Microsoft refusing to provide US army with Xboxes

http://thehardline.gamerlimit.com/2010/02/microsoft-refusing-to-provide-us-army-with-xboxes-2/

Thoughts? They're by no means obligated to give out free Xboxes to people in the army in my book. It seems like a lame excuse to bash Microsoft.

Probably a reason why no one has posted this article yet, because no one really cares.

Probably a reason why no one has posted this article yet, because no one really cares.

spinecaton

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/why-the-army-doesnt-train-on-xboxes/

So will the Army go out and buy the Xbox? Not quite.Roger Smith, chief technology officer for PEO STRI, the Army command responsible for purchasing training equipment, claims that Microsoft refused to sell him the consoles.Smith told me that he discussed acquiring the Xbox with Microsoft representatives at a trade show back in 2006. According to Smith, the Microsoft executives said they would neither sell the Xbox 360 nor license XNA game development tools to the Army for three reasons:

• Microsoft was afraid that the military would buy up lots of Xbox 360s, but would buy only one game for each of them, so MS wouldn't make much money off of the games.
• A big military purchase could create a shortage of Xbox 360s.
• If the Xbox became an Army training device, it could taint its reputation. Microsoft was concerned that "do we want the Xbox 360 to be seen as having the flavor of a weapon? Do we want Mom and Dad knowing that their kid is buying the same game console as the military trains the SEALs and Rangers on?" Smith told me during an interview for Training & Simulation Journal.

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/why-the-army-doesnt-train-on-xboxes/#ixzz0f6Gi8X9g

Pretty ridiculous reasons cited.

Wtf is up with microsoft and this whole "Making money" thing? Seriously M$, get over this fad about "money". sheesh.

I mean... how else will our soldiers practice for battle but MW2... sniping with those akimbo shotties takes practice you know. And this way they can practice when they are clearly winning the battle (It's very hard to be losing when you get 25 kills in a row), they can call their commander to NUKE the battlefield (the one that they are likely already winning). MW2 is good practice for real life war

IN ALL SERIOUSNESS... their reasons aren't great but they make some sense. My friend, when younger, had to work quite hard for his parents to ok him buying CoD (MW1 at the time i think). A big reason they were scared of the game, is they didn't like the whole pro war feel of CoD. NOW I AM NOT SAYING CALL OF DUTY HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH ARMY TRAINING. What I am saying, is imagine if the same parents heard that the xbox was literally used by the military for training... they would likely just throw the xbox away.

How about bombs rather than x-boxes.

Wtf is up with microsoft and this whole "Making money" thing? Seriously M$, get over this fad about "money". sheesh.

I mean... how else will our soldiers practice for battle but MW2... sniping with those akimbo shotties takes practice you know. And this way they can practice when they are clearly winning the battle (It's very hard to be losing when you get 25 kills in a row), they can call their commander to NUKE the battlefield (the one that they are likely already winning). MW2 is good practice for real life war

MellowMighty

meh. did sony give ps3's free to the military too for those cell "supercomputers"?Ontain

[QUOTE="MellowMighty"]

Wtf is up with microsoft and this whole "Making money" thing? Seriously M$, get over this fad about "money". sheesh.

I mean... how else will our soldiers practice for battle but MW2... sniping with those akimbo shotties takes practice you know. And this way they can practice when they are clearly winning the battle (It's very hard to be losing when you get 25 kills in a row), they can call their commander to NUKE the battlefield (the one that they are likely already winning). MW2 is good practice for real life war

RJay123

[QUOTE="MellowMighty"]

Wtf is up with microsoft and this whole "Making money" thing? Seriously M$, get over this fad about "money". sheesh.

I mean... how else will our soldiers practice for battle but MW2... sniping with those akimbo shotties takes practice you know. And this way they can practice when they are clearly winning the battle (It's very hard to be losing when you get 25 kills in a row), they can call their commander to NUKE the battlefield (the one that they are likely already winning). MW2 is good practice for real life war

RJay123

...except maybe France..they could use any help they can get :p

Great more reaons for people bash MS, and they will all over look the tons of computers they sent to 3rd world countries.

If you read the actual article on Wired, you would find out that this all took place back in 2006, ie when 360's were in limited supply and MS was losing money on each console sold (hence the issue with the Army only buying 1 game/console).

[QUOTE="MellowMighty"]

Wtf is up with microsoft and this whole "Making money" thing? Seriously M$, get over this fad about "money". sheesh.

I mean... how else will our soldiers practice for battle but MW2... sniping with those akimbo shotties takes practice you know. And this way they can practice when they are clearly winning the battle (It's very hard to be losing when you get 25 kills in a row), they can call their commander to NUKE the battlefield (the one that they are likely already winning). MW2 is good practice for real life war

RJay123

umm i don't think that anyone in the world actually uses akimbo shotties anywhere. nor is there such thing as a tactical nuke (that as I explained is only used on battlefields that your winning). aka sarcasm

[QUOTE="Ontain"]meh. did sony give ps3's free to the military too for those cell "supercomputers"?kittyloaf69

OK now after reading it, just sounds like a MS hater trying to start crap.

