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[EatinOlives]

I'm going to enjoy watching this entire marketing exercise backfire. Who the hell thought that hiring undercover commenters to insult your target audience would be a good idea?

The point is that you're not supposed to know they're being paid to say this shit. You're supposed to think they're regular posters like you and I and are on your "level". It's the same reason why they plant people in their conferences to cheer and clap loudly. If you think that's just a regular person who's just really excited, you subconsciously buy into whatever is going on in the stage.

It's basic psychology in marketing. See also: planted questions in Q&A sessions. People tend to follow the status quo among peers. If enough people you think are peers have an opinion, that's far more likely to influence you than a greasy-haired salesman in a suit will.

EDIT: This isn't exclusive to Microsoft, obviously. This happens everywhere, from product expos to commercials to politics. Microsoft, however, is especially bad about it in the gaming industry and oh so transparent.

 

[Soler]

I don't care.

MS is a company with a lot of money and a lot of money to spend on advertisements. if they're not violating the reddit TOS... who cares?

I bet you loved COINTELPRO

 

[Luigison]

The world is starting to look more and more like a David Simpson book. (Other authors may be more appropriate here, but David Simpson is currently my favorite for the cyber science fiction genre.)

 

[RedAssedApe]

I just bought a Sega Genesis for the first time in my life and am having a blast with it. Not sure how that's a slam.

Sega plant. bannable offense

 

[Tallshortman]

I just want to get this straight (check reg date, I've been a user for a couple of months, just not an active poster on these forums), if you support anything that is slightly involved with, around, up or down near Microsoft's influence, you could very well be labeled a shill?

Yikes.

edit: Just to clarify, I joined the forums due to a FIFA 13 team member, just never posted. You can ask Awesome Animals, or others I played with.

lol what the hell are you talking about? How about you read how these people were caught instead of using massive hyperbole.

 

[Oshimai]

I can't wait for Monday.

 

[QisTopTier]

http://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-inte...e-changed/?mod=wsj_streaming_latest-headlines

Oh so Madden and COD are exclusive? :lol ok

 

[Raticus79]

From SunhiLegend:

http://i.minus.com/ibsrgvZ5N5XBml.gif[img][/QUOTE]

Posted with credit before someone else steals it...

[url]http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/1fvuos/if_xbox_one_comments_seem_fishy_by_sunhilegend_on/[/url]

Edit: Well, that's interesting. I think the mods deleted the post.

 

[MogCakes]

The point is that you're not supposed to know they're being paid to say this shit. You're supposed to think they're regular posters like you and I and are on your "level". It's the same reason why they plant people in their conferences to cheer and clap loudly. If you think that's just a regular person who's just really excited, you subconsciously buy into whatever is going on in the stage.

It's basic psychology in marketing. See also: planted questions in Q&A sessions. People tend to follow the status quo among peers. If enough people you think are peers have an opinion, that's far more likely to influence you than a greasy-haired salesman in a suit will.

EDIT: This isn't exclusive to Microsoft, obviously. This happens everywhere, from product expos to commercials to politics. Microsoft, however, is especially bad about it in the gaming industry and oh so transparent.

Pretty much this. It's incredibly low and scummy, but I imagine most companies that do this follow the philosophy "what they don't know won't hurt them".

 

[der juicen]

Its pretty crazy how many threads (today) have been bumped by Juniors with shady post histories that have negative Sony vibes in them.

E3 is going to be so CRAZY.

Would you like my gaming history, starting from when I had an SNES, or a Dreamcast(9/9/99 yo), or mayhaps a PS2, or PC. What are "negative" Sony vibes, as if it's a goddamn crime?

 

[RedAssedApe]

Oh so Madden and COD are exclusive? :lol ok

EA Sports IGNITE...and daym at ur avatar lol

 

[Ashodin]

Not necessarily. People defended Friend Codes until the (sort of) end of FCs.

Please tell me again how one part of Nintendo's ecosystem matches the entirety of what MS has built for Xbone.

