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[abadguy]

Oh God...

Just think, the person who posted that did so ironically and with a straight face! Totally 100% serious.

 

[graywolf323]

Sessler did a decent job overall except about console performance. He correctly mentioned the faster ram, but not the fairly more powerful PS4 GPU, and didn't call bullshit on the xbone's small amount of "fast" cache, perhaps to keep things civil?

Maybe Sessler is just not very hardcore about underlying tech, and only really cares about games. There are worse things to be guilty of

Sess in the past has also tried to downplay the price difference and repeatedly implied that PS+ makes the Xbox One not that much more expensive (completely ignoring that Xbox Live Gold not only isn't free but costs more than PS+)

 

[BigTnaples]

all this over a couple of fps difference? LOL

What are you talking about?

 

[vpance]

Son, people make worse statements all the time, and Gaf does not "react accordingly" to them.

His statements were not that terrible.

That DirectX line was the most ridiculous thing I've seen posted on here in quite a while. It definitely would've earned a regular member a junioring or snide tag. But because he's a high ranking employee with a nice title we should give him a little more credit, right?

 

[NoirVisage]

What are you talking about?

he had to say SOMETHING, just nod and smile.

 

[alr1ght]

He's not a spokesperson. Or an engineer. Or in PR. Or in marketing. I think I've read a dozen different job titles for him in this thread.

Marketing

Yup, he created the account years ago and then, when the time was right, pounced on the unsuspecting NeoGAF community to win them over and save the XBox. Oh, but it didn't get by some of you, oh no.

And never started posting until 5/22, one day after the Bone's reveal when shit was hitting the fan.

 

[ACH1LL3US]

I'm not saying how much the difference is. That's going to be almost impossible to put into terms. I'm also saying I don't think the difference is going to be so great that Xbone owners will be unimpressed by the graphics they see in their versions.

I'm just trying to highlight that it's nonsense for Albert to say that people aren't seeing any differences.

Because they will as soon as they can readily compare multiplats.

As someone who will own both platforms eventually, I will care which version is even a teeny tiny bit better. As it was last gen. As it was the gen before it.

If MS show me something else that blows my mind (Quantum Break is the only thing that did that for me on Xbox side), maybe I'll reconsider. But Resogun is at launch, and it's the most next gen thing I've seen so far.

Ok I understand where your coming from and agree 100%.

What is Resogun?? (dont flame me..please)

 

[Freki]

Except when Albert comes here, he is doing his job.

He is trying to influence how people view Xbox One. He is talking a lot of shit without any kind of proof.

He's trying to curb the idea that PS4 is more powerful. He wants to disprove that notion, but has no proof to back it up other than, trust me.

Major Nelson, Albert and the unnamed Microsoft Dev started posting more frequently on here and on other places to change the tone of conversations about Microsoft. Instant access to PR control techniques.

If you look at things that Major Nelson says like "we passed cert long ago" like Albert posted on the same day as Major Nelson, you would see that they are on message. They are about disseminating information slowly and in a controlled manner.

The Ars Technica interview with Albert talking about how Sony is being let off the hook because they don't show their hardware in the box was very recent. I imagine his recent aggressive posts are part of the messaging plan in the coming weeks.

Good find!

 

[eastmen]

That DirectX line was the most ridiculous thing I've seen posted on here in quite a while. It definitely would've earned a regular member a junioring or snide tag. But because he's a high ranking employee with a nice title we should give him a little more credit, right?

What direct x quote ?

Ms has had its hands in the graphics pie for a long time and has been on the for front of it sonce the 90s. They have helped steer it through dx and have seen what both nvidia and amd want in it and how they are moving in the future. They know what dx 12 will be and some features even firther out because of this

 

[perineumlick]

He's not a spokesperson. Or an engineer. Or in PR. Or in marketing. I think I've read a dozen different job titles for him in this thread.



Yup, he created the account years ago and then, when the time was right, pounced on the unsuspecting NeoGAF community to win them over and save the XBox. Oh, but it didn't get by some of you, oh no.

