has been edited by defaultname365: May 14 2009, 12:39 AM
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