We of the gaming fraternity have often asked ourselves how ethical (or unethical) is it to pass on information related to an unreleased piece of gear for the sake of our compatriots looking to invest cash on the same. However, an Xbox One developer believes that such should not be the case, and if Microsoft decides to ban that person on that account then it’s completely understandable.
Speaking recently on Reddit, the developer showed his support against such breach of information by clearly stating that such kind of bans are necessary since there are chances that this will lead to misinformation, confusion and other PR-based problems.
He also confirmed that Microsoft reserves the right to ban any unreleased or beta consoles under its specified set of terms of service.
“He did buy a product, a product not released until the 22nd. The product was delivered in error, but that doesn't change the fact it's an unreleased product and most likely classified as a beta product. Microsoft reserves the right to suspend/ban that console under the TOS,” the developer wrote.
“That being said, I was ambivalent about the leaks we saw today. Leaks are seldom good for the development team, even if they are positive. It represents thousands of hours of work that may or may not be in an unfinished state. All it takes is one instance of something that was mis-communicated or misconstrued, throw that through the internet media machine and you've got a disaster.”
“On the flip side, it was quite refreshing and encouraging to see everything we've done received so well. It was a little emotional for me when I saw numerous approving responses to Marc and Yusif's demo yesterday morning. I think many of us on the team sometimes forget to take a step back and see the product work as a whole because when you work on the console, all you see are the features that still need work and the bugs that need fixing. At least this was the case for the past 6 months or so.”
“Personally, I hope it's only a temporary suspension until launch day,” he added.
Not long ago, a user apparently got his hands on an Xbox One and started tweeting information about the console that’s still due to release. Microsoft, however, didn’t take kindly to the user and has since banned his console. As unfortunate as it may sound, this means that he won’t be able to access several of Xbox One’s highly advertised online features.
Microsoft's Xbox One is currently set for a Nov. 22, 2013 release, and will retail for $499.
