[SIGCIS-Members] Bloomberg Xbox history oddly disses Microsoft staff as "historian-type" people

[thomas.haigh at gmail.com]

Hello SIGCIS,

 

Any of you not currently too busy obsessing over the unravelling of American
democracy might hope to find solace in Bloomberg's "oral history" composite
story of the creation and launch of the original Xbox. It's an interesting
article on a topic I haven't come across much previous writing about.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-01-06/xbox-the-oral-history-of-
an-american-video-game-empire 

 

And yet. what should it contain but the following sentiment attributed to
one of the Bungie guys whose Halo game became as the key Xbox title after
the fledgling company was acquired by Microsoft:

 

O'DONNELL In 2000, we all moved out here. We were in temporary quarters in
Redmond, right next to the Expedia people. I can't even begin to describe
the difference in personality between someone who would be a crazy game
programmer or artist from Bungie and the super, straight-laced, programming,
historian-type, Expedia people. We built our own space, and we said, "We're
going to have electronic locks that only Bungie people can open." We didn't
even let Ed have a key.

 

That's right. Twenty years ago, Microsoft was staffed largely by
"programming, historian-type, Expedia people". Undoubtedly the oddest phrase
I've heard recently, despite tough competition from "a mob loyal to the
President has occupied the Capitol building" on NPR yesterday.

 

Best wishes,

 

Tom

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