Kotaku Commenters Hang At Microsoft HQ

the "inner nerd" comment is the only one that might be legit

ithyphallus, lazy beareaucrat

It's advertising like this that makes me think that the Big 3 just don't get it. It's as if they understand that there is a powerful gaming subculture but don't know what it is exactly. This was a good idea in theory, but as everyone said, the comments for what they are advertising were generally negative and the comments they used were generic and boring.

grantanamo

@iamspoo: On the Internet, context is dispensable.

Dresan

@TookiGuy: This is Kotaku we're talking about

@You Are My Friend!: When I was reading those...the main thing that came to mind was "Is Kotaku really that boring?"

These are the other sites:
My inner nerd cannot resist.
Must. Control. Impulse. Buys.
Yes! Cotton Swabbing.

And then...us.
These clothes are cool.
I love that style.

...am I the only one who thinks those comments are very dull? Maybe they were just a small part of a longer post, but still. They could have chosen better.

@DigitalHero: Spare points, right?
Right?

@Psudonym: But what if they're not anonymous? Should someone be getting some money? Or at least some "cool clothes"?

Dresan

I take it the people who posted these comments aren't collecting royalties from these ads, huh?

@S.I.: We are a cynical bunch..

Also, i move to find whoever said "Props to these outfits" and tar and feather the bastard.

@iamspoo: I don't normally, literally, laugh out loud at, well, pretty much most things, but i did here. Thanx for that.

@awkner: What are you talking about "those clothes are cool".... how could you be more interesting and creative than that.

DouglasJayFalcon

Too bad that they didn't actually feature any witty comments from Kotaku.

What's the point of turning personal comments into adverts if all they will amount to is somewhere along the line of "I like this"?

At least have something even remotely amusing like "Mmmm, these clothes give me +4 in suave"
or
"AVATARCLOTHES %#@$& BLEW MY MIND"
or
"First!"

Y'know, something that doesn't scream worn-out hypemachine.

'Kotaku Commenters Hang at Microsoft HQ'

For a second, that headline made it sound like Kotaku commenters actually got out of their parents' basements and went somewhere....

@Southrncomfortjm: The alternative for those deep thoughts would be:

"Yes, I would give money for these virtual clothes."
or
"This hat is very good-looking."

Dresan

@Archaotic: Though I'm a little surprised they found any.

@DigitalHero: Et tu, DigitalHero?

... Oh come on, are those really the best Positive comments they could find on Kotaku?

And come on, fess up, who made these rather generic comments... Own Up, and Prepare for Beatage! I mean beatings...

I bought a Mass Effect "N7" shirt for my avatar the other day. Yeah, I admit it.

@Outkastprince: That sounds crazy enough to work! In all seriousness, it's possible that it happened and probably nothing would be at fault with this.

Dresan

@TookiGuy: That is the very essence of directed marketing.

Shame on us, commenters, for not being interesting. :(

Sorry Stephen, I promise I'll try to be more fun!

Man, if only commenters on Kotaku weren't such cynical bastards, the quotes used could have been better.

j/k ilu all

I bet a Microsoft employee made an account, wrote "Props to these outfits" and never came on again. :P

Outkastprince

@You Are My Friend!: it's because everything other than those three was hating on MS and their money-grabbing techniques

mzo

So they also read our nasty comments, and picked out the few good ones?

Considering the ones they chose, looks like they were desparate.

@You Are My Friend!: I thought that too..

Such depth and understanding is conveyed by those moving comments. I am amazed someone at Kotaku came up with them all on his or her own. "Those clothes are cool"... deeeeeeeeep.

Well, I guess they've topped the modest geek honor of getting Kotaku Starred status. Now you're nobody until you're anonymously quoted for ginormous banners!

Psudonym

I think I was miss quoted. My real quote was; "Those clothes are cool but I would never pay a dime for any of it."

iamspoo

It kinda seems like the Kotaku ones don't belong.

@SonicTheMonkey: Exactly what I was thinking. The most unquoteworthy quotes in the Kingdom of Quotedom.

Ungruntled

@NeoStarr HD: Nicely done. :^)

Kobun

@SonicTheMonkey: Very much so, as matter of fact, it is so much so, that about 15 commenters asked that very question in this very "comments" section

*sigh* I just have this wissh that the avatar's didn't look so horrid.

they really are just a few steps above the Miis in bearability.

I just put a helmet on mine so I don't have to look at his face.

chaoticumbrella

@SonicTheMonkey: You could see it as being sarcastic or something...

@NeoStarr HD: Oh you're on your way to the top, my friend.