Microsoft is horrible they wont even sell their own company xbox 360s. Microsoft owns the army and they cant give them 360s? Wow.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/why-the-army-doesnt-train-on-xboxes/

So will the Army go out and buy the Xbox? Not quite.Roger Smith, chief technology officer for PEO STRI, the Army command responsible for purchasing training equipment, claims that Microsoft refused to sell him the consoles.Smith told me that he discussed acquiring the Xbox with Microsoft representatives at a trade show back in 2006. According to Smith, the Microsoft executives said they would neither sell the Xbox 360 nor license XNA game development tools to the Army for three reasons:

• Microsoft was afraid that the military would buy up lots of Xbox 360s, but would buy only one game for each of them, so MS wouldn't make much money off of the games.
• A big military purchase could create a shortage of Xbox 360s.
• If the Xbox became an Army training device, it could taint its reputation. Microsoft was concerned that "do we want the Xbox 360 to be seen as having the flavor of a weapon? Do we want Mom and Dad knowing that their kid is buying the same game console as the military trains the SEALs and Rangers on?" Smith told me during an interview for Training & Simulation Journal.

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/why-the-army-doesnt-train-on-xboxes/#ixzz0f6Gi8X9g

Pretty ridiculous reasons cited.

Brownesque

First reason is enough for any intelligent person to not sell the consoles.

Wtf is up with microsoft and this whole "Making money" thing? Seriously M$, get over this fad about "money". sheesh.

I mean... how else will our soldiers practice for battle but MW2... sniping with those akimbo shotties takes practice you know. And this way they can practice when they are clearly winning the battle (It's very hard to be losing when you get 25 kills in a row), they can call their commander to NUKE the battlefield (the one that they are likely already winning). MW2 is good practice for real life war

IN ALL SERIOUSNESS... their reasons aren't great but they make some sense. My friend, when younger, had to work quite hard for his parents to ok him buying CoD (MW1 at the time i think). A big reason they were scared of the game, is they didn't like the whole pro war feel of CoD. NOW I AM NOT SAYING CALL OF DUTY HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH ARMY TRAINING. What I am saying, is imagine if the same parents heard that the xbox was literally used by the military for training... they would likely just throw the xbox away.

[QUOTE="Ontain"]meh. did sony give ps3's free to the military too for those cell "supercomputers"?kittyloaf69

[QUOTE="kittyloaf69"][QUOTE="Ontain"]meh. did sony give ps3's free to the military too for those cell "supercomputers"?cainetao11

the reasons microsoft listed do make sense from a business sense .lawlessx

[QUOTE="kittyloaf69"][QUOTE="Ontain"]meh. did sony give ps3's free to the military too for those cell "supercomputers"?cainetao11

[QUOTE="kittyloaf69"][QUOTE="Ontain"]meh. did sony give ps3's free to the military too for those cell "supercomputers"?cainetao11

Sony already sold more than 2000 PS3s to the Air Force.

Anyways. This is why US soldiers need the 360s :P

[QUOTE="cainetao11"][QUOTE="kittyloaf69"] Well Sony is a Japanese company so it's a little different.Odrec

Sony already sold more than 2000 PS3s to the Air Force.

Anyways. This is why US soldiers need the 360s :P

[QUOTE="Odrec"]

[QUOTE="cainetao11"]How so? The U.S.. military is responsible for defending Japan in case of a war. Japan isn't allowed to military according to the constitution put in place after WW2. Ours, is their military. If MS "should" give boxes, Ninty, Sony should also.navyguy21

Sony already sold more than 2000 PS3s to the Air Force.

Anyways. This is why US soldiers need the 360s :P

There are a lot of videos of people destroying PS3s but not from the US army or the Air Force (although that would be cool) ;)

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/why-the-army-doesnt-train-on-xboxes/

So will the Army go out and buy the Xbox? Not quite.Roger Smith, chief technology officer for PEO STRI, the Army command responsible for purchasing training equipment, claims that Microsoft refused to sell him the consoles.Smith told me that he discussed acquiring the Xbox with Microsoft representatives at a trade show back in 2006. According to Smith, the Microsoft executives said they would neither sell the Xbox 360 nor license XNA game development tools to the Army for three reasons:

• Microsoft was afraid that the military would buy up lots of Xbox 360s, but would buy only one game for each of them, so MS wouldn't make much money off of the games.
• A big military purchase could create a shortage of Xbox 360s.
• If the Xbox became an Army training device, it could taint its reputation. Microsoft was concerned that "do we want the Xbox 360 to be seen as having the flavor of a weapon? Do we want Mom and Dad knowing that their kid is buying the same game console as the military trains the SEALs and Rangers on?" Smith told me during an interview for Training & Simulation Journal.