When he is relaying information from Microsoft concerning the X1 in these threads, as a MS employee, is he not representing the company?

 

[cripterion]

Oh man this thread...

Well at least I got out of it that that Kinect 2.0 has definitely some potential.

 

[KHarvey16]

Marketing

That is his previous title, which changed in 2009. Further, marketing is not PR. This should be clear to anyone dealing with marketing on a corporate level.

And never started posting until 5/22, one day after the Bone's reveal when shit was hitting the fan.

Oh I know, the evidence makes it irrefutable! There's no question and there cannot be any other possible explanation. You cracked the case.

 

[Chobel]

Ok I understand where your coming from and agree 100%.

What is Resogun?? (dont flame me..please)

Resogun is game in PS4
You can see some gifs in this thread http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=670217

 

[graywolf323]

That is his previous title, which changed in 2009. Further, marketing is not PR. This should be clear to anyone dealing with marketing on a corporate level.

on LinkedIn he lists it as his current position not something that ended in 2009


Director Of Marketing
Microsoft

Public Company; 10,001+ employees; MSFT; Computer Software industry

October 2000 – Present (13 years)

 

[nib95]

Yup, he created the account years ago and then, when the time was right, pounced on the unsuspecting NeoGAF community to win them over and save the XBox. Oh, but it didn't get by some of you, oh no.

Doesn't work that way. I'm sure many Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo etc employees have accounts on here. They just don't usually post for obvious reasons, especially on matters of them versus the competition and so on.

There was a very clear admission from Microsoft that their messaging and PR had failed with the Xbox One up to and right after the reveal, and almost exactly correlating to that, these officially Microsoft sanctioned forum posters sprung up posting more frequently, whether in PR, engineering, development, marketing or whatever.

Doesn't take a genius to realise it's part of the bigger plan to try and correct their "messaging", and naturally much of that involves typical PR.


Did Albert ever even post on GAF before the Xbox One was revealed?

 

[BrokenEchelon]

That is his previous title, which changed in 2009. Further, marketing is not PR. This should be clear to anyone dealing with marketing on a corporate level.



Oh I know, the evidence makes it irrefutable! There's no question and there cannot be any other possible explanation. You cracked the case.

And people who aren't expressly in PR can also perform PR tasks, like communication or relating with the public on an enthusiast forum about the company's product.

 

[Moneyhats2k5]

That is his previous title, which changed in 2009. Further, marketing is not PR. This should be clear to anyone dealing with marketing on a corporate level.



Oh I know, the evidence makes it irrefutable! There's no question and there cannot be any other possible explanation. You cracked the case.

Think he meant, people would be less suspicious if he posted on other topics like guys like Jaffe/Cliffy instead of being here to defend their product only.

 

[Dunlop]

Was he really attacked? I haven't read all the posts in this thread, but I don't condone that. But he should just stay in conversational mode here, and quit it with the PR.

Last time when he wanted to show the xb1 that he had at his home(obviously to generate hype) some posters were insulting his house and nail grooming habits.

I honestly don't know what happened to this place

 

[K' Dash]

That DirectX line was the most ridiculous thing I've seen posted on here in quite a while. It definitely would've earned a regular member a junioring or snide tag. But because he's a high ranking employee with a nice title we should give him a little more credit, right?

completely agree, that was embarrasing and ridiculous, even more considering his status.

 

[ACH1LL3US]

Resogun is game in PS4
You can see some gifs in this thread http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=670217

Oh wow...thank you! you just cost me even more money at launch That looks proper next gen

 

[CambriaRising]

That is his previous title, which changed in 2009. Further, marketing is not PR. This should be clear to anyone dealing with marketing on a corporate level.

Oh I know, the evidence makes it irrefutable! There's no question and there cannot be any other possible explanation. You cracked the case.

Stop acting like it is completely out of the realm of possibility that he only comes here to talk up Xbox One.

That is literally all he does when he posts. It is his job to talk up Xbox One whenever the chance presents himself as the Head of Planning for the Xbox Division.