Can you do one that says, "Meh."?

Dresan

@NeoStarr HD: Hey - "firsters'" posts are generally punctuation free.
so it should be

first

Is "Those clothes are cool" really that quoteworthy?

@Yossarian: Sorry.. I tried but I'm all out for the day..

@Hey_Blinkon: hmmm... well, if someone on kotaku thinks these are cool. i should probably buy them...

So come on commentors, lets start a thread of suggestions for quotes that they *should* have used...

Now I can look as dumb as my poodle that I cosplay as a Harvest Moon character!

Does this Sam Fisher outfit make me look fat?

The devil may wear Prada, but I'm sporting ODST.

@Pult|Ost - Not Backwards Compatible: Took some serious pills today, did ya?

@mat1cs (still a nerd): You're absolutely right. It needs to be done.

NeoStarr HD

@NeoStarr HD: Win.

*scratches head*

I would rather be ignored thank you very much. wait...

@DigitalHero: Same here. At 80 points it actually felt like a good buy.

I'm actually an idiot, but I do look pretty f-ing cool sporting the N7.

@NeoStarr HD: I missed that one.
You just got me to laugh quite a bit.

@ShadowOdin of dubious snowiness: Reminds of blurbs they pull from reviews for the movie posters or book covers.

The exact quote will be: "This is a steaming pile of shit that only a retarded monkey could find enjoyable."

And you end up with "This is...enjoyable" on the poster.

THEY HAVE DISGRACED OUR RIGHTEOUS NAME WITH THEIR POOR COMMENT SELECTION!!

@TookiGuy:

Actually, yes. LOL. I had around 240.

@D-K, it's not butter? no way!: This is why I find cynicism overrated.

Sure, really good games may surprise you more, but when big-name companies are fishing for quotes, cynicism always yields the most boring lines.

Those were the only positive comments on Avatar clothing in the whole of Kotaku! That explains why their so simple! Thats gotta be it

@DigitalHero: I was all about dismissing the clothes until I had a browse in the store and saw the freaking Monkey Island clothes. i've barely resisted making my character Stan wielding a giant Cotton Bud.

@ShadowOdin of dubious snowiness:

NeoStarr HD

@ShadowOdin of dubious snowiness: Funny thing they went with the lamest ones, then again I guess they didn't figured that most of the better comments are grey....

@deanbmmv: Everyone knows that England and France are on opposite sides of the globe.
Just like Sweden and Norway.

@Southrncomfortjm: When you're quote-mining, what you find has to do.

i think what happened is that they left out most of the comment.

for example:

these clothes are cool. /sarcasm

too bad they didn't just directly copy the mii, i love that style.

etc...

@deanbmmv: ...that would make sense.

@DrowningInMercy: I think the funny commenters had negative quotes.

I don't believe that Kotaku posters would (at least publicly) condone the act of paying for avatar clothing. Iamspoo has the right idea - Spoo, are you really the original poster of the comment?

Inner nerd? Nerds are smart, I'm a geek. Or is it the other way around? =)

*listens to my inner geek*
Inner geek: "You are totally awesome, go play a game!"

creiij

@LordBling: Don't be an asshole. You act like you know everything. My parent's house doesn't even have a basement. (I live in the garage). :P

Hey_Blinkon

They put our comments next to Joystiq?
I bet they stick England and France next to each other on a map.

@LordBling: Woah there Mr Ideas man, don't go dragging us out of our comfort zone now!
People like us (guys with the first name "Lord") can't survive out in the wild!

@ShadowOdin of dubious snowiness: A "first!" banner would be epic. Too epic to hang, even.

mat1cs (still a nerd)

@LordBling: You know video games aren't real right?
Streets, shops, sky etc, don't exist...There what people call 'make believe'.
I don't get why out of all hte fantasy worlds weaved by The Developers the one so mundane as just grinding all day for gold instead of using your moms credit card, and then going to 'shops' and then talking with our mouths to random people. As if anything beyond getting your mom to make you a bowl of Doritos wasn't stimulating talk enough.

@grantanamo: No kidding.

"Those clothes are cool"

Doesn't get more generic and lame than that. Geez, I'm so inspired. I was gonna ignore them, but now, I HAVE TO BUY this stuff.

Hey_Blinkon

@DrowningInMercy: They may have been part of a bigger comment like "those clothes are cool if you eat poop" or "I love that style. It reminds me roadkill"

"Yes! Cotton swabbing" good to know MS can't identify sarcasm, maybe they think the mac commercials are fair too.