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/why-the-army-doesnt-train-on-xboxes/#ixzz0f6Gi8X9g

Pretty ridiculous reasons cited.Brownesque

Yes, I figured you'd say that was ridiculous reasons. I find them perfectly viable. Especially the 3rd reason.

MS is just made because they choose Sony 1st and have been using their PS3's for number crunching. Get out of your feelings MS, maybe if you would of built a more reliable system then they would of chosen you 1st. Also MS probably knows that they need more targets to shoot at for practice.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/why-the-army-doesnt-train-on-xboxes/

So will the Army go out and buy the Xbox? Not quite.Roger Smith, chief technology officer for PEO STRI, the Army command responsible for purchasing training equipment, claims that Microsoft refused to sell him the consoles.Smith told me that he discussed acquiring the Xbox with Microsoft representatives at a trade show back in 2006. According to Smith, the Microsoft executives said they would neither sell the Xbox 360 nor license XNA game development tools to the Army for three reasons:

• Microsoft was afraid that the military would buy up lots of Xbox 360s, but would buy only one game for each of them, so MS wouldn't make much money off of the games.
• A big military purchase could create a shortage of Xbox 360s.
• If the Xbox became an Army training device, it could taint its reputation. Microsoft was concerned that "do we want the Xbox 360 to be seen as having the flavor of a weapon? Do we want Mom and Dad knowing that their kid is buying the same game console as the military trains the SEALs and Rangers on?" Smith told me during an interview for Training & Simulation Journal.

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/why-the-army-doesnt-train-on-xboxes/#ixzz0f6Gi8X9g

Pretty ridiculous reasons cited.

Brownesque

Wow, that's heartless. Even by multimillion dollar corporation standards.

you're all wrong

it's because of THIS vid (language warning).

you're all wrong

it's because of THIS vid (language warning).

hammerofcrom

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/why-the-army-doesnt-train-on-xboxes/

So will the Army go out and buy the Xbox? Not quite.Roger Smith, chief technology officer for PEO STRI, the Army command responsible for purchasing training equipment, claims that Microsoft refused to sell him the consoles.Smith told me that he discussed acquiring the Xbox with Microsoft representatives at a trade show back in 2006. According to Smith, the Microsoft executives said they would neither sell the Xbox 360 nor license XNA game development tools to the Army for three reasons:

• Microsoft was afraid that the military would buy up lots of Xbox 360s, but would buy only one game for each of them, so MS wouldn't make much money off of the games.
• A big military purchase could create a shortage of Xbox 360s.
• If the Xbox became an Army training device, it could taint its reputation. Microsoft was concerned that "do we want the Xbox 360 to be seen as having the flavor of a weapon? Do we want Mom and Dad knowing that their kid is buying the same game console as the military trains the SEALs and Rangers on?" Smith told me during an interview for Training & Simulation Journal.

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/why-the-army-doesnt-train-on-xboxes/#ixzz0f6Gi8X9g

Pretty ridiculous reasons cited.

Brownesque

[QUOTE="hammerofcrom"]

you're all wrong

it's because of THIS vid (language warning).

ULTIMATEZWARRIO

[QUOTE="hammerofcrom"]

you're all wrong

it's because of THIS vid (language warning).

ULTIMATEZWARRIO

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/why-the-army-doesnt-train-on-xboxes/

So will the Army go out and buy the Xbox? Not quite.Roger Smith, chief technology officer for PEO STRI, the Army command responsible for purchasing training equipment, claims that Microsoft refused to sell him the consoles.Smith told me that he discussed acquiring the Xbox with Microsoft representatives at a trade show back in 2006. According to Smith, the Microsoft executives said they would neither sell the Xbox 360 nor license XNA game development tools to the Army for three reasons:

• Microsoft was afraid that the military would buy up lots of Xbox 360s, but would buy only one game for each of them, so MS wouldn't make much money off of the games.
• A big military purchase could create a shortage of Xbox 360s.
• If the Xbox became an Army training device, it could taint its reputation. Microsoft was concerned that "do we want the Xbox 360 to be seen as having the flavor of a weapon? Do we want Mom and Dad knowing that their kid is buying the same game console as the military trains the SEALs and Rangers on?" Smith told me during an interview for Training & Simulation Journal.

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/why-the-army-doesnt-train-on-xboxes/#ixzz0f6Gi8X9g

Pretty ridiculous reasons cited.

Brownesque

[QUOTE="hammerofcrom"]

you're all wrong

it's because of THIS vid (language warning).

ULTIMATEZWARRIO

oh hey I didn't say I blamed 'em. if that was the only xbox around, and it got RROD, I'd do the exact same thing.

are they really that worried about their reputation? profitability I understand though.

the only reason that can be even slightly validated is the third one, the first 2 are just bogus.

Dead-Memories

Like I said earlier in the thread, this story is based on talks from 2006. At the time the 360 wasn't in good supply and MS was losing money on each 360 sold.