 

[graywolf323]

Doesn't work that way. I'm sure many Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo etc employees have accounts on here. They just don't usually post for obvious reasons, especially on matters of them versus the competition and so on.

There was a very clear admission from Microsoft that their messaging and PR had failed with the Xbox One up to and right after the reveal, and almost exactly correlating to that, these officially Microsoft sanctioned forum posters sprung up posting more frequently, whether in PR, engineering, development, marketing or whatever.

Doesn't take a genius to realise it's part of the bigger plan to try and correct their "messaging", and naturally much of that involves typical PR.


Did Albert ever even post on GAF before the Xbox One was revealed?

according to someone else in this thread Albert's first post came the day after the Xbox One unveiling

Marketing

And never started posting until 5/22, one day after the Bone's reveal when shit was hitting the fan.

 

[jet1911]

Conspiracy theory? What the hell?

Have you read the last 4 or 5 pages? Is the guy talking the company line? Yes. Is it part of a wierd plan to send a controlled message to Neogaf that will slowly change our perception of the console in the hope that we might buy one someday?

I mean look at that

Major Nelson, Albert and the unnamed Microsoft Dev started posting more frequently on here and on other places to change the tone of conversations about Microsoft. Instant access to PR control techniques.

That's tinfoil hats material.

Also just a general observation about this board lately. There's a lot of people who just try to spin the most trivial thing into secret conspiracy with moneyhats involved everywhere. Start of a new gen I guess.

 

[NullPointer]

Last time when he wanted to show the xb1 that he had at his home(obviously to generate hype) some posters were insulting his house and nail grooming habits.

I honestly don't know what happened to this place

It's definitely been crazy as hell lately. I joined in 2006 and there was console stuff then sure, but it feels like there's more straight up hostility right now.

Have you read the last 4 or 5 pages? Is the guy talking the company line? Yes. Is it part of a wierd plan to send a controlled message to Neogaf that will slowly change our perception of the console in the hope that we might buy one someday?

I mean look at that

Yeah, but KHarvey's response was to my post, which has no conspiratorial content or intent. And you responded to that... so...

 

[Chobel]

Oh wow...thank you! you just cost me even more money at launch That looks proper next gen

It's free if you have PS+.

 

[benny_a]

Oh wow...thank you! you just cost me even more money at launch That looks proper next gen

If you have PS+ you get it as a part of that.

Edit: Beaten like DDR3 in a DDR3 vs. GDDR5 memory bandwidth benchmark.

That's tinfoil hats material.

What's tinfoil about that? An IGN employee has said that MS wanted to change the perception of hardcore gamers. And IGN partners with MS now for exclusive information, so it's not unlikely that they would know.

 

[alr1ght]

That is his previous title, which changed in 2009. Further, marketing is not PR. This should be clear to anyone dealing with marketing on a corporate level.

It's current. http://www.linkedin.com/in/albertpenello

Oh I know, the evidence makes it irrefutable! There's no question and there cannot be any other possible explanation. You cracked the case.

I cracked the case that he is here to put a positive spin on a product he is working on? I think it's pretty obvious to anyone.

 

[imtehman]

Have you read the last 4 or 5 pages? Is the guy talking the company line? Yes. Is it part of a wierd plan to send a controlled message to Neogaf that will slowly change our perception of the console in the hope that we might buy one someday?

I mean look at that



That's tinfoil hats material.

Also just a general observation about this board lately. There's a lot of people who just try to spin the most trivial thing into secret conspiracy with moneyhats involved everywhere. Start of a new gen I guess.

even sessler is getting dat ms moneyhats

 

[PsychoSoldier]

Motives are impossible to discern, obviously so trying to figure out his reasons for posting are not that important.

But as with anyone who (to one degree or another) are representing their companies, it's always a good idea to treat anything they say with the critical eye that we would apply to any statement by a company representative, message board member or no.

 

[artist]

That's tinfoil hats material.

Reads more like common sense.