 

[Averon]

Paging SenjutsuSage. Oh wait...

He was a piece of work. I hope he was a shill because it'd be quite sad if his MS apologizing was done for free.

 

[J_Lee]

Just reading that post on WSJ makes me want to puke it reads like a 90's brochure for a new "VCR" I now know why comments in other gaming websites read like they do. Maybe the reason I was called a "Poo Poo Head" by someone which I found odd because most gamers would come up with something much harsher.

 

[metalslimer]

Not necessarily. People defended Friend Codes until the (sort of) end of FCs.

Friend Codes were an annoyance. They weren't a measure to completely trample over consumer rights. It was just ineptitude You have a better argument with the region lock.

 

[guek]

Paging SenjutsuSage. Oh wait...

So can we assume this is why he was banned? Or was he part of some other incident

 

[SneakyStephan]

Makes me wonder if SneakyStephan is one of the marketing fellows who is disseminating false information knowing it wont matter one bit if he's banned since he's just doing his job.

I know that's a not-so-subtle accusation but I'm just thinking out loud, not trying to point fingers.

Just saw this
Haha you should probably look at my post history, if I'm a shill I'd be the worst shill in the world.
I'm a hard to please gamer who will (and has) shit on absolutely anything and everything that even remotely smells foul

You can find me going off at nvidia, amd, valve , intel, xbox, ps3, vita etc indiscriminately.
I'm quite cynical (grown from years of sobering observation) and it's uncommon that something surprises me positively.

 

[USC-fan]

Didn't sony get caught doing the samething with the ps3?

 

[1upmuffin]

This is really scummy of them. This is not how to make your new system look good. It makes them look desperate.

 

[Shaheed79]

Holy Shit.


Two of the offenders:

http://www.reddit.com/user/TempleOfTime

http://www.reddit.com/user/SyFigh


EDIT:

Another... http://www.reddit.com/user/nanowerx/


Can't believe this type of thing is real.

What's really going to keep you up at night is when you realize that your own government has been doing this sort of manipulation for over a decade and a half on the internet.

Governments were some of the first to do it and perfect it, and they spend an order of magnitude more on public manipulation than any corporation.

The higher the stakes, the more unethical tactics will become and considered to be necessary in order to accomplish a specific goal, whether it be wealth or to hold on to and consolidate power.

You have no idea how easy it has become to make people agree with something that is inconsistent with the benefit of their own population, when certain groups are able to work in concert in order to guide public opinion. They wouldn't spend so much time and money on it if it didn't work really well.

 

[artist]

I would hate to live in.. is it Redmond? right about now. And be posting, that is. I hold the opinion of, as a disabled-ish gamer, I will most likely pick up an Xbone. The controller suits me well, I enjoy the IP's they have, the 24hr check in/no renting doesn't bother me and I'm looking forward to getting rid of disks.

I can see how people would absolutely hate these things from plenty of vantage points. In a thread I am participating in on another forum, it's pretty much only populated with PS4 and PC users so you really can't get a word in without being called a drooling retard, a shill, or any other interesting, derogatory terms. I guess a difference of opinions is something we are all losing as well.

(not trying to dispute the emergence of paid shills, it's like the cicada cycle.)

Um, Redmond is a big area. More like posts from same IP addresses or blocks, same posting patterns etc. Not sure why we are even discussing this, mods are doing a good job. Besides bish never said they were MS shills.

In all respects, why can this not be brought up.

Necrobumping will get you banned, it's one of the big no-nos. You should read up more.

 

[Risette]

EDIT: This isn't exclusive to Microsoft, obviously. This happens everywhere, from product expos to commercials to politics. Microsoft, however, is especially bad about it in the gaming industry and oh so transparent.

In the gaming industry? Microsoft does this for everything

 

[Simpsonology]

I've seen some suspicious posters on other gaming communities relentlessly squatting on Xbox One threads. Almost seems like there are 3 or 4 people sharing the account in round-the-clock shifts.