DouglasJayFalcon

@ShadowOdin of dubious snowiness: Well, it's not like they could use one of my comments on the subject. There'd be too many words on it to fit on the marquee. :O

...that and I've never said a positive word about avatar clothes. _

@LordBling: zing!

@mzo: Well then at least they had a humbleing experience finding those comments. They prolly had to take a shower after digging through all the MS hate that's ubiquitous round these parts.

DouglasJayFalcon

@ShadowOdin of dubious snowiness: These banners are neato!

AncientUnknown1

"Those clothes are cool" was in fact me. Who else could put those 4 words together? The answer is no one.

All I know is that if I go into a store and see a sign that says "We have cool clothes" I fucking buy some.

I wouldn't be surprised if the "those clothes are cool" quote came from something along the lines of "Those clothes are cool. I just wonder why anybody would pay for them."

bwwardiii

@Dresan: I lol'd hard at that one.

NeoStarr HD

@ShadowOdin of dubious snowiness:

NeoStarr HD

Ah 'The Commons'. It's the MS employee only mall that makes a good place to take people if you want to show them how awesome it is working for MS.

If it works on my friends and family, then it surely will work on members of the press... right... right?

Is this thing on?

I bought the Cardboard Tube Samurai outfit. Either that makes me stupid or makes the avatar store awesome. You choose.

Dragonglove

@Yossarian: Let me edit one of yours.

The devil may wear Prada, but it sure can cry.

Whats that in the kitchen? Master Chef cooking up a can of whoop ass

hazelnut

@ShadowOdin of dubious snowiness: This is oh so exploitable.

NeoStarr HD

@ShadowOdin of dubious snowiness: Yes, we have fanboys of all races, belief systems, console affilliation, age, blah blah blah

@deanbmmv: I had moved on but I had to scroll back up because I'm still chuckling. Cheers, bon Homme!

(zombie) buddhathing

@NeoStarr HD: Let me try...

Dresan

@NeoStarr HD:

@Yossarian: Hah!

@LordBling: Would you stop typing and get me my soda from the fridge now?

@Yossarian: Red ring... of Fabulousness!

@NeoStarr HD:

props to these banners

@Handsome Al: The ads are internal, after all. Seems like MS was trying to provide some motivation to the people working on the team...

I also imagine that everyone on the team sees those ads and laughs at the fact that MS execs and internal marketing clearly don't understand that overall reaction to avatars has been rather... meh.

@deanbmmv: LOL wow.

@NeoStarr HD: Truth in advertising?

@NeoStarr HD: Why hasn't any one made one complaining about Micro-transactions yet? :3 When Ever there's a clothes update/costume update for Home,XBL avis or lbp. The fuss of micro-transactions hits the fan.

@SonicTheMonkey: compared to 'holy shit these clothes suck, ms just want your money buying fugly things' it is.

Use this one, Microsoft:

"Those avatar clothes should be free."

Wow, if I worked there I'd feel bad seeing those banners every day. They're basically a testament to how much people actually hate the avatars.

Exec A: "Everyone at the office feels the avatars are really stupid. We need to do something to prove that there are actually people out there who enjoy them."
Exec B: "OK let's find a few troll and/or stupid comments that actually say they like the avatars and put them as quotes on a neat banner."
Exec A: "Oh yeah, I'm sure that'll convince our workers that people actually like avatars and they aren't stupid at at all!"
Me: *Facepalm*

@Yossarian: My turn :
I'd buy that for a dollar!

slimky

@NeoStarr HD:

@SonicTheMonkey:

When you had to consider how many "OMFG HOW MUCH FOR A COG ARMOUR?! RIPOFF" comments they had to sift through, "Those clothes are cool" is great.

@SonicTheMonkey: Turns out "Those clothes are cool" comes from an article about Bayonetta, and the commenter was not talking about avatar-wear but clothes made out of greasy & unwashed looking hair. so yes, it is that quoteworthy.

@DouglasJayFalcon: I don't know, man! It's gonna be hard but I'll try!

@DigitalHero: I own that shirt IRL... I can't decide if that's better, or worse.

(zombie) buddhathing

@skaven: Just a quick point of correction: small banners hang in the commons, but these pictures are inside Studio A. The banners in the commons are outside and about half the size of these, I'd say. Maybe 2/3rds.

"Those clothes are cool!" So cool that we have to plaster these lame banners all over the office just to remind everyone!!!!!

yodaddy

@Dresan: You also did very well

@NeoStarr HD: Ha! The choice of avatar gives it a nice touch.