 

[Fresh Face]

That DirectX line was the most ridiculous thing I've seen posted on here in quite a while. It definitely would've earned a regular member a junioring or snide tag. But because he's a high ranking employee with a nice title we should give him a little more credit, right?

He said that MS has some of the best software engineers in the world.

He wasn't juniored...because that statement is true. Sony is known for their hardware, and MS is known for their software. I mean, they do make Windows. They're very good at making software.

People don't use DirectX just because it's on Windows. They use it because it really is very good.

 

[KHarvey16]

When he is relaying information from Microsoft concerning the X1 in these threads, as a MS employee, is he not representing the company?

"Spokesperson" in some official capacity, no, not unless anyone ever giving an interview immediately becomes the spokesperson for the company. Yes, he is representing MS on the forum.

on LinkedIn he lists it as his current position not something that ended in 2009


Director Of Marketing
Microsoft

Public Company; 10,001+ employees; MSFT; Computer Software industry

October 2000 – Present (13 years)

Did you notice how past tense is used in that description?

Stop acting like it is completely out of the realm of possibility that he only comes here to talk up Xbox One.

That is literally all he does when he posts. It is his job to talk up Xbox One whenever the chance presents himself as the Head of Planning.

I'm not arguing it's out of the realm of possibility, I'm arguing that assuming it's true and arguing it must be so is cynical and presumptuous.

 

[Tmecha]

Point is I don't think we accomplish anything with the "he's not one of us" mantra. He may work for Microsoft, but I think he's just as much welcome to voice his opinion here as anyone else is.

We should encourage more people in the industry to come here and express their views, not seemingly trying to treat it as this dishonest and evil plan to program us all to think what they want us to think.

Instead of accusing him of spewing PR that should be disregarded at all times, how about engaging the guy on some specific points in hopes that we actually get some interesting insight into something we maybe didn't know before. He can't break too much news, because there's certain things he can't say of course, but saying something like PS4 has 32 ROPS you have 16 ROPS, PS4 has this much teraflops, you have this much, what say you? That isn't going to get us anywhere, because the obvious response to that is to simply have confidence in what is being down on your own company's product.

Lets ask the guy if Killer Instinct is running at 1080p native or 720p like suggested recently, or if he's not sure, maybe he can get confirmation on what it's running at for us.

Lets ask him what the resolution of Ryse is.

Let's ask him why we still haven't gotten that awesome Ryse vidoc released in proper high quality yet, and when can we expect to see it?

Hell, let's ask him specific stuff about the Xbox One architecture, and if there are any Microsoft specific customizations that he knows about, and that he can enlighten us on. What benefits has he heard about regarding texturing from ESRAM, or any benefits they might be getting using specific techniques.

He implied that there's some architecture related stuff that we don't know regarding the Xbox One just yet. Are we going to eventually learn about those? If so? Any timeframe? If they're at all significant, will we get an explanation?

When are we going to get a more thorough explanation of what was displayed at hot chips? We'd like to know how Microsoft arrived at their bandwidth figures. What is it about ESRAM that allows it to reach such values. What type of ESRAM is it? What is that thin black arrow leading from the CPU coherent path down to the ESRAM all about? I'm sure he can't answer all of this, but we could be using this opportunity to get some cool info.

Well said, civilised thread would be good, but yeh...

 

[K' Dash]

even sessler is getting dat ms moneyhats

I honestly don't see that.

 

[unbias]

Arguing from personal incredulity is another hallmark of the online culture that puts cynicism above all else. I'm sorry, it's just depressing. You can't imagine how someone who works at MS could be posting of their own volition so therefore they are not. More presumption in service of a narrative you find appealing.

Cynicism more often then not is reality. Self interest and monetary gain motivates business. When PR speaks everyone should think cynically, until given a good reason to think otherwise. Corporations are not there for you, specifically, beyond getting you to either buy their stuff or get brand loyalty, specially in a luxury market.

Never should corporation talk be taken at face value. Cynicism directed at corporations is just being a realist.