Maybe people who say "it's not that bad" when Microsoft basically just confirmed rumors .

 

[Soler]

What's really going to keep you up at night is when you realize that your own government has been doing this sort of manipulation for over a decade and a half on the internet.

Governments were some of the first to do it and perfect it, and they spend an order of magnitude more on public manipulation than any corporation.

The higher the stakes, the more unethical tactics will become and considered to be necessary in order to accomplish a specific goal, whether it be wealth or to hold on to and consolidate power.

You have no idea how easy it has become to make people agree with something that is inconsistent with the benefit of their own population, when certain groups are able to work in concert in order to guide public opinion. They wouldn't spend so much time and money on it if it didn't work really well.

Yup
People should know this happens alot
It's unexcusable but it happens alot

 

[Lazy Man's Wallpaper]

lol...sega genesis.

Yeah, I was (am) a Nintendo fan but the Genesis was fucking awesome. Major failure there

 

[jmls1121]

Its pretty crazy how many threads (today) have been bumped by Juniors with shady post histories that have negative Sony vibes in them.

E3 is going to be so CRAZY.

Its like Microsoft is Skynet and they just activated all of the Terminators. The influx of these people has been creepy.

 

[Heysoos]

While I don't doubt this happens, initiating witch hunts and calling everyone who has a different opinion than you a corporate shill won't fucking do any good. Let the mods handle the job, I'm sure they've been on top of it since the beginning. Calling anyone suspicious simply because they're not bothered by what Microsoft is a shitty thing to do.

 

[Fistwell]

Guys... guys? I mean why the outrage? A year from now it'll be standard and we won't even remember why we were so up in arms about in the first place. I mean, sony's doing it too, Kheigley said so, he would know. What matters is the games, MS's E3 conf is WALLS TO WALLS GAMES GUYS, 15 exclusives and that's just first party. Guys?

....

GUYS???

 

[ambientmystic]

Its pretty crazy how many threads (today) have been bumped by Juniors with shady post histories that have negative Sony vibes in them.

E3 is going to be so CRAZY.

Ban 'em all, I say.

 

[RedAssedApe]

Powered by the cloud is going to be like Sega's blast processing mantra.

Would like to be proven wrong at E3.

 

[Artex]

This is very common practice on Reddit btw which I'm sure plenty of users have already pointed out. It can be a powerful marketing tool due to the community's influence and popularity if manipulated carefully.

 

[GrizzNKev]

I would hate to live in.. is it Redmond? right about now. And be posting, that is. I hold the opinion of, as a disabled-ish gamer, I will most likely pick up an Xbone. The controller suits me well, I enjoy the IP's they have, the 24hr check in/no renting doesn't bother me and I'm looking forward to getting rid of disks.

I can see how people would absolutely hate these things from plenty of vantage points. In a thread I am participating in on another forum, it's pretty much only populated with PS4 and PC users so you really can't get a word in without being called a drooling retard, a shill, or any other interesting, derogatory terms. I guess a difference of opinions is something we are all losing as well.

(not trying to dispute the emergence of paid shills, it's like the cicada cycle.)



Please do, also recommend all for banning.



In all respects, why can this not be brought up.

Several thousand of my posts in the last year happened in Redmond, a couple blocks away from MS. I'm a student at a school that happens to be in an old MS building. I am very vocal about my dislike for the Xbone. Location isn't all that important.

 

[guek]

Just saw this
Haha you should probably look at my post history, if I'm a shill I'd be the worst shill in the world.
I'm a hard to please gamer who will (and has) shit on absolutely anything and everything that even remotely smells foul

You can find me going off at nvidia, amd, valve , intel, xbox, ps3, vita etc indiscriminately.
I'm quite cynical (grown from years of sobering observation) and it's uncommon that something surprises me positively.

mistook you for SenjutsuSage. SORRY!!

 

[Gorillaz]

What's really going to keep you up at night is when you realize that your own government has been doing this sort of manipulation for over a decade and a half on the internet.