Dresan

@DaveKap: I don't think you're right. I think there are some gamers that think they are so hardcore and too cool for school that avatars are beneath them somehow. Everyone else thinks they are fine or loves them. I'm somewhere in between, though I clearly like them (see kotaku icon).

Some integration, like in GH5, is great. Others, like in Worms 2, is distracting. But I think the animations of interaction with the marketplace items are actually very sweet and show the potential these have if used creatively.

If "avatar creation/editor" were a game, it would be top 10 on the Most Played list every week, and those outfits are selling like mad, apparantly. They are more popular than you think.

@NeoStarr HD: One last one before I head to work. Very sorry for the blurriness but Excel can only do so much.

Dresan

@NeoStarr HD: You've earned quite a heart from me today

@Adarael: Good catch. You're right.

I mentioned the commons based on his talk of the AT&T store, etc.

@S.I.: Faster than the speed of awesome:
"Man, if only commenters on Kotaku were MORE cynical bastards, the quotes used could have been better."

fix'd

@deanbmmv: I'm going to have to start using the phrase "make a bowl of Doritos" as often as possible

anonymousmonk

@ChiaraFeldman: Dig it and up and post a link, please. :^)

Kobun

@Dresan: You just made my afternoon.

Sparkimus Prime

Hey! "My inner nerd cannot resist." is MY quote from my response to the MTV Multiplayer lunchtime twitter poll. BIG WIN!

ChiaraFeldman

@(zombie) buddhathing: Better. Wear it with pride.

_Ted_

@Dragonglove: Can't I choose both? :D

@Archaotic: I know! You are soooooooo on the razor's edge of pithy blog commentary!

@[live.xbox.com]

This is too much win. Too much! HEARTS ALL AROUND!

TaylorEatWorld

@Pretty Sneaky Sis: or

"The people writing those ads should get paid for their work."

@Dresan: THAT'S AWESOME

@DaveKap: That was the first thing I thought to myself after seeing the images above. How could Microsoft take Kotaku comments and consider them legitimate and not complete and utter trolls?

@Tiagomnh:

@Yossarian: I wish I had this kind of clothing in Home!

This is beyond retarded. How Microsoft can take any of these comments seriously to this large of a degree is BEYOND ME.

In addition, I went back to look at the avatar story comments, and the results were pretty terrible. They really had to look deep to find any positive comments.

This is NOT a good campaign.

Note: I don't really think anyone should be banned.

Showmeyomoves!

I think whoever said "Those clothes are cool" should be banned for not contributing anything intelligent.

Showmeyomoves!

Okay guys, Take note! All you have to do to get your quote posted without any credit in MS is make a generic statement about how you love wasting money on avatar clothes! Sweet! I bought 2!

yantelope(not a pirate)

@Megamoppy: Or perhaps "their" the only comments that didn't contain any spelling mistakes.

Showmeyomoves!

@Yossarian: "Damn. Why can't my Mii look this stylish..."

Showmeyomoves!

@SonicTheMonkey: Same for "Props to these outfits". Or is that some kind of clever wordplay that went right over my head?

Showmeyomoves!

@ChiaraFeldman: Congrats!

Your first step to stardom! ;)

Showmeyomoves!

For a second I thought Kotaku commenters were being executed by MS for one too many RROD jokes.

Chaotix3

Where's the negative responses?
"Too expensive!"

Kinburn

@Spoony Bard: But all these points are nulled by the fact that Kotakus commenters gain a little recognition.

OMG I LOVE THIS CAMPAIGN

@Kinburn: "Anyone who would pay real money for virtual clothes is an idiot!" would be a good one! Which is what I said, literally one day before I bought a Mass Effect t-shirt for my avatar :(

Knaaks

@Kinburn: :D

"Avatar clothing should either be purchased with fake money earned by gaining achievement points or be free altogether - the current model is a f***ing joke!"

-Forum post, Kotaku

Poster please?

Carey.Laius

Microsoft, give the people's whose words you are using recompense. Like free Avatar clothes.

@Showmeyomoves!: It's been done, thanks.

@skaven: Yeah, that's fair.

In all honesty, when these went up, I was really confused. I second the opinion of, "What, you couldn't have gotten better quotes?" I mean, the cotton swabbing one is a little funny, but I'm sure they could've come up with better ones... even if they'd have had to create accounts and post the quotes themselves.

@zgreenwell:

fail.

silverhold

@lionkitten: Even the fuggle avatars of HOME are better than the NXE ones. They are infantile and big-headed and I don't consider myself cool. I just don't like them.

@Chaotix3: LMFAO XD

TexasJack

@ChiaraFeldman: Allow the lack of adoration sweep across you like a lewk warm stream of feces.