 

[Freki]

It's definitely been crazy as hell lately. I joined in 2006 and there was console stuff then sure, but it feels like there's more straight up hostility right now.

In my opinion 2006 and onwards was about personal preferences - Halo vs KZ and the like...
2013 is different - many gamers saw what Microsoft revealed in May as an attack on their hobby and although MS did an 180 later many didn't forget...

 

[imtehman]

I honestly don't see that.

/sarcasm

 

[xxracerxx]

Think he meant, people would be less suspicious if he posted on other topics like guys like Jaffe/Cliffy instead of being here to defend their product only.

I mentioned that a month or so ago. I just feel if he wants to be a part of the community here, it wouldn't hurt to post in threads NOT related to the Xbox One.

 

[Ushae]

Albert seems like a very decent guy and forthcoming, I think its great of him to post here for our sake. Can't remember any Sony/Ninty reps doing that? No surprise the usual people choose to derail and degrade any X1 thread, like its their dayjob. Why are the Sony fans the most vocal (and rude)?

 

[graywolf323]

Did you notice how past tense is used in that description?

so you're saying his defense is he hasn't found the time in the past 4 years to mark on LinkedIn, which based on his profile he clearly knows how to use, that the job has ended?

 

[PartyTimeFunTime]

Cynicism more often then not is reality. Self interest and monetary gain motivates business. When PR speaks everyone should think cynically, until given a good reason to think otherwise. Corporations are not there for you, specifically, beyond getting you to either buy their stuff or get brand loyalty, specially in a luxury market.

Never should corporation talk be taken at face value. Cynicism directed at corporations is just being a realist.

Unless its Sony, because they like to look out for the gamers, and if they could they would all give us free consoles. Hail Overlord Sony.

 

[nib95]

Also just a general observation about this board lately. There's a lot of people who just try to spin the most trivial thing into secret conspiracy with moneyhats involved everywhere. Start of a new gen I guess.

Hold on a minute...

To accuse a Microsoft employee who posts only about their product, who has a job description in Marketing, who only started posting on these forums after the Xbox One reveal and who has made lofty claims about their product comparative to the competition etc, to accuse such a person of being a PR spokesperson for their company and product....is a conspiracy?

Really? Lol. I call it common sense.


Any employee of any of these companies posting here constantly defending their product or talking about the competition should be taken as little more than PR.

 

[Freki]

Albert seems like a very decent guy and forthcoming, I think its great of him to post here for our sake. Can't remember any Sony/Ninty reps doing that? No surprise the usual people choose to derail and degrade any X1 thread, like its their dayjob. Why are the Sony fans the most vocal (and rude)?

Why do you think it's Sony fans? Maybe it's just gamers who somehow dislike/distrust MS...

 

[Iacobellis]

Albert seems like a very decent guy and forthcoming, I think its great of him to post here for our sake. Can't remember any Sony/Ninty reps doing that? No surprise the usual people choose to derail and degrade any X1 thread, like its their dayjob. Why are the Sony fans the most vocal (and rude)?

Nintendo can't even create a proper account system, let alone post on a message board. And why would Sony have to defend the PS4?

 

[Chobel]

I mentioned that a month or so ago. I just feel if he wants to be a part of the community here, it wouldn't hurt to post in threads NOT related to the Xbox One.

The thing is if he posts in threads not related to Xbox, many people will see his opinions as MS opinions.

 

[K' Dash]

/sarcasm

Sess is one of my favoriye journos, but I really don't see him all over one side, maybe I'm not at that fanboy level where he says a good thing about MS and I go batshit crazy?

 

[Hockeymac18]

Doesn't work that way. I'm sure many Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo etc employees have accounts on here. They just don't usually post for obvious reasons, especially on matters of them versus the competition and so on.

There was a very clear admission from Microsoft that their messaging and PR had failed with the Xbox One up to and right after the reveal, and almost exactly correlating to that, these officially Microsoft sanctioned forum posters sprung up posting more frequently, whether in PR, engineering, development, marketing or whatever.

