Creator of Xbox dashboard ads is sorry for all the Mountain Dew tiles
You know all those annoying ads cluttering the Xbox 360 and Xbox One dashboards? Well, one of their creators has issued an apology. Former Microsoft employee Allen Murray writes on Gamasutra just how his noble intent to get digital games noticed on the Xbox 360 got away from him, and, as he tells it, Redmond initially opposed the idea. Prior to joining the Xbox team Murray worked at Amazon, which he says gave him a keen insight into how tech can be used to enhance retail sales. His idea was to highlight titles like Hexic HD on the dashboard and allow users to purchase them directly from the dash almost effortlessly. So, with the encouragement of Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb, Murray pitched the idea to his bosses and was immediately shot down. Eventually the higher-ups relented and, clearly, the results speak for themselves. "If you hate the Mountain Dew ads, I truly am sorry," he says. Well, at least we have a target for our fist shaking now.