Governments were some of the first to do it and perfect it, and they spend an order of magnitude more on public manipulation than any corporation.

The higher the stakes, the more unethical tactics will become and considered to be necessary in order to accomplish a specific goal, whether it be wealth or to hold on to and consolidate power.

You have no idea how easy it has become to make people agree with something that is inconsistent with the benefit of their own population, when certain groups are able to work in concert in order to guide public opinion. They wouldn't spend so much time and money on it if it didn't work really well.

Agreed. These practices aren't anything new and have been going for so long

 

[VGChampion]

Pathetic.

All companies do things like this. It's not like it's working.

 

[Punkster_NY]

and the post has been removed from /r/gaming >:/

 

[Turok_TTZ]

So they get paid to downvote negative comments on xbone and upvote or make positive comments on it?

how do I get this job?

 

[UrbanRats]

http://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-inte...e-changed/?mod=wsj_streaming_latest-headlines

Beautiful, someone PLEASE do a dramatic reading!

 

[devildog820]

Please tell me again how one part of Nintendo's ecosystem matches the entirety of what MS has built for Xbone.

Friend Codes were an annoyance. They weren't a measure to completely trample over consumer rights. It was just ineptitude You have a better argument with the region lock.

I was just referring to the fact that people would defend the indefensible. I was not trying to draw a comparison between the seriousness of XBone and Friend Codes.

 

[BossLackey]

People boo films at Cannes. personally I have no problem with booing.

The difference being that those journalists are on the job, not theater attendees.

 

[Soler]

Just saw this
Haha you should probably look at my post history, if I'm a shill I'd be the worst shill in the world.
I'm a hard to please gamer who will (and has) shit on absolutely anything and everything that even remotely smells foul

You can find me going off at nvidia, amd, valve , intel, xbox, ps3, vita etc indiscriminately.
I'm quite cynical (grown from years of sobering observation) and it's uncommon that something surprises me positively.

Nintendo shill confirmed

 

[Face it Tiger..]

PS buy Xbox One.

Stinkles do you still work for Bungie?

shouldn't you be nudging for PS4.. considering Sony moneyhatted DLC

 

[RionaaM]

Xbone Defense Form - Select One or Multiple

[] You are getting too emotional, allowing me to ignore what you say
[] Gamers are getting entitled again
[] You're a fanboy/You just hate Microsoft
[] NeoGAF/Reddit/the hivemind is biased
[X] Doesn't matter, you'll change your mind and buy the console anyway
[X] Gamers just don't like change
[] Gamers are just mad because it's not about them
[] Opinions don't matter, only sales matter
[] Debating about games is meaningless anyway
[X] This is the future
[] It's the exact same thing as the PC market because of Steam, so you're a hypocrite
[] My perfect internet connection invalidates your imperfect internet connection

Holy shit. This is so true.

Where should I sign? I want a cut of MS' sweet money too. Yay anti-consumer practices! Yay cutting off everyone who doesn't have a reliable internet connection! Yay for Xbone being the same as Steam, even though there's a world of differences between a closed platform and a distribution system inside an open platform.

Spoiler

seriously, MS please pay me

 

[spekkeh]

Man this Xbone... It's the gift that keeps on giving.

 

[Visualante2]

Is this an ARG for metal gear solid 5: can love bloom on the message board?

 

[Duxxy3]

All companies do things like this. It's not like it's working.

Not here anyway. GAF condemned the xbone to die with the Phil Harrison interview

 

[Nubzcake]

$1 billion dollar marketing.

should've been first post

 

[RionaaM]

No.

If you read bish's post, its a combination of things. Vocal and insistence posting, email addresses, likely ip addresses as well etc.

May I ask for a link to Bish's post? I've seen it mentioned a couple of times, but somehow missed it.

 

[painful fart]

Whatever happened to making a product that customers want? They should try that.

Microsoft stands above that!

With the right marketing they can sell their shit sandwich with good profit.

 

[Delusibeta]

what does it mean. WHAT DOES IT MEAN!?

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy the show!