Doesn't take a genius to realise it's part of the bigger plan to try and correct their "messaging", and naturally much of that involves typical PR.


Did Albert ever even post on GAF before the Xbox One was revealed?

I'd argue "so what?" Honestly, why does it matter? Why does it bother people so much? Of course he is biased, and has some agenda...he works for MS! But, again...so what?

If you don't see his posts and realize that he works for MS and that his comments should be taken with a grain of salt (as should ALL people that are representing any company here), then I don't know what to tell you...

That isn't to say that Albert doesn't care about gaming or that he isn't passionate about it. It is quite possible for him to be here on unofficial business, but also because he's being genuine and honest. He does seem quite passionate about gaming (something that the Xbox team has seemed to lack for a few years, at least on the leadership front).

And yea, of course he's trying to change the "messaging". He's been pretty upfront about how far they were off about it, actually. Did you watch the interview? He's admitted they have made many mistake...

MS's messaging honestly hasn't improved much since their reversal (although it's better than before), and I'm glad he is here because he adds another layer of understanding to their announcements. Have you read his posts? He is the only MS representative that I've seen take on so many direct questions. And usually, he does it in a way that is calm, informative, and fairly level-headed (this is the first time I've seen him take a jab at Sony, even if it wasn't that big of a jab).

 

[KHarvey16]

so you're saying his defense is he hasn't found the time in the past 4 years to mark on LinkedIn, which based on his profile he clearly knows how to use, that the job has ended?

I wouldn't presume to know why the date is wrong. I'm telling you though that right now he's the director of planning and the description of his responsibilities as director of marketing are all written in the past tense. I will go out on a limb and suggest it's unlikely he is simultaneously the senior director for planning and the director of marketing. Not impossible, but probably not the case.

 

[Fresh Face]

Point is I don't think we accomplish anything with the "he's not one of us" mantra. He may work for Microsoft, but I think he's just as much welcome to voice his opinion here as anyone else is.

We should encourage more people in the industry to come here and express their views, not seemingly trying to treat it as this dishonest and evil plan to program us all to think what they want us to think.

Instead of accusing him of spewing PR that should be disregarded at all times, how about engaging the guy on some specific points in hopes that we actually get some interesting insight into something we maybe didn't know before. He can't break too much news, because there's certain things he can't say of course, but saying something like PS4 has 32 ROPS you have 16 ROPS, PS4 has this much teraflops, you have this much, what say you? That isn't going to get us anywhere, because the obvious response to that is to simply have confidence in what is being down on your own company's product.

Lets ask the guy if Killer Instinct is running at 1080p native or 720p like suggested recently, or if he's not sure, maybe he can get confirmation on what it's running at for us.

Lets ask him what the resolution of Ryse is.

Let's ask him why we still haven't gotten that awesome Ryse vidoc released in proper high quality yet, and when can we expect to see it?

Hell, let's ask him specific stuff about the Xbox One architecture, and if there are any Microsoft specific customizations that he knows about, and that he can enlighten us on. What benefits has he heard about regarding texturing from ESRAM, or any benefits they might be getting using specific techniques.

He implied that there's some architecture related stuff that we don't know regarding the Xbox One just yet. Are we going to eventually learn about those? If so? Any timeframe? If they're at all significant, will we get an explanation?

When are we going to get a more thorough explanation of what was displayed at hot chips? We'd like to know how Microsoft arrived at their bandwidth figures. What is it about ESRAM that allows it to reach such values. What type of ESRAM is it? What is that thin black arrow leading from the CPU coherent path down to the ESRAM all about? I'm sure he can't answer all of this, but we could be using this opportunity to get some cool info.

In other words: Guys, get over the fact that he's biased. Why don't we focus on asking him questions and get some info.

Sure, he's not perfect. You can call him out some other time. I personally would like to know some of the answers to those questions, and we aren't going to do it by attacking him and spending several pages about it.

 

[imtehman]

Nintendo can't even create a proper account system, let alone post on a message board. And why would Sony have to defend the PS4?

THey dont, some do that well enough for them.