Game Tester Fired For Going On Record About Xbox 360 Defects

VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi recently published an exhaustive history of the manufacturing issues that have surrounded the Xbox 360, resulting in still unknown numbers of defective consoles and a $1 billion price tag for Microsoft's games division. Hypersensitive readers who pined for the day when we could all just "move on" from the story weren't the only invested parties who took issue with the exposé. One of Microsoft's own contract employees was fired for his participation in the story. Robert Delaware, a Microsoft game tester employed by temp agency Excell Data, was let go on Wednesday and is expected to face civil charges from his former employer, according to an update from VentureBeat.Delaware was the only source at Microsoft to be directly named in the original article. He was quoted by VentureBeat on two separate "red ring of death" scenarios, one that could be triggered by a reproduceable crash , citing NBA 2K6, and another related to dashboard update bugs with Capcom's Dead Rising. The former game tester says he doesn't regret going on record about his experience with the Xbox 360. "If they want to come after me, bring it on," Delaware said, in response to assumed impending civil charges. As VentureBeat points out, it's likely that, in speaking to the press, Delaware violated his terms of employment with VMC, Microsoft and Excell Data and that his termination was legally justified. Microsoft fires game test contractor who talked to VentureBeat [VentureBeat]